Okun people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 804,945 (2011) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
Kogi State - 804,945 · Ijumu : 137,790· Yagba West : 162,570 · Yagba East : 171,530 · Kabba/Bunu : 167,980 · Lokoja (50%): 114,235 · Mopa - Muro : 50,840 |
|
| Religion | |
| Christianity 85%Islam 15% |
Kogi State - 804,945
Okun Peoples is the term generally used to describe groups of Yoruba speaking communities, who are the Yoruba descendants of Kogi state, North central Nigeria. Their dialects are generally classified in the Northeast Yoruba language (NEY) grouping. They are collectively called "Okun", the word commonly used in greeting among the people. Although this form of greeting is also shared with the Ekiti and Igbomina Yoruba groups. This identity, which was probably first suggested by Eva Kraft-Askari during a 1965 field expedition, has gained wide acceptance among the indigenous Yoruba people and scholars. The individual Okun subgroups share some historical and linguistic affinity but still maintain individual peculiarities. Okun therefore refers to the distinct but culturally related Òwè, Ìyàgbà, Ìjùmú, Bùnú or Abunu (including Kiri) and Òwòrò peoples, which together are said to make up around 20% of the Kogi State population, according to the highly controversial 2006 National population census.
The individual historical accounts that state that the Okun people migrated from Ile-Ife is very popular and highly acceptable among the people. In version of Yagba Oral tradition for instance, the man that led a group of people to their present location was sent from Ile-Ife to establish the settlement but did not return over a long period of time to give an account of his expenditure. When he eventually returned and explained that he lost larger part of his acquired land to some other migrants, he was blamed for the loss. He responded thus in yoruba, Ìyà àgbà ló jemí , the clause from which the name Iyagba or Yagba was coined.
Ade Obayemi however opined that the okun people are aboriginals in the Niger-Benue confluence and may not have migrated to their present location from Ile-Ife. The turn of events that followed the Nupe military incursion of the 19th century left the Okun people as minorities in the Northern Region of Nigeria, separated from their kiths and kins in the southwest.
...
Wikipedia