omonnakoda:

I have no interest in convincing you. But setting the record straight for anyone reading this thread. I have absolutely no concern about what you think or believe.
You have an unfortunate habit of jumping off at a tangent to irrelevancies. You claim they do not speak a word of Ibani in Bonny. An obvious and childish lie. Whether Patience campaigns in French is NOT relevant to the discussion here.Stop talking like an illiterate.
This tendency to overload the discussion with information that has no bearing is a clear sign you have nothing sensible to say.
The people of Bonny are Ibani and not Eboe

Dude, as a matter of fact, you have not set not even an inch of any record straight. Your childish arguments so far shows you are very ignorant of issues regarding Bonny and Opobo. You would rather hear them to be Ibani speaking all in your animosity towards anything Igbo which you have consistently displayed on this forum for the last 2 years. Worst still, coming from someone who claims to live in PH. Unfortunately for you, Bonny, Opobo and parts of Okirika remain Igbo speaking as native language and not Ibani.

Igbo has been spoken in Bonny since as early as the 1700s. Ibani as a language was killed by its own elders who would not have their language be taught to outsiders or the Igbo settlers but used only as a secret language while Igbo was allowed to be freely spoken, leading to the death of the language in Bonny within a generation. The large Igbo slaves and their descendants to this day continued to speak their native language.

Jaja of Opobo, together with many other Igbo-speaking peoples settled in Opobo after having left Bonny. The descendants still speak Igbo today.

Like I said before, call the people of Opobo and Bonny whatever you like, however these people speak one and only native language - Igbo.

History of Ibanị literacy
Paul Hair (1967) seems to have been the first bibliographer to unpick the history and citations of Ịjọ in early
historical sources and the following is largely adapted from his essay. The first actual words of Ibanị were
recorded by Captain Hugh Crow, an English slave-trader who operated from Bonny around the end of the
eighteenth century. From his account one would think that there was only one language, namely Eboe [Igbo]
spoken at Bonny, but in his wordlist of 'Eboe', a few Ibanị words are found casually embedded in it.
The expedition of 1832-34 up the Niger collected vocabularies of a number of languages but not of Ịjọ.
Edwin Norris, the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, used these when he compiled a
handbook for the use of the next Niger Expedition and added materials from other sources, including
numerals in 'Bonny', i.e. Ibanị (Norris 1840).

In 1840 a German doctor spent some four months in Bonny as a ship's doctor, and wrote a detailed account
of Bonny including a long vocabulary of Ibanị (Köler 1842-43, reprinted as Köler 1848). He notes the use of
two languages, Ibanị and Igbo, at Bonny, and the attempts by elders to prevent boys from teaching him Ibanị;
this confirms what is said today, that the major reason for the decline of Ibanị is the successful attempt to
keep it from being learnt by outsiders, which in the nineteenth century included a large slave population.
The result of this policy is that Igbo has become the common language of communication.
Two more dialects of Ịjọ were recorded for the first time by John Clarke (1848). These were 'Numbe'
[Nembe] and 'Akrika' [Okrika], together with further lists of Kalabarị and Ibanị. Clarke was a Baptist
missionary who, with the help of an Afro-American colleague, Merrick, collected his wordlists in an
unsystematic way, some in Fernando Po and some in the West Indies (Hair 1967).
Sigismund Koelle was a German scholar who worked fro the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in
Freetown. There he compiled his Polyglotta Africana in 1850, published in 1854. It was a systematic
collection of vocabularies of African languages, compiled by interviewing the freed slaves who had been
resettled in Freetown. Koelle used a standard wordlist of about three hundred items and added notes on his
informants and their homelands, from which he was able to draw a map which is remarkably accurate for a
period when no European knew the interior of West Africa. His vocabularies are grouped according to
genetic relationship in so far as he could trace it from the wordlists. He has two wordlists of Ịjọ, grouped
together as V.C., the group which conjoins Igboid and Edoid. The first list, ´Okulōma, is a wordlist of Ibanị,
named for the town Ókólómá, although Koelle’s informant was from Orupiri (órúpírí) Koelle (1854:
refers to Obā́ne [b](Ubani) as the name for these people given by the Ibos and Kerekas [Okrika][/b]. Williamson (1966)
discusses Koelle’s Ịjọ lists in detail. In the case of Ibanị, she shows that some 73% of Koelle’s forms were
accurate and also yield much interesting information about lexical and phonological change in the language
since they were recorded.

http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Ijoid/Ibani/Ibani-English%20dictionary.pdf

Knowledge is key and ignorance is a disease.

bigfrancis21:


Dude, as a matter of fact, you have not set not even an inch of any record straight. Your childish arguments so far shows you are very ignorant of issues regarding Bonny and Opobo. You would rather hear them to be Ibani speaking all in your animosity towards anything Igbo which you have consistently displayed on this forum for the last 2 years. Worst still, coming from someone who claims to live in PH. Unfortunately for you, Bonny, Opobo and parts of Okirika remain Igbo speaking as native language and not Ibani.

Igbo has been spoken in Bonny since as early as the 1700s. Ibani as a language was killed by its own elders who would not have their language be taught to outsiders or the Igbo settlers but used only as a secret language while Igbo was allowed to be freely spoken, leading to the death of the language in Bonny within a generation. The large Igbo slaves and their descendants to this day continued to speak their native language.

