THE LAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN IJAW LONG BEFORE EDO ONDO AND DELTA

THE LAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN IJAW LONG BEFORE EDO ONDO AND DELTA

IT'S NOT COINCIDENCE THAT EVERY HISTORIAN WHO WROTE ABOUT BENIN ARE SAYING THE SAME THING IN DIFFERENT WORDS. IJAWS FORM THE BASIS OF BENIN CITY AND PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MAKING UP THE BENIN ETHNIC GROUP WITHOUT BEING FULLY ASSIMILATED INTO BENIN.

First let's take a glance on The great Benin historian, Chief Jacob Uwadiae Egharevba (1893-1981): "...Many many years ago the benins Came all the way from Egypt to found a more secured shelter in this part of the world after a short stay in Sudan and at Ile-Ife..." In his book, A Short History of Benin Kingdom, made it crystal and emphatically clear that the Binis met human inhabitants  when they escaped from Ile Ife. Chief Jacob Egharevba demonstrably pontificated that the Binis came across several rivers and streams and met people whose daily livelihood was tied to these rivers and streams. These people are the Ijaws and, according to Chief Egharevba, these people helped the hordes of warriors from Ile-Ife to cross over the areas in the present Benin Kingdom.

Chief Egharevba state again in 1960 THE ORIGIN AND TITLE OF YORUBA RULERS (P.3) "Uptil that time the Oba (in Benin) are pure Yorubas who did not understand the language of the Aborigines who usually salute themselves and the new people (Benins) Adoo dolodolo". 

This greetings is clearly of Ijaw extraction. It was this greetings amongst Ijaws the entire territory was named Ado-bou meaning forest of the people who salute themselves 'Adoo'. Before the arrival of North Africans there were 3 established principal towns(city-states of Ijaws) which are remembered as Ado-bou, Agadagba-Bou and Ke-bou. Ado-Bou is where Benin stand today, Agadagba Bou is where Amassoma and Wilberforce Island stand today and Ke is where Kalabari stand today.

Egharevba in 1965 he writes "...It was known that the Binis came to this land in 3 waves. The first (without a concrete date) was from Nupe, the second was from Sudan in the 7th century (Fact check: the Arab invasion of North Africa occurred in the 7th century) and the third (without concrete date) was from Egypt via Ile-Ife. (Let's look at these accounts from another angle)

IN THE BOOK: THE IJO GENESIS. (AS PROVIDED BY THE LONDON-BASED IJAW PEOPLE'S ASSOCIATION OF UK AND IRELAND) 

"....Indeed a section of the Oru known as the Beni, who had come from the Sudan (NupaTU or Napata) through Nupe, gave the name Beni to some of the newly emerging settlements...." These were the Oru or Ijos of Uzama (Ado-bou) who later on between the 12th –15th centuries moved into the delta.

"....Prince Igodo (Godo) led a 2nd migration to the Benin region. Prince Igodo centralised the existing communities. Also like his father he allowed the existing communities internal autonomy. These communities later on came together to give birth to the 1st dynastic state of Benin Kingdom (IGODOMIGODO). The 1st Ogiso dynasty lasted 500 years (between 940 AD to 1440 when the 3rd migration from Ile Ife led by Oranmiyan took control and the first Oba was proclaimed as OBA EWUARE, The Great)...."

THE ACCOUNT OF THE IJAW INHABITANTS OF BENIN CAN BE FURTHER PROVEN ON THE HISTORY OF MEIN(Mehin) 500 AD.

Amongst the Mein inhabitants of Ado-bou (Beni) there was a common ancestor remembered as Opu-Beni. Opu Beni the mystical follower of Adumu (father ijo) who has the ultimate power to control Water, can make land appear & disappear over a river, can dry up and fill up a place if desired. Opu-Beni had many sons which are Mein, Ibeni(Beni), Obotebe, Perekule. It was through he 'Opu Beni' that the entire settlement was named Beni. This story changed when the Egyptians(Sudanese) who were fleeing the invasion of North Africa by Arabs came in about 647-709AD. This was the arrival of the IGODOS/OGIAMEN in an already established settlements of Uzama & Beni. 

To further buttress this fact S.K OWONARO explain the exploration of Ijo.

