basic ika believes that make one ika
1. believe in oselobue or osenobue as GOD
2. ehi as guardian spirit
3. believe in heaven or spirit world called orimin
4. believe in both patrilinear and matrilinear patternity
5. believe in idigun or ogun - ancient god of iron
6. igue as our new year festival
7. olokun as divinity of ocean and son of oselobue
8. imaihian- cheking for causes of death by necromancy
9. believe in ebon(family),idumu(village)and ogbe(town)
10. obiship that is from father to son
11. edaiken in uselu -crown prince system
12. ohaimen chiefthancy that is at three level called village chiefs, palace chiefs and hereditory chiefs,
13. the ika language wchich binds ika people.
14. the historical links that link many village and town together and a believe in benin core migration theory and an igbo migration theory mixed with ancient ika history

agbotaen: basic ika believes that make one ika
1. believe in oselobue or osenobue as GOD
2. ehi as guardian spirit
3. believe in heaven or spirit world called orimin
4. believe in both patrilinear and matrilinear patternity
5. believe in idigun or ogun - ancient god of iron
6. igue as our new year festival
7. olokun as divinity of ocean and son of oselobue
8. imaihian- cheking for causes of death by necromancy
9. believe in ebon(family),idumu(village)and ogbe(town)
10. obiship that is from father to son
11. edaiken in uselu -crown prince system
12. ohaimen chiefthancy that is at three level called village chiefs, palace chiefs and hereditory chiefs,
13. the ika language wchich binds ika people.
14. the historical links that link many village and town together and a believe in benin core migration theory and an igbo migration theory mixed with ancient ika history

Bia diokpa,packia one side,Ogbuefi and ezeagu had since settled your case,melu onwe gi ebele,jee dono ani.

ChinenyeN: You completely missed the point of my post, pazienza, which is that no matter how much you try, you can garner nothing conclusive from your language speculation. All language conclusively proves is the extent to which a people have interacted. If origin is what you truly want to discern, then drop this nonsense about language. What indigenes themselves have to say about their community is far more valuable than any inconclusive assumption you can muster from your language speculation.

What indigenes have to say of themselves is trash if it defies logic and common sense.

pazienza: What indigenes have to say of themselves is trash if it defies logic and common sense.

Interesting.

pazienza: What indigenes have to say of themselves is trash if it defies logic and common sense.

So where are you from if I may ask and what is your peoples tradition of origin? Did Igbo language originate from your town? I have never met any logical story of origin. Even the Adam and Eve story sounds silly.

Abagworo:

So where are you from if I may ask and what is your peoples tradition of origin? Did Igbo language originate from your town? I have never met any logical story of origin. Even the Adam and Eve story sounds silly.

Ogidi-idemili,the name of our founder is Ogidi, who was a son of a man named inwelle,inwelle was the son of ezechumagha so,we call our town,Ogidi-inwelle,we don't really know where inwelle and his father ezechumagha came from,but unlike some stupid people,we don't go around creating silly stories to fill in that gap. But my grandfather told me that Ogidi was a troublesome strong man,he would often fight with anybody he met on his way to our present location,but when he met the founder of Obosi town,they fought for days and none of them won,so they made a covenant that their descendands should never fight each other,and they became friends thereafter.

You see, i got this history from him,cause i noticed as a teenager,that Ogidi seem not to be in great relationship with her neighbours like nkpor,umuoji,ogbunike,umudioka/umunnachi. But there is this great bond of brotherhood we share with obosi people,i was even thinking we were from the same parents with them,like nkpor and umoji are from the same parent, but i found out we werent,and when i asked my old man,he gave me that explanation i wrote in my last post. So,abagworo,you see what i mean by history agreeing with common sense and logic.

my igbo friend , i am from owa kingdom and my father and uncles told me that owa was founded over a thousand years ago by adagba who came from ikoha in ovia local government of benin and founded owa -ofien the first settlement in owa and later ugbasogun another benin war leader founded owa ekei and owa-oyibu was founded by benin and ishan people led by their leader called edo aigbedion and a royal prince from agbor called omi eborwise founded owa-alero and later other ishan and ika people founded other villages in alero , and about 500 years later prince odogun from ute-okpu who was a general of the benin army migrated to owa and conquered many of the people and there was a tough battle between him and ofien people and the oba of benin had to settle the conflict around the late 12th century and it was decided in favour of odogun who was crowned obi of a unified owa kingdom , while the ofien people were given the title of olihe-ovia -he who crowns the king ,and i was also told that my ancestor was the second king of owa kingdom and his name was igbedigin no gidigan the great warrior and he also founded idumu-ezomor in owa-oyibu and that prince omigie was one of his principal son and that is our family name till today , igbedigin ruled owa in the 13th century , so mr igbo , you can see how long our family has our history intact and it is not like most igbo people that cant even tell their family history 200 years back we have about 700 years of family history and i can even give you names of my ancestors till date .
so whatever trash you write that is your business , and as for you propagandist , why dont you ask your ogbuefi why the people of igbodo rejected an igbo wife from ebonyi for their obi ? and why they chased the igbo woman from igbodo palace ? and why did they tell him to marry either igbodo person or ika or bini or ishan or an anioma woman? if majority of the community know that they are igbo?
. i know when the chips are down majority of ika people will tell you they are ika ,that is all , so please get your ogbuefi to give you the usuall tales by moon light on why the majority of igbodo people rejected an igbo wife ?
owa has a greeting called adagba ni ikoha and it means owa those whose ancestors came from ikoha ,we have never denied igbo migration into ika or owa ,but why do most igbo people hate to hear the truth that edo people founded ika ,and ika people have never said we are bini ,but we say we are ika and we are not igbo shikena ,
owa kingdom up till today greets the same way that some bini villages greet ,and it goes like this---------------
1. we greet liye ,and laiwe
2. laiweze
3. ojogun
4. during meals we greet kada
5. after meals we greet lakpoma which is thanks sir/ma
for those who want to die about our edo heritage , please note that most owa and ika surnames are bini names .
6. owa also have ikenga from igbo land and also bear igbo names which are more recent happenings, owa migratory pattern also shows nri culture in it .