Jaja of Opobo, together with many other Igbo-speaking peoples settled in Opobo after having left Bonny. The descendants still speak Igbo today.

Like I said before, call the people of Opobo and Bonny whatever you like, however these people speak one and only native language - Igbo.



http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Niger-Congo/Ijoid/Ibani/Ibani-English%20dictionary.pdf

Knowledge is key and ignorance is a disease.

Not only are you ignorant you are also a liar. You have presented two conflicting argumentt
One tha Bonny is now populated by Eboe settlers from the Interior, Two that the Ibani language has died out because they refuse to teach their language to strangers. Both are absurd.
The people of Bonny are Ibani and their language is Ibani a variant of Ijaw. They are Ijaw people
English is spoken all over Nigeria.That does not make us English. Many Nigerians SPEAK ONLY ENGLISH

Igbo: Bonny-opobo language
Language name: Igbo: Bonny-opobo
GRN Language Number: #10815
ISO Language Name: Igbo [ibo]

Audio/Video from other sources
Jesus - Feature Film in Igbo - (Jesus Film Media)
New Testament in Igbo - (Audio Scripture Ministries)
The Jesus Story Audiodrama in Igbo - (The Jesus Film Project)
The New Testament in Igbo - (Faith Comes By Hearing)
The Story of Jesus - Feature Film for Children in Igbo - (Jesus Film Media)
Who is God in Igbo - (Who Is God?)
Other names for Igbo: Bonny-opobo
Bonny-opobo

Where Igbo: Bonny-opobo is spoken
Nigeria

Dialects related to Igbo: Bonny-opobo
There are 21 similar spoken languages or dialects which share the same ISO language code as Igbo: Bonny-opobo.

Ibo: Ohafia
Ibo: Union
Igbo
Igbo: Afikpo
Igbo: Aniocha
Igbo Asaa
Igbo: Eche
Igbo: Egbema
Igbo: Ehugbo
Igbo: Mbaise
Igbo: Ngwa
Igbo: Nsa
Igbo: Nsuka
Igbo: Oguta
Igbo: Ohuhu
Igbo: Oka
Igbo: Onitsha
Igbo: Orlu
Igbo: Owerri
Igbo: Umuahia
Igbo: Unwana

http://globalrecordings.net/en/language/10815

omonnakoda:

Not only are you ignorant you are also a liar. You have presented two conflicting argumentt
One tha Bonny is now populated by Eboe settlers from the Interior, Two that the Ibani language has died out because they refuse to teach their language to strangers. Both are absurd.
The people of Bonny are Ibani and their language is Ibani a variant of Ijaw. They are Ijaw people
English is spoken all over Nigeria.That does not make us English. Many Nigerians SPEAK ONLY ENGLISH

Who is the liar now? Continue making foolery and jest of yourself. If wishes were horses, you would want to write off the strong Igbo origins of Bonny and Opobo. Unfortunately, evidence of 19th century. Bonny as Igbo-speaking was captured and kept till today such that internet revisionists like you cannot write off what has been stamped in the annals of time.

The status of English in Nigeria can never be the same as the status of Igbo in Bonny. Unlike the English, the Igbo were not colonialists. They hardly colonized people and forced their language on them like the British or Spanish. Thus any person speaking Igbo today as first language became so by virtue of his ancestor who was Igbo speaking out of his own volition.

To be honest, you have have not made one useful contribution so far, only merely running around in circles regurgitating lies and wishful fantasies.

bigfrancis21:


Who is the liar now? Continue making foolery and jest of yourself. If wishes were horses, you would want to write off the strong Igbo origins of Bonny and Opobo. Unfortunately, evidence of 19th century. Bonny as Igbo-speaking was captured and kept till today such that internet revisionists like you cannot write off what has been stamped in the annals of time.

The status of English in Nigeria can never be the same as the status of Igbo in Bonny. Unlike the English, the Igbo were not colonialists. They hardly colonized people and forced their language on them like the British or Spanish. Thus any person speaking Igbo today as first language became so by virtue of his ancestor who was Igbo speaking out of his own volition.

To be honest, you have have not made one useful contribution so far, only merely running around in circles regurgitating lies and wishful fantasies.

You are a liar through and through.

You started saying ad maintained NOT A WORD of Ibani is spoken in Bonny today. you were given two words and you did not respond but dodged the question

I am here not because I need to engage you but so when those coming after see your lies they realize that they were never unchallenged for one moment.
If you must produce an ESSAY as "evidence" of anything be honest enough to give a source and which of your views you believe your so called evidence actually reinforces instead of acting like a tout telling us Patience Jonathan campaigned in Eboe.
Bonny is Ijaw and its people are Ijaw

omonnakoda:

You are a liar through and through.

