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Opanda Kingdom was an ancient African kingdom located in what is now Nigeria.
| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
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Opanda Kingdom was an ancient African kingdom located in what is now Nigeria.
The ancient Opanda Kingdom was founded by the Egbura ethnic group. Its growth culminated in the Umaisha (Oherehu) which is now the alternative seat of Opanda.
Opanda (also called Panda) was first established in the 11th century, abandoned in the middle of the 16th century, and reoccupied around 1750. [1] Opanda was ruled by the Egbura between 1349 and 1385. In the middle of the 16th century, some of the inhabitants emigrated to Apa II, north of Idah, where the Egbura, had already settled. Ebele, the daughter and successor of Abutu Eje who was the founder of Igala Kingdom. A dispute over Idah's kingship which led to the migration of several groups. The group led by Ohemi Ozi Egye left Idah with his family members/followers he took the Omu which means Horse tale in Egbura dialect cause he lost to a junior first settled at Onyokan, the present-day Kogi State; later they moved to Okangbo in the present-day Nasarawa State and then moved to Igugbaka in the present-day Kogi state which is the polity of all Egbura speaking people.
Amid a succession dispute following the death of Ohemi Ozi Egye, Ohime and Ohetenye took their followers west and settled at Girinya in the present-day Kogi state. Some years later Ohime's brother Owutu founded the present-day Kotonkarfe (Igu). A third group, led by Ohime negedu, the grandson of Oheme, moved east in 1750 and reoccupied the city of Opanda in the present-day Nasarawa state. The sister kingdoms of Opanda and Igu/koto karfe flourished side by side maintaining bilateral cooperation in a manner that ensured their mutual protection against external aggression. the kingdom dates way back in time. According to the accounts of a British explorer, McGregor Laird, in the diary of his trip up the Benue River, “the Egbura (ethnic group) founded the Kingdom of Opanda in 1750.” The kingdom was equally blessed with visionary leaders who ensured its survival through the rough socio-political climate of the pre-colonial time when might was the determinant of political and economic power. The Ohimegye dynasty is said to be as far back as the 11th century. Some historians noted that an account by Dr. Baikie, another British explorer, who visited Umaisha in 1854 during the reign of Ohimegye Ogara, gave the suggested year of the establishment of the kingdom to be 1750 without taking note of its existence prior to the movement to Idah and back to Opanda before the commencement of the line of kings whose list he met. Similarly, a book titled Notes on Nassarawa Province, Nigeria, written by Sciortino, J. C and printed by Waterlow & Sons Limited, London, 1920, gives insightful perspectives on the ancient kingdom in this regard. In the case of the Egbura ethnic group, even before Kwararafa assumed its status as one of the most powerful empires in West Africa before the 16th century, Opanda was a well defined political entity back in the 11th century. Egbura are mainly farmers. The primary crops grown for export are yam and cassava. Guinea corn is an important local commodity as the staple of most meals and is used in the brewing of beer. Other crops include rice, millet, cow peas, and groundnuts. Goats, sheep, cows, and chicken are also raised for local consumption. Rivers and streams abound on the Niger-Benue plateau. Fishing is conducted by individual households, and in recent years larger fish farms have been developed by private and public firms, the Egbura people are hardworking naturally and very intelligent and outspoken. The northern Egbura traditionally had a highly centralized government that recognized a chief who inherited his power in a patrilineal fashion. The supreme Egbura chief was divine and resided at Opanda (Umaisha) and Igu (Koto karfe) respectively. Numerous local chiefs who were the heads of royal families reported to him, producing what was in effect a miniature confederacy. The head chief received tributes from local chiefs, and in return he sent gifts. The Egbura state system was similar to that of the Jukun Kingdom. The southern Ebira group was somewhat less centralized than their northern cousins. Their governing system acknowledges local leaders for each of the five founding families, but does not recognize a supreme chief before the coming of the British/Colonial government/master who centralized the southern Ebira for easy governing and operation. The traditional beliefs of the Egbura centre on Ihinegba, the supreme god, who is benevolent, resides in the sky, and controls the universe. Ihinegba is approached through intermediary spirits, who are connected with such natural objects as trees. Egbura ancestors are also viewed as agents of Ihinegba. Since the early 20th century many Egbura have been converted to Islam and Christianity.Ohimegye is derived from the word OHIME-OZI-EGYE meaning OHIME-SON OF EGYE. Thus Ohimegye is an Egbura word and is the title or the paramount Ruler of Opanda and Igu respectively.
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The Ebira people are an ethnic-linguistic group of North central Nigeria. Most Ebira people are from Kogi State, Nasarawa State. Their language is usually classified as a Nupoid variety 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 ogorimagongo. 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.
United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) was a political party in Nigeria during the nation's First Republic. The Party was a fusion of two major Middle Belt organizations, viz. the Middle Zone League and the Middle Belt Peoples' Party. The party was formed to create a political platform for the various ethnic groups in central Nigeria covering parts of present-day Benue State, Kogi State, Plateau State, Nasarawa State, Adamawa State and Kwara State. Its establishment was an act to ensure an alternative minority voice in the Northern Nigeria Assembly which was dominated by the Northern People's Congress, a political party which the central Nigerian leaders felt had the potential to curb the middle belt's political voice. The UMBC in due time, became the Third largest opposition party in the Northern Nigeria Assembly. In 1958, the UMBC entered into an alliance with the Southwest Nigeria dominant Action Group of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
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Ebira is a Niger-Congo language. It is spoken by around 2 million people in North central Nigeria. It is the most divergent Nupoid language.
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The Ọwọrọ ethnic nationality represents a group of people around the Niger-Benue confluence speaking a Yoruba dialect called Oworo. They are generally classified as part of Northeast Yoruba (NEY) of the Yoruba people.
The Okun people are a Yoruba speaking people found majorly in Kogi, but with settlements in Kwara, Ekiti, and Ondo states of Nigeria. Their dialects are generally classified in the Northeast Yoruba language (NEY) grouping. They are collectively called "Okun", which in Okun dialects could mean "Sorry", "Well-done", or as an all-encompassing greeting. Similarly, this form of greeting is also found among the Ekiti and Igbomina groups of Yoruba people. It is also a mode of greeting among the Ijesa people of southwestern Nigeria.
Koton Karfe is the headquarters of Kogi Local Government Area in Kogi State, Nigeria and is located on latitude 8.1046°N and longitude 6.7976°E and in the Northern part of the Nigeria between Lokoja and Abuja. Koton Karfe is predominantly inhabited by the Egbura Kotos even though other tribes can be found in small proportions all over the community. The community's traditional government is overseen by the Ohimegye and is assisted in governance by his chiefs, prominent men from all over the kingdom. A democratically elected chairman heads the Local Government's Area Council .
Pius Lasisi Jimoh was an Ebira born businessman and a Second Republic Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing the then Kwara South (Okene/Okehi), now Kogi Central Senatorial District from August–December 1983. He was the deputy minority leader and the youngest lawmaker ever elected to the senate at the age of 33. Jimoh was born in Ebira and started his working career with Julius Berger PLC, as a Wages Supervisor between 1974 – 1980.
The Agbudu shooting was a mass shooting on 29 July 2020 in Agbudu village, Kogi State, Nigeria. The attack left 14 people dead and another 6 injured. Thirteen of the dead were members of the same family. Police said that a long-standing row over land rights is suspected to be the motive behind the attack.
The establishment and rise of Opanda Kingdom
Egbura Cultural attributes