History Of Akinjole Ogiriniyan The Founder Of Ejigbo Land
Ejigbo is a major Yoruba town in Osun State of Nigeria. It is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) to Oshogbo, the capital of Osun State.
According to oral history, Ejigbo is an ancient settlement. It was founded by Akinjole Ogiyan (abbreviation of “Ogiriniyan”), right after the old
Oyo . Ogiyan has a rich pedigree, as a descendant of Oduduwa and the ruling family of Ile-Ife . Together with his brothers, particularly the Akire, the founder of Ikire-Ile, left Ile life with Oranya ( Oranmiyan ) – the founder of old Oyo, to establish their own town.
The fact that the Ogiyan is from Ile-Ife, is confirmed by “Ejigbo Mekun” the name of a market in Ile-Ife. Akinjole settled many other villages spread around Yorubaland. He was the paramount ruler and prescribed authority over many if not all of them.
The following towns and villages, among others, were under him: Ika, Igbon, Olosinmo, Ologede, Inisa, Aato, Ijimoba, Afake, Ilawo, Inisa Edoro, Isundunrin, Olla, Ado Ori-Oke, Ayegunle, Idigba, Ibogunde, Songbe, Olorin, Osuntedo and Iwata.
Around 1835, Ejigbo came under Ibadan, when the Ibadan army moved to protect Osogbo from Ilorin invaders. In fact, detachments from Ejigbo assisted the Ibadan army in the Osogbo, Ijaye, Jalumi , Off, and Kiriji wars between 1840 and 1866. Ajayi Ogboriefon , Balogun and leader of the Ibadan army in the Jalumi war circa 1860 and 1878 was native of Ejigbo from the Akala compound. His mother, Alagbabi, was the daughter of an Ogiyan of Ejigbo . In 1934, when the then government returned to the terms of the 1893 Treaty, which recognized Ibadan’s independence and gazettes of the Baale and Divisional Council of Ibadan as an Independent Native Authority, five district obas , including the Ogiyan, were made members of the divisional Council.
The Ogiyan and council were also gazetted as subordinated to Native Authority under Ibadan for Ejigbo District Council. Although changes were made enlarging the membership of the Council between 1937 and 1938, the five districts Obas that included the Ogiyan retained their membership of the said Divisional Native Authority.
Ejigbo people
Travelling
Ejigbo indigenes are well traveled. They have long history of international emigration, predominantly Ivory Coast and have created border-less ECOWAS . [3] Out of about a million and two hundred thousand Nigerians residing in Côte d’Ivoire since the 1900s till present, indigenes of the Ejigbo local government area made up of more than 50% of that population. This has been drastically affecting the population of Ejigbo township, Nigeria, due to continuous migration of her people to some neighbouring West African countries, notably:
Benin Republic, Burkina Faso , Côte d’Ivoire,
Ghana , Liberia , Niger Republic, and Togo. The international exposure of Ejigbo people is evident in Ejigbo township. [4]
Wherever Ejigbo people are found, they live a communal lifestyle. This is done in order to maintain the unity and cordial relationship they enjoy before travelling out of the country. They are believed to be so established and organized in each big city and town in which they find themselves. For example, in Côte d’Ivoire, the Ejigbo people have a community leader they refer to as “Oba” of that area, such as ‘Oba Bouake’, ‘Oba Abobo’, ‘Oba Dabou’, ‘Oba Grand Bassam’, ‘Oba Treichville’ (etc.), while the ‘Oba’ who resides in Adjame, suburb of Abidjan, is called the ” Oba Abidjan “. He is regarded as the paramount Ejigbo community leader of Côte d’Ivoire. These ‘Oba’ performs an intermediary role between the government and his subjects. He is deemed to be the custodian of the migrants who fall within their jurisdiction. The ‘Obas’ also help new migrant, once they could speak a native language, to process the Ivorian permanent residence permit (card identete). All those so-designated Ejigbo community leaders are all recognized back at home by HRM, the Ogiyan of Ejigbo.
Languages
Apart from Ejigbo peoples’ mother tongue ( Yoruba language ) and Nigeria’s official language (English), some of the other foreign languages spoken today in Ejigbo include: French (second to Yoruba), Dioula (Mali), Eve (Togo), and Asante (Ghana). In Ejigbo today, along the street, few people have been speaking English. They speak and transact in French instead, because they are part and parcel of the Francophone world. The Ejigbo people are found in both West African and European Francophone cities.