You started saying ad maintained NOT A WORD of Ibani is spoken in Bonny today. you were given two words and you did not respond but dodged the question

I am here not because I need to engage you but so when those coming after see your lies they realize that they were never unchallenged for one moment.
If you must produce an ESSAY as "evidence" of anything be honest enough to give a source and which of your views you believe your so called evidence actually reinforces instead of acting like a tout telling us Patience Jonathan campaigned in Eboe.
Bonny is Ijaw and its people are Ijaw

You are childish if you base your argument on some lies touted by someone on this forum. You argue like the child like you are, bereft of the indications of a mature mental intellect. Please come up with published evidence, albeit small whatsoever, to prove Bonny and Opobo are Ibani speaking. Otherwise, you would be the liar and lonely internet revisionist. I do not mince words.

bigfrancis21:


You are basing your fact based on what someone else wrote? Aren't you supposed to be based in Port-Harcourt? I expected you to know better.

Bonny and Opobo do not speak Ijaw or Ibani. Please visit these islands and don't make unnecessary arguments based on hearsay.

The Ibanis proper who still speak Ibani are found in neighbouring Bonny towns such as Finima or Abalama. Please leave unnecessary nairaland arguments and visit these towns and see the truth for yourself.

You are making silly argument comparing the Hausa case with the Igbo case. The Hausa case and Igbo case are not the same things. Ethnic Igbos from the hinterland settled in these areas and maintained their language as first language till today. As settlers, they did not adopt Ibani nor lose their original language because the Ibani language was often held as a secret language not to be taught to the Igbo settlers while Igbo was left to be the language of communication, thus leading to the complete death of Ibani within 2 generations. In the Hausa case, these people are ethnically not Hausa and still speak their native language, but adopted the Hausa language out of their own volition.

Let me re-iterate, this time slowly, if you did not hear me before. The people of Bonny and Opobo speak Igbo as native language. What they choose to call themselves is at their own discretion. Parts of Okirika also speak Igbo as native language, Patience Jonathan a typical example.

part of okrika speak igbo language? Wow..
This igbo language is widely spread in ss..
Pls do you know the part of okrika that speaks igbo language as their native ?
Though I like how you responded to him, that whatever they chose to called themselves is at their own discretion.

[quote author=bigfrancis21 post=39661038]

You are basing your fact based on what someone else wrote? Aren't you supposed to be based in Port-Harcourt? I expected you to know better.

Bonny and Opobo do not speak Ijaw or Ibani. Please visit these islands and don't make unnecessary arguments based on hearsay.

The Ibanis proper who still speak Ibani are found in neighbouring Bonny towns such as Finima or Abalama. Please leave unnecessary nairaland arguments and visit these towns and see the truth for yourself.

You are making silly argument comparing the Hausa case with the Igbo case. The Hausa case and Igbo case are not the same things. Ethnic Igbos from the hinterland settled in these areas and maintained their language as first language till today. As settlers, they did not adopt Ibani nor lose their original language because the Ibani language was often held as a secret language not to be taught to the Igbo settlers while Igbo was left to be the language of communication, thus leading to the complete death of Ibani within 2 generations. In the Hausa case, these people are ethnically not Hausa and still speak their native language, but adopted the Hausa
of correction Sir Abalama is in Kalabati kingdom not bonny

IGBOPRINCE:
part of okrika speak igbo language? Wow..
This igbo language is widely spread in ss..
Pls do you know the part of okrika that speaks igbo language as their native ?
Though I like how you responded to him, that whatever they chose to called themselves is at their own discretion.

Don't believe this beautiful lies

bigfrancis21:


Exclude the Bonnys and Opobos from your Ibani list please. In as much as you love to claim them as Ijaws when they speak not a single word of Ijaw, at least be objective enough to admit the truth. Bonny, Opobo and parts of Okirika all speak Igbo as native language, practise Igbo customs and traditions just like others in the SE, Anioma etc. The first Igbo bible was written in Bonny Igbos. When the Christian missionaries first landed at Eastern Nigeria at Bonny, they used Bonny Igbo speakers as translators as they journeyed into the Igbo hinterland. Do not misrepresent facts.

chei i pity those tha wil hope on you in life. THAT YOU SPEAK ENGLISH ALL OVER NIGERIA, DOES THAT MAKES IT NIGERIA'S NATIVE LANGUAGE. (you were taught to read and write this shiits you wrote here, does that make english your damn language) ibani is wildly spoken here. Pls educate us on those igbo culture n tradition that we practice. I DARE YOU TO INFORM US. Some people ar just...

bigfrancis21:
Bonny is said to be derived from 'Ubani', corrupted to Bonny by the English speakers when they arrived. Coincidentally, 'ubani' is a common Igbo name and word which means 'wealth of the land' or 'wealth of the earth goddess' whichever way you want to see it.

Whatever you make of my post is at your discretion.

Bonny is coined from ubani an igbo phrase according to you. but in your usual igbo greedy way, you refused to tell the public that UBANI is coined from IBANI. and it is even in the evidence you presented. again you igbos should stop deceiving the public that igbos who came from the hinterland cock n bull story because no igbo came to bonny rather they were ALL CAPTURE AS SLAVES to Bonny.

bigfrancis21:


You are childish if you base your argument on some lies touted by someone on this forum. You argue like the child like you are, bereft of the indications of a mature mental intellect. Please come up with published evidence, albeit small whatsoever, to prove Bonny and Opobo are Ibani speaking. Otherwise, you would be the liar and lonely internet revisionist. I do not mince words.

You are idiotic ,you argue like an iediott. Bonny is an Ibani town in Ijaw land and its people are Ijaw

bigfrancis21:


Exclude the Bonnys and Opobos from your Ibani list please.

