Politics in the Migration of Nupe People into Ilorin Emirate in the Nineteenth Century

Migration is an important phenomenon in human life. From inception, 
Man wanders from one place to another to meet his needs, and since 
the want of Man is insatiable, the movement continues till eternity. Like 
others, the Nupe were sensitive to any situation that called for 
migration. The migration of the Nupe people into areas that are known 
as southwestern Nigeria today started with the establishment of the 
confederated Nupe States by Tsoede in the fifteenth century. The 
evolution of Ilorin as a caravan trade centre around the middle of the 
eighteenth century attracted several merchants, including Nupe war 
pieces of machinery, scribes, scholars, traditional doctors, fetches 
sellers, Berbers, brokers, and many other occupational groups. Thus, 
many Nupe immigrants had already settled down in Ilorin before the 
establishment of the Emirate. In accordance, the Nupe immigrants who 
were on the ground on the verge of the establishment of the Emirate 
government actively seized the opportunity to participate in struggles 
that led to the establishment of the Emirate Government. From a global 
perspective, politics cannot be overlooked as an essential factor that 
incited those Nupe migrants into Ilorin. In the migration history of 
Nupe into Ilorin, the factors of politics, which are locally, nationally, and internationally recognised as important factors in human migration, have been downplayed. This paper, therefore, aimed to 
examine the political motivational factors that brought about Nupe 
migration into Ilorin, and their active participation in the establishment 
of an Emirate, which eventually qualified them to be recognised as a 
stakeholder. The paper adopted the historical research method, which 
involved the use of archival materials, oral interviews, text content 
analysis, and internet materials to assess the cause, courses, and 
consequences of the Nupe migration into Ilorin. The work concluded 
that politics played a significant role in the migration and settlement of 
the Nupe people in Ilorin, and such politics were also used as a 
mechanism to sustain the co-existence of the Emirate.