CHAPTER 3

Diplomacy and War in Pre-Colonial Eggon Land of Central Nigeria, C. 1640-1945

Esson Alumbugu

Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

The marriage between diplomacy and war has long been established both practically and theoretically. The close link between these two practices is apparent in the manner in which groups of people deploy either war or diplomacy to settle their differences with each other. Consequently, the study of war is inevitably also the study of diplomacy. On the surface, war may seem to be a contradiction of diplomacy because diplomacy is often associated with peace. No doubt diplomacy has been used to avert the outbreak of war and even to stop war altogether. However, diplomacy has also been used to cause war as exemplified by the role played by secret diplomacy in precipitating the First World War. In Eggon Land, which is located today in Nasarawa State of Nigeria, the relationship between diplomacy and war in the pre-colonial period was intimate because the ethnic group contained three autonomous clans living side by side. The clans—namely, Eggon Eholo, Eggon Anzo, and Eggon Enro—spoke the same language, with minor dialectical variations, and shared the same socio-cultural values but were independent of each other. Although they lived together in Eggon Land, they occupied clearly separate geographical areas. The existence of clearly marked territories necessitated the existence of some form of diplomacy to maintain the socio-political order. Diplomacy contributed to the maintenance of the territorial autonomy of the clans even though war was a regular feature of the relations between these clans. This chapter will examine the nature of war and diplomacy in Eggon Land from around 1640 to 1945. It will begin by providing a brief conceptual clarification of diplomacy and war as used in the chapter, followed by a discussion of the socio-political system in Eggon Land. The nature of diplomacy and war as practiced within Eggon Land will be discussed after which the chapter will focus on diplomacy and war between the Eggon people and external groups.

CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION

One of the major areas of debate in African military historiography, in relation to that of the West, concerns the use of concepts. There are scholars who doubt whether Western concepts such as “war" and "diplomacy" apply to pre-colonial Africa, but this chapter attempts to clarify potential ambiguities because the understanding of war is as diverse as the practice of war across the world both spatially and temporally. That is why scholars, such as John Keegan, could declare that war was impossible in the interior of Africa at the same time as the area is being reshaped by a series of hostilities.^[1] Keegan was not unaware of these hostilities but did not recognize them as war based on his own understanding of what qualified as war and what did not. Of course, there are Western scholars who offer some sort of generic definitions of war that could apply to pre-colonial Africa; Carl von Clausewitz (a Prussian general and military theorist), for instance, defines war as “an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.”^[2] Yet another theorist, Jeremy Black, sees war as “organized conflict between sovereign states, begun deliberately by a specific act of policy.”^[3] State and policy are two concepts that are often linked to the understanding of war in Western military historiography. However, in pre-colonial Africa, many polities, such as that of the Eggon, were non-centralized, had no standing army, and yet practiced war. War, in the context of the Eggon and indeed that of many small autonomous groups in pre-colonial Africa, is captured more suitably in the definition offered by Johan van der Dennen, who posits that war is:

This type of war neither required a centralized State status nor a standing army in order to happen. Although it has often been the subject of dismissal by some as merely “tribal” or “primitive” wars that are less worthy of studying than “civilized” wars, it is war nonetheless from the context of the people prosecuting it.^[5]

Diplomacy is equally a concept that is understood in many different ways. As Harold Nicolson points out, diplomacy in popular usage can mean foreign policy, it can be used to mean negotiation, it can mean the process of negotiation, it can mean a branch of Foreign Service, and it can mean the skill in international negotiations.^[6] Indeed, diplomacy enjoys such a wide context of usage that it can sometimes be confusing. Nonetheless, efforts have been made to clearly define diplomacy by various scholars. For instance, Sir Ernest Satow, a British diplomat, sees diplomacy as “the application of intelligence and tact to the conduct of official relations between the governments of independent states.”^[7] This definition is quite adequate depending on the context. However, for the purpose of this chapter, the definition by Adam Watson addresses the issue more appropriately: the states which recognize that their domestic policies are affected by external events, deliberately engage in dialogue with one another. This dialogue—the way it is conducted, the resulting promises and agreements reached, the institutions which conduct it, and the rules guiding its conduct—is^[8]up diplomacy. This captures closely what was being practiced in Eggon Land, although the term ”state“ does not apply to the political divisions existing then. However, these polities were clearly autonomous and sovereign.

