₦airaland Forum

Let me also add that some of Urhobo brightest jurists were born and raised in Ikale, The late Chief Ayo Irikefe (former Chief Justice of the Nigeria) and Chief Victor Ovie-Whiskey (former Chief Judge of Bendel State) were two legal giants who were born in Ikale.

Already updated the OP.

cc: lalasticlala

dermmy:
Awesome? Does God approve the stealing of other people's land too? I don't understand.

We have killed more in the name of GOD, than in the name of SATAN. Humans will use anything to justify their attrocities.

BlackfireX:
Israel na one crazy tiny country o, if you disturb them as a neighbor after several warning, they will come beat you chase you out, and occupy... And you can do shiiit.

Hezbollah says hello

They have disturb, fought and pushed Israel out of their Territory, The Palestinians are weak and somehow divided, they can't try this shii with a potent opponent.

I admire Israel, but we must condemn evil when we see one, land theft, bombing of hospitals and schools isn't justice.

Hilarious

angelEmade:
It baffles me where that loving strength always come from... Yes, dads are amazing.

We've got some good men around, what a nice dad you got.
Please do make him proud.

Sammy07:
They didn't see it ni, no vex Let's call mods of political and cultural section

Thanks bro, hope they answer the calls.

they barely move reasonable threads to FP

hammer3:
Ur a born fool for this Northwest NiGERDelta, u write here, y not kukuma write Katsina.


Ozua!

This my friend, isn't necessary, Northwest Niger Delta means Urhobo land is located at the North-western end of the region.

atheistandproud:
@Efewestern
Vwo kobiruo mamo. Keep up the good work.

Thanks Oniovo, forgot to cc you, will do that on my next thread.

Iamgrey5:
ibilos don't have dual identity, only the Fulani do have dual identity in Ilorin and could easily be identified by their surname.

Ijebu do not identify as anything else apart from being Yorubas because some of the greatest Yoruba men are of the ijebu stock

Osibanjo and Awolowo are ijebus.

What you are talking about is dialect and this affects Yoruba all over

We have the Okitipupa dialect which is hard for Oyo to understand

We have the Oyo dialect which hard for Egba person to understand

We have Awori dialect which is hard for Okun people to understand etc.

Non of the groups above ever contest their Yorubaness in the 21st century

[b]Let me not derail your thread further bruv, you are a cool guy, but you got it wrong with the comparisons[/b[

Thanks for your contribution, will make necessary corrections.

Sammy07:
Okay, Oil was a curse indeed.

But I think, oil was a blessing but the governments refused to make use of their head.

It was a curse, we did better when Cocoa, Palm oil,coal etc were our major sources of income, our leaders were accountable, West had a major gain, East did well, Midwest was booming.

Oil brought a lot of negative energies, till date, no evidence we sold oil for 5 decades, our cities are highly overrated.

Genoa:
Those guys came to my home town in Kwara some years ago, i think they came to explore the palm oil business.


So hard working but looks extremely DIRTY, I don't know why.

They aren't dirty, maybe the nature of their job made them look that way, the Urhobos are hardworking people, the sterstereotype that those from the Delta are lazy is False!

Iamgrey5:
Ijebu and Yoruba don't have debate tho

I believe the perfect example would have been Ilorin and Yoruba people

Some ibilo prefer to be identified as Northerners while others prefer to be identified as Yorubas.

The ilorin and Yoruba wouldn't have fit in, ilorin to some extent has two heritage but Okpe share similar heritage with other Urhobo clans, their claim of Ife migration is highly debateable, the only reason some are trying to have a separate identity is because of the deeper dialect which general Urhobo speaker do not understand, like in the case of Ijebu and Yoruba.

Iamgrey5:
Uhrobos in Ife is a history from long ago

Some scholars even claim Ogene as used by Uhrobo to describe God was derived from Oni of ife, although highly questionable

Seriously just hearing about this, maybe the migration wasn't massive.

