Community consensus ranking of traditional/indigenous flood management practices (1 = least frequent/effective; 5 = most frequent/effective; scores represent FGD group consensus)
| Practices | Yoruba(Ibiade, Sokori, Isheri) | Nupe(Pategi, Lafiagi, Fangan) | Igbo(Amaechi-Idodo, Okpanku, Ogwuagor) | Score (1–5)/Communities | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacrifices/ritual offerings to rivers/land | Still practiced in some towns (Òṣun, Yemoja), declining | Formerly practiced, now abandoned (Islam) | Okpanku/Amechi: active sacrifices (land, spirits); Ogwuagor: explicitly rejected | 4 (Yorùbá, Okpanku, Amechi); 1 (Ogwuagor, Nupe) | Ritual continuity strong in Okpanku/Amechi, absent in Ogwuagor and Nupe |
| Appeasing deities/ancestors | Uneven, partly replaced by prayer | Abandoned; Islamic prayers only | Okpanku: appeasing ancestors obligatory; Ogwuagor: not mysterious, no spiritual rites | 3 (Okpanku); 2 (Yorùbá); 1 (Nupe, Ogwuagor) | Igbo variation: Okpanku ritual, Ogwuagor secular |
| Interpreting floods as God's will | Handiwork of God discourse present | Strong (“only Allah can stop it”) | Okpanku/Amechi: mix of divine and ancestral; Ogwuagor: framed as infrastructural issue | 3(Across eight communities) | Reported in all groups except Ogwuagor, where floods framed as an infrastructure failure |
| Water-use taboos and ethics | Clear rules (separate washing/drinking points) | Linked to Islamic stewardship; tree planting norms | Okpanku/Amechi: sacred streams; Ogwuagor: absent | 3 (Yorùbá, Okpanku, Amechi, Nupe); 1 (Ogwuagor) | Widely present except Ogwuagor |
| Communal levies/taxes | Present in Isheri (levies for king) | Limited, under the emirate | Not reported | 2 (Yorùbá); 1 (Nupe/Igbo) | Mostly a Yorùbá governance feature |
| Ecological early-warning indicators | Snails, fish, soldier ants, thunder-like sounds | Frogs, rainbow, Ekugi/Econko fish, cold breezes | Okpanku/Amechi: tree fruiting, Unwa mili bird, frogs, rainbow; Ogwuagor: rain intensity, drain overflow (non-spiritual) | 5 (Yorùbá, Nupe, Okpanku/Amechi); 3 (Ogwuagor) | Universally vital, though Ogwuagor secularizes interpretation |
| Practices | Yoruba(Ibiade, Sokori, Isheri) | Nupe(Pategi, Lafiagi, Fangan) | Igbo(Amaechi-Idodo, Okpanku, Ogwuagor) | Score (1–5)/Communities | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sacrifices/ritual offerings to rivers/land | Still practiced in some towns (Òṣun, Yemoja), declining | Formerly practiced, now abandoned (Islam) | Okpanku/Amechi: active sacrifices (land, spirits); Ogwuagor: explicitly rejected | 4 (Yorùbá, Okpanku, Amechi); 1 (Ogwuagor, Nupe) | Ritual continuity strong in Okpanku/Amechi, absent in Ogwuagor and Nupe |
| Appeasing deities/ancestors | Uneven, partly replaced by prayer | Abandoned; Islamic prayers only | Okpanku: appeasing ancestors obligatory; Ogwuagor: not mysterious, no spiritual rites | 3 (Okpanku); 2 (Yorùbá); 1 (Nupe, Ogwuagor) | Igbo variation: Okpanku ritual, Ogwuagor secular |
| Interpreting floods as God's will | Handiwork of God discourse present | Strong (“only Allah can stop it”) | Okpanku/Amechi: mix of divine and ancestral; Ogwuagor: framed as infrastructural issue | 3(Across eight communities) | Reported in all groups except Ogwuagor, where floods framed as an infrastructure failure |
| Water-use taboos and ethics | Clear rules (separate washing/drinking points) | Linked to Islamic stewardship; tree planting norms | Okpanku/Amechi: sacred streams; Ogwuagor: absent | 3 (Yorùbá, Okpanku, Amechi, Nupe); 1 (Ogwuagor) | Widely present except Ogwuagor |
| Communal levies/taxes | Present in Isheri (levies for king) | Limited, under the emirate | Not reported | 2 (Yorùbá); 1 (Nupe/Igbo) | Mostly a Yorùbá governance feature |
| Ecological early-warning indicators | Snails, fish, soldier ants, thunder-like sounds | Frogs, rainbow, | Okpanku/Amechi: tree fruiting, | 5 (Yorùbá, Nupe, Okpanku/Amechi); 3 (Ogwuagor) | Universally vital, though Ogwuagor secularizes interpretation |
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