Jukun people (West Africa)

Jukun (Njikum;

The term Jukun or Juku is derived from the Jukun compound word for 'men' or 'people', apa-juku. The Jukun of Wukari, Dampar and Wase, however, do not refer to themselves as Jukun but Wapa. They use the first part of the compound word apa-juku instead of the second. Their immediate neighbours refer to them by some form of this term. Thus the Kam call them Apang and the Chamba call them Kpazo.

The Jukun of Kona call themselves Jiba (/dʒibə/) but are called Kwana by their neighbours. They are known as Kpe by the Mumuye and Kwe by the Jen. It is worth noting that the term Jukun is a generic term for all Jukun-speaking peoples.

The

• Kororofa may come from Kwana Apa, meaning the people of Kona.
• It may mean Kuru Apa, the king of the Jukun.
• It might have meant "the salt people" as the Kwararafa region was known for its salt-bearing qualities and was distributed all over the region. Both the Hausa and the Jukun knew it as kororo.
• Kororofa might mean "the river or water people", i.e. the Apa of the Kworra. The
  River Niger
  was called the Kworra by the Jukun, but the term was used for any river.

Benue river basin. The Jukun region is along the upper Benue River shaded dark green.

An estimated approximation of the boundaries of the historical Kwararafa, the kingdom from which the modern Jukun claim descent.

Kwararafa was also applied to the Jukun state and its capital city. The Jukun people, however, did not know of this word hence did not use it. They called their ancient capital Api or Pi, or the compound Jukun term, Bie-Pi. This name means "the place of grass or leaves". Pi is a common Sudanic root meaning grass. Conversely, -pi is a common root for house or home and bie-pi can therefore mean town.^[6]: 18

Population and demographics

Writing in the late 1920s,

The language can be divided into six separate dialects: Wukari, Donga, Kona, Gwana and Pindiga, Jibu, and finally Wase Tofa, although Meek noted that the dialects of "Kona, Gwana and Pindiga differ so little that they may be regarded as one."[11]

History

Origins

According to oral traditions of the Jukun people, their migration originated from the east, possibly from Yemil, located east of

Kwararafa reached its height of power in the latter half of the seventeenth century. According to Sultan Muhammad Bello of the Sokoto Caliphate in the nineteenth century, Kwararafa was one of the seven greatest kingdoms of the Sudan. Sultan Bello even claimed that Kwararafa's influence extended to the Atlantic, although this assertion is likely an exaggeration. Historian J.M. Fremantle observed that Kwararafa had exerted its sovereignty over various regions at different times, including Kano, Bornu, Idoma, Igbira, and Igala.^[12]: 204

However, towards the end of the eighteenth century, Kwararafa, like many states in the region, experienced a decline. The state later faced attacks from the

In the post-colonial period, Nigeria has suffered violence, the result of multiple ethnic tensions among the different communities living in the country ^[citation needed]. Tensions exist between the Jukun and the neighbouring Tiv people, who migrated from Congo^{[13][14][15][16]}

Studies

In 1931, the academic publishing company

• Yakubu Alfred Samuila, Retired Customs Comptroller, Businessman and Public Policy Analyst.
• David Sabo Kente, businessman, politician and philanthropist^[18]
• Jesse Jagz, rapper, record producer and songwriter^[19]
• Kuvyon II, Aku Uka (paramount ruler) of Kwararafa^[20]
• M.I Abaga, hip hop recording artist and record producer^[21]
• Ezekiel Irmiya Afukonyo, politician, businessman and diplomat.^[22]
• Zinga Obadiah, Economist, Politician and businessman
• Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma, retired Nigerian army general, former Chief of Army Staff, former Minister of Defence, and businessman

References

Footnotes