SOCIO-POLITICAL SYSTEM IN EGGON LAND

The geographical area referred to as Eggon Land is located within latitude 8.45⁰ N and longitude 8.30⁰ E in Nassarawa Eggon LGA of Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The area is characterised by hills, called Eggon Hills, and drained by the Arikya and Mada rivers situated at its east and west respectively. The term “Eggon” is a generic name for several peoples speaking the same language, with slight dialectical variations, and sharing the same cultural and religious belief systems.^[9] It refers to both the people and the language they speak. Eggon people are divided into three clans: Eggon Eholo, Eggon Anzo, and Eggon Enro. Although David C. Dorward argues that Eggon is divided into two clans and that Eggon Enro is merely a subgroup of the Eggon Anzo with a slight dialectical variation, this view is not accurate. Among the Eggon people, Eggon Enro is a distinct clan and not a subgroup of the Eggon Anzo.^[10] While Eggon Eholo and Anzo speak nearly an identical dialect and have traditionally practiced the same kind of facial markings, the Eggon Enro people have a distinct dialectical variation from the other two clans and have nine vertical facial marks as opposed to the unspecified number of vertical facial marks preferred by the others. These three clans are further divided into several kindred groups called Igu. The land area occupied by each clan was further divided according to the kindred groups who lived in it, and in turn the land occupied by each kindred was again divided according to the social units in it. Thus, a village was typically inhabited by a kindred group or its unit. For example, the term Wakama referred to both kindred of the Eggon Anzo and the geographical area in which they occupied. In turn, Wakama was divided into five separate settlements with names indicating both the land and the people.^[11] In other words, every clan, kindred, and unit had their clearly defined land, which defined both their habitats and their identities. At present, the origin of Eggon people or their settlement of their present homeland is not entirely known. However, some evidence points to their possible emigration from the confederacy of Kwararafa, in the Benue River valley, during the series of emigrations that followed the collapse of the multi-ethnic confederacy from around 1550 to 1640.^[12]

Eggon people practiced their own religious belief, called Ashim, which influenced their worldview. This form of ancestral worship based on the belief in the existence of one supreme deity called Ahogbre, who, the people believed, created heaven, earth, and other deities.^[13] The earth, referred to as Ubin, was believed to be the most prominent among all the deities created. Except in very extreme cases, Ahogbre was normally not approached directly, but through lesser deities called Abibli (spirits) and Angbashum (ancestors), who possessed trees, rocks, and other objects. The lesser deities on earth served as mediators and so sacrifices meant for Ahogbre needed to be channeled through them.^[14]

The Ashim worship system served as the pivot around which the entire society of the Eggon was organized. Therefore, it was more of an institution than a religious system. It embodied all the political and social authorities in the land. Thus, as observed by Enna, “there was no hiatus between the religious and the political; this is important as… religious authority was an essential tool for the acquisition of political legitimacy and the exercise of political power.”^[15] The Mo’andakpo Ashim (elders) who served as the political leaders in Eggon society were seen as the representatives of the ancestors, forming the basis of their legitimacy.^[16] Therefore, the elders were required to possess ritual knowledge, not open to the general population, as proof of their qualification to lead. As pointed out by Enna, the Ashim institution gained its power and legitimacy from the monopoly of spiritual and curative powers. The strong belief of the people in the supernatural meant that good fortunes such as longevity, good health, good harvests, and fertility were linked directly to the rainmaking, propitiation, and curative rituals of the Ashim.^[17] The implication of this belief was that this institution defined the character of the major aspects of the Eggon people in times of peace and war.

