The history of the Igala Kingdom

CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION TRADITIONAL BACKGROUND AND EARLY HISTORY1.1. INTRODUCTION The Igala Kingdom is located at the angle formed by the river Niger and Benue at the rightof the confluence of the two rivers. The area of the kingdom is about 160 kilometers long andapproximately about 120 square kilometers wide, giving an overall area of about 19200 squarekilometer.1The region is skirted on two sides by the great waterways that divide Nigeria into itsmajor natural and cultural regions. In shape it is roughly triangular, with the confluence of thetwo rivers forming the apex and the base extending irregularly into the Idoma and Ibo country.2 The kingdom is bounded to the North by the river Benue and to the South by the AnambraState, to the East by Benue and Enugu States and to the West the river Niger which forms theboundary between the kingdom and Edo state. It should be noted that Bassa Local GovernmentArea comprising of Bassa Nge, Basssa Komo and Mozum which was administered as part of theIgala Kingdom from 1918-1977, lies within the same angle formed by the Niger and Benuerivers. According to the 1963 population census, the total population of the people of IgalaKingdom is 684,8000. The 1991 population census puts the population of the kingdom at about900,000. The projected population at the time was about 1.5million.3 The strategic situation is ofkey significance to the historical development of the kingdom. The geographical position hasbrought the Igala into wide contact with the Ibo, the Yoruba, the Edo-speaking peoples and theJukun, to name only the principal groups. Idah, the Igala capital, is situated on the river Niger,and it is clear both from written records of the nineteenth century exploration and from the1