In the book "Studies in Ikwerre History and Culture" Volume One written by Ikwerre scholars and edited by Otonti Nduka (an Ikwerre man) it says:

" The Ikwerre tribe covers parts of Ohaji in Imo State viz: Assa, Awara, Obitti, Ovurugwo, Umuagwor, Umuapu..." (page 31)

Ikwerreboy:

Mr man. am an ikwerre man from omerelu. when and how come ohaji nd omerelu nw speaks desame language for God sake? Do u knw wat your saying at all?
Why didnt u include obima,obidioga nd Elele?
You must be silly for saying dat.
If omerelu speaks dsame language with ohaji how come we are not igbos nd why the so much hatred btwin the omerelu nd the ohaji people?
Why is the community names inside omerelu sounding ikwerre nd not igbo?
In omerelu we have community names like:
Omuchi- in omerelu
Omuhombia- In omerelu
Omueke- in isiopko
Omubisi-In ibaa
omuagwa- In omuagwa

Abeg no talk watin u no know.
The bishop of ikwerre diocese(Anglican) is currently from omerelu.
The ogbakor ikwerre convention was recently conducted in Omerelu.

Guy forget the spelling. The pronunciation of all the communities are orally a deep "U" as pronounced in "premium". Its the same in all of Imo State. "Omagwa" is simply pronounced "Umuagwa" by the villagers. Autography could be misleading sometimes. Of course you know Isiokpo is pronounced "Ishokpo" . Its all about autography.

Omerelu is obviously Ikwerre but what I wrote is clear that Ohaji language or dialect is exactly same as Ikwerre dialect in much of Ikwerre LGA especially the areas around Isiokpo and Elele which Omerelu falls into. Visit Imo State and move into the remote villages where the original dialects are spoken and not judge based on township people that have adopted central Igbo as a means of easy communication with other Igbos. When you do this, you'll be a changed man and will either claim they are Ikwerre like Otonti Nduka or accept the reality that language is not the criterium for Ikwerre claim of distinctness.

Ikwerreboy:

Mr man. am an ikwerre man from omerelu. when and how come ohaji nd omerelu nw speaks desame language for God sake? Do u knw wat your saying at all?
Why didnt u include obima,obidioga nd Elele?
You must be silly for saying dat.
If omerelu speaks dsame language with ohaji how come we are not igbos nd why the so much hatred btwin the omerelu nd the ohaji people?
Why is the community names inside omerelu sounding ikwerre nd not igbo?
In omerelu we have community names like:
Omuchi- in omerelu
Omuhombia- In omerelu
Omueke- in isiopko
Omubisi-In ibaa
omuagwa- In omuagwa

Abeg no talk watin u no know.
The bishop of ikwerre diocese(Anglican) is currently from omerelu.
The ogbakor ikwerre convention was recently conducted in Omerelu.

Ikwerre are Igbo, and they know that. It is ludicrous that some Ikwerre people are miseducated and brainwashed to believe in some fictiously fabricated history. The names of the villages you wrote above using "Omu-" are just misspelt wordings. The correct spelling begins with Umu- as in Umuchi, Umuhombia, Umueke, Umubisi, Umuagwa. Ikwerre people originated from various Igbo groups moving Southwards especially the Etche, Ohaji, Uratta, and Ngwa. There is even a village in Etche called Ikwerre-Ngwo.

pazienza:

Ikelike people, are the supposed bini linked first settlers of Ogwashi ukwu,and not Ahaba.

Brother , On Igbo modern development. We need it urgently and would like you to join our group. Be a part, Contact me by text for further details 09033130321

Donarozzi:

Ikwerre are Igbo, and they know that. It is ludicrous that some Ikwerre people are miseducated and brainwashed to believe in some fictiously fabricated history. The names of the villages you wrote above using "Omu-" are just misspelt wordings. The correct spelling begins with Umu- as in Umuchi, Umuhombia, Umueke, Umubisi, Umuagwa. Ikwerre people originated from various Igbo groups moving Southwards especially the Etche, Ohaji, Uratta, and Ngwa. There is even a village in Etche called Ikwerre-Ngwo.

