Identity crisis. When opportunity comes they answer igbos. I was in Jos and Ikwerre people there then identified themselves as igbos even when i tried to count them out . Here in Germany i have met some of them who claim they are ibos. There is nothing wrong for them to claim different but they should be stable and remain in one place. Anioma people of Delta are core Igbos and they don't have any doubts about that. They know their origen.
I'll like to greet you Prof.Tasie for taking out time to explain your understanding about the language factor of the Ikwerre origin. However, I disagree with your conclusion on this matter given the fact that many instances you provided aren't similar or deductible. Honestly, I didn't expect this conclusion from a person of higher academia as this. If it was the regular Joe that spoke like this, I could have 'understood' and blame it on ignorance but yours isn't. Before I submit my take proper, let me agree with your conclusion ONLY under some conditions. 1. That Ikwerres have the right to claim whatever origin they want even when it can't be backed by facts. 2. That Ikwerres agree they share origin with other Igbos but have from recently, decided to politically claim a distinct identity. Now, here is my argument on the language factor of Ikwerre origin. For the fact they're speaking a dialect of Igbo, they're connected to the Igbo identity because at no time in their history was it recorded that Igbos colonized Ikwerre people. You see, it isn't easy to wipe out an entire language of a people even if they were colonized. Though it is possible to do so, it will take a lot of time(centuries) to achieve. Like you rightly said, it requires not just language to determine the identity of a people but several other components. Such components as culture, traditions, worldview, even cuisine are considered before connecting a group of people to another. If we apply all these to the Ikwerre people, it will still point them back to Igbo people. Let's bring the culture of the Uratta(Igbo) people, the Ikwerre people and the Bini people to a table and compare the similarity between Ikwerre and the other two. You'll discover the similarity with Bini is below 10% but above 75% with the Uratta(Igbo) group. This is a fact that even European linguistics who stayed in Port Harcourt confirmed before calling Ikwerre as an Igboid people. If Ikwerres were non Igbos but influenced by Igbos, they would have been bilingual. Are the Ogonis not neighbours to Igbo groups? How comes they didn't lose their language entirely like you're claiming of the Ikwerres? We all can see the influence of Igbo language on the Eleme people who we call the Mbaoli people. They're originally Ogonis but came under heavy Igbo influence. Some of them bear Igbo names but they didn't change the names of their communities neither did they lose their Ogoni language. This is what language and cultural influence can do. In most cases, the original language survives even if it is to a lesser degree of usage. Ogoni is four lgas just like Ikwerre yet only Eleme was influenced but you want us to believe that the whole of Ikwerre was influnced to lose her original language entirely. It is simply illogical. You also mentioned the Nsukka, Ika, Aniochas, Ukwuanis, Ogutas, Onitshas as non Igbos who later started speaking Igbo. It simply shows that you relied solely of hearsays and emotions to conclude a matter. Have you bothered to do a research as to find out the truth for yourself? You even claimed Bonny was Igbani and not Igbo without bothering to research the history of Bonny. One can easily deduce that you will blindly disagree with any claims by Igbos without giving us a benefit of doubt. Let me start with Bonny which is in Rivers state. Do you know the names of the founding fathers of Bonny? Do you know that early European explorers recorded what they were told by the ancient people of Bonny as to who their progenitors were? As early as 1700s, records about Bonny has been kept and Igbo names and language have been there even as kings. I've read more than five accounts on Bonny ranging from 1700s to 1899 and the various authors have connected Igbo to the ownership of Bonny. I encourage you to go make some research before concluding on any issue. Do you know that the specific Igbo dialect in Bonny is the same as the Ndoki dialect? That dialect can't be traced to the slave trade. The enslaved Igbos sold in Bonny were of diverse dialects mostly and what Igbo dialect could have developed from them would have been different from the Ndoki dialect. Bonny and Opobo speak Ndoki dialect of the Igbo language today just like the Obigbo and Ukwa people speak because they share common origin. Of course, other ethnic groups in the coast joined them in the Island and they mixed up over time but the Igbo heritage of Bonny isn't because of enslaved people who weren't sold off. It's a lie some revisionists are selling of recent. I encourage you as a learned person to make your research and conclusion about Bonny. Finally, do you know that most of those communities you called in Delta north have the same names in other parts of Igboland? There's Anaocha in Anambra just like there's Aniocha in Delta. Onitsha is found in Delta, Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi states. Though a place of migration maybe be link to origin, in some cases, it isn't. Most Igbo groups who claimed to have migrated from Benin have proofs of such migration yet they don't have any proof of linguistic, cultural or tradition link with the Bini people. This is simply because they were already Igbo people even while there in Benin. Ikwerres on the other hand have no single proof of migration from Benin. If there's any, Prof pls show me. Prof. Meka o.
