- imaji jio ufumaka
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Some of my readers have accused me of writing lengthy stuff. I agree. Yet not a few claim that they are compelled by my compelling story spell to read to the end. With all modesty, I say. To both divide, I am both honored and encouraged.
But what I often explain to my critics is that most of my writings are essays, based on true happenings. They are not news reels. Neither are they tit-bits. So, tighten up your belt for yet another intellectual & historical drills !
My submission herein is not sacrosanct. Any one who has a different but concrete opinion should kindly write in. We all learn new things every day !
The Yala people were NOT originally so called. The ogoja people were NOT originally so called, either. Even the Akunakuna people were NOT historically so called.
The Yala are an ethnic group predominantly found in Cross River State, spreading across two nation's of the world : Ghana and Brazil. In Nigeria, the Yala people can be found in at least three states, MAINLY : Nasarawa, Plateau and Adamawa. Also, within the Cross River State axis, these group of people can be located @ Yala in the North, Yala nkum of Ikom in the Central & Yala Obubra, still in the Central. It is also educating to note that the Yala people, when googled, can be found in several nation's, having no bearing with the African skin pigmentation ; for example, Asia and some European lands !
It is note worthy to state here that the Yala people of Cross River State migrated from Benue State of Nigeria. They are called the Idoma people. Yet, Idoma was not even the original name of the people of that region. Neither have they always been there.
The name Idoma was carved out of the name, DOMA. The Doma people are predominantly found within the Kwararafa, present day valley between the Kafanchan and Jos, Plateau State. They are also found amongst the Jukuns in Taraba State and the Igbira in Kogi State of Nigeria. They actually are all of the Kwararafa. Going further, the Yala people are spread into Edo State among the Auchi people known as Okuku. Their siblings are located @ Okuku of Yala, Cross River State.
Yala was the 6th son of Ochi-Doma of Idoma land. He reigned in the 15th century, about 1412. His fore father, Ogri Oko married Omari Tanko who begat him(Yala). Omari Tanko was Óchi-Idoma's last wife.
The marriage was short lived due to a jihadist(war) by the fulanis, causing the Ochi-Doma to lose his kingdoms of Agatu, Igede, Orakamu, Okpoku, etc, which rather were organized. In that war, Omari's first son Odigbo, was killed, leaving behind Oko. Oko became the father of Yala. Oko became known as Yala by the Europeans who, for lack of proper pronouciation of the long sentence of explanation "aló iyála nē", ie, we are yours, became known as "Yala ", because, of the long sentence, the European were able to grab or memorize "...yala". We'll explain that in due course, please.
Oko moved on with his maternal siblings, Oglehu (male) & Ochakpa Oglehu (female).
Óchi Idoma committed suicide due to grief for his first son. Oko grew with his step siblings. But as it were with nature, there IS hardly any relationship devoid of trouble. In the course of their togetherness, they arose a great quarrel. In the course of settling the differences, the outsiders began to discriminate between Oko's step siblings and Oko, thereby, warranting the elders to refer to Oko's siblings as the Omgbalipu (that is, those are also of the same womb with Oko/us) !
The widow of ogri Oko was inherited by the chief of Ankpa, as a sign of love for his Kwararafa brother, ogri Oko. That event of ghost marriage, having children in the name of one's dead brother became known as ekponyeriku(sympathizing with or remembering someone over a burial). Oko, Omari's son married Akpalogori of Otobi in Akpa-logori of Benue State, where, in 1923 or there about(excuse me please, I am not a certified historian), the first rail way was built.
Later, the chief of Akpa ( Ankpa) died, after delivering Ogar. Again, Omari remarried to the chief of Igede(okpa-obi ogri, the 1st). It was here that the last child of Omari was born. He's Odey. He is the ancestral father of the Igede people of Benue State.
After a long while, Oko, being a grown man, returned to his ancestral land of Idoma. Because of his long stay away from home, another meeting of peace was summoned where the Óchi Doma decreed FORMALLY, that the Yala people must be addressed as the Omgbalipu!
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The 2nd jihad was more devastating than the 1st. It was led by Usman dan Fodio,1942-1947. This war forced or coursed the Agatu people to be organized. Perhaps, one of my very senior pen role modelsYakubu Mohammed, an Agatu will lend a historical hand here. The Agatus are situated @ the Upper North while their sibling, Orakamu, of the North of Idoma, are situated in the South. That's where, again, another very senior pen role model of mine , Mr Dan Agbese hails. Both pen pushers were of the defunct Newswatch magazine !
Well, subsequent ochi-Domas VOWED never to allow for the capture of any of the left over Idoma lands anymore.
