By Uwagboe Ogieva

20/10/2014

(1) Do you believe ODUDUWA is the ancestral father of the Yoruba people?

Many Yoruba scholars claim oduduwa fell from the sky to Yoruba land. Where actually did he land? , Any sign ?. Others say he came from the east, ok, did he meet people in the so called Yoruba land? If yes, then how can oduduwa now be their ancestral father?

(2) Does Yoruba have any historic monument like the pyramid structures in Old Benin, Great Benin Moat, Zimbabwe and Timbuktu in Mali? Any sign of an empire in the region as claimed do Oyo?(not talking about clay molded or primitive bronze artifacts many claim dating back to 10BC), or  the story of slave raiding westward, east ward or northward. I mean physical structures that tell of an ancient civilization?.Though the two most relevant structures in Oyo-lle, the Alaafin palace and his village market as claimed by Yoruba Historians ?

(3) When and where was Yoruba presence first felt in West African history? Why no reflection of Yoruba in many ancient maps of West Africa?

(4) Was Yoruba territory in British pre- Nigeria creation say 1600-1900, same with, 1914 and again in 1960 to 1967? What expanded it and why? Were there aborigines in those territories say owo, kwara, ondo and Lagos before their presence during the British colonial period? If there were aborigines, then who were they?

(5) Did Yoruba Oyo had a National flag and a centralize hereditary monarchy like the Benin? Why couldn’t they ? What was Yoruba boundary with Dahomey before the creation of Nigeria vs. Togo boundary? Anything in common with Togo?  For how long has that and why?

(6) If Yoruba clan, the awori as claimed was a kingdom or aborigine of Lagos before Britain why weren’t they first to trade with European or Portuguese in the region? Why did the first Europeans to the region not name the ocean “Bight of Awori” but The Bight of Benin.?  After all, The Europeans themselves were only interested on trade, slaves and commodities as they careless who they meet.

(7) Isn’t true the word Yoruba is a hausa-fulani word? Used to identify people of Oyo? (Basically the real Yoruba settlers, who migrated from Togo or Dahomey to their present location in Oyo). Anything to do with African tradition or Islam?

(8) If true, slave trade swept off Oyo (the only known Yoruba land at the time), and an invasion of Islam, where did they get their further population  from and the  African traditional religion, like the Olokun, ogun, oronmila, etc?

(9) Does Yoruba have one language and one ancestral city like Benin to all Edo dialects? If no, then why?

(10) In 1974, an approval was granted Dahomey by Oba Akenzua II of the Benin Kingdom to change the name of the country to Republic of Benin. Why didn’t  Republic of Benin(Togo) go to Yoruba being that they are closer and  there really was an Oyo empire that stretches to Togo as Yoruba historians claim?. Does that also reveal or shows that Benin Empire stretched beyond the entire Yoruba land! To Dahomey at a time?.

(11)  WHO WAS THE FIRST KING OF OYO AND IFE AND THEIR TIME OF REIGN? WHEN WAS THE TITLE “OBA ” USE ON YORUBA MONARCHY ? WHO, WHEN AND HOW?

(12) If the Igbo claims that the Edo people migrate from Igboland or the Edo’s are of Igbo origin. Then they should ask this question, why is Obi onitsha, the Azagba of Asaba and the Obi of Agbor pay homage to the Oba of Benin? And if the Yorubas says, Edo people are of their Origin then they should ask themselves these questions ; why is their language different from Edo, why is that no part in Edo land has similar names with theirs? The Yorubas should find out the meaning of ‘Eko’ called Lagos. Sincerely before the Portuguese came to this land called Nigeria the social-cultural lives of the Benin Kingdom was perfectly ok compare to the Igbos and the Yorubas. The origin of the Benin monarch or Benin Kingdom can not be traced to the Igbos or the Yorubas rather theirs.