Sometimes i wonder if you are suffering from 'agwu', did you read the trash above before you pasted it? My conclusion is that you have lost it, you can't know more about the tradition and culture of owa,than the Obi of Owa,the obi had long made his stance known,he upheld his nshi ancestory, nobody is denying you your bini ancestory,rather what we are saying is that,youcan stay in owa,as long as you are aware that owa belongs to nri,and anyday you get tired of living in an nri domain,you can pack your things and go back to bini, no love lost,no love found. Dalukwa.

And on the issue of igbodo people not being comfortable with their king marrying a woman from ebonyi state. Well,there is no big deal there,many igbo clans don't like marrying from outside their clan,most well travelled groups have outgrown that silly tradition,while some still clung to it. Onitsha people were notorious for their avoidance of marriage ties with idemili people,they would rather look towards anioma than eastwards, Ohafia people are known for that shi.t too, most nri anambra groups would rather marry from other nri clans,than from imo state. It's everywhere in igboland,it's not perculiar to igbodo,ancient igbo tribes were extremely 'clannish'.

[b]FORGIVE ME, I AM USING A PHONE, MY TYPOS MIGHT BE BAD BUT READ ON
You know when people keep saying ika this anioma that , I will want us to have a very good analysis of these people and igbos generally
1Ika and agbor is a cultural transistory area which I may call the last outpost or bus stop of igbos then the next is edo so you don’t expect that there should be a drastic change of language, no! but there should be eclectic tendencies and identity challenges, this is normal in these area cos most of the times they tend to sit on the fence or be what the igbo will call usu
2. lets take a trip accros the world, if you are coming into Nigeria from benin republic you enter via badagry and I will want you to know that in cotonouu there is a place called adjengunle the French spelling of ajegunle and via that you enter badagry to lagos, now the people of badagry are eguns, some of them claim Yoruba some claim not to be Yoruba now eguns are the last post of Yoruba then you get to ewe tribe of togo and Ghana,BUT THE EGUNS ARE YORUBA then you keep travelling to east you get to egba land,you get to ejebu land then before you get into edo you have akoko edo now their landguage is a mixture of Yoruba and benin, I used to have this sweet girl I dated from there and utsen poly or is it college of education. I hear benin and I did my NYSC there so I know that I am talking about then from benin you keep travelling due east, you get to agbor and igbanke after abudu my NYSC orientation camp then igbanke,agbor, they have a mixture of benin and igbo culture then you keep moving towards igbo land via igbuzo,onicha agbo, aonicha miri in anambra etc then keep moving via imo then to abia then you enter efik Ibibio land but before you enter that place you meet AROchukwu they have some efik cluture and lingua but igbo then if you move via enugu you get to ebonyi, legbo and izzi, these are transitional zone before you get to ogoja due north you get to obeleafor. The problem is people don’t travel
3. I do not have issues with ika igboness or not but personally speaking these there tendencies has made me not to have a trust for them and ikwerre cos they might sell out cos they hear my language and behaves otherwise, that is personal beseis, if you get to ikaland like other cultural transitory zones , they have bening migrants that’s is no doubt, but the issue is did these migrant met an emplty land_ and these migrants were led by a man called EZE CHIME who was a son of nri and travelled to ado to do business and as you know about igbos he prospered the benin king gave him chieftency title, he immersed himself in edo culture, you know the igbos are adaptive, married edo wives, then his influence grew somuch that his host like the obas felt threatened and sent him with his loyalist out of benin and he found succor in ika land, the aborigines gave him refuge, yes he came with some benin slaves, I mean it will be bad if I do not mean there is no benin blood in ika
4.lets look at the name,culture and language, yes to ascertain a tribe you have to look at these things , what is the name of the market days in the so called ika land, in igbo we know igbo towns with these things, eke,olie,afor,nkwo, their names like chukwuemeka,ifeanyichukwu etc, the name of our creator is olisabuluwa,Anambra,Ogwashi chimeke,Imoand ABIa and General Igbo ,olisakeluwa Anambras and obasibinenu-Aros depend on the dialect you speak,THE NAME OF IGBO KINGS ARE EZE,IGWE,OBI,IF IT’S A CLAN ITS CALLED ICHIE,OKPARA,NZE ETC.do we have these in ikaland what is the name of the king is it obi or oba
5.my inlaw is an agbor man his name is ifeanyichukwuu and if he speakes my wife who is an ukwuani woman wont understand him well but I do understand him why, cos I was born in imo state and I am of anambra perentage, Agbo sounds more of owerri than anything and I speak owerri well , they call dry season okochi,call lies ugha,call their king obi or dei and somany more
and
Owerri call elderman or dee,dryseason okochi and lie ugha, ask any agbo or socalled ika man
MY JUNIOR BROTHER MARRIED UGUTA WOMAN AND IF MY WIFE WHO IS AN OGUME WOMAN SPEAKS SHE SOUNDS OGUTA AND THIS MY JUNIOR BROTHERS WIFE UNDERSTANSDS HER