In remembrance of the death of his brother, Idigbo, Prince Oko Ogri Oko whispered conspiratorially, to Odey in Igede and Ogar in Yache to go for a subtle hunting expedition. They decided to move southward, avoiding the north in order to escape another jihadist war. In that course, they were careful to escape the then very barbaric Tivs, moving down south.
It was in the course of settling for rest that, the hunters, upon sighting what looked like water or stream-like flow that they decided to take a bathe. The water tasted salty. The following day, those who were infested with scabies, were amazed @ how fast, healing was taking place. So, they decided to settle in that place which they nicknamed, ókpa-yo'omā. Transliterated, that would mean, the stream/pond of salt. In due course, it became known as OKPOMA, 'salt packers OR salt stream/pond !
Like the biblical father Abraham and His brother Lot, as the respective families grew, there was the need to separate. Some settled @ Egraluji (they lure by tricks), meaning, they were tricked to occupy somewhere else. That was the original place of settlement of the Ijegu- Yache people. They are predominantly Yala speakers of Yache. The remnant settled @ Ālehu-Okpá, now known as Alifokpa. It was Oko that gave that name when he was confronted by the whites who asked to know the the whereabout of his other siblings : So, in that description, he simply pointed that there are the settlers of "head of the stream/pond"(Ālehu-Okpá).
Back to OKPOMA, the settlers, knowing that in boiling the 'water', it turned solid of salt, they began to commercialize the product.
So, the Oko children settled formally in Okpoma. They then, were addressed as the āyi Oko oróma (children of Oko that eats salt). The Egraluji of Yache settled for palm produce, reproducing palm kernel for palm oil, soap, cream, etc. Therefore, they became known as the Écha Okparī(those who collect kernels). Hence the Ekpari of Yache.
The general agriculture of the people from the Kwararafa, the entire yala immigrants cultivated yams as their chief farm produce. In the days of harvest, they all came together with their yams to settle @ a particular place where a large yam barm was erected to store the yams. That farm path- way later became known as ogóga(passage/path way). That place of yam barn was located close to a stream, a tributary of the Aya river. It was again, on this land, the Yala people decided to make rice farms, yams, cassava, etc. Discovering that the land was very fertile and produced greatly, the Yala people named the land "Ajé-ogbójā" (the land that brings forth great things OR the land that gains much ).
While farming, the Portuguese missionaries of the 16th century, exploring from the Calabar rivers, led by the Agwagune people of present day Biase Local Government Area of Cross River State, carrying the white missionaries through one of Aya river tributaries, via Bansara as their trade centers, met with the Yala people.
It may interest my readers to know and note that Bansara was the first commerce center of the entire then Ogoja region. When the Portuguese and their Agwagune escorts spotted some smokes, they confronted the Yala people or farmers, who for fear of another 'jihad', attempted to stage a war using bow and arrow, the invaders. But upon hearing and sighting the gun powder shots of the whites, the people quickly surrendered and properly introduced themselves. The migrating people readily surrendered to the white invaders by saying that "alo iyála nē", ie, we are yours. Henceforth, the whites began to call them the Yala people, for want of proper pronouciation of the sentence. That's how the name YALA, according to oral history came to be.
The Yala man called the sound of the gun shots, agbro-ogidi. The Yala farmlands extended up to Oga-agu, now known as Monaiya.
Meanwhile, spotting the Agwagune escorts with shoes, not exposing their toes, the Yala people, who, up this period, had not come in contact with shoes of any type, thought that the Agwagune people were lepers, which was why they covered their feet with a covering ; and in fact, another oral story has it that the Yala people saw the white man as leprous, judging from the color of their skin. It was that fear of contracting leprosy that caused the Yala man to allocate a place, far from the dwellings of the indigenous Yala people. That place became known as the Akunakuna, now an outskirts of Igoli.
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We should also note that the Ogboja Kingdom has ALWAYS been ruled by Yaladescendants. The name Ishibori is a coinage. We'll get to all that shortly.
But in the mean, the Ogboja Kingdom is an offshoot of the Odey Ariku, the 1st son prince of Igede, borrowing from the three triangular brothers: Igede, Yala and Yache. There are the other Odey children known as the Ega, Oturkpo, Igede, Igbakobo( "igbakobo" in Yala language connotes prison, referring to a person who never paid tax so was always imprisoned ).
The word ajé ogbójā became known and pronounced as Ogoja by the whites. The Ishibori people, who joined these new settlers came all the way from Okpragada/Adagom. They stayed along the road leading a round-about where the Federal School of Arts & Science is situated. They are originally known as the Nkim-Ibor community. Transliterated, that would read : head of the hill. Ogoja is NOT Ishibori word or name. Neither is the word or name IGOLI Ishibori. Igoli simply, is the corrupt version of the sentence "menshon OR wonsho goli ", ie, '...went to buy and eat '. For example, an Ishibori speaker would say : shon goli yel ; shon goli urang. Both sentences would mean : went to buy yam/ went to buy fufu(akpu, ie pounded fermented cassava) and eat, respectively!
