Geography: 

Ibaji land which lies south of Idah town is located in the Niger valley. It is bounded on the East by River Anambra and on the west by River Niger. The area has a land mass of about 12,800 square kilometer, and a population of 127,572 as recorded in the 2006 national census.

Ibaji Area is in a low land. Most parts of the area have general elevation of about 35 metres above sea level, which is why the area is prone to flooding between July and October every year. The land is consequently made fertile with alluvial soil which is left behind after the flood had receded. This makes the people of the area producers of root crops such as yams and cassavas; grains such as maize and rice in large quantity. Ibaji Area today is made up of about 57 towns and villages. The people came to their towns or villages at different times in history.

The settlement of the people of Ibaji land in a low land is a blessing as streams, fishing ponds and lakes abound all over the places, aside fertile lands, contributing to the wealth of the people. There are lakes such as Ibocho, Aduru, Akpanyo, Abada, Ojila, etc in the eastern part while Ukpo, Ikpako, Iyore, Oshimili, Ofe, etc are found in the western part of the land.

The wealth of the area include petroleum product which was discovered in the 60s. Some Oil Companies that carried out geological surveys in the area disclosed that Ibaji area is a potential oil producer. Places such as Okogbo, Odeke, Echeno, Omabo, Uchuchu and other border towns with Anambra and Enugu States are discovered to have petroleum deposits.

History: 

The early settlements of villages in Ibaji land are believed to be in three major phases. The first phase was when farmers and hunters came to the forest zones of Ibaji in search of games and fertile lands to cultivate crops. Oral history had it that Ibaji land was an uninhabited forest, lying south of Idah town, but was later inhabited by migrants from Idah and other parts of Nigeria. Egwemi (1983:8) writes:

Contrary to the erroneous belief by some people outside Ibaji Local Government Area that the inhabitants of the area today are off-springs of the defeated Igala soldiers who went to the Benin war centuries back, the correct story is that Ibaji people have come from various parts of the country to settle there. It must however be stated that the majority of the early settlers were of Igala origin who moved downwards in search of better means of livelihood which Ibaji land could provide abundantly.

Also Ukwedeh (1976:9) who traced the early settlements in Ibaji land to 1450AD says:

From the corpus of the tradition of origin collected, one can draw the following: The first group does not accept the Idah-Benin war as the cause of their migration to Ibaji district. They say their forefathers left the upper part of Igalaland to their present habitats due to severe famine. In order to look for a better livelihood, they set out in hunting bands towards the south which was an uninhabited bush.

Ukwedeh (1976:26 – 27) added that from 1450 – 1530AD, “the earliest settlements in South western Ibaji District grew up around streams and lakes and that accounts of the present villages of Ayah, Iyano, Akuro, Ujeh, Iregu, Iteh and Ikaka which developed out of one or the other of these ancient centres agree that their forebear Onu’ja/Onu-ija was forced to migrate southwards due to a great famine and quarrel over hunting rights”.

Apart from Ukwedeh’s version above, another tradition holds very strongly that Akuro, Ayah, Iyano, Ikaka, Ujeh, Iregu, Inoma, Igbedo and Odekpe who belong to one Alubi (brotherhood) were among the Ata Igala’s soldiers who crossed the River Niger to Ibaji, following the defeat of Igala soldiers at the Benin war of 1515 – 1516. This was the second phase of settlement when the Ata’s warriors returned from Benin but settled in Ibaji instead of coming to Idah. According to this tradition, the Ata Igala’s warriors did not keep the instructions given to them and as a result they lost the victory they recorded in the first battle as the Benin soldiers, backed by the Portugese in Benin, chased them out of Benin. They therefore crossed the River Niger to the south of Idah and settled beside the river (iba-aji) instead of coming home. This was how the name Iba-aji, which means “beside the river” was derived. The war leader (Onu-Uja) was said to have also crossed the River Niger to Ibaji along with his defeated troops.

Akuro, Ayah, Iyano, Iteh, Ikaka, Iregwu and Ujeh are believed to be brothers and they are regarded the first seven members of the Alubi. Others are Inoma, Odekpe, Igbedo, Ishi, Ifekwu, Ekperi and Osomaril (Ochemele). It is not clear if the 14 of them are related for a few of them are said to have been coopted as members. Osomari is wrongly pronounced “Ochemele” by some Alubi members.

Ekperi and Osomari, after the war, did not cross from Benin to Ibaji. While Ekperi stayed back in Benin territory, now Edo State, Osomari settled in a place that is today Delta State. In 1925, during the reign of Atabo Ijomi as Ata Igala, Odekpe, Igbedo and Inoma were merged with Onitsha North, following the boundary demarcation between Igala land and Onitsha Province.

