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Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 9:59pm On Jul 18, 2013 |
ijaw citizen: You must be highly intoxicated to claim that Jaja is an Ijaw man. 3 Likes |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 1:13am On Jul 19, 2013 |
mbatuku2: Are you from Rivers State ? |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 1:55am On Jul 19, 2013 |
killayut: I'm not from Rivers state, but I prefer discussing this with someone specifically from Opobo. I'll hold on to what I hear from them than from you, an Ijaw expansionist. If you go to my comments at the beginning of this thread, there was a girl from Opobo I asked series of questions. Thats the kind of people I'm looking out for to determine the facts, not YOU.. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by pazienza(m): 11:30am On Jul 19, 2013 |
killayut: I am not an Ikwerre,so i will leave that battle of whether Ph is ikwerreland and by extension igboland to the ikwerre people,i want to believe that like the ndoki people,who maintained the igbo border at okoloma,and the anioma whose bravery shielded us from bini expansionism and kept the boundary at agbor,will be able to maintain our southern boundary. But then again, this Ph issue had long been resolved in the thread "the true extent of igboland". In the eventuality of the fall of nigeria,i wonder the chance the ijaw nation of just over 5million(this is me being generous),stands against the igbo of over 30million in the fight for Ph,considering that you guys will equally be fighting with the itsekiri for the soul of warri,and with the bini for gelegele. Does ijaw have what it takes to sustain a battle at three fronts against formidable and fierce opponents like the igbo,itsekiri and the bini's? Bro,you better pray that Nigeria don't disintegrate,cos if that happens,ijaw will get burnt. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by pazienza(m): 12:35pm On Jul 19, 2013 |
killayut: I have a close friend,who is from Okoroma-Azumini, i happen to be a family friend,and have visited their hometown,and i had interacted with the people. Your ijaw story is a fabricated story, azumini was named so,because it is located at the back of a river the locals call "Ogigo", 'azu' in igbo language means 'back', mini(miri)= water/river. You have to pay me for giving u a lesson in Ndoki 101. *grins* 1 Like |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Abagworo(m): 9:27pm On Jul 19, 2013 |
pazienza: Even the "Asimini" has Igbo roots too Any Ijaw baring such name definitely has Igbo roots.
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Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 11:42pm On Jul 19, 2013 |
Most of the common last names in this town are Pepple, Fubara, Jaja, Oko jaja, Gam, Finebone, etc. @post, From my observation, the answer is no. It's possible that not all of them have Igbo roots, but only extensive DNA testings can determine who has and who doesn't. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by ROYALD(m): 12:19pm On Jul 20, 2013 |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 1:21am On Jul 21, 2013 |
ROYALD: Seems more like Akpraka to me. Check out Bonny Nwaotam and see the masquerade answers to drum calls. THE Opobo version only has akpraka and no masquerade answers to no drum name. It is an entirely different display. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Meringe(m): 12:22pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
From my own understanding, Opobo town is originally not an Igbo town but due to slave trade and busineSs transactions connected with the colonial Masters, Igbo slaves taken from Igbo towns were dumped there and they were large in number and some regained their freedom there like King Jaja and some traders migrated from Aro and other igbo communities to Bonny and with their close link with Azumini and Ndoki of Igbo communities, Opobo was turned into Igbo speaking community. From what I deduced from here. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Abagworo(m): 4:09pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
Meringe: From my own understanding, Opobo town is originally not an Igbo town but due to slave trade and busineSs transactions connected with the colonial Masters, Igbo slaves taken from Igbo towns were dumped there and they were large in number and some regained their freedom there like King Jaja and some traders migrated from Aro and other igbo communities to Bonny and with their close link with Azumini and Ndoki of Igbo communities, Opobo was turned into Igbo speaking community. I don't think the thread is about origin as the origin of Opobo is quite recent and documented with events surrounding it. I noticed that there were claims of "Ibani" being the original language of Opobo but its obvious "Ibani" is only indigenous to Bonny and was left behind by founders of Opobo probably due to situation of things then. I noticed a recent language enforcement or claims of language extinction when it never was there in the 1st place. Some went as far as lying that Igbos forced them to start speaking Igbo during the 1st republic and that's a wicked lie. 1 Like |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Meringe(m): 4:28pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