....EXPLAINING FURTHER AT THE MOMENT OF HIS DEPARTURE PRINCE IJO’S FATHER, KING ADUMU CONFERED ON HIM, THE MYSTIC POWERS OF AUTHORITY TO INVEST HIM WITH ABSOLUTE POWER AND RIGHT OVER THE LANDS AND RIVERS THAT SHOULD COME UNDER HIS OWNERSHIP THROUGH EXPLORATION. THEIR FIRST ABORIGINAL HABITATION AND SETTLEMENT WAS THE SITE OF UZAMA (UZON-AMA, MEANING IJO-AMA/Ijaw Settlement), WHERE BENIN CITY NOW STANDS. SUBSEQUENTLY PRINCE IJO AND HIS PEOPLE SET UP THEIR FIRST SETTLEMENT. OTHER ABORIGINAL ORU PEOPLE HAD ALSO SETTLED THIS PLACE COMING IN FROM THE ANCIENT WATERWAYS THAT CONNECTED UZAMA WITH THE ANCIENT RIVER NIGER, WHICH HAS SINCE DRIED UP....

PRINCE IJO LEFT SOME OF HIS PEOPLE AT HIS FIRST ABORIGINAL SETTLEMENT OF UZON-AMA (UZAMA) IN BENIN SITE (ADO-BOU) TOOK SOME OF HIS BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN AND CONSTITUTED AN EXPLORATION TEAM TO EXPLORE THE WATERWAYS. THEY PROCEEDED TO SAIL DOWN THE MAIN RIVERS LINKING BENI(Ado-bou) TO THE COAST. THEIR FIRST SETTLEMENT ALONG THE COASTAL ESTUARIES WAS THE SITE OF WARIFI AND WARIGI. HERE SOME SETTLED (note: Warigi & Warifi were Ijaws until 1470's when Benin warriors came searching for their lost son Iginuwa who was farred away to Amatu by Ijaws these influence Warifi and Warigi language and become Urhobo today) 

FROM THIS SITE THE EXPLORATION TEAM MOVED ON TO EXPLORE THE COASTAL REGIONS WITH SOME SETTLING IN THE OPOROZA AND IDUWINI ESTUARIES, WHILE THE FINAL JOURNEYS TOOK THEM UP TO THE CENTRAL DELTA. HAVING DISCOVERED AN ANCIENT ISOLATED COMMUNITY OF ORU PEOPLE LIVING IN THE CENTRAL DELTA, RULED BY THE PRIESTESS OR QUEEN ORU-YINGI, FATHER IJO AND HIS PEOPLE DECIDED TO SETTLE AT THIS SITE REMEMBERED AS AGADAGBA-BOU AND TOGETHER WITH THE OTHER ORU ANCESTORS (TOBU-OTU – THE ANCIENT PEOPLE) UNDER THE RULERSHIP OF THE ORU-YINGI, FORMED A CITY STATE KNOWN AS IJO CITY OR AGADAGBA-BOU. LEGEND ALSO HAS IT THAT THE ORU-YINGI PRIESTESS OR QUEEN GAVE HER AUTHORITY TO PRINCE IJO BY HANDING HIM HER SACRED CROWN OF COWRIES. HE THUS BECAME THE FIRST PERE OR KING WITH THE TITLES, THE KALASUO-ORU (KALA-SUO) THE INDO-ORU, THE OGULABIOWEI AND ETEKURO (ETEKURO-SERIAKE). ONCE THE NEW CITY STATE WAS FOUNDED MORE AND MORE ANCESTORS MIGRATED TO THE CENTRAL DELTA FOR THE PURPOSES OF COMMERCE, INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES, FISHING AND FARMING AND ENHANCED COMMUNITY LIFE. THIS CONTINUED UP TO ABOUT 1050 AD, WHEN A GENERAL DISPERSAL FROM IJO CITY (AGADAGBA-BOU) SET IN.

