History of Igbo Tribe

History of igbo tribe, Approximately 18% of Nigeria’s population is Igbo. One of the most densely populated regions of the African continent, their ancestral homeland lies in the southeast, straddling the Niger River. The majority of Igbo people are Christians. The Igbo were traditionally subsistence yam, taro, and cassava farmers. Nowadays, a large number of highly educated people work in business and as civil servants. Over a long period of time, more than one million Igbo have left Nigeria to live elsewhere.

HISTORY OF IGBO TRIBE

ORIGIN

It is thought that the Igbo people first appeared in the region where the Benue River empties into the Niger River thousands of years ago. The Igbo language is part of the Niger-Congo language family. Igbo-Ukwu, in what is now Anambra State, is home to the historically significant archaeological site known as Igbo-Ukwu.

Captives from the interior were sold to European traders by the Igbo, who were active slave traders. The decentralized political structure of the Igbo helped the British establish authority over the area in the 19th century. Igboland was also a good place for Christian missionaries to spread their faith. Following independence, Nigeria experienced severe regional tension as politicians brutally vied for power. The discovery of significant oil deposits made the issue worse, and many Igbo began to worry that their sphere of influence would be cut off from oil-producing regions.

A coup was carried out by Igbo army officers in January 1966. Igbo were killed in retaliation in northern Nigeria’s Hausa-majority areas, and six months later, a countercoup installed General Yakubu Gowon, a northerner, in power. In September 1966, a rumor that northerners had been killed in the Igbo-dominated southeast was broadcast by Radio Cononou in neighboring Benin. Thousands of Igbo civilians were brutally murdered by Northern mobs during a rampage, and Igbo soldiers were hacked to death in army barracks. The survivors fled east, leaving many injured and impoverished, creating severe relocation issues.

RECENT PROBLEMS

The now-elderly Odumegwu Ojukwu, an Igbo separatist leader from the 1960s, ran for president in 2007 and finished sixth. Later, citing the pervasive electoral irregularities as justification, he told the BBC that the Igbo had more reason than ever to pursue independence. Igbo associations protested throughout 2007 that MASSOB leader Chief Ralf Uwazuruike was still behind bars, despite the release of other separatist or rebel leaders. In 2005, Uwazuruike and other suspected MASSOB supporters were taken into custody on treason charges. However, Uwazuruike was released from custody at the end of October 2007.

Despite the government’s crackdown, Igbo people’s secessionist sentiments have endured. Following President Buhari’s election in 2015, security forces responded to pro-independence protests with harsh measures, reportedly killing scores of demonstrators and arresting some activists. Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) group, and three other men were charged with treason and conspiracy. Kanu was freed on bail in May 2017 after the judge dismissed several of the charges in March 2017.

Summary

Several experts emphasized the importance of the resurgence of the pro-independence movement in the southeast, even though Boko Haram activity in the northeast continued to attract the most attention. In addition to the numerous protestor arrests and reported deaths, tensions also increased among certain sections of the populace in other parts of the nation.