LWKMD! This bigfrancis21 will never stop putting his foot in his mouth! Why are you always making my husband's people look like jackasses with your incessant show of arrogant ignorance? Exclude Bonnys and Opobos from Ibani? Who then are the Ibanis, pray tell?

In as much as you love to claim them as Ijaws when they speak not a single word of Ijaw, at least be objective enough to admit the truth. Bonny, Opobo and parts of Okirika all speak Igbo as native language, practise Igbo customs and traditions just like others in the SE, Anioma etc.

The Bonny does not speak a word of Ijaw? Says who - Internet Professor Francis? Who then speak the Ibani variant of Ijaw? Is it your people in Anambra State that speak Ibani? Do you think Bonny begins and ends in the main island? Have you been to other Bonny villages like Finima, etc to find out the language they speak there?

Okirika speaks Igbo as a native language? There is nothing we won't hear from you, big Francis! Because Patience spoke Igbo, you have jumped to the conclusion that Okirikas speak Igbo as a native language. Well, Hilda Dokubo speaks fluent Igbo, so I guess Kalabari people also speak Igbo as a native language.

We are all waiting to hear from you the Igbo customs and practices the Bonnys and Opobos practise. Come and educate us, Internet Prof. Don't come and mention Nwaotam, because the Ibani only share that with one small Igbo-speaking clan, the Ndoki, who according to tradition are kin with the Ibani.

The first Igbo bible was written in Bonny Igbos. When the Christian missionaries first landed at Eastern Nigeria at Bonny, they used Bonny Igbo speakers as translators as they journeyed into the Igbo hinterland. Do not misrepresent facts.

This is common knowledge that has nothing to do with the fact that a native Ibani-Ijo language exists and is spoken. What you call Bonny Igbo is just the Ndoki dialect that the Ibani picked up and used in trading with the Igbo. Its use grew widespread and threatened but never displaced the native Ibani language of the people.

Please, don't forget, we want to learn of the Igbo customs practised by the Bonny people.

nasoeb:
Bonny is coined from ubani an igbo phrase according to you. but in your usual igbo greedy way, you refused to tell the public that UBANI is coined from IBANI. and it is even in the evidence you presented. again you igbos should stop deceiving the public that igbos who came from the hinterland cock n bull story because no igbo came to bonny rather they were ALL CAPTURE AS SLAVES to Bonny.

He pulled that out of his ass. The Igbo people who are close to Bonny (Ndoki, Ngwa, etc) will not say 'Ubani', rather they will say 'Ubala' or 'Ubali'. So, Bonny jumped over Imo and Abia and went to Anambra to get their name?

'Ubani' is not even widely used in Igboland as a name as he claims. The name is limited largely to Ngwa/Ndoki axis, and they will readily tell you the name is connected to Bonny.

Wulfruna:


He pulled that out of his ass. The Igbo people who are close to Bonny (Ndoki, Ngwa, etc) will not say 'Ubani', rather they will say 'Ubala' or 'Ubali'. So, Bonny jumped over Imo and Abia and went to Anambra to get their name?

'Ubani' is not even widely used in Igboland as a name as he claims. The name is limited largely to Ngwa/Ndoki axis, and they will readily tell you the name is connected to Bonny.

I am amazed at your exuberant ignorance, worst still basking in that ignorance of yours. I dare you to visit Bonny and Opobo, do your research and come back with your findings.

https://www.nairaland.com/295535/average-opobo-indigene-speak-understand

Wulfruna:


LWKMD! This bigfrancis21 will never stop putting his foot in his mouth! Why are you always making my husband's people look like jackasses with your incessant show of arrogant ignorance? Exclude Bonnys and Opobos from Ibani? Who then are the Ibanis, pray tell?



The Bonny does not speak a word of Ijaw? Says who - Internet Professor Francis? Who then speak the Ibani variant of Ijaw? Is it your people in Anambra State that speak Ibani? Do you think Bonny begins and ends in the main island? Have you been to other Bonny villages like Finima, etc to find out the language they speak there?

Okirika speaks Igbo as a native language? There is nothing we won't hear from you, big Francis! Because Patience spoke Igbo, you have jumped to the conclusion that Okirikas speak Igbo as a native language. Well, Hilda Dokubo speaks fluent Igbo, so I guess Kalabari people also speak Igbo as a native language.

We are all waiting to hear from you the Igbo customs and practices the Bonnys and Opobos practise. Come and educate us, Internet Prof. Don't come and mention Nwaotam, because the Ibani only share that with one small Igbo-speaking clan, the Ndoki, who according to tradition are kin with the Ibani.



This is common knowledge that has nothing to do with the fact that a native Ibani-Ijo language exists and is spoken. What you call Bonny Igbo is just the Ndoki dialect that the Ibani picked up and used in trading with the Igbo. Its use grew widespread and threatened but never displaced the native Ibani language of the people.

Please, don't forget, we want to learn of the Igbo customs practised by the Bonny people.

Do not twist my words. Read carefully before jumping into conclusions. Parts of Okirika speak Igbo as native language. Don't be fooled by the denial some people spread on this forum. You claim to be be Niger Deltan and I tell you; visit Bonny town and Opobo to confirm things for yourself.