The Oghene part is highly questionable, no root in yoruboid whatsoever, an Edo narrative can only fit in.

lawani:
There are also many urhobos in Ijesa land.

Yes, but the Urhobo population in Ijesa do not come close to that of Ikale, can you help with their occupation?

Binikingdowm:
Where are urhobo communities that are found in Edo state??

Border communities, will create a detailed thread about that when I get full details.

Sammy07:
Okay, I grab.
Abundance of oil palm.

Why do they left then?

Crude oil boom made the Urhobos left Okitipupa and other towns they immigrated to. They were doing well in agriculture, In the 40's, the Urhobos were the economic backbone of Ikale, all thanks to the native who accommodated them

Indeed oil was a curse.

nowpresence:
This is really refreshing to read.
farming has been a fundamental part of Urhobos.
I have a friend who is from that part of ondo state but ijaw. the mother always tells stories of her encounter with the Urhobo community there. she learned the language and also a lover of Urhobo music like omokomoko. she told a story about a particular boy who went fishing in the river and a crocodile caught his hand and almost cut his hands off, he screened "nene o" calling for his grandma, they were able to rescue him but some fingers were missing.
I asked her if they still lived there, she said they have since moved back to Sapele.

Urhobo also have some settlers in ife. some years ago, a parish priest was transferred to ife, to catered for the Urhobo parish there.
Also settlers in Jos, and I think in ore as well.

Thanks for your contribution, yes we have huge Urhobo population in Jos, I will create a thread about this cc: Nowenuse.

I don't know much about the Urhobos in Ife, was it a recent migration?

Sammy07:
It's hard to believe, cos the names, culture, food, dressing etc would reflect in the town.

Or probably they reside in other towns around okitipupa.

They were economic immigrants, just like the massive immigration of the Urhobos to Jos.

Davash222:
OP, I need your clarification please.
I served in Okpe LGA. There, they don't believe they're Urhobos. They said they're Okpe not Urhobo. They have their language different from Urhobo. Are they Okpes in any conflict with the Urhobos?

Where in Okpe did you serve? some are having this identity crisis like you have in the Ilorin and Yoruba debate, majority still see themselves as Urhobos.

cc: nowpresence, fratermathy, Sanchez01, Mystiquefia, darfay...

The Urhobos are people located in Southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta. The Urhobos are found in Delta State and some communities in Edo and Bayelsa State. The lkale are a Yoruba people found in Okitipupa Local Government and Irele Local Government both in Ondo State.

On this thread, we are going to have a look at the massive migration of the Urhobo people to Ikale land and its economic implications.

The Urhobo Migration

The Urhobo were primarily oil palm producers, an ethnic and culture-bound occupation. Any Urhobo migrant was socialized in this economic and cultural context, each had a full knowledge of the technology for palm oil production.

The destination of the Urhobo migrants to Okitipupa and other part of Ikale Land was determined by the abundance of oil palm resources.

The Urhobo chose to travel 272km, in stages, to reach lkale-land rather than move to the urban areas of Warri and Sapele within their territories or go to Benin City which was a few kilometres away. This choice was determined by the fear of possible failure in the competition for urban employment on one hand, and on the other by the availability of similar rural life experiences and the expectation of survival and prosperity through their knewn palm oil technology.

The Urhobo Population in Ikale

By 1931 the Ikale occupied an area of about 1,261 square km and out of a population of 60,902 in this territory, 25% were Urhobo. Apart from lkale there were llaje (also a Yoruba people) and ljo indigenes in Okitipupa Division. Although new economic activities have since attracted more people to the Division, with a consequent population growth from I50,182 in 1952 to 275,709 in 1963.