THE PROBLEM WITH THESE PEOPLE IS THAT THEY CANT DIFFERENTIATE A DIALECT FROM A LANGUAGE, if an Ijebu,egun,okun man speaks an ife man might have difficulty understanding but all are youruba
If an aro man,owerri man and oguta man speaks an nnnewi man might have diffucuty understanding but all are igbo
NOW IN UK, THEY HAVE WESH,IRISH,ENGLISH,COTTS,TOTTENS ETC, THEY SPEAK A DIFFIRENT VARIENT OF ANGLO SAXON WHICH IS ENGLISH BUT ALL ARE BRITISH WE ALL KNOW THAT BUT STILL RETAIN THEIR IDENTITY
IN SPAIN,PORUGAL, CATALAN HAVE SAME LANGUAGE SIMILARITIES BUT ALL ARE CALLED IBERIAN SAME IN
SOUTH EAST ASIA, THE PROBLEM IS THAT THESE DUDES IN IKA AND OTHER PARTS OF NIGERIA, IGBO IS A HUGE TRIBE SAME AS YOURUBA AND HAUSA, JUST THAT PEOPLE FEEL THAT IGBO ENDS WITHING SOUTH EAST AND WHAT IS THESE IKAS BRINGING TO THE TABLE ANYWAY, DUE TO THIS THEIR TENDENCY THEY CANT PRODUCE GOVERNOR IN DELTA, LOOK AT LIYEL IMOKE GOVERNOR OF CROSS RIVER IS AN IGBO MAN FROM LEGO AND THEY DON’T HAVE THIS ID CRISIS
IKA CAN CLAIM TO BE BENIN BUT ITS SO STUPID FOR SOMEBODY TO CLAIM BENIN, I I DID MY NYSC IN BENIN CITY AND OGIDA TO BE PRESCISE, THE WOMAN FROM IGBANKE IN MY COMPOUND WAS CALLED OWIE IGBO I ASKED WHAT IS THE MEANING THEY SAY ITS IGBO WOMAN, I TOLD THEM SHE AINT IGBO, THEY SAY DON’T MING HER
NOW ANIOMA IS AN ACRONYM BY DENIS OSADEBEY THE MAN WITH FEW MEN THEY CREATED OHA NEZENDI IGBO GROUP. SO WHAT ARE WE TALKING. THE MAINLAND IGBOS DON’T NEED THESE IKA GUYS COS THEY CAUSED THE CIVIL WARS, DID THE COUP THAT WAS CALLED IGBO COUP AND THEY DON’T HAVE IGBO DRIVE MAYBE THEY BENIN ELEMTS IN THEM SHOULD BE EXOCISED SAME
ITHEKIRI NIN WARRI HAVE OLU , AND THEY ARE BROTHERS TO YOURUBA SO AS OKUNS IN KOGI.WHAT IS UIKA POPULATION ANYWAY
[/b]

tonychristopher: [b]FORGIVE ME, I AM USING A PHONE, MY TYPOS MIGHT BE BAD BUT READ ON
You know when people keep saying ika this anioma that , I will want us to have a very good analysis of these people and igbos generally
1Ika and agbor is a cultural transistory area which I may call the last outpost or bus stop of igbos then the next is edo so you don’t expect that there should be a drastic change of language, no! but there should be eclectic tendencies and identity challenges, this is normal in these area cos most of the times they tend to sit on the fence or be what the igbo will call usu
2. lets take a trip accros the world, if you are coming into Nigeria from benin republic you enter via badagry and I will want you to know that in cotonouu there is a place called adjengunle the French spelling of ajegunle and via that you enter badagry to lagos, now the people of badagry are eguns, some of them claim Yoruba some claim not to be Yoruba now eguns are the last post of Yoruba then you get to ewe tribe of togo and Ghana,BUT THE EGUNS ARE YORUBA then you keep travelling to east you get to egba land,you get to ejebu land then before you get into edo you have akoko edo now their landguage is a mixture of Yoruba and benin, I used to have this sweet girl I dated from there and utsen poly or is it college of education. I hear benin and I did my NYSC there so I know that I am talking about then from benin you keep travelling due east, you get to agbor and igbanke after abudu my NYSC orientation camp then igbanke,agbor, they have a mixture of benin and igbo culture then you keep moving towards igbo land via igbuzo,onicha agbo, aonicha miri in anambra etc then keep moving via imo then to abia then you enter efik Ibibio land but before you enter that place you meet AROchukwu they have some efik cluture and lingua but igbo then if you move via enugu you get to ebonyi, legbo and izzi, these are transitional zone before you get to ogoja due north you get to obeleafor. The problem is people don’t travel
3. I do not have issues with ika igboness or not but personally speaking these there tendencies has made me not to have a trust for them and ikwerre cos they might sell out cos they hear my language and behaves otherwise, that is personal beseis, if you get to ikaland like other cultural transitory zones , they have bening migrants that’s is no doubt, but the issue is did these migrant met an emplty land_ and these migrants were led by a man called EZE CHIME who was a son of nri and travelled to ado to do business and as you know about igbos he prospered the benin king gave him chieftency title, he immersed himself in edo culture, you know the igbos are adaptive, married edo wives, then his influence grew somuch that his host like the obas felt threatened and sent him with his loyalist out of benin and he found succor in ika land, the aborigines gave him refuge, yes he came with some benin slaves, I mean it will be bad if I do not mean there is no benin blood in ika
4.lets look at the name,culture and language, yes to ascertain a tribe you have to look at these things , what is the name of the market days in the so called ika land, in igbo we know igbo towns with these things, eke,olie,afor,nkwo, their names like chukwuemeka,ifeanyichukwu etc, the name of our creator is olisabuluwa,Anambra,Ogwashi chimeke,Imoand ABIa and General Igbo ,olisakeluwa Anambras and obasibinenu-Aros depend on the dialect you speak,THE NAME OF IGBO KINGS ARE EZE,IGWE,OBI,IF IT’S A CLAN ITS CALLED ICHIE,OKPARA,NZE ETC.do we have these in ikaland what is the name of the king is it obi or oba
5.my inlaw is an agbor man his name is ifeanyichukwuu and if he speakes my wife who is an ukwuani woman wont understand him well but I do understand him why, cos I was born in imo state and I am of anambra perentage, Agbo sounds more of owerri than anything and I speak owerri well , they call dry season okochi,call lies ugha,call their king obi or dei and somany more
and
Owerri call elderman or dee,dryseason okochi and lie ugha, ask any agbo or socalled ika man
MY JUNIOR BROTHER MARRIED UGUTA WOMAN AND IF MY WIFE WHO IS AN OGUME WOMAN SPEAKS SHE SOUNDS OGUTA AND THIS MY JUNIOR BROTHERS WIFE UNDERSTANSDS HER