The social organization of Eggon people was characterized by autonomous settlements, each of which had its Anva Ashim (sacred grove) used for rituals by the people within the territorial unit.^[18] Eggon society is patrilineal in nature, and the household was the smallest unit of organization. Related households clustered together to form the extended family, which was headed by a patriarch who was usually the eldest male. The patriarch, called andakpo (elder), served as the political, economic, as well as religious head of each cluster of related households. The patriarchs of households in each community formed the council of elders, called Mo’andakpo, who provided leadership and served as the custodians of the religious customs, mysteries, rituals, and traditions guiding the people.^[19]

The Eggon people had a common political system in the pre-colonial period that independently existed in every settlement. Political authority intertwined with religious authority. The Ashim institution provided the platform upon which the elders derived the authority to exercise political power over the people.^[20] The patriarchs of households within a settlement combined their individual authorities into a religious-political unit. Being the religious and political authorities in their respective households, the elders as a unit exercised complete control over all members of the settlement. The Adan Ashim (high priest) presided over this council of elders as the religious head.^[21] The council of elders constituted the administrative mechanism, possessing the executive, legislative, and judicial powers, in addition to religious leadership. While this council made all decisions concerning the community, all council meetings were open and all adult males in the community had the right to attend and speak.^[22] Thus, major opinions were largely public opinions. The elders interpreted the customs and traditions as laws for the people, and at the same time, they ensured compliance to these laws and carried out judgments and punishments for non-compliance. This court entertained both civil and criminal cases, and the Adan Ashim passed judgment in council with the elders. Punishments usually ranged from public disgrace and fines for light offences to banishment for repeated offences like theft. Capital punishment occurred in extreme cases of crime such as murder.^[23]

There was no central political unit shared by all the people of Eggon Land. The clan served as the highest political unit within which several autonomous kindred groups co-existed. The clan was governed by a council made up of the Adan Ashim of each kindred group within the clan and headed by the Adan Ashim of the senior kindred in the clan. The highest authority within a clan was the Adan Ubin (father of the land), who had the final say in the clan; however, the office of the Adan Ubin was more religious than political. Thus, the necessity for a council to oversee the issues of everyday governance became apparent.^[24] In the 19^th century, some of the kindred groups under the Eggon Eholo clan include Alushi, Lambuga, Wana, and Wangibi. Some kindred groups under Eggon Anzo include Agunji, Arikpa, Ogba, and Wakama. Similarly, some of the kindred groups within the Eggon Enro clan include Alizaga, Arugwadu, Bacheno, and Umme.^[25]

DIPLOMACY AND WAR IN EGGON LAND

The rivalry between the Anzo, Eholo, and Enro clans of Eggon Land caused them to maintain a state of war with each other for a very long period. Evidence of the reasons why the Eggon clans went to war with each other is quite scant, but oral history holds that the Eholo attempted to establish hegemony, which the Anzo resisted, ultimately leading to a state of war between them.^[26] This may have been derived from the oral tradition of the Eggon which has it that Abro, the founder of the Eggon people, found a lost boy by the river and took him home and named him Eholo. Eholo grew up with the children of Abro, but later he wanted to dominate Abro’s children; when Abro became very old and almost blind, he warned his children not to allow Eholo to take their sacred objects, including Abro’s bow and Hungary rice seed. Eholo, who happened to overhear this conversation, later attempted to deceive the old man into giving him the sacred objects by pretending to be one of his children but failed. In anger, he shot the old man with an arrow, stole the sacred objects, and fled with his wife to a place called Lizi, where he founded the Eggon Eholo clan.^[27] This legend, however, does not explain the wars between the Anzo and Enro clans as exemplified by the protracted hostilities between Alogani and Lezi people. British Colonial records attribute the war to a great tribal disagreement that may have taken place in their early history, but this explanation provides no information regarding the cause or nature of the disagreement.^[28] While unsatisfactory, this theory tends to suggest that the state of war between the Anzo, Eholo, and Enro clans had been going on for such a very long time that knowledge of the root cause has been lost over time.

