COLONIAL INFLUENCES ON OSOPUNG –IZZI INTERGROUP CONFLICTS IN OBUBRA AREA, 1910 – 1960

Abstract

The Osopong and Izzi people in Obubra area with little skirmish had enjoyed peaceful relations until the invasion of Colonial Administrators who orchestrated conflict among the people just to dislodge them and to their economic advantage. Major influences were made by Colonial administration on their relations first through the imposition of political institution - dividing the area into Districts and Divisions and assigning a Native Court (NC) over the Clans, and disposing the pre-colonial political structure of the people. The paper adopted a historical method of analysis. Using the primary and secondary sources of evidence, the paper found that, for the Osopong and Izzi Boundary Conflicts, the Colonial Administrators made some influences, first through a Boundary Demarcation Arbitration set up in 1910, known as Duncan Boundary Arbitration Panel chaired by Sir Duncan. Further arbitrations followed such as that of Allen’s (1926) and Cook’s Arbitration (1933). The paper also found that, the 1910 arbitration and the ones that followed yielded marginal results as the conflict continued to take violent dimension, involving lengthy litigation processes. It concludes that the case of Osopong and Izzi is one amongst many episodes, exposing the character of colonial administrators who found gratification in demarcating and splinting groups (linguistically, culturally and ethnically) without proper consultations on the people. This remained at the front burner of discourse that pertains to boundary and land disputes across the African continent in general and Nigeria in particular.