Abagworo:We are on d same page. All those coastline towns had very few inhabitants with the unknown language 'ibani' as language. Now, settlement of Igbo speaking people in a very large number including other factors and eventual kingship of Jaja influenced the opobo Language to be Igbo. Now, the major opobos tell you that they are Igbos while few of them try to bring back the suppose dead language of Ibani. I believe that the Ibani are also migrants in that Island maybe of Ijaw descendant and are few in number but Igbo language took over cos of the factors said earlier. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by bigfrancis21: 6:08pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
Meringe: @Bold...do some Opobos really see themselves as Igbo? |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Meringe(m): 6:54pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
bigfrancis21:So many of them I ve met call themselves Opobo Igbo. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Meringe(m): 6:55pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
bigfrancis21:So many of them I ve met call themselves Opobo Igbo. . |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by bigfrancis21: 7:43pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
Meringe: That's really good to know. Meanwhile some people here would want to have us believe that Bonny and Opobo are really anti-Igbo and stuff. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 7:55pm On Oct 20, 2013 |
bigfrancis21: These Nri people are still dreaming about Ijaw land.. 3 Likes |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 9:15am On Oct 21, 2013 |
Meringe: LOL.. Funny lost Igbo man.... No wonder Fani Kayode wants you Igbos to leave Lagos cos you ll soon end up saying Lagos is an Igbo land. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by ijawcitizen(m): 9:23am On Oct 21, 2013 |
Abagworo:Abagworo, Who wrote that book you quoted below? I'm guessing its the one by "Prof" Kenneth Dike. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by bigfrancis21: 11:35am On Oct 21, 2013 |
As a basic freedom of life, everybody is free to choose whatever identity one wants. If some Opobos see themselves as Igbo, so be it. If others don't, so be it. Opobo may be Ijaw land however not all of its indigenes are Ijaw by blood. There are definitely opobo indigenes descended from former Igbo ex-slaves and slaves. One thing is sure, DNA or ancestry cannot be wiped out totally from one's lineage. 1 Like |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 3:05pm On Oct 21, 2013 |
bigfrancis21: As a basic freedom of life, everybody is free to choose whatever identity one wants. If some Opobos see themselves as Igbo, so be it. If others don't, so be it. There are many Igbos who see themselves as Hausa Fulani or even Yoruba or even Ijaw . Ijaw land has elements of non Ijaw people and that is a fact. But to say Ijaw land is now Igbo or Ijaw land belongs to both Igbos and Ijaw just because we have a few Igbos among us is silly. There may even be more Igbos among the KALABARI than the Opobo you guys have been hammering so let Opobo be . The Ibanis speak Igbo today cos their ancestors hid the Igbani during the days of slavery so the Igbo slaves could understand Ibani and carry Ibani war secrete to KALABARI and Okrika incase they were bought over . That mistake spread Igbo among the people and subsequently became the lingua franca ... At this modern time pidgin English is almost the lingua Franca of the KALABARI people cos that is what every one including the youths and elders speak . It does not mean KALABARI is now an English land.. Don't England has some Indians and Pakistanis among them ? Does it then mean England is now part Indian and English ? We respond to your nonsense cos we want to respond so don't take it like you are making any sense. We are only making Tomfoolery of you.. All the Opobo leaders are members of Ijaw league and Opobo is firmly Igbani under the greater Ijaw enclave. The Igbos among them / us appreciate us and are happy to be part of us.. Nri people ... CASE CLOSED. Bellow are youtube footage showing serious KALABARI occasions where even chiefs address the people in English / pidgin English where every one speaks English / pidgin English.. It does not mean the people are English.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ACu4-4BtLc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN9wQFgqXe4 |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Abagworo(m): 3:47pm On Oct 21, 2013 |