The state of war in Eggon Land was a protracted situation of hostility maintained by the Anzo, Eholo, and Enro clans that oscillated continuously in a cycle of war and uneasy peace. Notably, in most cases the hostilities were maintained by local rivalries and disputes that arose from villages of the rival clans sharing common territorial borders. This state of war was quite complex because in spite of their enmity, members of rival clans still married each other. However, outside of formal situations, any person who ventured into the territory of rival clans was likely to be killed on sight. While men were killed, women were abducted and taken as wives by the rival clansmen. As a result, individuals avoided venturing far from their villages unless in the company of armed warriors. Men from one clan who married from the other clan had to be protected by their brothers-in-law whenever they visited and were escorted to safety when leaving, otherwise they would be killed.^[29]

Several wars were fought by rival kindred groups from the opposing clans. Yet throughout this period, no clan dominated another, displaced another from its territories, or destroyed another. In other words, war was frequent among Eggon clans but highly restricted through a combination of customary laws and diplomacy. The need for diplomacy in the relations between Eggon clans arose from the understanding that they shared the same cultural heritage, language, and religious institution. Not only did they intermarry, they also carried out exchanges and attended each other’s festivals. A cycle of negotiation and warfare was forced upon them because they refused to discard what bound them together as an ethnic system as well as their specific differences as clans.^[30] What bound Eggon clans together was the Ashim institution and a shared language. The Ashim institution provided a platform upon which customary laws effectively guided the relations of the clans. It was powerful enough to ensure that these laws were binding across clans. Thus, as rightly observed by Robert Smith, the customary laws derived from the Ashim institution provided some kind of bond between the Anzo, Eholo^[31] Despite this legal bond, the clans’ refusal to discard their autonomy made war and diplomacy intimately related practices in Eggon Land.

The clan council of elders, which was the custodian of the Ashim institution, was responsible for diplomatic relations with other clans. This council had a tradition of meeting with their counterparts from other clans for the purpose of settling disputes that arose between them.^[32] The same council was responsible for deliberating on war and its declaration when they found sufficient reason to fight another clan. The major cause of war in Eggon Land during the period from around 1640 to 1945 related to disputes over women. Men had a practice of kidnapping or eloping with women from neighboring communities to make them their wives. Thus, when a woman was kidnapped from a village, the affected people demanded her release, and when this demand was not reciprocated, the village declared war. Dispute over farmland also caused war among the Eggon people mainly because of the limited availability of arable land on the Eggon hills. Notably, clan, kindred groups, and houses determined the settlement pattern on the hills; thus, Wane people had their own territory, Wakama had theirs, Ende had theirs, and all clans recognized and respected the boundaries. However, individuals tended to encroach on farmlands that belonged to the other clans or kindred groups, causing disputes that sometimes escalated to war.^[33] The existence of strong customary laws protecting territories of clans based on the Ashim institution made disputes over land less frequent. The hatred between the Anzo and Eholo clans has also been identified by some oral sources as a cause of war among the Eggon people. The sight of an Eholo man by an Anzo man, or vice versa, was enough to spark violence, which might result in death. This situation, however, may be a consequence of the many years of war between the Anzo and Eholo clans rather than a cause of war. In addition, this vendetta may have served to prolong the cycle of violence further.

The declaration of war against another clan was done by the Adan Ashim after the council of elders arrived at a decision to do so, and the war was announced through the blowing of the buffalo horn called Eku. The two opposing sides would then prepare and face each other on the battlefield, usually the bush between the two belligerent communities, where the battle was fought. Warriors attacked each other with bows and poisoned arrows while protecting themselves with a shield. Battle usually commenced in a dispersed order, and close combat was fought with swords and daggers. The warriors also believed in metaphysical weapons thought to either deflect arrows or prevent their penetration.^[34] While there was no standing army in Eggon Land, every able-bodied male between the ages of approximately 18 and 40 belonged to a warrior class that was regularly replenished through an age-grade system. Warfare between Eggon clans was strictly regulated by the Ashim institution. Consequently, the Adan Ubin and Adan Ashim of the warring clans supervised battles and held the power to halt them at any moment they saw fit. David C. Dorward points out:

The halting of war was followed immediately by a process of diplomatic treaty, which involved taking an Ashim oath by both parties, to keep the peace. This oath was powerful enough to ensure compliance by both warring clans. To settle the disputed issues, Adan Ubin of both sides would then preside over a diplomatic process, which involved the payment of reparations and reaffirmation of the socio-political divisions and territorial boundaries in Eggon Land.^[36]