The Urhobo migrant element in the Division, which had been coming in since the 19th century, dwindled from 22.3% of the population in 1952 to 14.7% in I963. This variation in the figures has to do with the economic changes in the environment and the achievement of migrant targets and the consequent re-migration or return home. Besides the Yoruba majority of 74.4%, there were 8.2% ljo. 1% lgbo, and less than 1% each of Bini, lsoko, ltsekiri, Hausa, Efik, lbibio, and other small elements. The Division was largely rural. By I963, only 6.4% of the population was urban. In the absence of reliable figures one can hardly speak of any urban population before the 1952 census.

The Structure Of The Urhobo Immigrant Villages In Ikale

Urhobo migrants conceptualized their target in terms of going to ‘Ukane’ (a corruption of lkale) or 'going to the sea' (mi kpu rhie), indicating the route used. Both concepts signitied at the same time the migratory trip, the destination, the socio-economic motivation, and the expectation to return atter accomplishing their targets.

On reaching their destination, the migrants sought village-camp tenancy positions from Ikale landlords through their kinsmen or friends with whom there had been some communication. Six such village-camps were studied in detail. Each comprised men, women, and children with a functional physical layout designed for convenience. Each house was built typically after the Urhobo fashion but without the dignity and the semblance of permanence. All the physical structures. including the trough-factory (oko) and wells were kept within calling distance. In this way, wives could go straight from the kitchen to serve meals in the production centres, children be sent on quick errands from one place to another. and possible outbreak of tire and other attacks faced quickly.

Each village consisted of an average of seven family/household units, with a total of forty people often having kin relationship with one another. A household was the smallest unit of social organization in a village. Each village was exclusive to the Urhobo immigrants. lts government was gerontocratic and the head ensured peace and cooperation through timely intervention in quarrels; without these, palm oil production could hardly be successful.

The Urhobos Economic Activities In Ikale Land

The Urhobo immigrants whose ages ranged between twenty and forty years engaged almost exclusively in palm oil production. Their problems included low technology and access to land and wild oil palm trees. An immigrant required minimaI investment to begin his occupation: his own strength, a cutlass, an axe, and a ropegirdle, called efi, which he could manufacture from parts of an oil palm tree. Other investments were the village trough, an important communal property in the economic process, and participation in an ongoing scheme of mutual assistance and collaboration. In addition to these an immigrant paid to an Ikale landlord about #120 and a bottle of gin as a settlement fee and #6 (about US $10) after a year. The landlords exploited this relationship to their own advantage and began to develop ideas of rural capitalism.

A normal working day began at 7 or 8am and ended by 4 or 5 pm. Immigrants rested on Sunday. if christian, or their traditional resting day called "edewo". Oil palm production required searches through rough bush on footpaths and (nowadays) motorable roads for ripe palm fruits. A typical immigrant working intensively for twelve days in a month and resting every three days, cut an average of 1,080 regimes in one year. It took a household 21 days to complete the process of extracting oil from the palm fruits. On average, a kerosine tin of 18.2 litres of oil was produced from 18 regimes of palm fruits, thus giving a total of 60 tins of palm oil produced yearly by a typical immigrant. In addition to this an immigrant's wife or wives got 1,097.2 kg of palm kernel a year. These figures were diminishing each year owing principally to the ageing trees and to their destruction through fire and lack of manure.

There were fluctuations in prices and immigrant income but by 1970-72. a typical immigrant earned #150 from palm oil and #64.50 from palm kernel. hence a total of #214.50 from his oil palm produce. From this amount he maintained his household of about six people on the average for one year.

The Implications Of The Urhobo Migration To Ikale

The Urhobo immigrants not only helped the economy through their production for local use and for export but also contributed to the concentration of both population and elements of urban life.

The direction of this development was towards greater intensification of an urban system in which indigenes were centrally involved. The lkale, for example. not only learnt from the Urhobo to climb the tall palm oil trees (before the arrival of the Urhobo immigrants they only cut regimes for food from low oil palms) but also developed the habits of shopkeeping and trade and became employed at the low levels of unskilled labour in plantations, government agrtcultural extension works, farm settlements and in the local Government Council that even after a majority of the immigrants had left the host society, a sustained system of urban life had been created. Government investments and participation in this urbanization process can hardly be Withdrawn.