Meringe: Opobo was never Ijawland. Its history is not like that of other parts of Nigeria as its habitation is very recent. Ibibios and Aros reached there long before any other groups. Jaja moved to Opobo from Bonny with both Igbos and Ijaws in his group. Opobo today comprises a mix of many groups but maintain mainly Ibani, English and Igbo names with the main language being Igbo. Here is what I got from official Opobo site Jaja and his group secured a geographical location that reinforced their tactical and diplomatic vision as founding fathers. The land stood just about a day’s paddle away from their ancestral Ibani root. With it they were set to turn their new kingdom into a unique 19th century bridge for commerce. They crowned their leader Chief Jack Annie Pepple (Juwo Juwo) as King Jaja, the first Amanyanabo of Opobo Kingdom. They chose December 25, 1870 to establish Opobo. From its location, Opobo easily reached out to set up trading posts with land-based farmer communities. There spread out under thick foliages of fresh water forests to the left of the kingdom, along the one – way direction of a resolute Imo River. The run of the river covered hinterland sections of the Ogoni, Ndoki, Ibibio, Annang, Etche, Ngwa and Igbo people. http://www.opoboregatta.com/opobokingdom/about/index.html We know that there would be obvious modifications or refusal to give details because of Nigerian politics but you can deduce from this site that "Igbo" which they used to substitute "Isuama" was Jaja's tribe . |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by bigfrancis21: 11:52pm On Oct 21, 2013 |
killayut: We are talking about Opobo and you're bringing up Kalabari instead. Opobo people speak Igbo today because a great deal of Igbo people came to live in their midst and with time Igbo was adopted instead over Ibani. The total language wipe of Ibani and adoption of Igbo was a conscious and willful effort on the part of the natives, which must have occurred in more than 100 years. The case of Kalabari speaking English is different. No English people settled in their midst. English is the country's official language and they speak English just like every other Nigerian tribe. Who they choose to identify with is left to them. If some see themselves as Igbo, so be it. And if some don't, fine. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Abagworo(m): 2:43am On Oct 22, 2013 |
bigfrancis21: You are going too far. Opobo started speaking Igbo from day one. Opobo was founded as recently as 1870 which is under 140 years. Maybe if we were talking about Bonny, then the issue of Ibani being the original language and Igbo brought about by trade, migration and interaction could have come up. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 1:47pm On Oct 22, 2013 |
The truth is some of these people have igbo roots, but choose not to identify with it again. I can bet my money if you throw a referendum, over 97% ,if not all, will vote 'not Igbo'. But it's their choice and what they want for the moment, and that should be respected. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 4:02pm On Oct 22, 2013 |
bigfrancis21: What right do you have to talk about Opobo ? Are you and Ijaw man ? Does the word Opobo Opubo ama Sound Igbo to you ? If you do not know that Opobo and KALABARI are the same people then you have failed completely.. Mention one Ibani name that is not KALABARI .. STUPUD people.. The AROS were first brought close to the sea by the KALABARI chief known as Owuere ye Daba when he ferried them from the mouth of the River Calabar to the Estuary to be sold as slaves. We bought them like Malams buy Cattle.. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 4:06pm On Oct 22, 2013 |
bigfrancis21: http://www.amightytree.org/oldsite/opobo/opobo_1961.html |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by Nobody: 4:06pm On Oct 22, 2013 |
Abagworo: http://www.amightytree.org/oldsite/opobo/opobo_1961.html |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by bigfrancis21: 6:02pm On Oct 22, 2013 |
killayut: My own point was Opobo may be Ijaw land but not all Opobo indigenes are Ijaw by blood. There are the Opobo indigenes who are descendants of former Igbo slaves. And I remember saying that specific DNA cannot be hidden or wiped out in a generation. A random DNA testing of random 10 Opobo people will reveal those of Igbo, Ijaw and mixed Igbo/Ijaw origins. If some Opobo indigenes want to see themselves as Igbo, so be it. Someone mentioned before that some see themselves as 'Opobo Igbo'. I remember asking him if he was sure and he said yes. I didn't force the indigenes to say they were Igbo. They did themselves. Its of no need taking out your anger on me. |
Re: Can An Average Opobo Indigene Speak And Understand Ijaw? by bigfrancis21: 6:09pm On Oct 22, 2013 |
killayut: @Bold...do you have any proof or sources to back that up? Or you just want to twist facts to suit you? How then did the language of the 'mallams' subdue the language of the natives? Must have been a great achievement right? |
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