THE PROBLEM WITH THESE PEOPLE IS THAT THEY CANT DIFFERENTIATE A DIALECT FROM A LANGUAGE, if an Ijebu,egun,okun man speaks an ife man might have difficulty understanding but all are youruba
If an aro man,owerri man and oguta man speaks an nnnewi man might have diffucuty understanding but all are igbo
NOW IN UK, THEY HAVE WESH,IRISH,ENGLISH,COTTS,TOTTENS ETC, THEY SPEAK A DIFFIRENT VARIENT OF ANGLO SAXON WHICH IS ENGLISH BUT ALL ARE BRITISH WE ALL KNOW THAT BUT STILL RETAIN THEIR IDENTITY
IN SPAIN,PORUGAL, CATALAN HAVE SAME LANGUAGE SIMILARITIES BUT ALL ARE CALLED IBERIAN SAME IN
SOUTH EAST ASIA, THE PROBLEM IS THAT THESE DUDES IN IKA AND OTHER PARTS OF NIGERIA, IGBO IS A HUGE TRIBE SAME AS YOURUBA AND HAUSA, JUST THAT PEOPLE FEEL THAT IGBO ENDS WITHING SOUTH EAST AND WHAT IS THESE IKAS BRINGING TO THE TABLE ANYWAY, DUE TO THIS THEIR TENDENCY THEY CANT PRODUCE GOVERNOR IN DELTA, LOOK AT LIYEL IMOKE GOVERNOR OF CROSS RIVER IS AN IGBO MAN FROM LEGO AND THEY DON’T HAVE THIS ID CRISIS
IKA CAN CLAIM TO BE BENIN BUT ITS SO STUPID FOR SOMEBODY TO CLAIM BENIN, I I DID MY NYSC IN BENIN CITY AND OGIDA TO BE PRESCISE, THE WOMAN FROM IGBANKE IN MY COMPOUND WAS CALLED OWIE IGBO I ASKED WHAT IS THE MEANING THEY SAY ITS IGBO WOMAN, I TOLD THEM SHE AINT IGBO, THEY SAY DON’T MING HER
NOW ANIOMA IS AN ACRONYM BY DENIS OSADEBEY THE MAN WITH FEW MEN THEY CREATED OHA NEZENDI IGBO GROUP. SO WHAT ARE WE TALKING. THE MAINLAND IGBOS DON’T NEED THESE IKA GUYS COS THEY CAUSED THE CIVIL WARS, DID THE COUP THAT WAS CALLED IGBO COUP AND THEY DON’T HAVE IGBO DRIVE MAYBE THEY BENIN ELEMTS IN THEM SHOULD BE EXOCISED SAME
ITHEKIRI NIN WARRI HAVE OLU , AND THEY ARE BROTHERS TO YOURUBA SO AS OKUNS IN KOGI.WHAT IS UIKA POPULATION ANYWAY
[/b]

Otu ru gbeke!

pazienza: Sometimes i wonder if you are suffering from 'agwu', did you read the trash above before you pasted it? My conclusion is that you have lost it, you can't know more about the tradition and culture of owa,than the Obi of Owa,the obi had long made his stance known,he upheld his nshi ancestory, nobody is denying you your bini ancestory,rather what we are saying is that,youcan stay in owa,as long as you are aware that owa belongs to nri,and anyday you get tired of living in an nri domain,you can pack your things and go back to bini, no love lost,no love found. Dalukwa.

Nnaa,did you see this lost goat ? Your ancestors came from Benin but he took an Nri title....Odelomo..lol

pazienza: Ogidi-idemili,the name of our founder is Ogidi, who was a son of a man named inwelle,inwelle was the son of ezechumagha so,we call our town,Ogidi-inwelle,we don't really know where inwelle and his father ezechumagha came from,but unlike some stupid people,we don't go around creating silly stories to fill in that gap. But my grandfather told me that Ogidi was a troublesome strong man,he would often fight with anybody he met on his way to our present location,but when he met the founder of Obosi town,they fought for days and none of them won,so they made a covenant that their descendands should never fight each other,and they became friends thereafter.

Nwanne,Inwele was an Nri decendant and you don't need a written down history to tell you that. Look at you socio-cultural set-up,dialects,tradions and festivals and you will know.

NRI PRIEST:

Nwanne,Inwele was an Nri decendant and you don't need a written down history to tell you that. Look at you socio-cultural set-up,dialects,tradions and festivals and you will know.

nwanne you are right. Even though we have lost knowledge of where ezechumagha and inwelle came from,common sense should tell one that they are of nri ancestry.

IT BAFFLES ME WHEN PEOPLE SAY IKA IS RICH, I ASK MYSELF IN WHAT ASPECT, P[OPULATION WISE THEY ARE POOR, IGBOS RAN THE EDOS DOWN WITHING 48HR DURING THE BIAFRAN WAR AND WHO IS IKA, JUST A 30MIN CAMPAIGN, 2 IKAS SAY THEY HAVE OIL, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE OIL IN MY SATE ANAMBRA AND THE RIFINERY, WHAT OF IMO AND ABIA, WHAT OF CAOL AND LIMESTONES IN ENUGU AND EBONY WHAT OF CALCITE, THEN I DONT VALUE NATURAL RESOURCES COS THEY MAKE THE PEOPLE STUPID, LOOK AT NIGER DELTA AND IJAW CUM URHOBO AND IKA, THEN LOOK AT OIL PRODUCING COUNTRIES THEY DONT FARE WELL, THEY SUFFER DUTCH DISEASE, WHAT IS IMPORTANT HUMAN RESOURCES. THAT WHAT THE IGBOS HAVE IN ABUNDANCE THATS WHAT WE CAN BOAST OF OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES ARE JUST JARA. DO YOU KNOW WHAY WE BOUNCED BACK FROM WAR ITS OUR HUMAN RESOURCES, CAN YOU COMPARE OUR ADVANCEMENT WITH OTHER TRIBES, ITS EITHER THE IKAS ARE ANIHHILATED OR COLONIZED OR EXILED. THEY SHOULD CHOOSE ONE ONCE THE CHIPS ARE DOWN DURING DISINTEGRATION TIME

MY WIFE NAME IS EBELE AND SHE IS FROM UKWUANI AND SEE HERSELF AS IGBO COS I HAVE ASKED HER SOME FEW THINGS WHICH SHE CANT UNDERSTAND, AND EBELE IS AN IGBO WORD LIKE ANTHONY AND CHRISTOPHER BEEN A CHATOLIC AND CHRISTIAN NAMES.

