The Ajinomoh War and Ebira Identity

Adolph Hitler tried to expand the third Reich from Coventry to Versailles to Vladivastock and put Germany above all others before allied forces put an end to this expansionist ambition. The resultant peace dividend has enabled Germany, Japan and Italy to achieve that which they could not achieve in a disastrous and catastrophic 2nd World war. Though the United States is the undisputed leader of the world, the influence and reach of the troika, in democratic governance, economic wonder and cheque book diplomacy, is visibly present at all the nooks and corners of the globe.

Peace dividend is capable of bringing about the desired changes that wars cannot fulfil. Consider the Ajinomoh war in Ebiraland in the 1860s. Uthman Dan Fodio 1754 – 1817, an Islamic scholar created the first ullama, religious community, in Degel in the Hausa state of Gobir. Fearful of the growing influence of Dan Fodio and his ullama, the ruler of Gobir, Yunfa revoked the autonomy of Degel in 1802 and attempted to assassinate its leader. Dan Fodio escaped with his supporters into the vastness of the surrounding grasslands and sought help from the local Fulani nomads. The ruler of Gobir, Yunfa turned to the leaders of the other Hausa states for assistance predicting, correctly, that Dan Fodio could set off a widespread Jihad.

The ullama soon expanded to become a theocracy and Uthman dan Fodio was proclaimed leader of the faithful with authority to declare and pursue Jihad. He raised and commanded a large army from amongst the Fulani and the Hausa peasants. Dan Fodio scored early military successes during the Fulani Jihad of 1804 and was soon in control of the powerful Fulani Empire.

Spurred by the successes of the cavalry fighting on horseback and his ambition of establishing an ideal society free from vindictiveness, vice and paganism, Uthman Dan Fodio escalated the war to usher in a regime change in the Hausa lands, quickly annexing the territories west of Gobir and the northern part of Yoruba lands up to Ilorin. The Kingdom of Kanem-Bornu stopped the advance of the Jihadist onslaught in the northeast in 1810. After the retirement of the father of the Fulani Jihad in 1815, the son, Muhammed Bello and sibling, Abdullahi took charge in Sokoto and the emirate of Gwandu respectively. The heirs to Dan Fodio continued their quest for the annexation of territories and the forceful conversion of peoples.

The time-honoured belief of Anebira centre on Hinegba, the supreme deity, who is compassionate, lives in the heavens and controls the creation. Hinegba is accessible through spirits as intermediaries. The spirits are connected with such natural objects as trees, stones and specific area of the land endowed with special qualities. Determination of these natural objects that can serve as intermediaries between man and Hinegba is made by the divination of the oracle. The Ebira ancestors are agents of Hinegba while the iregba, shrine for deciding on religious matters and societal transgressions, is a key instrument of social control. This traditional belief and way of life was anathema to the ideal society envisioned by Uthman Dan Fodio.

The expansionist ambition of the Jihadists collided with the intensely independent- minded, proud and militarily well-organised Anebira located securely on the foot of numerous hills southwest of the Niger-Benue confluence in 1860. Military historians often look back and wonder how the warriors of Ebiraland could defeat such an overwhelming force of fanatical Jihadists who launched attacks from Ilorin and Bida. Ebiraland was at the time scattered in a loose and decentralised settlements at Okengwe, Adavi, Ihima, Eika and Eganyi. But one of the reasons to explain the victory of Anebira during the Ajinomoh War was historical experience. The ancestral home of the Ebira, Wukari is also home to some of the warlike peoples with a history of inter tribal wars and hatred. Ebira migrated from here in the early 18th century southwards to escape injustice and domination. Ebira was prepared to defend and maintain the integrity of their new territory.

The leadership of the powerful, mercurial and charismatic Ohindase Obanyi, Avogude Okomanyi was another factor to explain the defeat of the Jihadists. The leadership style of the commander-in-chief Okomanyi who reigned from 1850 to 1898, was one rooted in consultation with clan heads and taking decisions based on consensus that allows everyone to tag along. He was well liked and respected by the majority of the Ebira people. His call to Anebira to rise to the defence of the land resonated positively among the public particularly the hunters, those with military experience and makers of poison, bows, arrows, machetes, clubs and cutlasses. United behind their leader, the Ebira effectively put down the Jihadist incursion.

