Igueben is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

, Nigeria. Its headquarters are located in the town of Igueben, which has an area of and a population of 69,639 according to the 2006 census. The

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

is 310.

History

Igueben was founded around 1516 in the Southern region of Nigeria. At the time, the area was part of the

Kingdom of Benin The Kingdom of Benin, also known as the Edo Kingdom, or the Benin Empire ( Bini: ') was a kingdom within what is now southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th c ...

. Between 1515 and 1516, the Kingdom of Benin was at war with the Attah of the

Igala Kingdom Anẹ Igáláà (Igala Land) also known as the Igala Kingdom. Igala Kingdom is a pre-colonial West African state, located at the eastern region of the confluence of River Niger and River Benue in the Middle Belt or North-central of Nigeria. T ...

. The town was, according Dr. Christopher Okojie, settled around a camp established during this war.

The area today

The village is governed by a traditional ruler, called an Onogie. The present Onogie is HRM Ehizogie Eluojerior I. Their language is a unique dialect of Edo and Esan. They also use

Pidgin English Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles. English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have ...

, which is a mixture of Portuguese, English and Esan. There is a state-run college in Igueben, and many people in the area speak English. Igueben consists of several towns. These include Eguare, Oyomo, Afuda, Idumeka, Idumonka, Uhe, Egbiki, Ekekhen Idigun, Idumogbo, Idumedo, Idumotutu, Idumogo, and Ologhe.

Facilities

Major facilities include the Igueben General Hospital, the Igueben Grammar School, the Igueben College, the Igueben Mixed Secondary School, the College of Education Igueben, the Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, the Uda Community Bank PLC, primary schools, two major markets, and a Local Government Council Secretariat. There is around 22

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...

s of rainforest in the Igueben area.

Economy

The primary occupation in Igueben is farming. Local produce is cross-traded with the Northern parts of Nigeria. They sell food products peculiar to the savannah vegetation, such as tubular roots like yam,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

(

garri In West Africa, ''garri (also known as gari, galli'', or ''gali)'' is the flour of the fresh starchy cassava root. In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to the flour of guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet. For ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, and

plantain Plantain may refer to: Plants and fruits * Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking ** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa'' * ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...

. They buy produce peculiar to arid areas, such as

beans A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

, groundnuts, and

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

. Foreign exports include palm produce, rubber, and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

Tourist attractions

Cultural celebrations like the Ukpe Festival showcasing masquerades, traditional dances, family entertainment and visits, are well worth experiencing. The Onogie's

New Year Festival New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system tod ...

- Ihuan, which is similar to the Ukpe Festival, also affords further opportunities to engage with local traditional practices. There is potential for tourist attractions such as historical landmarks like the Onogie's palace and rainforest expeditions. These opportunities are yet to be exploited.

Educational institutions

Igueben is home to different educational institutions, including the College of Education, Igueben, Wisdom Group of School, Igueben, and Eguare Primary School, Eguare.

References

* P. Girshick Ben-Amos The art of Benin (London, The British Museum Press, 1995) Oral sources: * Hon. Barrister Patrick Aigbogun * Chief Sunday Aigbogun - Ebenzer of Igueben * Chief (Bar.) Abubakar Yesufu – Ogieneni of Igueben Local Government Areas in Edo State {{EdoNG-geo-stub