Diplomacy became impossible in situations where the actors involved in it refused to operate in relative security because, as Harold Nicolson explains, “negotiations would be severely hampered if the emissary from one side were killed… by the other side before he had had time to deliver his message.”^[37] Therefore, in Eggon Land the issue of diplomatic immunity was clearly understood and practiced. Both the Adan Ashim and Adan Ubin enjoyed exemption and immunity on the battlefield, which enabled them to observe battles and walk among combatants to halt battle without any risks. These same figures enjoyed full immunity during the negotiations that took place after the war ended. Their important roles as the sacred leaders of Ashim ensured their protection and recognition even across clan divides. The male children of any women married from a different clan were exempted from combat when their clan was at war with their mothers’ clan. Consequently, these men enjoyed full immunity from both parties and were used as middlemen between the two clans because they could move from one clan to the other at any time without being attacked. In other words, they enjoyed the protection of both clans and as such were instrumental to the diplomacy between them. David C. Dorward states, “Sister's sons were not expected to take up arms against their own maternal kin and, by extension, acted as peacemakers and go-betweens.”^[38]

The push and pull of diplomacy and war in Eggon Land created some form of stalemate in the political evolution of the clans. Diplomacy prevented war from being total, which would have meant the emergence of a dominant clan through destruction, displacement, or subjugation of other clans. Conversely, war prevented diplomacy from being total, which would have created a more powerful group either through alliance or centralization of the three clans. Thus, in spite of a situation where war was very frequent between the clans of Eggon Land, the three clans retained their customary autonomy, territories, and identities throughout this period.

DIPLOMACY AND WAR WITH EXTERNAL GROUPS

Eggon people did not live in isolation during the pre-colonial period. Their immediate neighbors to the north were the Mada people, to the east were the Rindre people, and to the south were the Gwandara people. While evidence concerning the specificity of relations with their neighbors is scant, available evidence points to the absence of any major hostility between Eggon and Mada people. The existence of diplomatic relations between these two groups shows in the attendance of the Eggon annual Likiya festival by Mada people. There was also intermarriage between Eggon and Mada people.^[39] Trade was also an important aspect of relations between these two groups because Eggon people attended the Andaha market of Mada people. In addition, Hausa-speaking Mada traders were important agents in the trade of palm oil between the peoples of the Akwanga area and Keffi.^[40]

Relations between Eggon people and Rindre people were also characterized by the absence of any war, as far as available evidence shows. The two groups share a common tradition of origin, which claims the two groups were founded by three brothers. Rindre, like the Mada, also attended Eggon annual festivals. They also traded with the Eggon people. The market at Wamba was attended by the Eggon, the Mada, the Alago, and others.^[41] In addition, the people reported having such a good relationship with the Eggon in the past that they served as mediators who were regularly called upon to settle disputes between Eggon clans.^[42] According to available oral evidence, there is also no evidence of war between Eggon and Gwandara people. However, evidence holds that the Gwandara people had conquered and annexed a number of Eggon camps in the 18th century when they took control of the town of Shabu, which shares the border with the Eggon Land.^[43]

The existence of intermarriages, formal visitations, and trade between Eggon people and Mada, Rindre, and Gwandara people suggests the existence of diplomatic relations between them. Otherwise, movement across the territories of these groups would not have been possible. Some form of immunity must have existed to allow these neighboring groups safe passage through Eggon Land and to avail Eggon people safe passage across neighboring lands. The absence of war between Eggon groups and their neighbors also suggests that diplomatic relations were successful. It should be noted that these neighboring groups had different socio-cultural frameworks that would make adherence to common customary laws with the Eggon people quite challenging. Nonetheless, these laws must have existed, and were respected by the parties involved, to allow the kind of relations that existed between the peoples in this area.

