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Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to the southwest by the Edo and Ondo states, to the southeast by the states of Anambra and Enugu, and to the east by Benue State. It is the only state in Nigeria to border ten other states. Named after the Hausa word for river (Kogi). Kogi State was formed from parts of Benue State, Niger State, and Kwara State on 27 August 1991. The state is nicknamed the "Confluence State" due to the fact that the confluence of the River Niger and the River Benue occurs next to its capital, Lokoja.
Yoruba is a language that is spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the Yoruba people. Yoruba speakers number roughly 47 million, including about 2 million second-language speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria, Benin, and Togo with smaller migrated communities in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Yorubaland is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 (54,871 sq mi). Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yoruba.
Lokoja is a north-central city in Nigeria. It lies at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers and is the capital city of Kogi State. While the Bassa Nge, Yoruba (Oworo) and Nupe are indigenous to the area, other ethnic groups, including the Kupa-Nupe, Hausa, Ebira, Igala, Igbo, Bini/Edo, and Tiv have recently established themselves. Lokoja is projected to be the third fastest growing city on the African continent between 2020 and 2025, with a 5.93% growth rate. It was listed as a second class township by the 1917 township ordinance of the colonial administration, indicating that Lokoja is an old city.
The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire in West Africa. It was located in present-day southern Benin and western Nigeria. The empire grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking state through the organizational and administrative efforts of the Yoruba people, trade, as well as the military use of cavalry. The Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west.
The Nupe are an ethnic group native to North Central Nigeria. They are the dominant ethnic group in Niger State and an important minority in Kwara State. The Nupe are also present in Kogi State and The Federal Capital Territory.
The Ìgbómìnà are a subgroup of the Yoruba ethnic group, which originates from the north central and southwest Nigeria. They speak a dialect called Ìgbómìnà or Igbonna, classified among the Central Yoruba of the three major Yoruba dialectical areas. The Ìgbómìnà spread across what is now southern Kwara State and northern Osun State. Peripheral areas of the dialectical region have some similarities to the adjoining Ekiti, Ijesha and Oyo dialects.
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.
The documented history begins when Oranyan came to rule the Oyo Empire, which became dominant in the early 17th century. The older traditions of the formerly dominant Ile-Ife kingdom are largely oral.
The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group who mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 20.7% of the country's population according to Ethnologue estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.
The Western Apoi tribe live in Ondo State, Nigeria. The tribe consists of nine settlements: Igbobini, Ojuala, Ikpoke, Inikorogha, Oboro, Shabomi, Igbotu, Kiribo and Gbekebo. The Apoi inhabit higher ground than most of the other Ijaw tribes. They speak a southeastern dialect of the Yoruba language called Apoi which is not very different from the Ikale dialect. The Apoi might have undergone a linguistic shift centuries ago from an Ijo based dialect to Yoruba due to intermarriages with the Ikale, and isolation from the Niger Delta due to their location inland and away from the main body of Ijo people. They are bordered to the north and east by the Ikale and to the west by the Ilaje. The clan shares the southern border with the Arogbo.
Ogidi is a Yoruba town in Kogi State, Nigeria, known for its formations of igneous rock mountains, a traditional art industry, hospitality, valor and a deep tradition of self-reliance.
Oko (ɔ̀kɔ́), also known as Ogori-Magongo and Oko-Eni-Osayin, is a dialect cluster spoken in Nigeria. It appears to form a branch of the "Nupe–Oko–Idoma" group of Niger–Congo languages. Most Oko speakers also speak Yoruba as a second language. The language is spoken in and around the towns of Ogori and Magongo in southwestern Kogi State, close to the Ondo and Edo state borders.
Isin is a Local Government Area in Kwara State, Nigeria. Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State was created from the old Irepodun Local Government Area in 1996 with the headquarters at Owu-Isin. It has an area of 633 km2 and a population of 59,738 at the 2006 census.
The Itsekiri language is a major branch of the Yoruboid group of languages, which as a group, is a key member of the Volta–Niger sub-family of the Niger–Congo family of African languages. Itsekiri is spoken by nearly 1000000 people in Nigeria as a first language and by many others as an additional language notably in the Niger Delta and in parts of Edo and Ondo states of Nigeria. The other key members of the Yoruboid group are Yoruba and Igala along with the various Yoruba dialects spoken in Benin and Togo.
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.
The Ekiti people are one of the largest historical subgroups of the larger Yoruba people of West Africa, located in Nigeria. They are classified as a Central Yoruba group, alongside the Ijesha, Igbomina, Yagba and Ifes. Ekiti State is populated exclusively by Ekiti people; however, it is but a segment of the historic territorial domain of Ekiti-speaking groups, which historically included towns in Ondo State such as Akure, Ilara-Mokin, Ijare, and Igbara-oke. Ogbagi, Irun, Ese, Oyin, Igasi, Afin and Eriti in the Akoko region, as well as some towns in Kwara State, are also culturally Ekiti, although belong in other states today.
Odo Ere, popularly called Ere Gajo, is the headquarters of Yagba West Local Government Area, Kogi State, Nigeria. The town is located in the old Kabba Province about 140 kilometres southeast of Ilorin. The people of Odo Ere share a common ancestry with the Yoruba people in South-West Nigeria and they are often referred to as Okun Yoruba people. The town is situated on a well-watered savannah plain consisting of dotted hills, forest and grassland. The topography earned the town the sobriquet: Ere Ọmọ Onilẹ Dun Rin, meaning "Odo Ere town with a beautiful flat terrain that enhances ease of movement".
Ekinrin-Adde is a town located in Ijumu L.G.A. of Kogi State, in the Western Senatorial District of Nigeria on latitude 7° 50’N and longitude 5° 50’E at an altitude of 523 metres above sea level. The town is a conglomerate of contiguous villages that amalgamated into one. The people trace their ancestry to Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilization. The people are a sub-ethnic group within the Yoruba nationality, who speak a dialect generally referred to as Okun, widely spoken by the five local Government that make up the Kogi West Senatorial District although with slight variation from community to community. The Okun dialect is a sub-dialect of the Yoruba language.
References
- 1 2 "The History of Okun Yoruba: Research Direction", Yorùbá Identity and Power Politics, Editors: Toyin Falola, Ann Genova, Volume: 22, Publishers: Boydell & Brewer, University of Rochester Press (February 2006) Page 111-126
- ↑ Arokoyo Bolanle."A survey of Okun phonology"
- ↑ Funso Afolayan. "Yoruba state(other than Ife and Oyo)" , 24the July 2015, Retrieved 13 October 2015.