Wukari Federation
Encyclopedia
The Wukari Federation is a traditional state in Nigeria
, a successor to the Kwararafa
state of the Jukun
people. The state is based in the town of Wukari
in Taraba State
, in the south of the Benue River
basin. The ruler takes the title "Aku Uka".
The Jukun were established in Wukari as early as the 17th century.
The town was one of the southern centers on a trading route that connected via Bauchi
to the northern states of Katsina, Kano
and Bornu
.
Large caravans would bring goods transported from north of the Sahara
, exchanging them for slaves, salt and ivory.
It is debatable whether the Jukun were ever the military leaders of the broader Kwararafa state, as is sometimes claimed, or whether the Aku's role was more a symbolic or ritual leadership of the different peoples of the Benue river basin.
Clearly the Aku Uka of Wukari had considerable influence. For example, in 1780 the leader of a group of migrants from Bornu felt it necessary to apply to the Aku Uka for endorsement and recognition of his rule over their new settlement at Lafia, to the northwest. The Aku Uka agreed and gave him the title of Sarkin Lafia Bare-Bari.
The Aku Uka of Wukari became the regional power in the 1840s after the once-powerful Kwararafa state had been destroyed during the Fulani jihad (1804–1810) and its aftermath.
The consolidation of Wukari as an independent state may have been given impetus by pressure from the Chamba people
, who were pushing westward down the Benue at that time.
When the British incorporated the state into the protectorate of Nigeria around 1900, it was multi-ethnic, including Tiv and Moslem Hausa-Fulani
people as well as the original Jukun.
The British delegated much authority to traditional rulers in the Northern Region.
In 1958 the Aku Uka of Wukari was one of four such rulers serving as a minister without portfolio in the Executive Council of the region, the others being the Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Katsina and Emir of Kano.
to Kwararafa around 596 AD they were assisted by giant crocodiles, who were therefore protected, and still have a shrine in the Marmara pond at Wukari.
The Jukun religion includes belief in the divine right of kingship, with the Aku Uka being considered son of a god. Of several gods, the sun god is paramount. The religion includes belief in communicating with the souls of the dead.
These similarities to Egyptian beliefs have led some anthropologists to speculate that the Jukun originally came from Sudan
.
The Kuteb people
, who speak a related language and live just to the south of the Jukun, have a tradition that they migrated from Egypt about a thousand years ago, but their religion is very different.
The Wukari people adhered to their traditional religion for many years after loss of independence, and some still practice it. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1905, and the first mission station was opened on 29 May 1906. In 1914 one of the missionaries at the station, Rev. W. Maxwell, published the St. Mark's gospel in the Jukun dialect of Wukari Wapan. Progress was slow, with a small congregation and no indigenous pastors as late as the 1950s.
Although many of the Jukun are now Christian, some are animist and some are Moslem.
The Aku Uka, Shekarau Angyu Masa Ibi is a Christian and worships in the Chapel established in the Palace by The Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN).
In the 1910s, the colonial authorities encouraged immigration of Tivs to the region, although they were considered an "inferior group" with no history of central state administration, and were placed under the authority of the Jukun Aku Uka.
Continued Tiv expansion into Wukari was due in part to population pressure, and in part to unsustainable slash-and-burn farming methods.
In the 19th century, the Tiv allied with the Jukun to fight the Hausa/Fulani.
More recently, the Tiv and the Hausa have at times allied against the Jukun. However, under the First Republic
(1963–1966), the Jukun and Hausa supported the Northern People's Congress
, while the Tiv supported the rival United Middle Belt Congress
, often leading to violent conflict.
During the Second Republic
(1979–1983) both the Tiv and the Jukun supported the National Party of Nigeria
.
There were clashes in 1990 and 1991 related to whether Wukari should become part of Tiv-dominated Benue State
or Jukun-majority Taraba State.
In June 1992, a Jukun member of the Taraba state assembly, the only woman, was assassinated.
The Jukun accused the Tiv of the murder, and further violence broke out.
During this period, as many as 5,000 people may have been killed and many more forced to move.
In 2001 and 2002 there were again clashes between the Jukun, Tiv, Kuteb and Fulani people of the Federation.
The Aku Uka of Wukari, Dr. Shekarau Angyu Masa-Ibi Kuvyo II, was reported as saying "They (the Tiv) came here to farm; we allowed them, gave them chieftaincy titles... Now that their population has increased, they believe they are many enough to colonise us."
In August 2010 there was further fighting, this time along religious rather than ethnic lines.
Christians disputed the construction of a mosque at the Wukari Police divisional headquarters, and started rioting a few days before a planned visit of the Moslem Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III.
Lives were lost and property destroyed.
The Aku Uka of Wukari and chairman of the Taraba State Traditional Council, Dr. Shakaru Angyu, had reportedly warned the Area Commander against the building of the mosque, which was destroyed during the disturbances.
On a more positive note, Wukari traditions such as the rituals of the crocodile shrine are of interest to tourists.