Afiya who was one of Ata’s warriors that fought in the Benin war, was said to be among the soldiers who crossed the River Niger to settle in Ibaji. Afiya settled in the centre and had four children: Enweli, Unale, Ayeke and Odolu. These four children of Afiya lived separately but yet close to one another, and they have maintained their relationship as brothers up till today.

The children of Afiya were said to be great warriors, taking after their father, for they had several times in the olden days, prevented attacks on their lands. Ayeke, particularly, which is nicknamed “ogba”, meaning “fence” was said to have repelled both internal attacks and external attacks from the east.

Okwoli (1973:38) says that the Igala-Benin war of 1515 – 1516 led to the settlements in Ibaji. He writes:

The defeated troops from numerous towns and villages in Igala were not allowed to enter Idah town, so they withdrew to the eastern bank of the River Niger, South of Idah. They called their new settlement. Ibaji (people at the side of rivers).

Those who opposed this version argue that the Ata Igala’s warriors who lost the Benin war settled in Ekperi in the present Edo state and Ebu in the present Delta state.

The third phase, which again, Ukwedeh (1976:26) traced to 1860 – 1900 AD, was a “period of the rise of fishing camps along the Niger which later developed into small villages of permanent settlers”. According to Ukwedeh, “the villages that form the core of these later settlements by the Niger bank are Ikpogwu, Odochala, Adagwo, Imachiga, Ojiala, Ogwu, Onugwa, Ojigbolo, Abujaga, Ineme, Onyedega etc.” They were said to have later settled down and began to farm.

Other settlers such as Elele, Afa, Ekanyi, Unwajala, Ejule, Ichala, Odeke, Echeno and Uchuchu/Anocha were said to have come to Ibaji from Idah and other parts of Igala land in the 18^th and 19^th century. Ukwedeh (1976:41) quotes N.J. Brooke as talking of “Uchuchu rulers getting authority to rule from Idah”. Ata (2007:14) also writes:

There is a belief that Ibaji people migrated from hinterland of Igala towns and villages. The migrations were along the River Niger and Maboro/Anambra. Some might have migrated directly along the hinterland from Idah. Those who migrated down along River Niger, settled in some of the towns and villages like Ota, Ineme, Ogwojibo, Onyedega, etc to mention but a few. Those who migrated down along the River Maboro/Anambra settled in the towns and villages like Afa, Ekanyi, Obale, Odeke and Echeno.

There are other settlements that were not linked to specific migrations. For instance, Ajamukoje which is also a village along the Niger Bank was said to have been founded by a man called Ukoje from a king’s family in Iteh who went there to farm. The place was named after him for Ajamukoje means the settlement of Ukoje. Also, Omabo people were said to have come as one family to their present settlement where they had, time without number, halted incessant incursions of Igbos on Ibaji lands, in the south.

One could therefore conclude from the foregoing that Ibaji is not made up of the entire soldiers of Ata Igala who fought the Benin war. Other migrants from Edo, Enugu, Anambra and Niger States later came to Ibaji land and were integrated into the already existing Igala community. The earliest settlers of Igala origin were those who moved there from Idah for the fertile lands and the survivors of the 16^th Century Benin war. Irrespective of their historical origin, the people of Ibaji land have integrated into a homogenous group.

Settlements and land ownership: 

Ibaji land, by the 19^th century, had been completely occupied by the migrants: the hunters, farmers, fishermen and remnants of the Ata Igala’s soldiers from Benin. The South-West was occupied by Ujeh, Ikpogwu, Odochala, Iregwu, Ika, Uchuchu, Omabo, Ayah, Imachiga Iteh, Ogwu, Ajamukoje, Ojiala, Onugwa, Ojigbolo; the North-West was occupied by Akuro, Ikaka, Ishi, Iyano, Abujaga, Ineme, Ejofe, Agbagbojo, Ojuba, Onyedega, Ogaine, Itoduma, Ofobo, Ogwojibo, Ichala, Ota; the South-East was occupied by Echeno, Anocha, Odeke, Obale, Ekanyi, Elele, Odobo, Nwajala, Ejule, Afa, while the Centre was occupied by Afiya community of Enweli, Unale, Ayeke and Odolu.

As the migrants settled, lands were acquired and owned by individuals or families. The first settlers usually carved out for themselves hectares of lands for residence and farming. The land acquired for themselves eventually became their property and subsequent settlers who moved into this land became their subjects and had to pay land rent. For instance, if settlers B, C and D are on the lands which settler A had acquired, settlers B, C and D had to pay land rent to settler A annually. This is why up till today, one village could be the owner of lands on which about five other villages settle.

This system of land ownership has, over the years, caused some problems in Ibaji. Probably, these problems would have disappeared long time ago if every village was the owner of the land on which it settled, and if every man or woman was the permanent owner of his or her father’s farm lands.