Jenjo people

The Jenjo, also known as Janjo, Jen, Dza, Gwomo, and Karenjo, are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are mostly found in Karim Lamido, Jalingo and Ibi in Taraba State. The Jenjos speak the Jen language which is under the Bikwin–Jenan branch of the Adamawa languages.[1] The population of the Jenjo people today is around 100,000 people.[2]

Jenjo people
Total population
100,000 (2020)
Languages
Jen language
Related ethnic groups
Mumuye
Bata
Jukun

Origin

The Jenjo people are of Bata origin, they migrated into the area known as Taraba state today from either Lamurde or Numan in today's Adamawa state. This migration was likely a result of a conflict between them and the Bata rulers.[3]

The Jenjo people later played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Muri emirate resulting from their early alliance with the Fulbe jihadists.[3] The Fulbe, who were the first settlers of Muri, migrated to Muri across the river Benue. They moved down south into Muri and the region around the lower basin of the river Gongola. They quickly befriended the Jenjo communities, particularly in Kiri, towards the end of the seventeenth century, two centuries before the jihad. This friendly relationship between these two groups have remained till date. This was further strengthend by frequent intermarriages between the two. These intermarriages were encouraged by Muhammad Nya, Emir of the Muri emirate, who reigned between 1874 and 1896.[3]

Notable Jenjo people
  • Mohammed Shata – former Minister of State for Internal Affairs (1999 - 2003)

References
  1. Olson, James Stuart (1996). The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 251. ISBN 978-0-313-27918-8.
  2. Benson, Peace (2020). "Ideophones in Dzə (Jenjo), an Adamawa language of northeastern Nigeria". Language in Africa. 1 (3): 336–352.
  3. Ali, Bello; Lawal, Salihu, A Review of Historical Perspectives on Traditions of Origin and Migration of Selected Ethnic Groups in the Northern Senatorial Zone of Taraba State (PDF)
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