THE ORU PEOPLE THAT REMAINED BEHIND AT UZAMA (Ado-bou/Beni) MULTIPLIED AND WERE JOINED BY MORE PEOPLE FROM IFE LED BY PRINCE IGODO. THESE PEOPLE TOGETHER CONSTITUTED THE ABORIGINES OR AUTOCHTONES  OF BENIN. PRINCE IGODO TOOK THE TITLE OGI-SUO(Of Ijaw origin)(OGISO – PRINCE OF THE SKY, MEANING PRINCE OF THE REALM) AND WITH HIS FOLLOWERS, AND THEY EVENTUALLY ESTABLISHED THE FOUNDATION OF THE OGISO KINGSHIP AND SOVEREIGN NATION OF IGODO-MI-GODO (IGEDE-ME-IGODO – QUARTERS, PLACE OR LAND OF IGODO). ORIGINALLY, UZON-AMA (UZAMA) AND IGEDE-ME-IGODO, WERE TWO SEPARATE SETTLEMENTS BEFORE FUSING TO BECOME THE FOUNDATION OF ANCIENT BENI KINGDOM. ALSO NEARBY LIVED THE EFA PEOPLE AND THEY INTERMARRIED WITH THE ORU PEOPLE, WHICH THROUGH TIME CAUSED THE LANGUAGE CHANGE AND MODIFICATION, ALTHOUGH THE SAME LANGUAGE OF ORU (IJO LANGUAGE) CONTINUED TO BE SPOKEN AT UZAMA AND IGEDE-ME-IGODO WELL UP TO THE 16TH CENTURY. THOSE ORU ANCESTORS THAT INTERMARRIED WITH THE EFA BECAME THE FIRST ANCESTORS OF THE URHOBO (FROM ORUBO, AND SOBO FROM UZOBO). THROUGHOUT THIS EARLY PERIOD FOR A 1000 YEARS PLUS, THE IJOS OR ORUS OF THE CENTRAL DELTA HAD COMMUNICATION WITH THEIR BROTHERS WHO LIVED AT UZON-AMA (UZAMA) AND IGEDE-ME-IGODO (ADO-BOU REFERRED TO AS BENIN).

NOTE: The Ijaws dispersed from Ado-bou is about 600AD, the Igodos arrived an already established Beni(Ado-bou) around 647-709AD. By 900AD-1050AD Ijaws again started peopling the Niger Delta from ancient city state formations. From the period of 600 AD the Igodos lived freely in Ado-bou for about 293 years until 940 AD when the Igodo monarchy was proclaimed and lasted for 500 years till 1440. The Yoruba descendants of Oranmiyan became prominent in about 1440 and changed the monarchy from Ogiso to Oba.

Under Oba Ewuare, the Great, 1440-1473, the Kingdom of Benin was acquired through conquests from Idah to the North, Owo and Akure and to Igboland, West of the Niger, had become an Empire. The Oba gave Benin a strong central government that weakened political factions and intrigues of the chiefs. His constitutional reforms strengthened the Oba against the Uzama(Ijos) and the Palace chiefs(Ogisos/Igodos)

SOME REALITY FACTS TO FURTHER PROVE TRUTH ON THIS CLAIMS

1. Ijaws today are the closest neighbours of Benin just 50km away from Benin city. Closer than Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ishan, Yoruba, Igbo, Igala, etc. That means they didn't migrate far from their land despite going through so many different invasions & Invaders.

2. All of the historical and ancient words are rooted in Ijaw language. 

i. BINI which is of Ijaw origin went through tribal and language modifications and intonation. It went through a modification from Beni to Bini at the arrival of Igodos and from Bini to Ile Ibinu at the time of Oranmiyan and Ubini through Itsekiri intonation. 

ii. ADO BOU which also has been through modification and being referred to as just Ado is what is Edo today.

iii. OGI-SUO Meaning Prince of the sky/Realm. In a similar way the title of Ijo at Agadagba Bou was KALA-SUO meaning Small God. These words are of Ijaw origin.

iv. UZAMA in it's unadulterated form will be Uzo'n Ama meaning Ijo's Town

v. IGODOMIGODO this name could be a modification of IGEDE-ME-IGODO. Meaning KEY THE QUARTER/COMPOUND. The word can also be defined to mean QUARTER BELONGING TO IGODO. This name could be influenced by Ijaws after the wall of Benin was built to keep the Benin quarters and Palace protected from further invasion.

Adoo - Toru-Ebe