SO MAN KNOW THYSELF....... SOPHOCCLE. BE EDUCATED DIFFERENTIATE DIALECT FROM LANGUAGE. YES WE MIGHT HAVE FUGITIVES,TRANPS AND FELONS FROM BENIN WHICH THE IGBOS IN IKAS GAVE REFUGE, THEY HAVE REFUGEE STATUS AND THEY SHOULD REMAIN THAT BUT DONT DRAG FREE BORN INTO BENIN STUFF COS THEY AINT BENIN PERIOD. IF YOUR FOREFATHER IS A WANDERER,REFUGEE OR TRAMP FROM BENIN THAT DOESNT MEAN THAT ALL IGBOS IN BENIN HAVE TRAMP ANCESTORY

BE CAREFUL

http://www.kwenu.com/archive/okocha_anioma.htm





KWENU: Our Culture, Our Future

Message from Hon. Emma Okocha
Greetings/Position/Ohanaeze

Compliments of the season!

Great gratitude for all your support. I couldn’t reach you all along because of my injuries. Thank you Mr. Ogbo, President, Anioma Union and Anioma Women Group who performed, Anioma Union Texas, President Uraih and the Asaba Union, Ogbueshi Nwokobia. My host Mr. and Mrs. Nwajei Dr. Ashibogwu, Mr. Okonkwo, and Mr. Mokogwu, Ngozi Okocha, Umeadi and her husband Chukwurah, the Asaba Union Dallas, the Onianwas (Ibusa) the Ijehs (Ogwashi Ukwu) and the entire Anioma Union, Washington D.C., the California Chapter etc. The surprise came from Atlanta, those brothers that landed and helped in our campaign in Ezi, Nsukkwa, Obulu Kingdom etc…

Your support elevated our platform and despite the betrayal of APGA and the proven massive rigging of the PDP "Emma Okocha was second to PDP in the Anioma area!" (See Dr. B.I.C. Ijomah Director of Strategy PDP, Press Interview after the elections)

Your support indeed has kept us busy. Every other opposition candidate has either picked up appointments with the Ibori government, or fizzled out.

Within this period we went ahead to increase the volume of our political movement by re-establishing the Ohanaeze in our area. As the only Anioma member of the group present at the meeting we asked for two positions, the General Secretary and the Deputy President General. We got all, Colonel Achuzia and Obi Nwaka from Ibusa are now in the cabinet.

I understand why the debate is on. I have just finished a 48 page paper on Ohanaeze, Izu Anioma; the South South; whether the Western I[g]bo?

If I'm invited by any Anioma Group within the coming year I would make my findings available, we shall discuss the various parameters and probably arrive at a better appraisal.

For now my motivations in reaching the accord with the Eastern leaders, their governors, etc. arise from the following.

i) There was already a paper from the Itsekiri leaders of thought at Abakaliki seeking the Igbo support in their war against the Urhobors and Ijaws. The Itsekiris did not copy that letter to Izu Anioma.

ii) My group Oasis of Hope, discovered that the same Itsekiri went further to invite the OPC to Warri. OPC, Yoruba and consequently Obasonjo’s Federal Government support for the Itsekiri was decisive and shifted the balance of that war. Until now the small Itsekiri nation have the initiative in the Warri crisis.

iii) Anioma as of now has lost its vanguard teeth. Ika, Ndokwa nations are out. Anioma has shrunk.

iv) Ohaneze is like Ibo Union. Ibo union was founded by Dennis Osadebay and Oguegbunan Dafe. Later the Ogbarus Justice Kaine became the President in 1938. Ohanaeze first board director was Osadebay when it was founded. Like I mentioned in my speech at the World Igbo Congress (W.I.C.) 2001, it was Enugu that offered Osadebay and Oba of Benin £8,000,000 – for the fight to create the Midwest. During the crisis 1966, Colonels Okonweze, Igboba, etc. were all killed because they were I[g]bo, so also were senior officers from Asaba, Ishiagu, Ibusa, Ogwashi Ukwu, Igbodo etc. During that war our people did not run towards Benin or Warri, they naturally ran towards the East and most were received well.

v) Delta, South South, I have over 150 pages clippings of invitations of the so called "Niger Delta, South-South, proper Delta" peoples. Our people are never invited. On the contrary, The Ohanaeze keep inviting our people and the Ikwerre Etche Ahoada group who suffer from the same identity problem (see Dafinone’s Union of Niger Delta Guardian Monday, February 28, 2000).

vi) During the Oputa Panel Investigations, the Ohanaeze invited our people and that was the first time under the sun we took our genocide case to the outside world.

Critically, our core interests; endangered language, culture, official discrimination, Asaba as capital of Delta, the Nzeogwu Revolution spilling of Igbo blood, merit, Christianity, education, etc. converge with the interest of the Igbo. If the Itsekiri group could invite the Yoruba and change the tide in their crisis, why can’t we look out for our kith and kin? The Nigerian Politics is fueled on by numbers, ethnicity, and ability to weave influential alliances. We should embrace our brothers of the East and at the same time look out for our Igala brothers and others from the Middle Belt, while we parley with those who have our interests at heart.