'Omu' is not a mis spelling, saying that it is a mis spelling reeks of insensitivity and gross disrespect to Omerelu people, the idea of using a particular dialect of Igbo as a standard to measure what an Igbo word should be, is never going to help unify the Igbo nation.

Omu, Rumu, Umun,Umu, are all Igbo words for the English word 'children', that 'Umu' was chosen to be the standard Igbo word for children, does not make the other variants mis spellings.


There is currently no language called Igbo language,what we study as Igbo language in schools today is an artificial creation,made by picking out words from various dialects, but we all know that at a point in history, there must have been an original Igbo language from which the various dialects we speak today,originated from. But non of us can objectively determine which of the current dialects we speak today,is closest to the original Igbo language.

pazienza:

'Omu' is not a mis spelling, saying that it is a mis spelling reeks of insensitivity and gross disrespect to Omerelu people, the idea of using a particular dialect of Igbo as a standard to measure what an Igbo word should be, is never going to help unify the Igbo nation.

Omu, Rumu, Umun,Umu, are all Igbo words for the English word 'children', that 'Umu' was chosen to be the standard Igbo word for children, does not make the other variants mis spellings.


There is currently no language called Igbo language,what we study as Igbo language in schools today is an artificial creation,made by picking out words from various dialects, but we all know that at a point in history, there must have been an original Igbo language from which the various dialects we speak today,originated from. But non of us can objectively determine which of the current dialects we speak today,is closest to the original Igbo language.

Those are ALL misspellings. The correct spelling is "Omo" as any Edo or Yoruba child knows
The theory of Language evolution is false

e.g

This is a sample of English as spoken in the middle ages

Forrþrihht anan se time comm
þatt ure Drihhtin wollde
ben borenn i þiss middellærd
forr all mannkinne nede
he chæs himm sone kinnessmenn
all swillke summ he wollde
and whær he wollde borenn ben
he chæs all att hiss wille.


This is an even earlier sample

1.
Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas and his leod-biscopas and Þurcyl eorl and ealle his eorlas and ealne his þeodscype, twelfhynde and twyhynde, gehadode and læwede, on Englalande freondlice.

TRANSLATION
Cnut, king, greets his archbishops and his lede'(people's)'-bishops and Thorkell, earl, and all his earls and all his peopleship, greater (having a 1200 shilling weregild) and lesser (200 shilling weregild), hooded(ordained to priesthood) and lewd(lay), in England friendly.`

2

.Ic nam me to gemynde þa gewritu and þa word, þe se arcebiscop Lyfing me fram þam papan brohte of Rome, þæt ic scolde æghwær godes lof upp aræran and unriht alecgan and full frið wyrcean be ðære mihte, þe me god syllan wolde.

Translation

I nam(took) me to mind the writs and the word that the Archbishop Lyfing me from the Pope brought of Rome, that I should ayewhere(everywhere) God's love(praise) uprear(promote), and unright(outlaw) lies, and full frith(peace) work(bring about) by the might that me God would(wished) [to] sell'(give).


Here is an oral performance of old english

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29v_adW9dn0
Cædmon's Hymn
nu scylun hergan hefaenricaes uard
metudæs maecti end his modgidanc
uerc uuldurfadur swe he uundra gihwaes
eci dryctin or astelidæ
he aerist scop aelda barnum
heben til hrofe haleg scepen.
tha middungeard moncynnæs uard
eci dryctin æfter tiadæ
firum foldu frea allmectig

This illustrates that we cannot make any assumptions about origin from the present appearance of language which merely reflect the most recent influences;
In English this is very strongly Latin as seen in words like ;library,lavatory,extend, etc. Few will suggest from a cursory study that English is a Germanic language

The idea that languages have a single ancestor is simplistic especially in such an ethnically crowded space as Eastern Nigeria. More likely is that all kinds of cross fertilizations took place and it would be naive to assume that all who now speak the same language are kinsmen or the converse. Language is more a reflection of cultural diet than cultural ancestry. e.g after less than 100 years many Nigerian children cannot speak their mother tongues preferring a NEW variant of English that is not readily intelligible to English folk

pazienza:

'Omu' is not a mis spelling, saying that it is a mis spelling reeks of insensitivity and gross disrespect to Omerelu people, the idea of using a particular dialect of Igbo as a standard to measure what an Igbo word should be, is never going to help unify the Igbo nation.

