IKEJI WARRIORS AND IJESAS INTER-TRIBAL WARS TRIUMPHS.
Last weekend I travelled down to my ancient small but developing city on the mountain top. A small city situated on an inter-mountain plateau, entirely surrounded by hills of various altitudes and blessed with clear and fast flowing streams. As usual, I was welcomed with heap of Ijesas/Ekitis’ prided national dish, Pounded Yam (Iyan) with Obe Egunsi and Eran Igbe/Ogufe. After battling with the heap of “Iyan” I was offered, I freshened up, relaxed a-bit and then headed to my father’s library and picked some historical books to read, in other to be rebirth with history as I always do whenever I go there.
Whenever I go to the library like that, I always pick books that talks about Nigeria Politics, Activism in Nigeria and African revolutionaries, but last weekend I picked a book which discussed about the Inter-tribal wars in Yorubaland and the part played by the Ijesas. I read about how Ijesaland was almost subjugated to Benin Kingdom, and how Ijesas reclaimed their land with the creation of a fortress towards the North-East of the land.
It was said, when there were incessant military incursions of the powerful Oba Oba Ehengbuda (1578-1608) of Benin Kingdom into Ijesaland in the days of inter-tribal wars, the then Owa-Obokun consulted the Ifa Oracle for assistance and directions in other to stop the dominance and excesses of the Binis in Ijesa territory. Ifa advised the Owa-Obokun to send one of his bravest and most valiant sons to go towards the East and establish a military outpost “on the eastern flank of his kingdom, at a point where the man sent would meet the rain. There he would settle to stem the tide of the incessant incursions into Ijesaland.
Owa-Obokun found such a valiant son in Adetemi, who after receiving his father’s royal blessing moved with his entourage eastwards until he reached Isodu where the rain fell. In accordance with the injunctions of his father and Ifa priest, he settled where he met the rain (ni bi ti o ko eji) and renamed the place Ikeji, i.e. “iko eji”- meaning that we met the rain. “Eji” means Rain in Yoruba language.
The Adetemi and his militant men successfully repelled the incursions of the Binis and secured the boundary of Ijesaland with the Ekiti at River Owena. That was how Ikeji’s rugged topography was used to the advantage of Ijesa military. From that time, the whole of Ijesa army would not go into combat against an enemy without a warrior from Ikeji firing first shot in order to ensure victory.
According to history which was not plainly highlighted, Ijesaland would have been subjugated to Benin Kingdom if the then Owa-Obokun heeded not to the advice of Ifa by creating the Ikeji fortress. In other words, Ijesaland of today would be under Binis’ hegemony without Ikeji and its warriors. Therefore, Ikeji warriors won all the battles that involved Ijesaland with their first victorious shot during the inter-tribal wars in Yorubaland.
Yours Truly,
Oluwatomilola K. Boyinde,
Ijesaland Renaissance Initiative.
Interesting
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