Rejoinder by Avenbuan Omo Omwenyeke 


(1) Oduduwa is not the father of Yoruba states. There is no proof or verifiable fact, that Yorubas own their origin to Oduduwa. The Yoruba confederacy long existed before the coming of Oduduwa (Izoduwa)

2. Ogiso (Ogie-No-Ghiso) dynasty existed in Idu / Igodomigodo for about 1200 years. In all, there were 38 Ogisos that ruled over Igodomigodo. Evian / Ogiamien (acting Ogiso) was the last Ogiso to rule Igodomigodo.

3. Fast forward, Omonoyan (Oramiyan) son of Oduduwa (Izoduwa) did arrive Igodomigodo but was never crowned Ogiso or Oba. The first crowned Oba of Igodomigodo was the son of Oranmiyan (Omonoyan) and Adesuwa, daughter of Osanegor (Enogie of Egor) and he was born deaf and dumb. In his first utterance playing marbles, he uttered Owomika, a word that was corrupted to Eweka and he was crowned Oba Eweka I. Oba Eweka I reign ushered in the second dynasty in about 1200AD.

4. Note, the fact that, white are in majority in North America does not take the fact away that, Indians which constitute less than 2% of the population were here more than 500 years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. Same goes to Australia where the aborigines are in significant minority to the migrant whites. The English and the British monarchy are migrants fromn the region of anglo-saxon from Germany and the majority of UK population. The Scottish, Welsh are the original settlers of UK long before the English arrival.

5. If Yorubas can corrupt Izoduwa to Oduduwa and Owomika corruption to Eweka by the king makers of Igodomigodo, then, one can understand the misrepresentation by historian of falsehood of claiming Odududwa to have descended from a chain from the sky. Examine the correlation of Ogie-No-Ghiso (A King that look up to the sky) whose family greetings is DELAISO and a king that descended from the sky? Examine the plausibility and the history of Ekaladerhan Izoduwa, son of Ogiso and the history of pathetic falsehood to gain political advantage? It is just like Mungo Park discovered river Niger.

How can Mungo Park discover river Niger when west Africans used that river from time immemorial of the river existence for fishing, source of water, transportation etc? One fact remain, Idu / Igodomigodo long existed with Ogiso dynasty before the conception of Oduduwa. It is also a verifiable fact that, Ekaladerhan Izoduwa, son of Ogiso Owodo was banished from Igodomigodo.

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Other Account culled from Internet converation:

Edo kingdom

During the 15th century Benin Was first Igodomigodo and Greater than Ife(Oduduwa) Igodomigodo kingdom Was the greatest Ogiso and first King in West Africa Region to receive foreign traders.The Last Ogiso Son who was to succeed his Father was banished from Edo and arrived Yoruba kingdom and was crown has their King and title the throne name has Ilefe Izoduwa in Edo Language which is corrupted to Ile-ife Oduduwa in Yoruba understanding. The Powerful Kingdom in Nigeria and first Empire recognize by foreign traders was (Ubini) Edo Kingdom. Edo King capture many towns such as Eko which is now Lagos and also capture Ijebu and Edo Kingdom were stretch from Ijebu and Lagos to Republic of Darhomey which is now change to Republic of Benin. Respect for the priestly functions of the oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba ethnicity. The Ife model of government was adept and derived its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north.

Edoland established a community in the Yoruba-speaking area east of Ubini before becoming a dependency of Benin Kingdom at the beginning of the 14th century. By the 15th century it became an independent trading power, blocking Ife’s access to the coastal ports as Oyo had cut off the mother city from the savanna. Political and religious authority resided in the oba (king) who according to tradition was descended from the Ogiso dynasty in Benin Kingdom. Benin, which may have housed much inhabitants at its height, spread over large square km that were enclosed by concentric rings of earthworks. By the late 15th century Edo Kingdom was in contact with Portugal (see Atlantic slave trade). At its apogee in the 16th and 17th centuries, Edo encompassed parts of southeastern Yorubaland,and the western parts of the present Delta State.