Egba people


The Egba 'people' are a subgroup of the Yoruba people, an ethnic group of western Nigeria, a majority of whom are from the central part of Ogun State, that is Ogun Central Senatorial District.
Ogun Central Senatorial District comprises six local government areas: Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South, Ewekoro, Ifo, Obafemi Owode and Odeda local governments. Other Egba are located in Lagos West, Lagos East, Oyo North, and Oyo South senatorial zones.
Before the creation of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, Egba territory and people is bordered by the Ketu (Benin) in the West, the Lagos Colony in south, Ijebu in the east, and Oyo, Ibadan and Isoya near Ile Ife in the north. The people are directly connected to the Ogun River, but detached from the swampy coast of Lagos. Through the Egba land, there are direct routes to other Yoruba towns, including Lagos, Ibadan, Ijebu-Ode, Ketu, and Porto Novo in the Benin Republic.

Etymology

The origination of the word "Egba" is disputed. The first meaning may come from the word Ẹ̀gbálugbó, meaning wanderers towards the forest, and this comes from the fact that the ancestors of the Egba people came from the region of the Oyo Empire to the "Egba Forest" and formed what we now know as the city of Abeokuta. The "Egbalugbo" were in conjunction with the Ẹ̀gbáluwẹ or Ẹ̀gbálodó, meaning the wanderers towards the river, who later shortened their name to "Egbado," another subethnic group of the Yoruba. Another possible meaning may come from the word Ẹsẹ̀gbá, the title of a chief which led several groups of the Egba to their present location.

History

The Egba group, originally under the Oyo Empire, became independent following the spectacular collapse of Oyo in the first half of the 19th century. Wars with the Dahomey, in which the Egba were successful partly due to the protection afforded by the Olumo Rock, led to the founding of the city of Abeokuta, which literally means "under the rock".
The Egba nation is made up of the following subdivisions: the Ake, Owu, Oke Ona and Gbagura, each with its own king. During colonial rule the British recognised the Alake as the paramount ruler of the whole clan and their territory, and so, his successor is now referred to as the Alake of Egbaland. The titles of the kings of the aforementioned subdivisions are therefore Alake of Egbaland, Oshile of Oke Ona, Agura of Gbagura, and Olowu of Owu, in order of settlement and seniority in the Egba nation.
It is worthy of note that the original town and settlement of the Egba nation in Egbaland was under and around Olumo Rock, which is in the Ikija/Ikereku area of the Egba Oke Ona, The Jagunna of Itoko, an Oke Ona chief, is the high priest of Olumo. Olumo Rock is in the territory of and under the control of the Itokos.
Another reference name for Abeokuta by the founding fathers is Oko Adagba in reference to the hunter that discovered Olumo Rock. Adagba went hunting in search of game animals from the Obantoko township where his fellow Itoko citizens were stationed while wandering for a settlement. He then came across the mountain.
Egbaland was where Henry Townsend lived, and was also the home of the first newspaper in Nigeria. Its people went on to serve as the first of the many Nigerian nations to have an anthem.

Egba anthem

Traditional Attire