The Ogba people are one of the ethnic groups in Rivers State. The Ogba people speak the Ogba language. The Ogba people live in a local government called Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni in Rivers State, Nigeria. The Ogba language has three dialects: Usomini, Igburu, and Egi dialect. The Ogba Kingdom consists of three clans: the Egi, Igburu and Usomini clans, and their largest city is Omoku.The Ogba people speak two dialects of the Ogba languages: Egi and Igburu. Eligbo and Ukporomini are two Ogba communities in Ahaoda East Local Government Area while Itu II in Emohua LGA also speaks Ogba language.
The Ogba legend and oral traditions suggest that the ancestors arrived in 3015 BC. BC arrived in what is now Ogbaland in 235 AD, the Ogba people arrived from Benin in what is now Edo State, Nigeria. The kingdom was known as Igodomigodo. According to the famous Beninese historian Jacob Egharevba, the first empire or dynasty was founded around 900 AD. The rulers were commonly called “Ogiso” meaning “ruler of heaven” before Oduduwa and his group arrived in Ife in Yorubaland around the 12th century.In the Ogba origin myth, Akalaka is the founder of the Ogba nation.
Leaves Benin due to war. He prepared some amulets which he placed on his bow and arrows, and when he shot an arrow, he guided it to a place where he could find safety.As the arrow flew east, he and his followers prepared to travel east. Due to the oral nature of the story, it is not easy to estimate how many years it took the Akalaka to reach this area. When it arrived in Ogba it displaced very few people
Those who moved from Benin to Ali-Ogba and settled with their ancestors who lived in 3015 B.C. lived in the area or if they arrived later, they may have displaced the pioneers. As a result, the original inhabitants may have disappeared before the Ogba arrived and mixed with neighboring groups, and the newcomers may have met and abducted them. The eldest son’s name was Ekpa-Ohiah (Ekpeye), which means “Bush Bag”. He fathered a second son, whom he named Ugbah (Ogba), in memory of his ancestral homeland, Ogba in Benin, which he settled in Ubuke after leaving Ula-Ubie. It was their place of residence after the long journey from Benin. The Oba who ruled Benin was a terrorist. He threatened and frightened his subjects. He used the powerful and influential leaders of his kingdom to carry out his evil deeds in the kingdom. At the height of the lawlessness and insecurity that resulted from Oba Ewuare’s tyrannical rule, Akalaka felt the need to flee with his followers. Akalaka left Benin during the turbulent reign of Owurure (Ewuare), whose younger brother Uwafiokun usurped the throne and was subsequently assassinated by him. Egharvba posits: “Ewuare the Great was the great-grandson of Eweka 1 and ruled Benin during the second period of Benin’s history.”
Historical evidence shows that the remote cause of the crises that occurred during Ogun’s reign as Oba of Benin were his two sons. The families of the Ezuwarha and Edaiken Empires – “the two princes loved each other very much.
Ezuwarha, the second son, sent sweet potatoes from Iyowa, where he was chief, to his brother Kuoboyawa, and whenever Ezuwarha visited Uselu, where Kuoboyawa Edaiken was, they kissed tenderly. However, the day came when Ezuwarha was very indignant because Kuoboyawa called him a “bushman” and sent him agricultural tools in return for his gift of yam: an axe, a hoe and a match. So, hate and jealousy replaced the love that had always existed, poisoned each other and died on the same day.
No one found the courage to tell Ewuare the sad news, but Akaromwon, the royal jester, presented it in the form of a parable: “O your majesty,” he said, it is raining in Iyowa, but not coming in Benin City. The Oba could not understand the meaning, so the elders sent old Ihama to explain it to him. After receiving the bad news, Ewuare wept bitterly to her children. He asked the criers to bring the message to the people and ask them to mourn with him the death of their children. He also passed a strict law banning anyone in the country from having sex, bathing, and/or dressing for three years.
However, this law caused great confusion and a large number of citizens emigrated to various places in 1460. In the country, the Akalaka of the Ekaladerhan family migrated from Benin, who had been expelled in the early stages of the empire’s establishment. With his followers, he later founded Ogba in 1460. However, archaeological records indicate that it was already before the arrival of Akalaka and his people lived in the countryside. They may have been forcibly removed by the Akalaka or voluntarily withdrawn when new settlers saw the area, Ellah (1995). Akalaka considered himself a member of LOCO parentes and acted as a parent/leader to all his followers.
After the conflict, Ogba’s son killed Ekpeye’s son. Ogba felt that his elder brother Ekpeye might frustrate his revenge and so after about sixty years of wandering through the Igbo and Etche lands, he decided to abandon their original settlement and move to a new location in Obigwe. Obigwe was a place of peace for them. He lived there for many years with his sons and much later, Agburu, one of Ogba’s descendants, left Obigwe and founded Omoku. Later, others began to migrate in very small numbers. This is how today’s Ogba came into being.