The major external group that the Eggon made war with was the slave raiders, mainly of Fulani origin, who attacked them from the second decade of the 19th century. These slave raiders came from Keffi, Jema’a, and Lafia emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate, which were located close to Eggon Land. The Sokoto Caliphate emerged in 1820 after Usman dan Fodio, a Fulani Islamic scholar, conquered Hausaland in the northern Nigeria area. The economy of the new Caliphate was driven by enslaved labor and so the Fulani raided neighboring areas to capture people as slaves. This slave raiding was so intense that it forced most Eggon people to abandon the plains for the safety of the Eggon Hills. The few groups that were left on the plains took shelter in forests and evolved defensive measures such as siting their settlements behind thorn bushes and trenches. The period of slave raiding forced the Eggon people to adopt the use of sentries posted on high peaks of rock, for those on the hills, and in tall trees, for those in the forests, to alert others of the approach of slave raiders. When slave raiders were sighted, a sentry blew the buffalo horn to signal their arrival, and the men would take up defensive positions while the women and children ran into hiding. These encounters with slave raiders prevented them from penetrating the Eggon Hills, but those in the forests, such as Alushi, Bakyano, Ginda, and Ubbe, suffered substantial losses of population. The slave-raiding brought with it serious economic hardship in Eggon Land as the insecurity made farming on the plains challenging.^[44]

There appears to be more war than diplomacy between Eggon people and the slave raiders during the early period of the 19th century. However, the presence of a serious external threat compelled the Eggon clans to come into brief diplomatic alliances for the purpose of fighting the slave raiders. These alliances were held together through oaths of amity, which were necessary to enable them to put aside their mutual hatred. These alliances were dissolved probably as soon as the immediate threat ended because each clan was jealous of its autonomy.^[45] The purpose of these alliances was the recognition by both clans that their coming together improved their collective ability to repel the slave raiders because “diplomacy may be used to create alliances and build coalitions for wars to maintain the balance of power, for example, or, more controversially, to create a situation in which a war in favorable terms becomes more likely.”^[46] Notably, however, even the threat of the slave raiders was not enough to end the state of war in Eggon Land. These brief alliances against slave raiders were most likely spontaneous actions of a few settlements of rival clans rather than a diplomatic treaty involving the entire membership of the Anzo, Eholo, and Enro clans.

Over time, the pressure of the incessant Fulani slave raiding in Eggon Land forced the roots of diplomacy to spring between Eggon people and the slave raiders. Evidence shows that a few Eggon villages on the borders and those on the plains, such as Alushi, Ginda, and Ubbe, made valuable contributions, called “tributes,” to the slave raiders to avoid being raided. ^[47]his practice did not guarantee safety as the tribute was not always honored by the slave raiders and so peace failed. In addition, paying tribute to the raiders from Keffi did nothing to stop the raiders from Jema’a and Lafia from raiding or vice versa. However, there is a record that some Eggon people sent a diplomatic delegation to Emir Kwassau (1897-1902) of Zaria with a tribute of three slaves and six bags of cowries in order to seek his protection. Ungwasheru people, who were responsible for this process, listed the villages behind this diplomatic delegation to include Agwagi, Alushi, Arukpa, Ekkar, Endehu, Ezene, Lambuga, Ogba, Wakam, Wane, and ^[48]. There is little evidence to show that the people of Ungwasheru, who provided this information to colonial officials, acted on their own or truly represented the interests of the listed groups because no other group made reference to this event to colonial officials. Nonetheless, the mention of Emir Kwassau by Ungwasheru people would not have been possible if the event did not take place. Significantly, the above-listed villages came from both Eholo and Anzo clans, which points to some kind of diplomatic alliance on this issue. Ultimately, this delegation did not amount to anything because the British conquered the Sokoto Caliphate shortly after and largely brought an end to slave raiding.

The arrival of British colonialism in northern Nigeria in the early 20th century gradually ended the slave-raiding faced by the Eggon people. However, the British soon became a threat to the Eggon people who did not approve of colonial domination and policies. The first confrontation between the British and Eggon people took place in 1903 when a small patrol was sent against the Eggon for attacking the traders of Jema’a Emirate. These were followed by a series of patrols from 1907 sent to forcefully collect taxes from the Eggon people. These patrols were mostly met with resistance in each village they visited, which made them kill some of the people and confiscate their grains and animals. Tension was so high in the area that some Eggon groups attacked others simply for being friendly with the British.^[49] In 1912 the killing of a British minerals prospector by some Eggon villagers brought about a serious punitive expedition where the colonial army killed hundreds of Eggon people, including women and children.^[50] What followed was a refusal of Eggon people to pay their taxes along with general disorderliness. Again, the British sent army patrols in 1914, 1915, and 1916, but all failed to bring Eggon Land under colonial control.

