A discourse on the history and identity of the Isoko of the Niger Delta of Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT This work is a review of historical and anthropological knowledge about the Isoko that gradually developed in the literature on ethnic groups in Nigeria. The paper has harnessed this to demonstrate the distinct identity of the Isoko, as opposed to colonial usage that considered the Isoko as a sub-group of the Urhobo, tracing the life of the group from the pre-colonial period. The work is premised on the historical method and interpretation deploying primary and secondary data to achieve its objective. It avers that any endeavour to manipulate identities according to perceptions of political or economic interest has to start from pre-existing identifications. The paper demonstrates that the identity of the Isoko Nationalism was not instituted, until after 1963. The work concludes that Isoko is a distinct ethnic group made up of nineteen subcultural units with an almost common ancestry and migration stories, totems, customs and traditions who were, in official records, lumped together with the Urhobo.