Okay, if language is the problem here. Now wanna ask, if i ask may i know your village names? Who named your village names? How did your village name become Igbo? Seriously i don't want to engage in this foolishness it's embarrassing
Why is it that migrants to USA or UK by the second/third generation speak English instead of Igbo, Yoruba, bakongo, Zulu, Italian, German, etc? Some Nsuuka, Enugu Azike villages were attacked by Igala when the attah Igala was powerful in 18th century. To get tribute, the priest ezes were forced by Igala by threat and also by some Igala migrants into these areas by taking over the priesthood or eze functions. Did not last as the Igala did not have resources to go further and the power of attah Igala was stopped. Igbo in these area centred around enugu azike and nssukka as base for defence against the wars in places known as kogi, benue, benue valley. Enugu Azike and nsukka has such high population for this season compared to the surrounding area. Nssukka and Enugu azike are Igbo because you name your place in the language you speak. A few Igala came into Nssuka, onitsha, Nssuka, etc does not change that over 95% or 99% were original Igbo speaking. Infact Igala and idioma traders were brought to trade Igboland and a few must have stayed. What is the number of Igala or Ijaw or bini today that they made a big contribution to the number of Igbo? Group with nunbers contribute numbers to other smaller groups as a small movement will effect others. There are places Igbo migrants travelled to trade or settle/stayed but those people still do not speak Igbo. Majority language stays. Language is very hard to loose in a majority location. If ikewerre were from bini you will speak an Edoid languages like atissa epie in ahaoda west in River state. The atissa, epie, etc in bayelsa state speak an Edo language because the came from the neighbouring isoko urohbo who speak Edo too. They speak Ijaw as only a second language as Igbos speak English as a second language? In river state the degema and some local governments in ahoda west speak the similar language to these epie and atissa of bayelsa. The Edoid speakers in ahaoda west are just neighbours of Igboid speaker like ogba, ekpeye, etc. Having a neighbours does not change your own ethnicity. If the bonny speak Igbo it is because there were original Igbo traders, adventurers, slaves, settlers, and fundalmentally because the majority were Igbo speakers. The fact that Ijaw were also present in bonny does not mean that Ijaw were first in bonny or were a majority. All the German peoples in austria, germany, france, etc are ethnic Germans meaning they originated from an a place/area. It is by majority. Brasillian blacks are mixed. But even the non mixed are of a black race. You are mixing Race -black skin/African features. Ethnic Igbo is made of language, culture, food, etc. You compare a group in these measures and this defines your ethnicity. Igbo speak Igbo,have ezes, eat yam, use palm oil, use kols nut for praying, call god chi...... etc Gemans speak German, eat frankfuters, swakrut, etc. This is how you define a people not by claiming. Language is very central because it takes a long time to change in a majority situation. You use language to describe your other culture. Afro brasillians were a minority of many africans minorities from west and central africa in a majority portuguese culture; so have to speak portuguese. Black American and carribeans are the same are made of many African minorities. African slaves of day asante, ijaw, fulani, congo, yoruba,etc can only use the language in place. This is Why immigrants always end up speaking the native languages of the majority.