In 1917, the British sent a larger patrol to collect taxes and restore colonial control in Eggon Land. This patrol arrived at the Eggon Hills to find a large assembly of armed warriors ready to fight them. For the first time, Eggon clans came temporarily together in large numbers against an external enemy. An estimate of over 2,000 warriors came from several villages. The groups that earlier began resettlement on the plains, such as Ezene, Wakama, and Wangibi, returned to the Eggon Hills to join the resistance against the British.^[51] Having suffered casualties resisting the British patrols as individual villages, Eggon people took advantage of diplomacy to build a temporary alliance that tilted the impending battle with the British to their advantage. This unity forced the British to withdraw and camp for a few months while waiting for reinforcements and artillery to counter the military advantage of the Eggon people. Despite heavy shelling by the British when the battle began, Eggon warriors kept fighting until the Adan Ashim leading them was killed, breaking their spirit and bringing an end to their resistance.^[52] This battle marked the end of major resistance against British subjugation in Eggon Land and with it the decline of the Ashim institution and the autonomy of Anzo, Eholo, and Enro clans of Eggon.

CONCLUSION

This work examined diplomacy and war in Eggon Land in the pre-colonial period. It began by providing a conceptual clarification of war and diplomacy. This was followed by a discussion of the socio-political system in Eggon Land. The work then focused on diplomacy and war as practiced by the clans of Eggon Land. The last section of the work looked at war and diplomacy between Eggon people and their immediate neighbors, slave raiders, and British colonialists. In conclusion, the practices of diplomacy and war were closely related and interdependent in Eggon Land. This is because diplomacy had been used to avoid war when the clans were able to resolve their disputes in council meetings, it was used to stop war through the taking of oaths and post-war negotiations, and it was used to create a balance of power during some of the wars with slave raiders and the British colonial forces.

END NOTES

1. John Keegan, A History of Warfare (New York: Vintage Books, 1993), 69.↑

2. Carl von Clausewitz, On War, trans. J. J. Graham, Vol. 1 (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1918), 2.↑

3. Jeremy Black, Why Wars Happen (London: Reaktion Books, 1998), 15.↑

4. Johan M. G. van der Dennen, The Origin of War: The Evolution of a Male Coalitional Reproductive Strategy (Groningen: University of Groningen, 1995), 93.↑

5. John K. Thornton, Warfare in Atlantic Africa 1500 – 1800 (London: UCL Press, 1999), 4.↑

6. Harold Nicolson, Diplomacy (London: Oxford University Press, 1939), 13-14.↑

7. Cited in Jeremy Black, A History of Diplomacy (London: Reaktion Books, 2010), 12.↑

8. Adam Watson, Diplomacy: The Dialogue between States (London: Routledge, 2005), 1.↑

9. Elias D. Anzaku, Dauda M. Enna, Victor S. Dugga, Kasimu A. Kigbu, The Eggon of Central Nigeria (Jos: Centre for Research on Eggon Culture and Development, 1996), 1, 10.↑

10. David C. Dorward, “Ritual Warfare and the Colonial Conquest of the Eggon,” History in Africa, 11, (1984), 84.↑

11. Esson Alumbugu, “Warfare in Eggon Land of Central Nigeria, 1820 – 1942”, MA Thesis, Department of History and War Studies, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria, March 2019, 52.↑

12. Ibid., 49 – 50.↑

13. A. U. David, “Traditional Concept of the Supreme Being, Arts of Worship, the Ancestors and Magic,” Ayimom, 1, 3, 1986, 32.↑

14. Ibid.↑

15. Dauda Musa Enna, “Resurgence of Ethnic Minority Identity through Performance: The Case of the Eggon,” International Journal of African Society, Cultures and Tradition, 2, 3, (2015), 18.↑

