Brief Igala History

Igala is the language group located within the angle formed by the confluence of the rivers Niger and Benue. Igala land is located east of the confluence of these two dominant rivers in Nigeria. In other words, it is situated on the eastern region of Kogi State, North Central region of Nigeria (also known as Middle Belt).
 

The land is bounded on the west by River Niger and on the east by Enugu State, the south by Anambra State and on the north by Benue State. According to 1992 Population Census, the Igala people are estimated to be the ninth largest ethnic group in Nigeria.

Igala people are evenly distributed all over the land but with Idah, Dekina, Ankpa, Omala, Olamaboro, Ofu, Igalamela/Odolu, Ibaji and Bassa (even parts of Lokoja and Ajaokuta) Local Government Areas more densely populated. There exist residual pockets of identifiable Igala linguistic groups in varying locations. Igala descents reside around the area of Ebu and Oshimili in the present Delta State. They are also in Oko, Anam in Anambra State, Ogurugu and Ibagwa in Enugu State, and Ojigono (illushi) in Edo State. 

In a way, the historical ligament of Igala connects with diverse ethnic and cultural entities across the breadth of Northern, Eastern, Central and Western Nigeria. This wide range of spatial and cognitive influence was mainly due to the factors of commerce, military activities, intermarriage, colonial conquest and cultural contacts.

The Igala kingdom reached its apogee developing varying cultural interactions and civilizations. The history of the Igala includes very diverse histories containing vignettes of cultural interactions among and between different groups. 

The Igala monarchy reflects a quality of divine kings with the Attah functioning as a Priest-King. The political structure of Igala society incorporates a central government located in Idah, embodied in the Attah of Igala, and his advisory chiefs, as well as representative government at the periphery with relative autonomy of social operations.

According to historical and linguistic sources, the Igala belong to the Kwa linguistic group. The Igala, therefore, are linked to a group of migrants that supposedly came from the Middle East through the Northern geo-spatial location of the present day Nigeria, prior to dispersing into different directions. 

These include the Jukun, Yoruba and other similar groups. The Igala are presumed to be a group of an earlier Yoruba wave of migrants that inhabited their present settlement after crossing around the confluence of the Benue and Niger Rivers.