You claim to be Benin yet your ancestors bears Igbo name instead of Benin name (ezechima, akalaka, ochichi yet your common sense didn't tell you who their are despite being a professor
The Chinese, the Japanese and koreans bear similar names most times and speak mutually intelligible or relative dialects. A Chinese will correct you if you mistakenly call a Korean a Chinese and have you respectably address him as Korean. Korean being an heritage with distinct dialect and culture established and handed to him by his forebears. A Yoruba does the same if you mistakenly call an Itsekiri a Yoruba. My candid advise to people like you is to learn to be accommodating, learn to love and celebrate and even savour diversity and others distinctions in cultures ,dialects etc. Learn as your Chinese and Yoruba counterparts that there is beauty in diversity. Most importantly stop being base narcissists!
What about surname factor? That which also determines one's place of origin. I have not seen anyone of you, including you, making all these bogus claims, bearing Benin surnames. All I hear are Igbo surnames. My people also claims migrating from Benin. Yes, my people sojourned to Benin and migrated back to were we are now, back in Igboland. But there is nothing there to suggest our origin being from Benin.....market days, culture, surnames etc. You guys can be what you want to be, the Igbos don't care.
Its neither our cup of tea either! and why do the Chinese , Japanese and koreans bear similar names most times but celebrate themselves and consider themselves only as relatives or cousins with very similar but distinctly different dialects. why will a Chinese correct you if you mistakenly call a Japanese a Chinese and have you address him respectably as a Japanese?. Is that not how to celebrate true oneness and brotherhood ? Learn from them the art of celebrating diversity in the ultimate goal of the pursuit of oneness and brotherhood.
From your assertion, where is the similarities, between bini names and the Ikwerre names? as that of Chinese and Koreans, Japan, etc, according to you? If Igbos influenced the Ikwerre, as the case may be, what was the original Ikwerre language, before Igbo language polluted it today?(original language, spoken by Ikwerre ancestors, before this one). If language isn't one's identity, what are the connections, between the names of towns and villages, in both Bini and Ikwerre? @@cryptofxalgorithms
Identity crisis. When opportunity comes they answer igbos. I was in Jos and Ikwerre people there then identified themselves as igbos even when i tried to count them out . Here in Germany i have met some of them who claim they are ibos. There is nothing wrong for them to claim different but they should be stable and remain in one place. Anioma people of Delta are core Igbos and they don't have any doubts about that. They know their origen.
I'll like to greet you Prof.Tasie for taking out time to explain your understanding about the language factor of the Ikwerre origin. However, I disagree with your conclusion on this matter given the fact that many instances you provided aren't similar or deductible. Honestly, I didn't expect this conclusion from a person of higher academia as this. If it was the regular Joe that spoke like this, I could have 'understood' and blame it on ignorance but yours isn't. Before I submit my take proper, let me agree with your conclusion ONLY under some conditions.
1. That Ikwerres have the right to claim whatever origin they want even when it can't be backed by facts.
2. That Ikwerres agree they share origin with other Igbos but have from recently, decided to politically claim a distinct identity.
Now, here is my argument on the language factor of Ikwerre origin. For the fact they're speaking a dialect of Igbo, they're connected to the Igbo identity because at no time in their history was it recorded that Igbos colonized Ikwerre people. You see, it isn't easy to wipe out an entire language of a people even if they were colonized. Though it is possible to do so, it will take a lot of time(centuries) to achieve.
Like you rightly said, it requires not just language to determine the identity of a people but several other components.
Such components as culture, traditions, worldview, even cuisine are considered before connecting a group of people to another. If we apply all these to the Ikwerre people, it will still point them back to Igbo people. Let's bring the culture of the Uratta(Igbo) people, the Ikwerre people and the Bini people to a table and compare the similarity between Ikwerre and the other two. You'll discover the similarity with Bini is below 10% but above 75% with the Uratta(Igbo) group. This is a fact that even European linguistics who stayed in Port Harcourt confirmed before calling Ikwerre as an Igboid people.