16. Jonathan Mamu Ayuba, Economy and Society in Colonial North-Central Nigeria: The History of Akwanga Region 1911-1960, (Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University Press, 2008), 27.↑

17. Enna, “Resurgence of Ethnic,” 19.↑

18. David C. Dorward. “The impact of Colonialism on a Nigeria Hill-Farming Society: A Case Study of Innovation among the Eggon,” The International Journal of African Historical, 20, 2, (1987), 205.↑

19. Ayuba, Economy and Society, 22-23.↑

20. Ibid., 25.↑

21. Anzaku et al, The Eggon of Central, 27.↑

22. J. Hunter Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal Area, Summary of Intelligence Report on,” NAK/SNP/144/1926.↑

23. Anzaku, et al, The Eggon of Central, pp. 33-34.↑

24. Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal,” 4.↑

25. These are but a few examples of kindred in each clan and not a comprehensive list. For additional information see J. H. Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal Area, Summary of Intelligence Report on,” NAK/SNP/144/1926, 4.↑

26. Alumbugu, “Warfare in Eggon Land,” 81.↑

27. Anzaku et al, The Eggon of Central, pp. 12-13.↑

28. “Wana District Administration Report,” NAK/SNP144/1926, 6.↑

29. Alumbugu, “Warfare in Eggon Land,” 83.↑

30. Robert Weiner and Paul Sharp, “Diplomacy and War,” Oxford Research Encyclopaedia of International Studies, (2010). Available at http://oxfordre.com/internationalstudies/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.001.0001/acrefore-9780190846626-e-156↑

31. Robert Smith. “Peace and Palaver: International Relations in Pre-colonial West Africa,” Journal of African History, 14, 4, (1973), 600.↑

32. Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal,” 8.↑

33. Alumbugu, “Warfare in Eggon Land,” 78.↑

34. Ibid., 73-74. ↑

35. David C. Dorward, “Ritual Warfare and the Colonial Conquest of the Eggon,” History in Africa, 11, (1984), 88. ↑

36. Ibid.; See also Anzaku et al, The Eggon of, 53; Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal,” 51.↑

37. Nicolson, Diplomacy, 17.↑

38. Dorward, “Ritual Warfare and,” 88.↑

39. Ayuba, Economy and Society, 7-8. ↑

40. H. F. Matthew, “Assessment Report of the Mada District, Jemaa Division Nasarawa Province,” NAK/SNP 10/572p/1913, 3.↑

41. J. Y. Dogara, “Pre-colonial Political and Socio-economic History of the Rindre,” International Proceedings of Economics Development and Research, 64, 7, (2013), 35.↑

42. “Wana District Administration,” NAK/SNP144/1926.↑

43. A. C. Unomah, “The Gwandara Settlements of Lafia to 1900,” in Studies in the History of Plateau State, Nigeria, ed. Elizabeth Isichei (London: Macmillan, 1982), 129.↑

44. Ayuba, Economy and Society, 9-21; Dorward, “Ritual Warfare and,” 87; Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal,” 15; “Nassarawa Province. Keffi Mada District Assessment Report,” NAK/SNP10/572p/1913.↑

45. Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal,” 3, 14-15.↑

46. Weiner and Sharp, “Diplomacy and War”.↑

47. Shaw, “The Eggon Tribal,” 15; Ayuba, Economy and Society, 17. ↑

48. “Report (Memo) by A. D. O. to D. O. Akwanga Division,” NAK/SNP 144/1926, 8; M. G. Smith, Government in Zazzau 1800-1950, London: Oxford University Press, 1960, 202.↑

49. “Patrol to Rifi – Mada Patrol, Report on,” NAK/SNP 5449/1908; Ayuba, Economy and Society, 52.↑

50. Dorward, “Ritual Warfare and,” 90-92.↑

51. “Nasarawa Province, Mada District, Military patrol,” NAK/SNP/30p/1917.↑

52. A. Kirk-Greene, Gazetteers of the Northern Provinces of Nigeria: The Central Kingdoms, (London: Frank Cass, Vol. 3, 1972), 21.↑