The knowledge of the terrain boosted the morale of the Ebira war generals and it helped them in their defence strategy with the hills surrounding Ebiraland, as protective shield. This was also a factor accountable to the defeat of the Jihadists. The hilly terrain was a big disadvantage to the cavalry fighting on horseback. The offerings and sacrifices to Hinegba during preparations for the defence of Ebiraland against the incursions launched from Ilorin and Bida by the Jihadists may have contributed to the trouncing of the invaders.

The time of the war coincided with the period of the Royal Niger Company’s advance into northern Nigeria and their policy of pacifying warring tribes. They brokered ceasefires and prevented attacks between warring parties to ensure free trade in the region. The British military officials embedded with the Royal Niger Company who witnessed the conduct of the Ebira warriors during the Ajinomoh war could not hide their admiration for the valour, ability and the combat skill of Anebira. They falsely assumed that Ebira was under a hierarchical and centralised form of administration like the type prevalent throughout the Sokoto Caliphate. The existence of such form of administration augured well for the now famous indirect rule. Its non-existence however led to artificial creations that fostered an unintended identity denial by the cultures, in this case Ebiraland, where such creations were imposed. It also enabled the Jihadists to get through the peace dividend that which they could not get through war.

Save the imposition of the Islamic legal code, the Sharia, successive leaders in Ebiraland, with very few exceptions, have been accomplices in the attempt to keep Ebira divided along sectarian lines. The commencement of centralised administration in the land in 1917 witnessed the wholesale importation of alien practices mainly from the north, which the heroic defenders of the Ebira fought so gallantly to keep at bay. To the majority of these post-1917 leaders, conformity takes precedence over cultural independence, pride and dignity of Ebira people.

The exigencies of conformity dictate the names of the people, the mode of their dressing, religion and the designation of honorary titles. According to Dr. Habibu Angulu Sani in his biography of Alhaji Ibrahim Atta, the leader initiated and conferred such honorary titles as “Wazirin Igbirra”, and “Madawakin Igbirra”. I wonder how many Anebira understood the import of these titles or whether there are no equivalent words in Ebira language. Designations of titles are not the only sign of the atrophying of the Ebira culture. Beautiful and meaningful Ebira names like Itopa, Ozovehe, Ozomata, Ohunene, Ozavize, Ohiare and so on have given way to Quddus, Abdulrazaq, Adewale, William, Micheal and so on that it has become almost impossible to know an Ebira from the sounding of the names. Similarly, the attires of Anebira, the dishes made from calabash, the unique architecture and the cultural mannerisms have been jettisoned in the name of conformity.

It is not uncommon during sermons in the mosques or churches to hear the forebears of those who laid down their lives to bequeath Ebiraland to us condemn, vilify and hammer those guilty of paganism, unbelief and the worship of gods. The Raji Report has learnt that people were once publicly whipped with the ijapa for not observing the Muslims’ call for prayers in the mosques or for skipping the Quranic classes. However, squaring the moral decay and prevalence of sharp practices, the new word for corruption, with the preponderance of mosques and churches in Ebiraland is a dilemma for social engineers.

The Ebira language is facing the dire prospect of extinction, a fact that was brought home during the religious disturbances in Kaduna in October 1999. Sixteen years earlier, the fact was also enacted during the Ajasin versus Omoboriowo clash originating from disputed election results in the then Ondo State. In both cases, pitiful Anebira, fluent in Yoruba and Hausa who have difficulty speaking their own mother tongue were seen at the Okene central motor park trying to figure out the addresses of their respective relations. Homeboys and ladies bemoaning the cultural backwardness of Ebiraland hunker down in far-flung places blending and acculturating to the detriment of the native language.

The troika: Germany, Japan and Italy have extended their hegemony around the world to be equal partners of the United States helping to advance the cause of freedom and democracy for humanity. This multilateral effort, noble mission is possible today because of the peace dividend. In Ebiraland, the overriding need to conform in peacetime has, regrettably, robbed the land and its people of their freedom, cultural independence and ethnic identity.

Surely, the ancestors are watching with understandable dismay.