Omu, Rumu, Umun,Umu, are all Igbo words for the English word 'children', that 'Umu' was chosen to be the standard Igbo word for children, does not make the other variants mis spellings.


There is currently no language called Igbo language,what we study as Igbo language in schools today is an artificial creation,made by picking out words from various dialects, but we all know that at a point in history, there must have been an original Igbo language from which the various dialects we speak today,originated from. But non of us can objectively determine which of the current dialects we speak today,is closest to the original Igbo language.

"Omu-" is a mispelling of "Umu-" used in the ancestral designation of many Igbo village names. Yes, truly, in some situations, the "U" pronunciation sounds like "O" pronunciation. However, it is "Umu-" and not "Omu-". Of course, there are other dialectal variants of "Umu" which include "Nmu" in some Ika areas, Rumu in some parts of Ikwerre, and "Umun" which is a rare nasalized version. "Idumu" used in some Igbo communities is related to the same "Umu-" as both words are used to describe the descendants of the founder of a village, a section of a village, or the people in the community themselves. As the Igbo language is getting standardized into uniformity, such community names like "Idumuodikpe" and "Rumuola" will become "Umuodikpe" and "Umuola" respectively. Evolution will always move towards simplicity and uniformity.

U are correct my brother its not a misspelling.Their are numerous dialects among Ndi-Igbo and the Omu,Rumu,Oma just happens to be among them.

People have a right to associate or dissociate themselves with any group.Ofcourse the Ikwerre is no exception if they do not want to identify with Ndi-Igbo. I think most Ikwerre people on this forum have not been to other parts of Igbo land.Every community has a distinct dialect in Igbo land and thesame obtains in Igbo land. Ohaji people understand Ikwerre and vice verser,Ikwerreboy stop misinforming people.Am from Umuapu and we understand ourselves speaking our dialects i mean UMUAPU and OMERELU.U do not want to identify with a people doesn't mean u should lie.

e4e5d4d5:
@Op . . . .according to some accounts the ikwerre pple have Bini origins and claim to speak a distinct language. . . And I don't doubt that but I want to know, why is it that the language and culture of present day ikwerre is similar to that of igbo. . .. . You don't have Obas but you have Ezes, the council of traditional rulers is known as Ogbako Ikwerre (and in igbo ogbako/nzuko means a gathering/council), some "ikwerre" names r just dilaectical adjustments of igbo names e.g weli (Nwaeli/Nwani), nmerukini (mmeregini) , ndahmerem (nnaemerem) , wopara (Nwaopara), chiburuoma (chidinma)

Even the name which you claimed to be the original name of the Ikwerres is actually of igbo root I.e iwhnurohna = ihru o ha = iru ora which in igbo means face/front of the people /community . Again I'm not doubting the ikwerre origin story I just want to know how ikwerre became so heavily influenced with Igbo if they are not of igbo descent.


Anyway , what ever the case is I believe a people should have the right to choose whatever identity they like , if the Ikwerre people want a sovereign non-igbo identity, then that's okay. But care should also be taken not to twist historical facts for sentimental reasons.

As a port harcourt resident I have to say :
Ikwerre meka!!!!
Rivers state meka!!!!!!
Eli ikwerre bu eli nwere ngwugwu!!!!!!!!!!

u igbos should stop stepping on peoples toes.u should live ikwerre people alone and mind ur business. I bet u dat very soon the issue of igbo-phobia will start in lagos,portharcourt, etc if u cannot learn to respect other tribes because they hav little affinnities with u.bewarned!!!!!

Bini man claiming ukwuani poke-nosing in any Igbo thread, congrats for displaying your ignorance on every Igbo forum.

Your type has not left the shores of bini let alone knowing where on earth is Ikwere kingdom.

