Total population | |
---|---|
200,000+ | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Nassarawa, Plateau | |
Languages | |
Eggon Language(native language), Hausa Language(regional language), West African Pidgin English, English (colonial languages) | |
Religion | |
Christianity, Islam, Traditional African religions | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Hausa, Fulani, Doma, Alago, Kanuri, Jukun, Rindre, Eloyi |
The Eggon (pronounced "EH-gone", also Egon, Ero, or Mo Egon, sometimes referred to as Mada or Madan Dutse meaning Hill Mada by the Hausa) are an ethnic group mostly based in North Central Nigeria (namely Nassarawa and Plateau state).
Autonyms for singular: abegon single individual; plural: moa ègón people in general.
They are a diverse but culturally homogenous people, numbering around 200,000 or more as of an estimate in 2016. [1] They existed through most of their pre-colonial history as a decentralised and deeply independent society, having their own distinct culture, language and history like most minor societies in the West African Savannah. Their native language is the Eggon Language, which most Eggon People still speak today, they also speak Hausa Language the regional language of Northern/North Central Nigeria, and English after British colonisation.
Since the Eggon people were made up of different clans, tribes and houses, they didn't refer to themselves with any generic name to describe themselves and instead identified with and were divided into 3 major clans: Anzo, Eholo, Anro. [2]
While they are called Madan Dutse, by the Hausa, they are not to be confused with the Mada people of central Nigeria. But they do share similarities in language, culture and moral systems with the Mada and Rindre of Akwanga Local Government Area. The Eggon are located around thirty miles southwest of the Jos Plateau, sharing borders in the north and east by the Mada and Rindre respectively. [3]
The name "Eggon" derives from the hill where the most of them lived before migrating to the lower plains later on. The word roughly means "a good sense of hearing or perception ability". [4]
Tiv are a Bantu ethnic group. They constitute approximately 2.4% of Nigeria's total population, and number over 5 million individuals throughout Nigeria and Cameroon. The Tiv language is spoken by over 5 million people in Nigeria, with a few speakers in Cameroon. Most of the language's Nigerian speakers are found in Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau, Cross rivers, Adamawa, Kaduna, and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja. The language is a branch of Benue–Congo and ultimately of the Niger–Congo phylum. In pre-colonial times, the Fulani ethnic group referred to the Tiv as "Munchi", a term not accepted by the Tiv people.
Jigawa State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Jigawa was created on 27 August 1991, under the General Ibrahim Babangida military administration. Jigawa State was formerly part of Kano State and was located in the northeastern-most region of Kano State, and it forms part of Nigeria's national border with the Republic of Niger. The state capital and largest city is Dutse. Jigawa state has 27 local governments.
Kaduna State is a state in the northwest geopolitical zone of Nigeria. The state capital is its namesake, the city of Kaduna, which was the 8th largest city in the country as of 2006. Created in 1967 as North-Central State, which also encompassed the modern Katsina State, Kaduna State achieved its current borders in 1987. Kaduna State is the fourth largest and third most populous state in the country, Kaduna State is nicknamed the Centre of Learning, owing to the presence of numerous educational institutions of importance within the state such as Ahmadu Bello University.
Nasarawa State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Benue and Kogi, and to the west by the Federal Capital Territory. Named for the historic Nasarawa Emirate, the state was formed from the west of Plateau State on 1 October 1996. The state has thirteen local government areas and its capital is Lafia, located in the east of the state, while a key economic centre of the state is the Karu Urban Area—suburbs of Abuja—along the western border with the FCT.
The forty or so Plateau languages are a tentative group of Benue–Congo languages spoken by 15 million people on the Jos Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Nasarawa State and in adjacent areas in central Nigeria.
Eggon, erroneously referred to as Mada - formerly a Plateau language spoken in central Nigeria. It is one of the major language in Nasarawa State.
