As an Igbotic Igbo man I have taken upon myself to research on the igbo men that changed the face of Africa, this is for posterity reasons and also for the younger generation of igbo to know the great deeds their fore fathers did, the wars fought, the exploration made, negotitions made and above all the scientific approach



THE LIST

EZE NRI IFIKUANIM
• Priest King of the ancient Nri kingdom of Igboland, said to be the cradle Of Igbo civilisation c.1000 AD • A highly intelligent, scholarly King, who is said to have traded with the Kingdoms Of the Middle-East and Asia. The source of his power being benevolence, knowledge and religious knowledge; • Grave was believed to have been unearthed by Archaeologist Thurston Shaw, who discovered a burial Chamber with remains adorned in robes, bronze crown, sceptre, staff and breast-Plates adorned with glass beads, which are said to have been obtainable at the time from Egypt. • The Igbo-Ukwu bronzes and the Nsude Pyramids are said by Historians to be Religious artefacts and symbols of the Nri Kingdom. • He instituted the Igbo Market days and introduced Yam as staple crop of the Igbo’s.

AFRICANUS HORTON

• Horton was born in Sierra Leone of Igbo parentage. He and Broughton Davies were selected by the Army, for Medical training, qualifying from Kings College and Edinburgh in 1858/1859. Enlisted as an Assistant-Surgeon in 1859. • He practised in Ghana and then Sierra Leone, promoted Surgeon- Major in 1875 and retired in 1881. He and Davies were the 1st Nigerian Doctors and the 1st African Army Officers. • He wrote one of the first African nationalist texts- “In defence of the African”. • He established and managed a Bank in Sierra Leone after his retirement.

REVEREND JOHN C TAYLOR
12. • Born c 1815 in Sierra Leone of Igbo repatriate parents. He trained as a School-teacher at the Fourah Bay College and taught for 16 years. • He was ordained a Priest on 8 June 1856, alongside seven other Cathechists by Bishop Weeks.He was taken by Bishop Crowther to Igbo-land in 1857, to set up a permanent Mission at Onitsha. • He was hugely influential in winning converts, by his pragmatic, compassionate Ministry. • He translated Hymns and Prayer into Igbo, before returning to Sierra Leone in 1868. • The next Igbo-man to be ordained was Reverend George Anyaegbunam on February 13 1898

ISAAC MBA
14. ISAAC MBA Born in 1860 at Onitsha he was admitted to Fourah Bay College, Freetown Sierra Leone, In 1880 (alongside Ephraim Agha) graduating in 1882- the first Igbo’s to achieve this. He joined the CMS Mission and assisted Archdeacon Johnson, in translating two of the four gospels into Igbo language in 1889. (Mbajekwe). An early Nationalist –he stood up against the CMS Church – his first employers for its treatment of African clergymen, including Crowther, for which he was dismissed by the CMS Church in 1890. He joined the Niger Coast Protectorate in 1893 and rose to become Deputy Chief Clerk of the PWD in 1898. He retired in 1910 and became extremely wealthy from trading in produce And Licensed Money-Lending and was bestowed with the title Owelle of Onitsha He was one of the members of the Legislative Council 1922- the first Elected Legislature and the joint-first Igbo Legislator, alongside S.C.Obianwu, Serving till his death in 1930

S.C.OBIANWU
16. • He was born at Onitsha in 1861 and attended the Kippo Hill School Lokoja, (alongside George Anyaegbunam 2nd Igbo Clergyman) between 1883-1887. • He worked for the CMS Mission, as well as acting as an Agent for European Traders on the Niger Coast. • He amassed a small fortune, becoming one of the wealthiest traders in the area. • He (alongside Isaac Mba) was one of the members of the first elected Nigerian Parliament in 1922, nominated to represent the Niger Traders. • His activism and contributions on the floor of the House were powerful and cogent e.g The provision of utilities to African residents of Port Harcourt And most importantly- the demand for a second enquiry into the Aba Women’s War

OMU NWAGBOKA
18. • The Ikporo Onitsha was the ancient powerful female political Institution of Onitsha, of which the Omu or Queen Headed. The Omu title was common to the people of Anioma. The Omu was a powerful spiritual and political position. • Nwagboka was a wealthy trader, who amassed such wealth and influence, her selection for assumption of the office was unsurprising. • She was a substantial influence on the Obi and was one of the signatories to the 1884 RNC Treaty. A Christian convert, she would close the Market on Sundays. • She was engaged in a dispute with Obi Anazonwu, which saw her ordering the women to boycott their husbands. Upon her death in 1888, no other Omu had been appointed till date.