Having said this, the Easterners are to be blamed for our lethargy in embracing them fast. Have they told us what happened to Nzeogwu? Have they condoled us on the massacre of our people? Have they tried to rehabilitate the aging officers who fought for their Biafra? The Western Ibos were not in the Biafra map. The II divisions made of mainly Ika I[g]bo] never surrendered and under Colonel Nwawo defended Nnewi the only major Biafran city that never fell until the end. Has Ojukwu or anybody bothered to ask after his health or other senior officers of the Midwestern Command since the end of the war? Right now Colonel S. Nwajei (Ibusa) is suffering from stroke, Colonel Trimmel is dead (Abor) and the Commander of Biafran Navy Anukwu (Agbor) is dead and his house in Boji-Boji burnt! These officers have never been paid anything…pension nothing and nobody from the East bothered.

They are not the same as Biafran officers…who agreed and declared Biafra. These people were Nigerian soldiers. Why have the state Eastern governors abandoned the Ika I[g]bo? During Okpara era, Midwest was funded by Enugu and our people gave them loyalty which led to the war solidarity. Now Enugu dismisses our civil servants, teachers, etc. Delta would never reabsorb them. To rub it in governors of the East have been appointing non-Igbo Deltas, Yorubas, and Urhobos into their cabinet. Our position remains that we must move in volumes otherwise you would be limited playing the "Politics of the Hermit."

Signed,
Hon. Emma Okocha

IKA CAUSED THE WAR AND THE ARE NOW INTIMIDATED IN DELTA

Tony,don't stress yourself over ika. Agbontae is not the spokes person for ika.

@Tony,are you not foolish enough? Ika doesnt have anything,we are poor,we are small,we ar this and that,yet why do you and your igbon cohorts want us to be identified as igbons...Why dont you understand the simple comclussion,in our poor,small,and whatever you call us,the ika man is proud of his identity..Onu kokome o gbu ofifi

my dear, i am not saying that you should not retain your identity, egun man retain his, ijebu man retain his, me nnewi man is retaining mine, aro man is doing so, but under the canopy of been igbo and as for ika, i am so sorry, i know these dudes very well, i was with an agbor man the other day, he saw DSTV presenter, her name is kelechi, i was like this igbo babe is tight, he was stupuidly enough to say that benin people bears kelechi, his wife from aboh in delta felt so embarrased by his comments and he made himself a fool, the agbor man name is chinedu. THESE DUDES ARE DAFT.... THATS WHY THEY ARE NEITHER ACCEPTED BY EDO NOR IGBO THEY WILL BE 2ND FIDDLE ..... IF

“Majority of Igbos are satisfied to accept the Israel hypothesis supported by the triple testimonies of oral tradition, Eri migration and archaeological evidence.”

Where the Igbos migrated from has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt. The ancestry of the Igbos has bothered many people for a long time. Many historians, philosophers, sociologists, archaeologists and anthropologists have raised a lot of dust on this issue. A lot of views have been proffered but yet the origin of the Igbos remained a mirage.

Suffice it to say that the Igbos have found themselves in Nigeria and indeed they are Nigerians like every other tribe. This tend to support the claim of an elderly Mbaise man from Imo State of Nigeria, whose name remain anonymous, in a book by Dr. Elizabeth Isichei titled “History of the Igbo People”. The elderly Mbaise man maintained that the Igbos did not come from anywhere. But the fact remains that the Igbos must come from somewhere beyond the limited knowledge of the Mbaise elder. Another claim seek to establish that the ancestors of the Igbos originated from the area they inhabit, presently known as Awka-Okigwe. Hence, the communities known as Umu-Nri regard themselves as the descendants of a hero called Eri, who along with his wife, Nnamaku, was sent down from the sky by Chukwu, the Igbo supreme God. I must confess that this claim sounds just like a fairy tale. Even a ten-year-old child would never believe this story. There is no “abracadabra” in Igbo man’s origin, certainly he is from somewhere.

The Igbos are more pragmatic in the claim of their origin unlike some other tribes in Nigeria. To suit their natural and competitive tendencies, they rarely rely on myths, legends and oral traditions. What the average Igbo man cannot hold on in respect of practical evidence, he would rather resign to faith and to God with whom he is more comfortable. This explains why they give such names as Chimaroke (God knows my portion), Chijioke (The Creator God), Chikelu (God creates), Chukwuma (God knows), Chinenye (God gives), Chukwuebuka (God is great), Chukwudi (God exits), Ngozichukwu (blessing of God), Eberechukwu (mercy of God), etc.

Well, there are three basic ways of providing the historical claims of any people or tribe. These ways are by written documents, by oral tradition and by archeological evidence. Needless to say that the Igbos have these three ways to present in the justification of the claim of their origin. The historical problem of the Igbo man since the inception of Nigeria has been how to convince his fellow Nigerians that he is part and parcel of the political entity called Nigeria. While some people have tried to link the Igbos to the Jewish race, others simply see them as the Jews of Africa. It is not a mistake to mention that the Igbos have genealogical relationship as well as historical resemblance with the Jewish race.

First and foremost, they are adventurous and aggressive like the Jews. The Igbo and Jewish customs permit a man to raise children from his brother’s widow. Both the Igbos and the Jews have a common tradition of lengthy funeral ceremony (Genesis 50:1-3). Igbos and the Jews have common circumcision; date on the eight-day following the delivering of a male child. Igbos and the Jews use intermediaries in marriage negotiations, this is practicable in Igboland up till now. Abraham did it while negotiating Rebecca for Isaac (Genesis 24.). Many groups of scholars have the view that the Igbos originated from the Jewish stock. To make this view more acceptable, Olaudah Equiano, an Igbo ex-slave in London, who is said to have travelled widely, happens to be the first person to write about the Igbo tribe before his death in 1797. Equaino, in one of his findings, discovered that some names amongst the Igbos such as Uburu and even the “Igbo” itself are derived from Hebrew words.