Advice: go to bini, you will find your father's stonge there.

Oh lets I forgot, he was sold as a slave to Igbo traders that resulted to your identity crises.

God forbid I share any ethnic link with an ostracised bini man.

victor1464:
u igbos should stop stepping on peoples toes.u should live ikwerre people alone and mind ur business. I bet u dat very soon the issue of igbo-phobia will start in lagos,portharcourt, etc if u cannot learn to respect other tribes because they hav little affinnities with u.bewarned!!!!!

victor1464:
u igbos should stop stepping on peoples toes.u should live ikwerre people alone and mind ur business. I bet u dat very soon the issue of igbo-phobia will start in lagos,portharcourt, etc if u cannot learn to respect other tribes because they hav little affinnities with u.bewarned!!!!!

It is very simple! Leave Igbo language alone,igbos did not colonize anyone. Look for your lost Ikwerre or Bini language. As long as you speak an Igbo dialect,you are Igbo till Jesus comes.

DikeOha882:
How did the Igbos change your names from osaze, efosa to Amadi, Elechi, Amechi etc, even your surnames there is no traceable benin name that you bear, These Igbo people must be superhuman. God please continue to make me super human.

Don't mind them..
The dude Ikwerreboy seems confused!

Ikwerreboy:


How can we pack and go back to benin when 50% of rivers state are ikwerres, not to talk of our brothers( The ekpeye and the ogba.)

The brother's u ogonis have in rivers state today are we the ikwerres.
We are accommodating you guys, we marry you guys and we have neva had conflict with you guys like the igbo's, and okrikas.

We ikwerres are accommodative, we dont mind were you come from but our only problem are the igbos who have refused to understand that we are not and can never be igbos because we are different from them linguistically, culturally and other wise.
The igbos have mistakenly invested in port Harcourt so much and they don't want to loose/fill relax with there investments. but the truth is that dey are big bunch of fools that forgot how the ikwerres refused giving them back there properties after the biafran war to show that we the ikwerres are not igbos and don't want yhe igbos.

The nigerian constitution today have forced the we the ikwerre to accommodate the igbos we dnt want to see in our land all in the name of freedom of movement. but only time will tell sha. Niger delta republic will not accommodate the igbos neva.

What is Niger-delta?

Macelliot:

What is Niger-delta?

when d time come u will know D MEANING of Nigerdelta...

victor1464:
when d time come u will know D MEANING of Nigerdelta...

Obviously, You don't know the meaning...
It means, "oil producing state."

Thanks.

Reading all these comments one year after, and not surprised to see all the hateful comments. You cannot force a people to be a people or force a people to accept a people. If the ikwerre people should eventually accept to be a sub ethnicity of the igbo's , even more hateful comments will arise. And also, it is dumb to think that the ikwerrws claim to be rivers people cuz of the oil, and even dumber to think that they coin a history out of laziness (or what have you). All I see is a people who want to be left alone to practice their culture and way of living in peace not being forced to be attached to another tribe, despite the similarities. Need I remind you that but for a few tribes in Rivers state, most of the dress patterns, marriage, food, etc are similar with that of the igbo's but this doesn't make them igbo's. Need I also remind you of the closeness shared by the both people due to boundaries and this Of course causes culture mix. Bla bla bla, long and short let the people be........

Ps : dear critics be you honest or not, I dont need your opinion.

Enjoyed the little fight tho truckpusher and co.

emmysoftyou:
broda dalu,u ve spoken d mind of a millions igboman pls leave dat silly ikwerreboy,
my example,wen israel located d promise land,there pple there b4 God said they shu dominate,today those pple re call israelite,til date,so man,we ve dominate u,and u cnt change it since u bear our names nd marry our beautifu igbos girls

hmmm.

emmysoftyou:
broda dalu,u ve spoken d mind of a millions igboman pls leave dat silly ikwerreboy,
my example,wen israel located d promise land,there pple there b4 God said they shu dominate,today those pple re call israelite,til date,so man,we ve dominate u,and u cnt change it since u bear our names nd marry our beautifu igbos girls

Ogbujianyim!

