Igueben

Igueben
LGA and town
Igueben

Location in Nigeria

Coordinates: 6°36′0″N 6°35′0″E / 6.60000°N 6.58333°E / 6.60000; 6.58333Coordinates: 6°36′0″N 6°35′0″E / 6.60000°N 6.58333°E / 6.60000; 6.58333
Country  Nigeria
State Edo State
Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
Climate Aw

Igueben is a Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The headquarters are in the town of Igueben. Igueben has an area of 380 km² and a population of 69,639 according to the 2006 census. The post code is 310.[1]

History

Igueben was founded around 1516, during the reign of the Benin monarch, Oba Esigie (1504–1550), who was one of the warrior kings of the great kingdom.

War had broken out between the Kingdom of Benin and the Attah of the Igala Kingdom based at Idah, a town on the banks of the Niger River. Oba Esigie sent warriors in pursuit of men from Idah who had invaded Benin City. The Igala kingdom subsequently had to pay a yearly tribute to the Oba for this transgression.

On their way to Idah, these warriors camped at a spot for a number of days before setting out on the final leg. Some months later when they had successfully accomplished their mission, they were returning home when they passed the same camp spot again. Whilst resting there, they found that the remains of the yams they fed on during their outward journey had germinated and blossomed. Searching for food and water, they found lots of succulent fruit and vegetables as well as many animals to hunt. The water from the springs also tasted good. They were very impressed with the fertility of the soil in this area.

A further survey of the place showed that the landscape was flat and had no rocks or mountains; this they thought would be good for farming. There were lots of palm, coconut, rubber and walnut trees together with a variety of fruit like mango, orange, lime, guava, lemon, grape, pineapple, cashew, tomatoes, avocado pear, wild berries, peppers, okra, melon, pumpkin, banana, and plantain. There were also a wide variety of vegetables like water-leaf which grew easily and quickly. They found that tubular root crops like yams, cassava and sweet potatoes germinated and matured quickly.

They knew that news of the discovery of this fertile land would please the king and decided that instead of going back to Benin, they would settle on the land and send their taxes back to him in the form of farm produce instead. They sent an emissary to the king of Benin to obtain permission to set up a new settlement in the area, ensuring that the king saw the advantages of a rich harvest and more crop taxes. After much deliberation, he granted them permission to settle and live there.

To reward these soldiers for their effort and retain their loyalty, the king granted them the patent to engage in bronze casting for added trade; so they joined the Benin Royal Guild of Bronze Casters as the only ones outside of Benin City allowed to engage in bronze casting in the kingdom. (Anyone else caught doing this was put to death or banished from the kingdom, his family disgraced for ever).

The new settlers perfected their craft of bronze casting and the production of the royal pestal called Eben. They cast and sent the Oba an Eben each year to show their gratitude and loyalty for this benevolence; this was accompanied by products from their harvest.

The settlers later named the place Igue-Eben which means a village or camp for producing Eben; and so Igueben was born. The little settlement soon started to grow, particularly with the influx of traders from Benin city. They did business with distant lands toward the north eastern axis from Benin city. Its trade with other areas began to thrive and it became prosperous.

The area today

The village is governed by a traditional ruler called Enogie. The present Enogie is HRH Ehizogie Eluojerior. He, along with his council of chiefs and prominent traditional rulers, maintain law and order in an ever changing westernized world. This governance system is the same as is used in the current monarchy of Benin and has been in existence since the earliest times in Benin's history.

The indigenous people of Igueben are very hard working, creative, industrious and fun-loving. They are a very literate population with most families educated to university level. They continue to maintain their cultural heritage from Benin, celebrating many festivals and ritualistic traditions.

Their language is a unique dialect of Edo and Esan. They also use Pidgin English, which is a mixture of Portuguese, English and Esan. The majority speak very good English due to their high levels of education.

Today, Igueben is endowed with numerous sons and daughters in various professions e.g. doctors, lawyers, barristers, bank directors, businessmen and women, writers, poets, teachers, engineers, scientists, architects, nurses, technicians, politicians, advertising and marketing professionals, farmers and some self-made millionaires.

Igueben consists of several towns whose suburbs conurbate seamlessly. Some of the popular towns are: Eguare, Oyomo, Afuda, Idumeka, Idumonka, Uhe, Egbiki, Ekekhen Idigun, Idumogbo, Idumedo, Idumotutu and Idumogo. A woman’s town origin may be determined by the manner in which she greets her elders in the early morning; for example: 'Latuse', 'Lamogun, 'Lagiesan', 'Lani', 'Labheze' are peculiar to Uhe, Idigun, Idumonka, Idumeka and Afuda/ Ekekhen respectively.

The people of Igueben are very sociable, showing deep respect for other cultures; this is particularly evident in their ability to marry freely into other tribes and cultures from both within and outside Nigeria. They also possess deep sense of fidelity and social responsibility.

Facilities

Major facilities include the Igueben General Hospital, the Igueben Grammar School, the Igueben College, the Igueben Mixed Secondary School, the College of Education Igueben, the Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, the Uda Community Bank PLC, numerous primary schools, two major markets and a Local Government Council Secretariat. Its rainforest remains largely untouched.

Economy

Igueben has a growing economy. The indigenes engage in retail trade of manufactured goods which they buy from major cities like Port Harcourt, Onitsha, Lagos, Sapele and Benin City. Goods traded include building materials, clothing, electronics, mechanical spare parts etc.

The primary occupation in Igueben is farming. Local produce are cross traded with Northern parts of Nigeria; they sell food products peculiar to the savannah vegetation such as tubular roots like yam, cassava (garri), banana and plantain etc. and buy produce peculiar to arid areas such as beans, onions, groundnuts, potatoes etc. Rice is imported mainly from America and Taiwan. Foreign export include palm produce, rubber and timber. Igueben is highly affected by urban migration as young and educated sons and daughter migrate to larger cities and abroad for more lucrative job opportunities. The many celebrations and festivals throughout the year provide occupation for many locals e.g. in advertising, catering, costume making and events organisations.

Tourists attractions

Cultural celebrations like the Ukpe Festival showcasing masquerades, traditional dances, family entertainment and visits; are well worth experiencing. The Enogie’s New Year Festival - Ihuan, which is similar to the Ukpe Festival also affords further opportunity to engage with local traditional practices. There are potentials for tourists attractions such as historical landmarks like the Enogie’s palace and rainforest expeditions. These opportunities are yet to be exploited.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Post Offices- with map of LGA". NIPOST. Retrieved 2009-10-20.

Oral sources:

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.