If Ikwerres were non Igbos but influenced by Igbos, they would have been bilingual. Are the Ogonis not neighbours to Igbo groups? How comes they didn't lose their language entirely like you're claiming of the Ikwerres? We all can see the influence of Igbo language on the Eleme people who we call the Mbaoli people. They're originally Ogonis but came under heavy Igbo influence. Some of them bear Igbo names but they didn't change the names of their communities neither did they lose their Ogoni language. This is what language and cultural influence can do. In most cases, the original language survives even if it is to a lesser degree of usage. Ogoni is four lgas just like Ikwerre yet only Eleme was influenced but you want us to believe that the whole of Ikwerre was influnced to lose her original language entirely. It is simply illogical.
You also mentioned the Nsukka, Ika, Aniochas, Ukwuanis, Ogutas, Onitshas as non Igbos who later started speaking Igbo. It simply shows that you relied solely of hearsays and emotions to conclude a matter. Have you bothered to do a research as to find out the truth for yourself? You even claimed Bonny was Igbani and not Igbo without bothering to research the history of Bonny. One can easily deduce that you will blindly disagree with any claims by Igbos without giving us a benefit of doubt. Let me start with Bonny which is in Rivers state. Do you know the names of the founding fathers of Bonny? Do you know that early European explorers recorded what they were told by the ancient people of Bonny as to who their progenitors were? As early as 1700s, records about Bonny has been kept and Igbo names and language have been there even as kings. I've read more than five accounts on Bonny ranging from 1700s to 1899 and the various authors have connected Igbo to the ownership of Bonny. I encourage you to go make some research before concluding on any issue. Do you know that the specific Igbo dialect in Bonny is the same as the Ndoki dialect? That dialect can't be traced to the slave trade. The enslaved Igbos sold in Bonny were of diverse dialects mostly and what Igbo dialect could have developed from them would have been different from the Ndoki dialect. Bonny and Opobo speak Ndoki dialect of the Igbo language today just like the Obigbo and Ukwa people speak because they share common origin. Of course, other ethnic groups in the coast joined them in the Island and they mixed up over time but the Igbo heritage of Bonny isn't because of enslaved people who weren't sold off. It's a lie some revisionists are selling of recent. I encourage you as a learned person to make your research and conclusion about Bonny.
Finally, do you know that most of those communities you called in Delta north have the same names in other parts of Igboland? There's Anaocha in Anambra just like there's Aniocha in Delta. Onitsha is found in Delta, Anambra, Imo and Ebonyi states. Though a place of migration maybe be link to origin, in some cases, it isn't. Most Igbo groups who claimed to have migrated from Benin have proofs of such migration yet they don't have any proof of linguistic, cultural or tradition link with the Bini people. This is simply because they were already Igbo people even while there in Benin. Ikwerres on the other hand have no single proof of migration from Benin. If there's any, Prof pls show me.
Prof. Meka o.
Okay, if language is the problem here.
Now wanna ask, if i ask may i know your village names? Who named your village names? How did your village name become Igbo?
Seriously i don't want to engage in this foolishness it's embarrassing
Why is it that migrants to USA or UK by the second/third generation speak English instead of Igbo, Yoruba, bakongo, Zulu, Italian, German, etc?
Some Nsuuka, Enugu Azike villages were attacked by Igala when the attah Igala was powerful in 18th century. To get tribute, the priest ezes were forced by Igala by threat and also by some Igala migrants into these areas by taking over the priesthood or eze functions. Did not last as the Igala did not have resources to go further and the power of attah Igala was stopped. Igbo in these area centred around enugu azike and nssukka as base for defence against the wars in places known as kogi, benue, benue valley. Enugu Azike and nsukka has such high population for this season compared to the surrounding area.
Nssukka and Enugu azike are Igbo because you name your place in the language you speak.
A few Igala came into Nssuka, onitsha, Nssuka, etc does not change that over 95% or 99% were original Igbo speaking. Infact Igala and idioma traders were brought to trade Igboland and a few must have stayed. What is the number of Igala or Ijaw or bini today that they made a big contribution to the number of Igbo? Group with nunbers contribute numbers to other smaller groups as a small movement will effect others.
There are places Igbo migrants travelled to trade or settle/stayed but those people still do not speak Igbo. Majority language stays.
Language is very hard to loose in a majority location.