The vast majority of the Igbos who fell victim of the trans-Atlantic slave trade have been forgotten. They lived lives of toil and suffering, and their children rapidly lost a sense of their Igbo identity. One of them, however, by his courage and ability, won his freedom, and went on to a remarkable career which he described in an autobiography which is one of our most valuable sources of knowledge of the Igbo past. He was the first of many Igbos who have achieved distinction in Europe, and the first of a series of notable Igbo authors in English. His name was Olaudah Equiano, which might mean Olaude Ekweano and he was born in about 1745 and died in 1797.

Rev. J.T. Basden, an Anglican missionary, who worked in Igboland for over a decade, shared the opinion that the word ‘Igbo’ might be a shortening of a longer name of an Igbo influential ancestor. Another school of thought led by Late Professor Dike, whose book was expanded by I.C.U. Enochusi in his book: “The Living Document of Ekwulobia”, found out that the Igbos had three origins and settled in their homes in two different periods. According to them, the first branch of the Igbo was the Jewish stock who wandered through the Sudan and eventually settled at their current home earlier than 9th century A.D. Those Jewish Igbos have the same tradition and custom with the Jews of the Eastern World. They are the Nris, the Aros, the Igbo Ukwus, the Otuochas and so on.

The second origin is the Benin or Oduduwa origin. These Igbos were believed to be a part of the descendants of Oduduwa, the father of the Yorubas, and originated from Benin Kingdom only to settle at River line area or the Ika Igbo country land of the Igbo man in 17th century A.D. Dr. K. O. Dike, in support of this assertion, said that there was an eastward movement of population from Benin in 17th century A.D., which resulted in increased population of the Western, or Ika Igbo country. The third Igbo origin is the Benue River Region origin. These Igbos migrated from Igala country of the Benue River country into Igbo belt late 17th century A.D. to avoid the Fulani slave trade. Majority of these Igala Igbos settled in the Northern part of the Igbo territory.

According to a team of researchers from University of Ibadan, led by Thusten Shaw, it is now believed that some ancient Igbos had settled at Igbo-Ukwu-Aguatat-Anambra State earlier. That in 19th century A.D. Igbo-Ukwu, Ekwulobia and the environs were believed to belong to Jewish Igbos due to the period of the settlement. Another group headed by A.E. Afigbo linked the Igbos to branch of a Negro race who originated along the latitude of Asselar and Khartoun. Some linguists in support of this came out with the view that the Igbos originated from Niger-Congo family. This was due to the alignment of the language with that of ‘kwa’ in this area who were separated from Igbos by the Niger-Benue confluence.

That the Igbos migrated from Isreal is no longer in doubt. According to Uche P. Ikeanyibe, as for geographical migrations and settlements, majority of Igbos are satisfied to accept the Israel hypothesis supported by the triple testimonies of oral tradition, Eri migration and the biblical evidence of Eri as a true historical descendant of Israel and the archaeological evidence, some of which are now lodged by Anambra state Government at Igbo-Ukwu Musem”.

Speaking on the origin of the Igbos, on behalf of Nri people, during an audience participation programme of Radio Nigeria on July 13, 1966, Ogbuefi Madubueze Enemmou was quoted as having said, “about two years ago, Israel government sent delegates to our place, Nri to confirm the historical relationship between Igbos and Hebrew people. We took Israeli officials round historical places in our town. They expressed surprise at what they observed as obvious similarities between our custom and theirs. Later, they could not help but conclude that Nri and Igbo in general are among the lost tribes of Israel”[b][/b]

[b]In view of the various rejoinders I have received from my teeming audience particularly my Igbo brothers who have always expressed the view or notion that the whole lot of Anioma people are Igbo, I have decided to address this very aspect of history of Anioma people by citing the Agbor people of Ika as a case study as it pertains to the origin of the Kingdom together with the civilizations and influences that helped to shape what we now know as the Agbor people of Ika in Anioma.

Although Agbor kingdom is now regarded as part of the present Anioma region of Delta state, this people have never in history been Igbo because the kingdom of Agbor as it known was never founded by emigrants from Igbo land as our Igbo brothers misleadingly believe, and there has never been any dominance of Igbo culture in Agbor. Most people who point to Igbo Quarters called “Elugo Igbo” which once existed in Boji-Boji (Agbor) fail to understand that there also existed similar Hausa Quarters, Yoruba Quarters in Boji-Boji (Orogodo) Itsekiri Quarters, Ishan Quarters etc. Evidences of the existence of these Quarters however do not factually suggest that the Agbor or Ika group of people is Igbo, Yoruba, Ishan or Hausa.

Consider that Ika (Eka) means nothing in Igbo, Hausa, Ishan or Yoruba languages or dialects. It remains much doubtful if any part of Igbo land or else where whether mentioned here or not ever have evidential claims or oral records to genuinely lay claims in myths or legends that a wave or band of their migrants from across the River Niger or else where by military conquest or negotiation finally settled in the area known as Agbor. Any Historian of great intellect conversant with the history of origin of Ika people and further developments that came to shape the Anioma region should well be tutored in the understanding of communities within this region laying claims to the Igbo of across the Niger as their ancestral homes. These Anioma communities include but limited to Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku.

Ibusa (Igbuzo) an example of a tripartite town will have us know that Prince Umejei was a prince from Isu in Igbo land, and the second group of founders or settlers of the town are from (Nshi) Nri, an ancestral lineage the town shares with numerous other Igbo towns all over the country. The Ogwashi-Uku people also share this Nri relationship with Ibusa and other Nri people of Igbo land. The oral traditions of these two towns therefore exclusively agree that Ibusa and Ogwashi were founded by two biological brothers.

The picture I am trying to paint by bringing the above into consideration is that in as much it is historically a fact that some Anioma towns and communities have Igbo land as their original homes not all Anioma people are Igbo. The Ancient Benin Empire also played major roles in the origin of much of these Anioma towns, and in the socio-political developments of every single community of what is today known as Anioma. Simply put, Benin Empire of ancient times was responsible for the origin of larger towns of Anioma but the very aspect which concerns Agbor people of Ika is what this article is set to unfold or establish.