Abagworo:


You've been telling lies here because nobody has been here to counter you. Stop the lies. Imo State people understand Ikwerre 90% and 100% depending on the part of Imo you are talking about. Ohaji for example speaks exactly same dialect with Omerelu your village albeit more deviated when you get to Egbema. Don't ever dare use language as evidence as you will be dealt severe blow in that aspect.

What you call difference in character between Igbo and Ikwerre is the often jealous secluded nature of natives of any rapidly expanding city. It exists in Onitsha. It also exists in Aba where you live. The natives in a bid to safeguard their identity often create a different life style that distinguish them from the settlers and often lay emphasis on that. The advantage of expensive land to sell and raise capital makes them laid back in terms of hustling and often see the settlers as over struggling. It exists even outside Igboland like Lagos Omoniles who act differently from Osun or Ekiti settlers.

The reason why Ikwerre is not Igbo is simply because Ikwerres don't have the conviction of being Igbo especially since 1970. So next time don't come up with falsehood as evidence of being distinct.

Characteristics of Benin-Igbos like myself

1) We've always had centralised leadership Eze-Igwe or Obi. Ikwerre has never had Kingship.

2) We have Iyasara in Igbo or Iyase in Benin

3) We have the Dein or Umudei

4) Names like Iwuorisha, Orisha, Nworisha, Osemeke, Adizua, Ossai, Oputa etc are of mixed language. Probably Edo + Igbo. They don't exist in Ikwerre. My Mum is from Isiokpo.

5) We are highly educated long before other Igbos. You can check it from Oguta, Onitsha, Anioma. Ikwerres aren't.

To me Ikwerres are related to Etche and Oratta and the Europeans made no mistake classifying them as same. Ohaji, Etche, Uratta and Ikwerre are same stock with Ikwerre being the most divergent.

bros no vex abeg ohaji no dey understand omerelu in any way,try practicalize am,i get dem around.

Wenebadu:
bros no vex abeg ohaji no dey understand omerelu in any way,try practicalize am,i get dem around.

Lies

Ohaji, ohakpu elele and etche speaks alike even ASA and environs

I even understand Uche my friend from ikwerre well yet I am anambra

Ikwerreboy:


How can we pack and go back to benin when 50% of rivers state are ikwerres, not to talk of our brothers( The ekpeye and the ogba.)

The brother's u ogonis have in rivers state today are we the ikwerres.
We are accommodating you guys, we marry you guys and we have neva had conflict with you guys like the igbo's, and okrikas.

We ikwerres are accommodative, we dont mind were you come from but our only problem are the igbos who have refused to understand that we are not and can never be igbos because we are different from them linguistically, culturally and other wise.
The igbos have mistakenly invested in port Harcourt so much and they don't want to loose/fill relax with there investments. but the truth is that dey are big bunch of fools that forgot how the ikwerres refused giving them back there properties after the biafran war to show that we the ikwerres are not igbos and don't want yhe igbos.

The nigerian constitution today have forced the we the ikwerre to accommodate the igbos we dnt want to see in our land all in the name of freedom of movement. but only time will tell sha. Niger delta republic will not accommodate the igbos neva.

Can u talk for urself biko...amaechi said he is Igbo

victor1464:
u igbos should stop stepping on peoples toes.u should live ikwerre people alone and mind ur business. I bet u dat very soon the issue of igbo-phobia will start in lagos,portharcourt, etc if u cannot learn to respect other tribes because they hav little affinnities with u.bewarned!!!!!

