CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Introduction
According to oral traditions, the Etsako people migrated from the ancient Benin Kingdom during the reign of Oba Ozolua in the 15th century.1 Despite their society’s origins in Benin society, they developed their own unique characteristics, such as a decentralized system of government, lack of loyalty to a revered ruler, a traditional religion that included the worship of distinctive deities, and their own marriage customs, age grading, and title systems. Many communities in modern-day Edo State claim to have migrated from Benin at some point. The migrants’ motivations ranged from a desire to go to new locations to a wish to flee persecution back home. A group migrated to the northern outskirts of what is now Edo State from Benin. The term “the nucleus of the different clans that make up the Etsako” was used to describe this group. Despite the invasion by alien peoples like the Europeans and Nupes, these people created long-lasting institutions, customs, and administrative systems, some of which have endured. Nevertheless, there is still evidence of this interaction with outside groups throughout Etsakoland today.2
With Agenebode, Fugar, and Auchi serving as their respective administrative centers, the population is currently divided among three Local Government Areas: Etsako East, Etsako Central, and Etsako West. Thirteen clans—the Auchi, Aviele, Awain, Avhianwu, Ekpen, Yagbe, Okpekpe, South Ibie, South Ineme, East Ibie, Uzairue, and Weppa Wanno—are acknowledged inside the borders of Etsakoland. With the Uzairue clan, for instance, comprising nineteen villages, each of the thirteen clans is a collection of villages.3 Every society has had occasion to engage with other societies at some point. They have thus typically witnessed the effects of outside forces on their own system. As a result, modern societies are typically the result of interactions that have taken place throughout their history. The Etsako’s history also demonstrates how a culture developed the key characteristics that have given it its current identity through interactions and evolution.4
Like most other ethnic groups in Nigeria and Africa, the Etsakos were invaded starting in the middle of the 19th century, first by the Nupes and then by the Europeans. The people’s political, social, and economic lives changed as a result of their interactions with outsiders. The Nupes initiated the process of social change, but the British carried it further by bringing in new ideas and customs. The modifications brought about by the foreigners had mostly taken root in Etsako society by 1948. Some of the ancient customs have survived, but in other situations, the institutions that have survived have undergone significant modifications, despite the aliens’ introduction of new concepts and behaviors. Thus, the Etsako Society demonstrated the harmonious coexistence of foreign and traditional customs after 1948. Some indigenous Etsako people embraced the new customs, while others clung tenaciously to some of their old ones.
It is plausible to consider Etsakoland from the end of the 19th century until the Nupe invasion and the arrival of Europeans at the end of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century to be a society in transition, given the aforementioned occurrences.5 The Etsako clans speak closely related languages and are intimately linked by shared traditions of origin. They have a population of about 264,506 6 according to the 1991 National Census, and they occupy an area of about 1,000 square miles.
In the light of the above developments, there is a reasonable justification to regard Etsakoland from the 19th century through the Nupe invasion and the coming of the Europeans at the close of the 19th century up to the middle of the 20th century as largely a society in transition.5 The Etsako clans are strongly connected by common traditions of origin, and they speak closely related dialects. They occupy an area of approximately 1,000 square miles and the 1991 National Census put their population at approximately 264,506.6
Auchi, which served as the administrative center during the colonial era, had more than 43,394 residents as of the 1991 Census, whereas the Uzairue clan had about 42,876. It turned out that the British influence that replaced the Nupe’s was more permanent, as was its impact. British colonial rule prevailed over the Etsako people until 1960, when Nigeria attained independence. Nigerians were subjected to influences from Britain, the colonizing power, during their colonial period.7
Aim and Objectives
The aim of this project work is to investigate how the people of Etsakoland have been impacted by the West in the age of globalization. The objective of the project work includes:
1. To reveal the distinctive socio-political and economic history of the Etsako people throughout the pre-colonial period
2. To educate others about the proper understanding of the Etsako people’s political, economic, and sociocultural structure in the age of globalization;
3. To add to the body of literature about the Etsako people;
4. The nature and changes that the European encounter brought about in the socio-political and economic organization of the Etsako people; and
5. The impact and influence of this contact.