Bonny and Opobo may have been Ibani speaking before but since the 19th century the use of Ibani declined as the language of usage. Igbo language prevailed till today. Mind you, I never said these people were Igbos but Igbo-speaking.

Who doesn't know they practise Igbo customs such as Omugwo or the Nwaotam festival etc?

The Ibani speaking towns are neighbouring towns to Bonny such as Finima. Ibani is still spoken there. However, Bonny town proper is Igbo-speaking, same as Opobo and parts of Okirika. Hilda Dokubo is not an Okirika native to begin with. Don't twist my words. She is from Ogu/Bolo LGA Rivers state who speaks fluent Igbo and features in Igbo language movies.

In 2002, a failed attempt was made to Ibanize the people of Bonny. Why should you Ibanize a people if they are already Ibani speaking? Does it make sense to Igbonize Abia state when they are Igbo speaking?

Sources are plentiful on the internet that confirm Opobo and Bonny as native Igbo speakers. Just as I dared Omonnaignorance to provide evidence of the contrary, I dare you to come up with PUBLISHED evidence, albeit tiny whatsoever, that mentions these two towns as Ibani speaking natives, oh ye ignorant fellow.

What is wrong with Nigerians and being objective with the truth?

nasoeb:
Bonny is coined from ubani an igbo phrase according to you. but in your usual igbo greedy way, you refused to tell the public that UBANI is coined from IBANI. and it is even in the evidence you presented. again you igbos should stop deceiving the public that igbos who came from the hinterland cock n bull story because no igbo came to bonny rather they were ALL CAPTURE AS SLAVES to Bonny.

I never said Ibani was from Ubani. I simply gave a similar usage of the word in Igbo language and gave its meaning. Re-read my post again, this time carefully.

The evidence published below indicates that 'Ubani' is a word given to the people of Bonny by the IGbos and Wakirike. There is strong possibility that Ubani is of Igbo origin. Till today, Igbos still refer to Bonny as Ubani.

Maybe you missed the below. Read it again, this time much more slowly until it digests into your thinking faculty:

History of Ibanị literacy
Paul Hair (1967) seems to have been the first bibliographer to unpick the history and citations of Ịjọ in early
historical sources and the following is largely adapted from his essay. The first actual words of Ibanị were
recorded by Captain Hugh Crow, an English slave-trader who operated from Bonny around the end of the
eighteenth century. From his account one would think that there was only one language, namely Eboe [Igbo]
spoken at Bonny, but in his wordlist of 'Eboe', a few Ibanị words are found casually embedded in it.
The expedition of 1832-34 up the Niger collected vocabularies of a number of languages but not of Ịjọ.
Edwin Norris, the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, used these when he compiled a
handbook for the use of the next Niger Expedition and added materials from other sources, including
numerals in 'Bonny', i.e. Ibanị (Norris 1840).

In 1840 a German doctor spent some four months in Bonny as a ship's doctor, and wrote a detailed account
of Bonny including a long vocabulary of Ibanị (Köler 1842-43, reprinted as Köler 1848). He notes the use of
two languages, Ibanị and Igbo, at Bonny, and the attempts by elders to prevent boys from teaching him Ibanị;
this confirms what is said today, that the major reason for the decline of Ibanị is the successful attempt to
keep it from being learnt by outsiders, which in the nineteenth century included a large slave population.
The result of this policy is that Igbo has become the common language of communication.
Two more dialects of Ịjọ were recorded for the first time by John Clarke (1848). These were 'Numbe'
[Nembe] and 'Akrika' [Okrika], together with further lists of Kalabarị and Ibanị. Clarke was a Baptist
missionary who, with the help of an Afro-American colleague, Merrick, collected his wordlists in an
unsystematic way, some in Fernando Po and some in the West Indies (Hair 1967).
Sigismund Koelle was a German scholar who worked fro the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in
Freetown. There he compiled his Polyglotta Africana in 1850, published in 1854. It was a systematic
collection of vocabularies of African languages, compiled by interviewing the freed slaves who had been
resettled in Freetown. Koelle used a standard wordlist of about three hundred items and added notes on his
informants and their homelands, from which he was able to draw a map which is remarkably accurate for a
period when no European knew the interior of West Africa. His vocabularies are grouped according to
genetic relationship in so far as he could trace it from the wordlists. He has two wordlists of Ịjọ, grouped
together as V.C., the group which conjoins Igboid and Edoid. The first list, ´Okulōma, is a wordlist of Ibanị,
named for the town Ókólómá, although Koelle’s informant was from Orupiri (órúpírí) Koelle (1854:cool
refers to Obā́ne (Ubani) as the name for these people given by the Ibos and Kerekas [Okrika]. Williamson (1966)
discusses Koelle’s Ịjọ lists in detail. In the case of Ibanị, she shows that some 73% of Koelle’s forms were
accurate and also yield much interesting information about lexical and phonological change in the language
since they were recorded.

omonnakoda:
You are idiotic ,you argue like an iediott. Bonny is an Ibani town in Ijaw land and its people are Ijaw

Where is the evidence I asked you to provide? Or have you suddenly realized your foolery and ignorance all along?

