Want to know more about Igede? Here are the most Interesting Facts about Igede that you probably didn’t know before reading this!
To make this even more fun, I want to give you a small challenge. How many of these Igede facts did you already know? Leave a comment after reading and tell me your result!
Apart from the Tivs and the Idomas, the Igede people are also a large ethnic group in Benue State. The people are found in two Local Government Areas of the state which are Oju and Obi Local Government Areas.
The total population of the people is over 2 million which are dispersed across the state and the nation. Apart from Benue State which is their home, they are also found in parts of Cross River, Osun, Kano and Ogun States.
Igede is the main language spoken and they are also related to other ethnic groups such as Tiv, Idoma, and Etulo. The people practice Christian and traditional religion.
Most Interesting Facts about Igede includes their culture, tradition, music, dance, wedding, religion and notable people. These notable people includes Samson Okwu, Ode Ojowu, Peter Okwoche and so on.
List Of Notable Igede People
This is manifest of the notable people of Igede . They are:
- Samson Okwu is a Member Federal House of Representatives, Chairman, House Committee on Nigerian Air Force
- Ochi Idoma,
- Abraham Ojene Akpabi,
- Ode Ojowu, former Chief Economic Adviser to President Obasanjo and CEO National Planning Commission,
- Oga Okwoche, Former Nigerian Ambassador to France,
- Peter Okwoche, host of the British Broadcasting Corporation Focus on Africanews Magazine programme,
- Ogiri Ajene, former Deputy Governor of Benue State.
Others notable people of Igede are Dr. Stephen Ijaha, The pioneer rector of Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, late Joel I. Iji, Ace Broadcaster , Prof. (Chief) John E. Enyi, Lecturer BSU, astute public Administrator and Rural Development guru and of course young Igede ambassadors like Mike Okoche of TVC and Henry Ipole of Radio Benue.
About Samson Okwu
Aja Okwu Samson is a Member Federal House of Representatives, Chairman, House Committee on Nigerian Air Force, representing the good people of Oju/Obi Benue State Federal Constituency at the Green Chamber of the National Assembly.
Samson Okwu Political Roles
- Federal Representative at House of Representatives 2011 – 2019
- Chairman at Air Force Committee (Reps) 2015 – 2019
- Committee Member at Aids, Loans and Debt Management Committee (Reps) 2015
- Committee Member at Anti-Corruption Committee Reps 2015
- Committee Member at Youth and Social Development Committee (Reps) 2015
- Committee Member at Finance Committee (Reps) 2015
- Committee Member at Foreign Affairs Committee (Reps) 2015
- Vice-Chairman at Pension Committee (Reps) 2015
- Committee Member at Public Procurement Committee (Reps) 2015
- Committee Member at Constituency Outreach Committee (Reps) 2015
Samson Okwu Personal Life/Education
| S/N | Qualification | Schools Attended | Date |
| 1. | Primary Education | Lgea Ohuma | 1980 |
| 2. | Secondary Education | Tehmic | 1999 |
| Iyokpe Corn | 2008 |
About Prof. Ode Ojowu
Prof. Ode Ojowu, was Chief Executive of the National Planning Commission and Economic Adviser to Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo from 2004 to 2005.
In academia, Ojowu was a professor of economics at the University of Jos as well as the head of the governing council of Benue State University.
Ojowu has held positions at the International Monetary Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations Development Programme.
He was a professor of economics at the University of Jos. He is a member of a newly formed Economic Advisory Council (EAC) that will be reporting directly to the Nigerian President.
In 2008 Ojowu was appointed head of the governing council of the Benue State University; he is currently serving his second term. He has published papers about the Nigerian economy. In 2004, he was appointed Chief Economic Advisor to President Obasanjo of Nigeria.
Most Interesting Facts About Igede
Here are 10 most interesting facts about Nigeria:
1. New Yam Festival (Igede Agba)
The people celebrate the annual New Yam Festival just like other ethnic groups, such as the Igbos. The New Yam Festival here is called ‘Igede Agba’.
The festival is being held annually in the month of September. It marks the beginning of new yam planting every season. The people who are predominantly farmers see yam as the most palatable of all the food crops.
The festival is an opportunity for the people to display their rich culture; give thanks to the gods for a good harvest, and welcome a new planting season.
Traditional dancing and masquerades are also featured to add cultural value to the festival. Every Igede sons and daughters, home and abroad, participate in this festival.
2. Igede Culture:
If there is anything that stands the Igede people out is perhaps their fascinating culture. Exceptionally proud of their native heritage, the Igede people have managed to preserve many of their ancestral traditions and cultures.
With a westernisation and the traditional African culture, the Igede people have a good balance. For example, the young ones can greet an elder by mere hand shake without necessarily prostrating which is more western, yet the culture allow for wives to kneel while serving her husband.
The Igede culture does not allow for a House wife to cheat, a husband brother can not tie the rapper of his brothers wife, among other culture. The Igede’s are also rich in elaborate traditional tales, folklores, mysticism, artistic expressions, music and varied cultural elements.