The annual Nwonyo Fishing Festival, which has its origins in 1826, includes boat and canoe racing, diving, swimming, and traditional dancing, and there is a prize for the person who catches the heaviest fish.
The competition takes place at the Nwonyo lake, said to have been discovered in 1816 by the founder of Ibi
, Buba Wurbo, and the first public festival was held during the reign of Abgumanu II (1903–1915).
After a ritual to appease the gods of the river, when the fishing context began in April 2010 the winner caught a fish weighing 318 kg.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, a successor to the Kwararafa
Kwararafa
Kwararafa was a multiethnic state and/or confederacy centered along the Benue River valley in what is today eastern Nigeria. It was located southwest of the Bornu Empire and south of the Hausa States, and much of what we know of the Kwararafa come from these sources...
state of the Jukun
Jukun people (West Africa)
Jukun are an ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in West Africa. The Jukun are traditionally located in Taraba State, Nigeria and parts of northwestern Cameroon. They are descendants of the people of the Kwararafa kingdom. most of the tribes in the north central of Nigeria trace their origin to...
people. The state is based in the town of Wukari
Wukari
Wukari is a Local Government Area in Taraba State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Wukari on the A4 highway. The Donga River flows through the area and the Benue River forms a boundary with Nasarawa State to the northwest....
in Taraba State
Taraba State
Taraba State is a state of Nigeria, named after the Taraba River which traverses the southern part of the state. Taraba's capital is Jalingo.-History:...
, in the south of the Benue River
Benue River
The Benue River is the major tributary of the Niger River. The river is approximately 1,400 km long and is almost entirely navigable during the summer months...
basin. The ruler takes the title "Aku Uka".
Early history
The town was one of the southern centers on a trading route that connected via Bauchi
Bauchi
Bauchi is a city in northeast Nigeria, the capital of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. The city has a population of 316,173...
to the northern states of Katsina, Kano
Kano Emirate
The Kano Emirate is a traditional state in Northern Nigeria with headquarters in the city of Kano, capital of the modern Kano State.The Emirate was formed in 1805 during the Fulani jihad, when the old Hausa Kingdom of Kano became subject to the Sokoto Caliphate.During and after the colonial period...
and Bornu
Bornu Empire
The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...
.
Large caravans would bring goods transported from north of the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
, exchanging them for slaves, salt and ivory.
It is debatable whether the Jukun were ever the military leaders of the broader Kwararafa state, as is sometimes claimed, or whether the Aku's role was more a symbolic or ritual leadership of the different peoples of the Benue river basin.
Clearly the Aku Uka of Wukari had considerable influence. For example, in 1780 the leader of a group of migrants from Bornu felt it necessary to apply to the Aku Uka for endorsement and recognition of his rule over their new settlement at Lafia, to the northwest. The Aku Uka agreed and gave him the title of Sarkin Lafia Bare-Bari.
The Aku Uka of Wukari became the regional power in the 1840s after the once-powerful Kwararafa state had been destroyed during the Fulani jihad (1804–1810) and its aftermath.
The consolidation of Wukari as an independent state may have been given impetus by pressure from the Chamba people
Chamba people
The Chamba people of Nigeria and Cameroon that speak two distantly related languages: Chamba Leko, of the Leko–Nimbari languages, and Chamba Daka, of the Dakoid languages...
, who were pushing westward down the Benue at that time.
When the British incorporated the state into the protectorate of Nigeria around 1900, it was multi-ethnic, including Tiv and Moslem Hausa-Fulani
Hausa-Fulani
Hausa-Fulani is a term used to refer collectively to the Hausa and Fulani people of West Africa. The two are grouped together because since the Fulani War their histories have been largely intertwined...
people as well as the original Jukun.
The British delegated much authority to traditional rulers in the Northern Region.
In 1958 the Aku Uka of Wukari was one of four such rulers serving as a minister without portfolio in the Executive Council of the region, the others being the Sultan of Sokoto, Emir of Katsina and Emir of Kano.
Religion
Traditional Jukun beliefs and rituals are complex, with unique elements. For example, they thought that in their migration from YemenYemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
to Kwararafa around 596 AD they were assisted by giant crocodiles, who were therefore protected, and still have a shrine in the Marmara pond at Wukari.
The Jukun religion includes belief in the divine right of kingship, with the Aku Uka being considered son of a god. Of several gods, the sun god is paramount. The religion includes belief in communicating with the souls of the dead.
These similarities to Egyptian beliefs have led some anthropologists to speculate that the Jukun originally came from Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
.
The Kuteb people
Kuteb people
The Kuteb people are an ethno-linguistic group in West Africa, who speak a Jukunoid language. Most of the Kuteb live in Taraba State, Nigeria....
, who speak a related language and live just to the south of the Jukun, have a tradition that they migrated from Egypt about a thousand years ago, but their religion is very different.