Oh well, you have no points whatsoever to make rather than to regurgitate lies and try to re-write history on the internet.

nasoeb:
chei i pity those tha wil hope on you in life. THAT YOU SPEAK ENGLISH ALL OVER NIGERIA, DOES THAT MAKES IT NIGERIA'S NATIVE LANGUAGE. (you were taught to read and write this shiits you wrote here, does that make english your damn language) ibani is wildly spoken here. Pls educate us on those igbo culture n tradition that we practice. I DARE YOU TO INFORM US. Some people ar just...

The English language is a different case entirely. English is not native to any of its former colonies. It is only native to where you have its native speakers such as in Britain or the US. In the Igbo-speaking case of Bonny and Opobo, they speak Igbo as a mother tongue. The Igbos were not colonialists neither did they force their language on anyone. Thus, any person who speaks Igbo as first language today is a descendant of an Igbo-speaking ancestor who spoke the language out of his own volition.

Oyind17:

Don't believe this beautiful lies

really, the guy bigfrancis21 said they do.

Ok dear,thanks,but is there any group in okrika that speaks igbo like patient goodluck jonathan tribes? Just asking. Pls throw more light.

IGBOPRINCE:
really, the guy bigfrancis21 said they do.

Ok dear,thanks,but is there any group in okrika that speaks igbo like patient goodluck jonathan tribes? Just asking. Pls throw more light.

No tribe in okrika speak igbo language, most family in okrika marry from igbo. They don't speak Igbo

bigfrancis21:


Where is the evidence I asked you to provide? Or have you suddenly realized your foolery and ignorance all along?

Oh well, you have no points whatsoever to make rather than to regurgitate lies and try to re-write history on the internet.

You are the one making a claim.The onus is o you to provide evidence.

You said people of Bonny DO NOT SPEAK ONE WORD OF IBANI.

That is the contention. Prove it!! Dunce

omonnakoda:

You are the one making a claim.The onus is o you to provide evidence.

You said people of Bonny DO NOT SPEAK ONE WORD OF IBANI.

That is the contention. Prove it!! Dunce

My point has always been that they speak Igbo and I have provided evidence for it.

Why not provide evidence that they speak Ibani? Just one piece of evidence? Why is that too hard for you to do?

bigfrancis21:


My point has always been that they speak Igbo and I have provided evidence for it.

Why not provide evidence that they speak Ibani? Just one piece of evidence? Why is that too hard for you to do?

You are a liar you said they do not,do not speak a word of IBANI

bigfrancis21:


Exclude the Bonnys and Opobos from your Ibani list please. In as much as you love to claim them as Ijaws when they speak not a single word of Ijaw, at least be objective enough to admit the truth. Bonny, Opobo and parts of Okirika all speak Igbo as native language, practise Igbo customs and traditions just like others in the SE, Anioma etc. The first Igbo bible was written in Bonny Igbos. When the Christian missionaries first landed at Eastern Nigeria at Bonny, they used Bonny Igbo speakers as translators as they journeyed into the Igbo hinterland. Do not misrepresent facts.

your claim. Prove it!!

omonnakoda:


You are a liar you said they do not,do not speak a word of IBANI your claim. Prove it!!

I did several times already. Here you go:

History of Ibanị literacy
Paul Hair (1967) seems to have been the first bibliographer to unpick the history and citations of Ịjọ in early
historical sources and the following is largely adapted from his essay. The first actual words of Ibanị were
recorded by Captain Hugh Crow, an English slave-trader who operated from Bonny around the end of the
eighteenth century. From his account one would think that there was only one language, namely Eboe [Igbo]
spoken at Bonny, but in his wordlist of 'Eboe', a few Ibanị words are found casually embedded in it.
The expedition of 1832-34 up the Niger collected vocabularies of a number of languages but not of Ịjọ.
Edwin Norris, the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, used these when he compiled a
handbook for the use of the next Niger Expedition and added materials from other sources, including
numerals in 'Bonny', i.e. Ibanị (Norris 1840).

In 1840 a German doctor spent some four months in Bonny as a ship's doctor, and wrote a detailed account
of Bonny including a long vocabulary of Ibanị (Köler 1842-43, reprinted as Köler 1848). He notes the use of
two languages, Ibanị and Igbo, at Bonny, and the attempts by elders to prevent boys from teaching him Ibanị;
this confirms what is said today, that the major reason for the decline of Ibanị is the successful attempt to
keep it from being learnt by outsiders, which in the nineteenth century included a large slave population.
The result of this policy is that Igbo has become the common language of communication.