Notable Urhobos Who Grew Up In Ikale
1. Chief Ayo Irikefe (former Chief Justice of Nigeria)
2. Chief Victor Ovie-Whiskey (former Chief Judge of Bendel State)

Source:
Rural Migrants as Catalysts in Rural Development: The Urhobo in Ondo State, Nigeria by Onigu Otite (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1159555)

kemicalreact:
EU's decision is inconsequential. Most of Iran arms procurement would be from China and Russia, both countries can easily veto UN's decision to place a permanent arms embargo on Iran.

Iran's president already talked about this just recently, Trump's pulling out of the nuclear deal was a bad idea, I guess they never saw this coming or they just wanted to score some cheap points.

Russia already indicated that they'd veto any further embargo on the Islamic republic.

Mystiquefia:
Datazone is a clown. i wont even engage her further

Imagine her giving a strange name to a place I know very well, place I have been too, interacted with the locals.

Datazone:
That's a big lie. List the Indigenous Urhobo communities in Warri south. 2/3 my foot. No one is arguing Uvwie. Uvwie is an Urhobo LGA but Aja Uma (recognized name in all government levels) is an Itsekiri word and an Itsekiri community. I know because my relatives are from there

Urhobo is 2/3 of Warri south yet cant produce a chairman. Don't deceive the public

Urhobo has two clans in warri south while Itsekiri has some few settlements, Urhobo communities are the major heartbeat of Warri South and they are;

Igbudu
Edjeba
Ogunu
Okurode (Okurode Urhobo),
Okere

Aja Uma isn't a recognized name anywhere, provide a document that acknowledges Aja Uma as a separate town, you guys spread lies and also believe in your lies, I have been to that place and the place is 100% Uvwie, intermarriage was the reason you find few Itsekiris around. I'm waiting for a document or reference acknowledging Aja Uma as a separate town.

The tiny town is behind of NNPC housing complex, which all belongs to Ekpan.

Datazone:
Are you talking about natives of Warri south or the population of Urhobos who migrated to Warri thereby causing confusion and chaos? Let get this clear. If it is terms of indigenes (ignoring the Urhobos being strangers) of Warri south, the Itsekiris are more than Urhobos. But if you talk about the influx which started years after independence, it is a different argument. About that Ewoma claim, that's bullshit and bogus Monday the least. It is Aja Uma not Ewoma

Talking about natives, the Urhobos far outnumbered Itsekiri in Warri south as almost 2/3 of the communities are indigenous to the Urhobos. Talking about the Urhobo population generally in Warri, no group comes close.

Weather you call it Aju ma, fact still remains its an Uvwie town and it is indigenous to the Uvwie people, it is subgrouped under Ekpan.

Datazone:
There are no Urhobos in Delta south, only Isokos technically speaking. The Urhobos in Warri south do not outnumber the Itsekiris in Sapele, I beg to disagree. Gbolokposo is not debatable it is an itsekiri community in Uvwie. Urhobos may call it Ewoma, Itsekiris call it Aja Uma which is the name recognize by local, state and federal governments

The Urhobos in Warri south outnumbers any other group, the influx of central Urhobos into the city in the 19th century gave the Urhobo population in Warri south a boost.

If we were that greedy, we'd dominate everything about Warri south till date. Let's not even talk of how we leased land to your forebears.

Ewoma is an Urhobo town, the town is very very small, do you know they do not bury anyone whose father isn't Uvwie in that community? when you guys make some claims online, I just shake my head in pity.

Binikingdowm:
isn't ughoton a Benin community in Edo state?

The one I'm referring to is the one located in Okpe, a subgroup of the Urhobo people. The Ughoton in Edo state is somewhere closer to Gelegele.