TheEgba people are a subgroup of theYoruba people, an ethnic group of westernNigeria, a majority of whom are from the central part ofOgun State, that is Ogun Central Senatorial District.
Before the creation of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, Egba territory and people is bordered by theKetu (Benin) in the West, theLagos Colony in south, Ijebu in the east, and Oyo, Ibadan and Isoya near Ile Ife in the north. The people are directly connected to theOgun River, but detached from the swampy coast of Lagos. Through the Egba land, there are direct routes to other Yoruba towns, including Lagos, Ibadan, Ijebu-Ode, Ketu (Benin), and Porto Novo (Àjàṣẹ́) in the Benin Republic.[3][4]
The origination of the word "Egba" is disputed. The first meaning may come from the word Ẹ̀gbálugbó, meaning wanderers towards the forest, and this comes from the fact that the ancestors of the Egba people came from the region of theOyo Empire to the "Egba Forest" and formed what we now know as the city of Abeokuta.[5] The "Egbalugbo" were in conjunction with the Ẹ̀gbáluwẹ or Ẹ̀gbálodó, meaning the wanderers towards the river, who later shortened their name to "Egbado," another subethnic group of theYoruba. Another possible meaning may come from the word Ẹsẹ̀gbá, the title of a chief which led several groups of the Egba to their present location.[6][7]
The Egba group, originally under theOyo Empire, becameindependent following the spectacular collapse of Oyo in the first half of the 19th century.[8] Wars with the Dahomey, in which the Egba were successful partly due to the protection afforded by theOlumo Rock, led to the founding of the city of Abeokuta, which literally means "under the rock".
A short introductory expose of The Egbas in Egba dialect by a native speaker
The Egba nation is made up of the following subdivisions: theAke,Owu, Oke Ona andGbagura, each with its own king. (Historically, the Egba nation is made up of these four divisions; Ibara, though geographically located in Abeokuta as well, is part of Yewaland.) During colonial rule the British recognised theAlake (or King of Ake) as the paramount ruler of the whole clan and their territory, and so, his successor is now referred to as the Alake of Egbaland. The titles of the kings of the aforementioned subdivisions are thereforeAlake of Egbaland,Oshile of Oke Ona,Agura of Gbagura, andOlowu of Owu, in order of settlement and seniority in the Egba nation.
It is worthy of note that the original town and settlement of the Egba nation in Egbaland was under and around Olumo Rock, which is in the Ikija/Ikereku area of the Egba Oke Ona, The Jagunna of Itoko, an Oke Ona chief, is the high priest of Olumo. Olumo Rock is in the territory of and under the control of the Itokos.
Another reference name for Abeokuta by the founding fathers isOko Adagba (Adagba's Farm) in reference to the hunter that discovered Olumo Rock. Adagba went hunting in search of game animals from the Obantoko township where his fellow Itoko citizens were stationed while wandering for a settlement. He then came across the mountain.
Egbaland was whereHenry Townsend lived, and was also the home of the firstnewspaper in Nigeria (Iwe Iroyin). Its people went on to serve as the first of the many Nigerian nations (until recently, the only one of them) to have an anthem.
Ladapo Ademola, theAlake of Abeokuta from 1920 to 1962, member of the Egba council. Also, a leading figure in negotiations with the Lagos State colonial government.
Bola Tinubu, a Nigerian politician who is the 16th president of Nigeria (since 2023), a former governor of Lagos State (1999-2007), and senator for Lagos West in the Third Republic.