If ikewerre were from bini you will speak an Edoid languages like atissa epie in ahaoda west in River state. The atissa, epie, etc in bayelsa state speak an Edo language because the came from the neighbouring isoko urohbo who speak Edo too. They speak Ijaw as only a second language as Igbos speak English as a second language? In river state the degema and some local governments in ahoda west speak the similar language to these epie and atissa of bayelsa. The Edoid speakers in ahaoda west are just neighbours of Igboid speaker like ogba, ekpeye, etc. Having a neighbours does not change your own ethnicity.
If the bonny speak Igbo it is because there were original Igbo traders, adventurers, slaves, settlers, and fundalmentally because the majority were Igbo speakers. The fact that Ijaw were also present in bonny does not mean that Ijaw were first in bonny or were a majority.
All the German peoples in austria, germany, france, etc are ethnic Germans meaning they originated from an a place/area.
It is by majority.
Brasillian blacks are mixed. But even the non mixed are of a black race.
You are mixing Race -black skin/African features.
Ethnic Igbo is made of language, culture, food, etc. You compare a group in these measures and this defines your ethnicity. Igbo speak Igbo,have ezes, eat yam, use palm oil, use kols nut for praying, call god chi...... etc
Gemans speak German, eat frankfuters, swakrut, etc.
This is how you define a people not by claiming.
Language is very central because it takes a long time to change in a majority situation. You use language to describe your other culture.
Afro brasillians were a minority of many africans minorities from west and central africa in a majority portuguese culture; so have to speak portuguese. Black American and carribeans are the same are made of many African minorities. African slaves of day asante, ijaw, fulani, congo, yoruba,etc can only use the language in place. This is Why immigrants always end up speaking the native languages of the majority.
You claim to be Benin yet your ancestors bears Igbo name instead of Benin name (ezechima, akalaka, ochichi yet your common sense didn't tell you who their are despite being a professor
The Chinese, the Japanese and koreans bear similar names most times and speak mutually intelligible or relative dialects. A Chinese will correct you if you mistakenly call a Korean a Chinese and have you respectably address him as Korean. Korean being an heritage with distinct dialect and culture established and handed to him by his forebears. A Yoruba does the same if you mistakenly call an Itsekiri a Yoruba. My candid advise to people like you is to learn to be accommodating, learn to love and celebrate and even savour diversity and others distinctions in cultures ,dialects etc. Learn as your Chinese and Yoruba counterparts that there is beauty in diversity. Most importantly stop being base narcissists!
This man is zero' talking without historically back up, self lost 😢😢
Please bro i we like you to call me for all this so please stop your fake new and your lies lkwerre is lgbo and am from there so bro stop lies.
Bro stop all this your lie lie new please bro lkwerre is lgbo people so bro stop all fake new
What about surname factor? That which also determines one's place of origin. I have not seen anyone of you, including you, making all these bogus claims, bearing Benin surnames. All I hear are Igbo surnames. My people also claims migrating from Benin. Yes, my people sojourned to Benin and migrated back to were we are now, back in Igboland. But there is nothing there to suggest our origin being from Benin.....market days, culture, surnames etc.
You guys can be what you want to be, the Igbos don't care.
Its neither our cup of tea either! and why do the Chinese , Japanese and koreans bear similar names most times but celebrate themselves and consider themselves only as relatives or cousins with very similar but distinctly different dialects. why will a Chinese correct you if you mistakenly call a Japanese a Chinese and have you address him respectably as a Japanese?. Is that not how to celebrate true oneness and brotherhood ? Learn from them the art of celebrating diversity in the ultimate goal of the pursuit of oneness and brotherhood.
From your assertion, where is the similarities, between bini names and the Ikwerre names? as that of Chinese and Koreans, Japan, etc, according to you? If Igbos influenced the Ikwerre, as the case may be, what was the original Ikwerre language, before Igbo language polluted it today?(original language, spoken by Ikwerre ancestors, before this one). If language isn't one's identity, what are the connections, between the names of towns and villages, in both Bini and Ikwerre? @@cryptofxalgorithms