The Wukari people adhered to their traditional religion for many years after loss of independence, and some still practice it. The first Christian missionaries arrived in 1905, and the first mission station was opened on 29 May 1906. In 1914 one of the missionaries at the station, Rev. W. Maxwell, published the St. Mark's gospel in the Jukun dialect of Wukari Wapan. Progress was slow, with a small congregation and no indigenous pastors as late as the 1950s.
Although many of the Jukun are now Christian, some are animist and some are Moslem.
The Aku Uka, Shekarau Angyu Masa Ibi is a Christian and worships in the Chapel established in the Palace by The Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria (CRCN).
Recent times
Wukari is multi-ethnic. While the Jukun consider that it is their traditional homeland, other ethnic groups including the Tiv and Hausa have been present for over 200 years.In the 1910s, the colonial authorities encouraged immigration of Tivs to the region, although they were considered an "inferior group" with no history of central state administration, and were placed under the authority of the Jukun Aku Uka.
Continued Tiv expansion into Wukari was due in part to population pressure, and in part to unsustainable slash-and-burn farming methods.
In the 19th century, the Tiv allied with the Jukun to fight the Hausa/Fulani.
More recently, the Tiv and the Hausa have at times allied against the Jukun. However, under the First Republic
Nigerian First Republic
The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution.-Founding :...
(1963–1966), the Jukun and Hausa supported the Northern People's Congress
Northern People's Congress
Northern People's Congress is a political party in Nigeria. Formed in June 1949, the party held considerable influence in the Northern Region from the 1950s until the military coup of 1966....
, while the Tiv supported the rival United Middle Belt Congress
United Middle Belt Congress
United Middle Belt Congress was a political party in Nigeria during the nation's First Republic. The Party was a fusion of two major middle belt organizations, the Middle Zone League and the Middle Belt Peoples' Party...
, often leading to violent conflict.
During the Second Republic
Nigerian Second Republic
The Second Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1979 and 1983 governed by the second republican constitution.- Founding :...
(1979–1983) both the Tiv and the Jukun supported the National Party of Nigeria
National Party of Nigeria
The National Party of Nigeria was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic .-Formation:The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian leaders after the proscription of political parties in 1966 by the military...
.
There were clashes in 1990 and 1991 related to whether Wukari should become part of Tiv-dominated Benue State
Benue State
Benue is a state in the Middle-Belt region of Nigeria with a population of about 2.8 million in 1991. Tiv, Idoma, and Igede are spoken predominantly. There are other ethnic groups as well. These include Etulo and Abakwa...
or Jukun-majority Taraba State.
In June 1992, a Jukun member of the Taraba state assembly, the only woman, was assassinated.
The Jukun accused the Tiv of the murder, and further violence broke out.
During this period, as many as 5,000 people may have been killed and many more forced to move.
In 2001 and 2002 there were again clashes between the Jukun, Tiv, Kuteb and Fulani people of the Federation.
The Aku Uka of Wukari, Dr. Shekarau Angyu Masa-Ibi Kuvyo II, was reported as saying "They (the Tiv) came here to farm; we allowed them, gave them chieftaincy titles... Now that their population has increased, they believe they are many enough to colonise us."
In August 2010 there was further fighting, this time along religious rather than ethnic lines.
Christians disputed the construction of a mosque at the Wukari Police divisional headquarters, and started rioting a few days before a planned visit of the Moslem Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III.
Lives were lost and property destroyed.
The Aku Uka of Wukari and chairman of the Taraba State Traditional Council, Dr. Shakaru Angyu, had reportedly warned the Area Commander against the building of the mosque, which was destroyed during the disturbances.
On a more positive note, Wukari traditions such as the rituals of the crocodile shrine are of interest to tourists.
The annual Nwonyo Fishing Festival, which has its origins in 1826, includes boat and canoe racing, diving, swimming, and traditional dancing, and there is a prize for the person who catches the heaviest fish.
The competition takes place at the Nwonyo lake, said to have been discovered in 1816 by the founder of Ibi
Ibi, Nigeria
Ibi is a town and administrative district in Taraba State, Nigeria. The town is located on the south bank of the Benue River, opposite the influx of the much smaller Shemankar River...
, Buba Wurbo, and the first public festival was held during the reign of Abgumanu II (1903–1915).
After a ritual to appease the gods of the river, when the fishing context began in April 2010 the winner caught a fish weighing 318 kg.
Rulers
Jukun rulers of the Wukari Federation, with title "Aku Uka", were:| Start | End | Ruler |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 1854 | Angyu Zikenyu |
| 1854 | 1866 | Agbu Manu I |
| 1866 | 1871 | Ashu Manu II |
| 1871 | 1902 | Agudu Manu |
| 1902 | 1915 | Agbu Manu II |
| 1915 | 1927 | Ashu Manu III |
| 1927 | Agbu Manu III | |
| 1945 | Angyu Ashu Manu IV | |
| 1946 | May 1960 | Atoshi Agbu Manu IV |
| May 1960 | Adi Byewi | |
| 1980 | Shekarau Angyu Masa Ibi Kuvyon II |