The Ebira people are an ethnic-linguistic group of North central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State and Nasarawa State. Their language is usually classified as Nupoid and within the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Until the separation of Kogi State from Kwara State, Okene was seen as the administrative center of the Ebira-speaking people in Kogi state, located not far from the Niger-Benue confluence. Since the formation of the state, the Ebira Ta'o people are predominantly found in five local governments in Kogi state, namely Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi, Okene and Ogori/Magongo. They are also found in large numbers located in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Nasarawa in Toto LGA. Also, the Eganyi are found in Ajaokuta LGA. And the Etuno can be found in Igarra town of Agorimagongo, Okehi and Okene each with their administrative headquarters. Ebira Koto is found in Kogi and Koton Karfe LGA, Bassa LGA, Lokoja in Kogi and Abaji LGA in the Federal Capital Territory, Akoko-Edo LGA, Edo State.
There are over 525 native languages spoken in Nigeria. The official language and most widely spoken lingua franca is English, which was the language of Colonial Nigeria. Nigerian Pidgin – an English-based creole – is spoken by over 60 million people.
Eggon may refer to:
The Middle Belt or Central Nigeria is a term used in human geography to designate a belt region stretching across central Nigeria longitudinally and forming a transition zone between Northern and Southern Nigeria. It is composed of the southern half of the defunct Northern Region of Nigeria, now comprising mostly the North Central and parts of the North East and North West geopolitical zones, and is characterised by its lack of a clear majority ethnic group. It is also the location of Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory.
Arewa or Arewaland is a Hausa word which means "The North". The term is used to refer to Northern Nigeria general. The terms Arewa and Arewacin Nijeriya are used in Hausa to refer to the historic region geopolitically located north of the River Niger.
The continued use of the term, Arewa ... has conjured up an image among educated Northerners that resonated far beyond the institutional structures Sir Ahmadu Bello created: the successor to the Bornu and Sokoto Caliphate; the vision of God's Empire in the region; the universality of its claim to suzerainty; and in a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a polity with an emphasis on unity and sense of shared purpose in northern West Africa beyond the popular slogan--'one North, one People'.
Sanga is a Local Government Area in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in the town of Gbantu. The Local Government Council is chaired by Bisallah Malam. It has an area of 1,821 km2 and had a population of 151,485 as at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 801.
Jema'a is a Local Government Area in southern Kaduna State, Nigeria with headquarters at Kafanchan. The Local Government Council is chaired by Yunana Barde. It has an area of 1,384 km2 and a population of 278,202 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the area is 801.
Akwanga is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Akwanga.
The Atyap people are an ethnic group found majorly in Zangon-Kataf, Kaura and Jema'a Local Government Areas of southern Kaduna State and Riyom of Plateau State, Nigeria. They speak the Tyap language, one of the Central Plateau languages.
Genesis sanda from Takum LGA taraba state
Mada is a regionally important language spoken in Nasarawa and southern Kaduna States of Middle Belt, Nigeria, with many dialects. It is a highly tonal language. A translation of the New Testament into the language was finished in 1999. The Nunku dialect has been identified to be a dialect of Mada rather than of Gbantu.
Tyap means tip. Tyap is a regionally important dialect cluster of Plateau languages in Nigeria's Middle Belt, named after its prestige dialect. It is also known by its Hausa exonym as Katab or Kataf. It is also known by the names of its dialectical varieties including Sholyio, Fantswam, Gworok, Takad, "Mabatado", Tyeca̱rak and Tyuku (Tuku). In spite of being listed separately from the Tyap cluster, Jju's separation, according to Blench R.M. (2018), seems to be increasingly ethnic rather than a linguistic reality.
Baba Alakyo is a Nigerian herbalist, traditionalist and leader of the Ombatse militia group.
The Ombatse group is a militia group in Nasarawa Egon, a Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, northern Nigeria. In May 2013, the group was reported to have killed 74 police officers and 10 State Security Service officers. The deadly attack was led by the leader of the group, Baba Alakyo, the chief priest of Alakyo Village of Nasarawa Egon.
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