Two more dialects of Ịjọ were recorded for the first time by John Clarke (1848). These were 'Numbe'
[Nembe] and 'Akrika' [Okrika], together with further lists of Kalabarị and Ibanị. Clarke was a Baptist
missionary who, with the help of an Afro-American colleague, Merrick, collected his wordlists in an
unsystematic way, some in Fernando Po and some in the West Indies (Hair 1967).
Sigismund Koelle was a German scholar who worked fro the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in
Freetown. There he compiled his Polyglotta Africana in 1850, published in 1854. It was a systematic
collection of vocabularies of African languages, compiled by interviewing the freed slaves who had been
resettled in Freetown. Koelle used a standard wordlist of about three hundred items and added notes on his
informants and their homelands, from which he was able to draw a map which is remarkably accurate for a
period when no European knew the interior of West Africa. His vocabularies are grouped according to
genetic relationship in so far as he could trace it from the wordlists. He has two wordlists of Ịjọ, grouped
together as V.C., the group which conjoins Igboid and Edoid. The first list, ´Okulōma, is a wordlist of Ibanị,
named for the town Ókólómá, although Koelle’s informant was from Orupiri (órúpírí) Koelle (1854:cool
refers to Obā́ne (Ubani) as the name for these people given by the Ibos and Kerekas [Okrika]. Williamson (1966)
discusses Koelle’s Ịjọ lists in detail. In the case of Ibanị, she shows that some 73% of Koelle’s forms were
accurate and also yield much interesting information about lexical and phonological change in the language
since they were recorded.

Bonny town proper speaks Igbo, however, neighbouring Ibani towns such as Finima still speak pristine Ibani. This would be the umpteenth time I am saying this.

bigfrancis21:


I did several times already. Here you go:



Bonny town proper does not speak Igbo, however, neighbouring Ibani towns such as Finima still speak pristine Ibani. This would be the umpteenth time I am saying this.

And your saying a thing umpteen times like a madman makes it true

bigfrancis21:


I am amazed at your exuberant ignorance, worst still basking in that ignorance of yours. I dare you to visit Bonny and Opobo, do your research and come back with your findings.

https://www.nairaland.com/295535/average-opobo-indigene-speak-understand

You are not educated enough. What is that link supposed to prove? That Opobians speak Igbo? Who doesn't know that? I don't need a link to know that.

You said Ubani means 'wealth of the land' and that is what I'm disagreeing with. That is a lie informed by your ignorance. The variant of Igbo spoken by the Ibani does not translate 'land' as 'ani', but as 'ala'. So if Bonny people wanted to name their land 'wealth of the land', they would have called it 'Ubala' and not 'Ubani'. 'Ani' is not used by the Igbo people in contact with Ibani people, and the Ibani people couldn't have travelled to your Anambra village to get a name for their town.

Does your slow mind understand this?

bigfrancis21:


Do not twist my words. Read carefully before jumping into conclusions. Parts of Okirika speak Igbo as native language. Don't be fooled by the denial some people spread on this forum. You claim to be be Niger Deltan and I tell you; visit Bonny town and Opobo to confirm things for yourself.

Bonny and Opobo may have been Ibani speaking before but since the 19th century the use of Ibani declined as the language of usage. Igbo language prevailed till today. Mind you, I never said these people were Igbos but Igbo-speaking.

Who doesn't know they practise Igbo customs such as Omugwo or the Nwaotam festival etc?

The Ibani speaking towns are neighbouring towns to Bonny such as Finima. Ibani is still spoken there. However, Bonny town proper is Igbo-speaking, same as Opobo and parts of Okirika. Hilda Dokubo is not an Okirika native to begin with. Don't twist my words. She is from Ogu/Bolo LGA Rivers state who speaks fluent Igbo and features in Igbo language movies.

In 2002, a failed attempt was made to Ibanize the people of Bonny. Why should you Ibanize a people if they are already Ibani speaking? Does it make sense to Igbonize Abia state when they are Igbo speaking?

Sources are plentiful on the internet that confirm Opobo and Bonny as native Igbo speakers. Just as I dared Omonnaignorance to provide evidence of the contrary, I dare you to come up with PUBLISHED evidence, albeit tiny whatsoever, that mentions these two towns as Ibani speaking natives, oh ye ignorant fellow.

What is wrong with Nigerians and being objective with the truth?

Who is twisting your words? You are notorious for shifting or amending your arguments when you are called out rather than admitting you are wrong. You said the Bonny people do not speak a word of Ijaw. You told an Ibani man to desist from including the Bonny among the people that speak Ibani. Apparently you thought Bonny consisted only of 'Bonny Town' and you were unaware that Finima and Abalama are also part and parcel of Bonny. Rather than admitting you didn't know this and moving on, you began to shift your debate and reaching for straws. Kontinu!

For the umpteenth time, stop embarrassing yourself: no part of Okirika speaks Igbo as a native language. I speak fluent Igbo; that doesn't make it my native language. No other person in my family even speaks it. Stop citing the example of Patience Jonathan. She isn't representative of Okirika people and their native language. I cited the example of Hilda Dokubo, a Kalabari woman who speaks fluently Igbo, to illustrate my point. Unfortunately, you aren't bright enough to understand why I brought her up, and you thought I was saying she is Okirika. I don't even know why I bother.

Really, Omugwo and Nwaotam are all you could come up with as Igbo customs practised in Bonny? Nwaotam isn't even an Igbo-wide practice. You should be able to do better than that, son. I was looking to see things like the cult of Amadioha, Ofo, the four market days, etc. Ngwa has Ekpe and Nsibidi - yet no one says they practise Ekoi customs like the rest of Ekoiland. In the Oguta area, they have Owu and Egbukele masquerades - yet no one says they practice Ijaw customs like the rest of Ijawland.

Give it a rest, you should have just kept quiet and not challenged an Ibani man for saying his people speak Ibani.

NB: Between me and you, I believe you are the one who needs to visit the Bonny settlements.

