By Correspondent in Lokoja
To stem the growing ethnic, religious and other internal crises in Nigeria, Ohimege Igu of Koton-Karfi, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Isah-Koto, has urged Universities, Research Centres and Custodians of culture in Nigeria to review the pre colonial history of some ethnic nationalities in the country to correct the fallacies and out right distortion of facts.
The Paramount ruler gave the on Thursday when he received the leadership of the national Ohiku Egbira Descendants Union in his palace at Koton-karfe, Kogi state.
The traditional ruler said with the fallacious and distorted history of some ethnic nationalities in the country, Colonial masters forced incompatible groups to cohabit, resulting in unending boundary conflicts and inter tribal, ethnic and religious wars.
He noted that since the relocation of some of the original constituent groups of the great and mighty Kwararafa Kingdom, the Egbira people had been decentralized by the colonial masters as part of their plans to weaken their influence and civilisation.
” Today, all the areas under the control of Koton-karfe and Opanda kingdoms are now favoured, promoted and recognised over and above their original masters.
“This is largely due to the coming of colonial masters who mustered and illegally created boundaries and shared the Egbira people to find themselves in Nasarawa, Kogi and Edo states.
“Some are in Kogi, Nasarawa and Edo states, God them bestowed with abundant human and natural resources that could be used for fast development of the nation.
“However, with lack of the natural cohesion caused by disintegration, the Egbiras, known for their industriousness have been rendered incapacitated,” he said.
The Ohimege, therefore, called for the unification of all the Egbira speaking people across the country (Opanda, Toto, Abaji, Igu–Kotonkarfe, Okene, Etuno–Igara) to ensure they leave behind good legacy and speedy development of the nation.
Earlier, the interim National President of the union,Mal. Musa Ahmadu told the Royal father that members of the union were in his palace to seek blessing for the successful unification of all the Egbira speaking people across the country.
Ahmadu,a one time Secretary to the Kogi state government and former member, House o Representatives,noted that the disintegrated Egbira people had heightened their marginalisation in politics, economy, and social development in Nigeria, as exemplified by the population data per state.
Ahmadu said the Egbiras, if put together, were by far more than some states in the country.
“Imagine Ajaokuta and Toto in Kogi and Nasarawa states which are homes to solid minerals that can sustain the country economically and industrially have been neglected because they don’t belong to the so called majority tribes in Nigeria,”he said.
He appealed to the National Assembly to consider issues of boundary adjustment and state creation in their delibration, adding that it would favour the vibrant Egbira people who were poised to become “China and Japan industrial giants i Nigeria.”