The people of Yala, Yache, Idoma and Ishibori, Igede and Gabu are interwoven in relationship.
The Bekwarra, though an Agba of Obudu ancestry is an integral sum of one people.
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There is the need for unity and peaceful co-habitation. A brief narration of how these semi nationalities address one another will give credence to my reasoning for unity and peace amongst them. Let us look @ this references together :
YALA
The Yala people call themselves yala.
They call Ishibori, Yebi.
They call Bekwarra, Yakro.
They call Yache, Yache.
ISHIBORI
The Ishibori people call themselves, Nkol.
They call Yala, Nkum.
They call Bekwarra, Nkoro.
They call Yache, Nka.
YACHE
The Yache people call themselves, Ma'am, being their ORIGINAL name from Idoma.
They call Yala, Mala.
They call Ishibori, Mebi.
They call Bekwarra, Ma'kwra.
BEKWARRA
Bekwarra people call themselves Ebekwarra. They refer to the Yala people as Ebenna. The Ishibori as Ebebi, etc.
From available historical sources, it was later in the 1930s that the Bekwarra began to associate its history with the Obudu man. Even the Gabu people ought not claim the 'Agbas'. They still possess the same tongue with the Yala and Idoma OR, indeed the Kwararafas!
The Yache man can speak Yala language whereas the Yala man cannot speak Yache language, reason being that, after the death of of Omari Tanko's first husband, and having remarried, Omari spoke yala with her 1st son's siblings, but never spoke Yache with the 1st born son of hers!
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It is note worthy to state here that there is hardly any king of Ishibori that hasn't a bearing in Yala. My readers of Ishibori heritage may wish to ask Prince Batholomew Aruku.
Similarly, there is NO way the Ijegu people of Yala will elect or corronate a chief without the permission and acceptance of the Ugaga people. Ijegu is the afie-ero (extension) of Okpoma. The kingdom of Okpoma includes Olachor, Oba, Itega-okpame, Itega-ekpudu, Ugaga and Ijegu-yala.
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There is the need for social, political and cultural unity amongst the people of the old Ogoja region. The old Ogoja region, outside language barriers, comprised the following : Ikom, Etung, Yakurr, Obubra, Abi, Obudu, Obanlikwu, Bekwarra, Yala, Akamkpa, Baminda(in the Republic of Cameroon), Abakaliki, Afikpo(in Ebonyi State), etc.
Those entire regions were governed with the headquarters @ Ogoja central. The first District Officer(equivallent to today's Chairman of council) was one fine gentleman, an honest man of superlative order, the Late Chief AKPA ODIBU. He ruled the Province of ogoja from 1957 to 1973. Earlier, he was captured during the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. But he was reinstated as a reward for his impeccable honesty. Yet, not a street nor a stadium or secretariat is named after him. There has never been any posthumous award given to him. Even his Yache kinsmen have not yet deemed it necessary and pertinent to name any of the schools in that region after him !
Yache, politically, has not done badly at all : they had their first son, Moses Ogble as the first Yache man in the Cross River State House of Assembly, though short lived by the military interregnum. It was Senator Greg Ikaba Ngaji that sponsored him, thru the SDP( Social Democratic Party).Hon Gabe Ugor was chairman of Yala LGA. Late Chris Ogar was a one time Vice Chair. Mr(Hon?) Johnson Alla Ogri was Secretary of Yala LGA under Hon John Eyikwaje(another of Sen Greg Ikaba Ngaji 's political sons). Mr Myke Odama was Protocol under Hon Myke Usibe(an Ukelle man, once a Chairman there). Mr John Oriba was Spaecial Assistant(SA) on Chifraincy Affairs,2010-2013. Chris Ogar(phd) is Chairman, SUBEB. The names are not exhaustive yet !
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I wouldwish my readers to note that this piece of writing is a collection of oral history, got from interviews granted me by Mr ekpatuma of the Ministry of Works, CRS, late Mr Raymond Yegwa Ikpala, my maternal uncle. Other information came through my elementary/primary school vernacular class history lessons as rendered by the following teachers & Headmasters: Late Mr Paulinius Ipuole Wonah, Mr Christopher Omaga Eguma, Mr Martyn Oriba(all late) and all of St Joseph's Primary school, st Peter's primary school, Ugaga, yala and Christ the King Church(ckc) Primary School, Okpoma with late Chief Ogar Agi of Okuku.
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