A word of advice
Concentrate on your grammar before dabbling in sublime things son

Any person who says Ikwerre is not Igbo, os a fool. There is no way you can make me beleive ikwere is no Igbo.
What we speak in my Enugu village is 40% Ikwere dialects. When ikweres speak, people in my vilage, tend to react to what they hear, be it in a music form or face to face speach.
My mother hails from ikwere land, while my father hail from Awgu local Government area of Enugu State.
Every thing about Ikwere, reminds me of every thing about Abia, Imo, especially, Ebonyi and Enugu states.

waguguohenetu15:
People have a right to associate or dissociate themselves with any group.Ofcourse the Ikwerre is no exception if they do not want to identify with Ndi-Igbo. I think most Ikwerre people on this forum have not been to other parts of Igbo land.Every community has a distinct dialect in Igbo land and thesame obtains in Igbo land. Ohaji people understand Ikwerre and vice verser,Ikwerreboy stop misinforming people.Am from Umuapu and we understand ourselves speaking our dialects i mean UMUAPU and OMERELU.U do not want to identify with a people doesn't mean u should lie.

During my NYSC in 2013, I served with ISOPADEC, along PH road in Owerri but was posted to one of the secondary schools in Ohaji LGA. I swear I grew up partially in Owerri from the upper-half of primary school to the end of my secondary school and was well-versed in Owerri dialect but the dialect of the Ohaji people spoke, even the small school kids, sounded different from and unlike the Owerri-like Igbo I was used to and I didn't understood what they spoke, just some of it, but I noticed that everyone, including the small kids, could easily switch between their native dialects and the general Owerri-like Igbo I am used to, especially when communicating in school. One day I was taking a bus back home from Ohaji to PH road where I stayed with my aunt. I noticed that the bus driver and conductor spoke in a dialect that resembled Ikwerre. It caught my attention and I focused on what they were saying, thus I picked out words that are typical of Ikwerre like 'nda' etc. but they easily switched to central Igbo to talk with the passengers, ask for their money or indicate 'o ga-apu' for when a passenger was alighting. My initial though was that they could be Ikwerre bus driver and conductor but now I realize that they maybe interior Ohaji people (with similar dialect to Ikwerre) from Imo state.

All this confusion simply reflects that the Igbo dont have a history of nationhood and no origin. Just a group of byshmen trading with one another over the years in the forest makung them speak a similar language. I will respect a history emanating from benin anytime than some bushmen claiming they come from israel.

atmy1:
All this confusion simply reflects that the Igbo dont have a history of nationhood and no origin. Just a group of byshmen trading with one another over the years in the forest makung them speak a similar language. I will respect a history emanating from benin anytime than some bushmen claiming they come from israel.

The Isreal origin of the Igbo sounds plausible atleast Isrealites are Human beings than believing someone fell from Heaven,what was he looking for up there in the first place?

The descending man story is a popular yoruba myth and every educated yoruba man knows its a creation myth, similar to Genesis. There is another story of how oduduwa migrated from the North east, either egypt or middle east. Besides their is a lonh history of yoruba between oduduwa and colonisation. We had Oyo empire with full historical documentation and achaeological evidence. What did your forefathers have? Tell me any igbo leader in 1800 and i will accept u have a history.

atmy1:
All this confusion simply reflects that the Igbo dont have a history of nationhood and no origin. Just a group of byshmen trading with one another over the years in the forest makung them speak a similar language. I will respect a history emanating from benin anytime than some bushmen claiming they come from israel.

Always wanting to claim superiority. How can you believe someone fell from the sky? In this science age and time, and you claim to be a graduate?

bigfrancis21:


Always wanting to claim superiority. How can you believe someone fell from the sky? In this science age and time, and you claim to be a graduate?

Please answer my question. Tell me any popular Igbo leader in 1800.
The Ijaws, Itsekiris, Igalas and Binis are greater than Igbos. They have history, Igbo does not, they have identity, igbo does not

atmy1:


Please answer my question. Tell me any popular Igbo leader in 1800.
The Ijaws, Itsekiris, Igalas and Binis are greater than Igbos. They have history, Igbo does not, they have identity, igbo does not

Simon Jonas, Jaja of Opobo, Olaudah Euiano etc.

atmy1:


Please answer my question. Tell me any popular Igbo leader in 1800.
The Ijaws, Itsekiris, Igalas and Binis are greater than Igbos. They have history, Igbo does not, they have identity, igbo does not

Who poupular leader help,how are these people you mentioned Faring better than the Igbos Today?

btw Have you cured your STD,You know some people say Syphilis not Treated can Affect the brain