Like any other society, Igede people reveal their customs, traditions, beliefs, norms and lifestyle through the distinctive behavioral traits, dressing, communication etc.
3. Igede Traditional Head
The traditional head of the Igede people used to be called Ad’utu. These days, the people are led by the Ad’oju and Ad’obi. These titles were created after the series of crisis that occurred for the succession of the last Ad’utu.
The Ad’oju and Ad’obi serve as assistants to the Och’Idoma who is the paramount ruler of all Idoma people. The current Ad’oju is Augustine Egbere Ogbu, while the Ad’obi is Chief Cyril Okwute.
4. Igede Dance and Music:
This tribe have a distinctive style of Music and Dance. Their fast style of music is completed by an equally high energetic dance that will leave anyone amuse and wanting more.
Their music genre include: i. Ogirinye, known as the dance of war for the real and heroic men, ii. Akata, the youth music band, iii. Aita, the entertainment music, and in some part of Igede like the Uwokwu the have the Evoh festival music etc.
The different music genre have a peculiar masquerade that makes each of the music band more fascinating.
5. Igede people:
Dependency is not one of the characteristics of the Igede people.They engage in majorly yam farm. Also plant crops like grain, cassava, bene seed etc. They are hard working and enduring. Even the women either engage in trade or also involve in farming.
6. Igede Traditional Religion:
Like any other tribe in Nigeria, the Igede tribe also have some strong tradition that was past down from their ancestral fathers. Though they are predominantly Christians, but there are some who still go the traditional way of diety and god worshiping.
In fact, some of the believed tradition are meant to keep the people in check and as a means sanitizing the society of any impending evil, among such of many tradition is Akpang, the neutralizer of evil forces.
It is a common believe that the Akpang have the power to furnish anybody who conceive evil against his or her fellow brother. This tradition serve as a watch dog and also prevent them from engaging in money ritual, witch craft etc, with the believe that such person will die.
Igede people still some what believe in the Akpang spirit that is despite the advent of Christianity and other foreign religions as well as western practice, that have weakened the traditional belief systems of most ethnic groups in the country, and this have keep many inline with the norms and the demands of a safe society.
7. Igede Language:
The main language of this tribe is Igede, though there is a wrong misconception of identity with the Idoma and or Igara people, and most time people classify them as Hausas or part of the Igbo Tribe, but the Igede though classified as a minority ethnic group have a distinctive lingual, Igede.
Their population figure as at 2006 stand at an estimated 267,198 people. However, a large number of Igede people are dispersed across the different states and the Nation across the world.
8. Igede Food:
When it comes to food, no doubt the Igede people have one of the most variety of food. Though their best food is pounded yam and beneseed Soup (Oho Nye hia), but their are many foods like Ihile, Egbe nyi chwo, Egbei and so many more.
They like preparing their soup with the natural spice like okpehe, Ikparenge, Afu nyi wowo, that gives their soup a natural taste. Some of their other soup include bitter leafe soup, Mellon soup, Groundnut soup, Okro soup etc
9. Igede Marriage:
You dont have to be a millionaire to marry an igede person. Like every other tribe in Nigeria, the traditional marriage is given lots of cognisance.
A lady must bring her choice husband home to her father and the kindred. The husband to be brings cola nut and palm wine to the lady’s parent and a payment of bride price follow.
The Igede people symbolises the arrival of a new wife by firing a gun shot to the air, and the gun powder is used to touch the wife in the chest.
This practice is not to adhear to any god or diety neither is it a sign of homage to any one, just a symbol of celebraton. A lady is not expected to have a child outside wedlock, when that happens the child is seen as a bastard child.
The culture allow for both the traditional and church wedding. Sometimes, traditional marriage supersedes in cases when couples are not rich enough to afford the luxury of white wedding, the traditional marriage can serve their purpos. This and many more is what you don’t know about the Igede people.
10. Wedding Ceremony in Igede
Igede people do both church and traditional wedding. The traditional wedding involves the man asking out a woman he likes when he is matured enough for marriage.
The wedding process can also begin with the man’s father or any other relatives choosing a wife for the man. If the man likes the girl, his parents immediately go formally with kola nuts and palm wine to the girl’s parents to seek their child’s hand in marriage.
If the girl consents to it, a negotiation starts as regards the bride price. Marriage preparation follows the payment of bride price (it does not matter if it is paid partially or not at all).
The wedding goes ahead and it is always a beautiful ceremony. The Igede attire is displayed which is a combination of white, black and blue woven stripes.
Igede Names
There are thousands of Igede names but School Drillers have mentioned the top 20 Igede names and their english meaning including the commonly used Igede names to be precise.
Igede Names and English Meaning selection is cultural based. One of the most commonly naming practice in Igede is Namesake pattern. It’s always a sign of love to name your little one after someone in both the father and mothers family.