IGWE ISRAEL IWEKA
20. • Born in 1879, he was an early Christian convert in The Lower Niger area and received a secondary school education. • He was one of the first Nigerian Civil Engineering contractors and built the massive Iweka Road at Onitsha, amongst others. • He wrote the first History of the Igbo people, both in English and Igbo in 1922. • He became a Warrant Chief of Obosi, his hometown in 1932.

J.C.ULASI
22. J.C.Ulasi was born at Nnewi c.1890, born to a modest Christian Family, but schooled in the determined competitive and mercantile traditions of his people. He is said to have travelled on foot from Nnewi to Aba in the mid-1920’s, in search of fortune (“Oji ukwu ejeAba”). At Aba he traded in textiles and produce, slowly and painstakingly building a solid asset base By setting up roadside stalls along the Aba Road. He would recruit apprentices from Nnewi At one stage, up to seventy. By 1933, he had built up a fleet of six lorries, which he deployed into a road haulage business Which earned him a Mail delivery contract for the Eastern Provinces. He later built up this fleet To 10 lorries. He became a Warrant Chief at Aba and died in 1944. His kinsman Louis Odumegwu-Ojukwu Was to succeed him as the King of the road haulage business by the formation of his legendary Ojukwu Transport Company in 1937.

Nna, gaba n'iru na ayi kwu yi n'azu.

Thank you Tony.

bigfrancis21:
Nna, gaba n'iru na ayi kwu yi n'azu.

Worris this? Anglais, sil vous plait. Me no understandeth

Ishilove:

Worris this? Anglais, sil vous plait. Me no understandeth

Nna = term of endearment (literally, 'father')

gaba n'iru = forge ahead (literally, 'keep going forward')

na anyi kwu yi n'azu = We are right behind you

Ishilove:
Worris this? Anglais, sil vous plait. Me no understandeth

Igbo ka m na-asu ife anwa. I ghotakwalu ife mu delu.

bigfrancis21:


Igbo ka m na-asu ife anwa. I ghotakwalu ife mu delu.

You dey call me goat abi?

Ishilove:

You dey call me goat abi?

M kee gi okpo n'ishi gi afu, I fu onwe gi na jamaica ozigbo.

Radoillo:


Nna = term of endearment (literally, 'father')

gaba n'iru = forge ahead (literally, 'keep going forward')

na anyi kwu yi n'azu = We are right behind you

Nna, I gbukwalu oge itapialu ife m delu. O ghotakwalu ife m delu. O na-agho...

bigfrancis21:




M kee gi okpo n'ishi gi afu, I fu onwe gi na jamaica ozigbo.

Uwa, ye nwike ke'm okpo. A ga ma shifti ya jaw

Ishilove:
Uwa, ye nwike ke'm okpo. A ga ma shifti ya jaw

Gbam. O suo nya ka ezigbo nwada Igbo. Nne sulu gaba, nna yi mulu yi!

Ishilove:
Uwa, ye nwike ke'm okpo. A ga ma shifti ya jaw

Gbam. O suo nya ka ezigbo nwada Igbo. Nne sulu gaba, nna yi mulu yi!

bigfrancis21:


Gbam. O suo nya ka ezigbo nwada Igbo. Nne sulu gaba, nna yi mulu yi!

I gif up! This reads like heavenly tongues

bigfrancis21:


Gbam. O suo nya ka ezigbo nwada Igbo. Nne sulu gaba, nna yi mulu yi!

Interpretation for Ishilove.

Gbam! You have spoken like a proper Igbo daughter. Nne, dey speak dey go, na your papa born you

Tonychristopher, do you plan to add more names here? You said 30; there are just 8 names.