There Is Evidence That Igbos Migrated From Ife – Ooni

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has claimed that there is evidence showing that the Igbo race actually migrated from Ile-Ife.

He stated this on Saturday while addressing journalists ahead of an International Conference titled ‘Ile-Ife and Yoruba Civilization: Nexus between Tradition and Modernity’, at his palace in Ile-Ife.

Ooni stated that there is evidence that the Igbo race has its roots here in Ile-Ife, revealing that there is Ile-Igbo here in the palace, which was not a recent creation but has been existing here for decades.

Oba Ogunwusi challenged academia in Nigerian universities to properly document the history of the Yoruba race rather than relying on jaundiced history.

The monarch added that proper documentation will not only foster unity but reveal the ties across ethnic groups, adding that the Yoruba race has about a quarter of its history documented.

Ogunwusi said the reason he is collaborating with select universities on the need to properly document the history of the race with a view to enhancing cohesion among the people globally.

He said: “We have good evidence to believe that the Igbo race has its roots here in Ile-Ife. There is Ile-Igbo here in the palace, which was not a recent creation but has been existing here for decades. For this and many other reasons, I believe we need proper documentation of our history.

“We are not involving government in this project so that we can just place all the facts together, we must write our history properly and put things the right for the coming generations.”

Also speaking, a renowned Professor of History, Siyan Oyeweso, said the conference aims to bring scholars together to discuss how to properly document the history of Yoruba, with a focus on Ile-Ife as the source of the race.