Wulfruna:


You are not educated enough. What is that link supposed to prove? That Opobians speak Igbo? Who doesn't know that? I don't need a link to know that.

You said Ubani means 'wealth of the land' and that is what I'm disagreeing with. That is a lie informed by your ignorance. The variant of Igbo spoken by the Ibani does not translate 'land' as 'ani', but as 'ala'. So if Bonny people wanted to name their land 'wealth of the land', they would have called it 'Ubala' and not 'Ubani'. 'Ani' is not used by the Igbo people in contact with Ibani people, and the Ibani people couldn't have travelled to your Anambra village to get a name for their town.

Does your slow mind understand this?

Excuse me? Ubani is widely used all over Abia state. Words often have several meaning just as Akwa in Igbo means up to 5 different things. One immediate meaning of Ubani that comes to mind is 'wealth of the land' or 'wealth of the earth goddess, ani'. In Umuahia town, a supposedly southern Igbo area, they have a section of the town named 'Ubani', not 'Ubali' or 'Ubala' as you claimed in your joyful display of exuberant ignorance. Among the Ngwas, 'Ubani' is a common name in that area and Abia state as a whole.

Below is for someone who claims to be 'all-knowing' about Ubani and Bonny.

Wulfruna:


Who is twisting your words? You are notorious for shifting or amending your arguments when you are called out rather than admitting you are wrong. You said the Bonny people do not speak a word of Ijaw. You told an Ibani man to desist from including the Bonny among the people that speak Ibani. Apparently you thought Bonny consisted only of 'Bonny Town' and you were unaware that Finima and Abalama are also part and parcel of Bonny. Rather than admitting you didn't know this and moving on, you began to shift your debate and reaching for straws. Kontinu!

For the umpteenth time, stop embarrassing yourself: no part of Okirika speaks Igbo as a native language. I speak fluent Igbo; that doesn't make it my native language. No other person in my family even speaks it. Stop citing the example of Patience Jonathan. She isn't representative of Okirika people and their native language. I cited the example of Hilda Dokubo, a Kalabari woman who speaks fluently Igbo, to illustrate my point. Unfortunately, you aren't bright enough to understand why I brought her up, and you thought I was saying she is Okirika. I don't even know why I bother.

Really, Omugwo and Nwaotam are all you could come up with as Igbo customs practised in Bonny? Nwaotam isn't even an Igbo-wide practice. You should be able to do better than that, son. I was looking to see things like the cult of Amadioha, Ofo, the four market days, etc. Ngwa has Ekpe and Nsibidi - yet no one says they practise Ekoi customs like the rest of Ekoiland. In the Oguta area, they have Owu and Egbukele masquerades - yet no one says they practice Ijaw customs like the rest of Ijawland.

Give it a rest, you should have just kept quiet and not challenged an Ibani man for saying his people speak Ibani.

NB: Between me and you, I believe you are the one who needs to visit the Bonny settlements.

You speak Igbo out of your own volition, regardless of if you are part Igbo or not. That should not apply to the people of Bonny, and Opobo who are native Igbo speakers. If I may ask you, what is a native language? Need I teach you the definition of a native language? Should we go down to primary 1 basics to refresh your brain? Bonny town proper speaks Igbo, same as Opobo and parts of Okirika all speak Igbo as native language. Okirikans are a mix of Ijaw and Igbo, being maternally heavily descended from Igbos. Same for Kalabaris and several Kalabari people speak fluent Igbo as well.

I am here to correct wrong impressions and lies peddled on this forum. In the wake of Ijaw consciousness, self-accclaimed Ijaws o about this forum downplaying the Igbo presence or legacies in these aforementioned areas. The people of Bonny and Opobo do not even agree that they are Ijaws in the first place. The Kalabaris will tell you they are not Ijaws but Kalabari, then you have self-acclaimed Ijaws parading this forum forcing the Ijaw consciousness on these people against their will.

What do you mean by not wide Igbo practise? Are you silly? In as much as there are customs general to all Igbo areas, there are certain customs often unique to an area. Being unique to an area does not make such custom any less Igbo. Different Igbo groups all have their different respective masquerades (mmonwu). The Nsukka Omabe masquerade, similar to Nwaotam masquerade in Bonny, is unique to and practiced in Nsukka. Does that mean that the Omabe festival is not Igbo simply because only the Nsukkas practise it? In the case of Nwaotam, the festival is also practiced among the Ndoki people of Abia state. Which other way do you want it spelled out to you that it is an Igbo custom?

You basically have no useful point. Bonny and Opobo are often included as Igbo dialects among Umuahia, Awka, Onitsha etc. It is only on nairaland you have people twisting reality to suit their fantasies.

Oyind17:

No tribe in okrika speak igbo language, most family in okrika marry from igbo. They don't speak Igbo

you mean, they travelled all the way from okrika to igbo lands to pick a wife? Or you mean they inter married with ikwerres? Sorry if my questions is odd.

IGBOPRINCE:
you mean, they travelled all the way from okrika to igbo lands to pick a wife? Or you mean they inter married with ikwerres? Sorry if my questions is odd.

Its igbo lands, I was told Amadi-Ama which is partly okrika but is in ph city LGA speaks igbo.