Origin of Agbor
The History of Agbor Kingdom like those of other African ancient kingdoms, empires and peoples is based on oral tradition. Various oral accounts on the origin of Agbor and Ika people exist but the most credible being that “Ogunagbon” and his followers who founded Agbor came from Benin and first settled in “Ominije” presently located in today’s Agbor-Nta. Following what can best be described as personal crisis between two princes in Benin and subsequent settlement of this dispute as agreed to by the chiefs and elders of Benin determined by casting of lot, one of the princes settled in what became known as “Agbon”. Agbon like other Anioma towns and communities was later anglicized by the Bjritish who found it difficult to pronounce as “Agbor” the present name of the town. For certain reasons, I have decided to ignore all other events that transpired leading to the foundation of the town called Agbor in acknowledgement of the fact that what concerns us here is the progenitor of the kingdom and his origin. Agbon (Agbor) in Benin means “Earth or “Land”.

Anglicization of names of Anioma communities found difficult to pronounce was not new by the British was not uncommon to these peoples. Igbuzo in circumstances beyond the understanding of the indigenes was anglicized as “Ibusa,” Ahaba (Asaba,) Ogwanshi-Ukwu (Ogwashi-Uku) Isei-Ukwu (Issele-Uku) Isei-Mkpitime (Issele-Mkpitime) Okpam (Okpanam) Umuede (Umunede) Notice also that in some cases the name remains the same but the spelling may change as in the case of Onicha (Onitsha) of Anambra state another of Anioma city.

As noted earlier Cheime, a refugee from Benin is historically credited with the foundation of majority of Anioma communities. Historical accounts records Cheime who was driven away from Benin fled from the kingdom traveling eastwards towards the Niger River and founded Onitsha where he finally settled, his followers having been exhausted founded certain of these Anioma towns. Many of which includes the present day Onicha-Uku, Onicha-Ugbo, Onicha-Olona, Onicha-Ukwu, Issele-Uku, Idumuje-Unoh, Idumuje-Ugboko and a lot more.

At the present day Onitsha in Anambra state, his final place of settlement, Cheime had had a daughter called Owuwu, Owuwu was believed in oral history to have abandoned Onitsha fearing she might lose her life after her father lost nine of his sons in this very town owing to witchcraft. Owuwu was soon to return to Agbor settling at Osarra in Agbor. The name “Owuwu” which now is a Quarter in Agbor is a historical testimony of this.

The argument in certain Quarters that Agbor people bear Igbo names and to some extent assimilates Igbo language and vocabularies is well a defeated one, it is asking why the language of Onitsha people is Igbo having been founded by Cheime from Benin.

Available records show that the British colonial government encouraged Christian missionaries from Igbo land who taught the Ika people using Igbo Bible, hymns and songs. Again the British disregarded homogeneity in their creation of provinces and regions in Nigeria as in else where. Onitsha emerged as a commercial nerve of Anioma but after the Anioma people lost in the Ekwumekwu wars, the town was put in separate province where it now finds itself.

The following names similarly exists between Ika and Bini

1. Agbnifo
2. Ehima
3. Edeje
4. Imade
5. Izegbe
6. Isibor
7. Iredia
8. Iyama
9. Osifo
10. Ozegbe

Common festivals celebrated with Benin

1. Igue
2. Ugbose

The following places with same names exist in Agbor and Benin

1. Ogan
2. Owuwu
3. Ihaikpen
4. Alisor

Commomn vocabularies
1. Ishegwari
2. Ikeke
3. Ulakpa
4. Agara
5. Ise
6. Ikobo
7. Ezuzu
[/b]

IS CHIME A BENININ NAME OR IGBO NAME........... I REST MY CASE

[b]In 1999, Mr. Peter Okocha { from Ibusa} contributed financially and campaigned vigorously for the OBJ/ Atiku ticket. In 2003, as a PDP party loyalist, he did exactly the same, supporting the duo. There was an unwritten agreement that after James Ibori, the governorship would be zoned to the Delta Igbo senatorial district. All eyes were on Peter Okocha who belonged to the Atiku camp to clinch that ticket.

Thus when the war of ‘attrition’ between OBJ and his Deputy started, Peter Okocha, rather than following the much hackneyed principles that in politics, there is no permanent friend but permanent interest, remained loyal to Atiku. That, became his undoing. He probably thought he was still doing business. So, OBJ mobilized the state apparatus to make sure that he did not clinch the ticket. Okocha decided to go under AC to contest. Prof. Maurice Iwu’s INEC did another abracadabra on him. He was ‘disqualified’. His case is still pending in the electoral appeal court- to be determined by only God knows when, by a seemingly compromised section of the judiciary.

Chief Ibori, who benefited from Peter Okocha’s electoral largesse and support throughout his stay as governor, did a u-turn and stabbed Okocha on the back. Overnight before the 2007 charade called election, a decision was taken that the PDP governorship race should be zoned to the other senatorial district while Delta Igbos were to make do with state Chairman of the party. That was how Mr. Peter Nwaoboshi became the state PDP Chairman. The Urhobos, Itsekiris, Izons, Ijaws, and Isokos, aptly supported by OBJ, ganged up and executed that coup against us. They rounded it up with the puerile logic that since we have the state capital, we should not produce the next governor.

Again in the 2007 election, as a prelude to that charade, Prof. Pat Utomi { from Ibusa}, whose wife is from the East, went to OHANAEZE to solicit for support for his presidential ambition. Chief Orji Uzor Kalu also went to solicit for his too. A section of OHANAEZE that rejected Pat Utomi, gave me a terrible food for thought. One of them, according to some daily Nigerian newspapers’ reports, hankered abject adroitly : “Is he really a proper Igbo man? Look at him, he cannot even speak Igbo properly.” Others even insinuated that his name did not sound Igbo. I was shocked to the bone marrow. I couldn’t believe what I was reading from prominent Igbo citizens.

Instead of asking the two candidates to present their programmes and manifestoes, they were busy hankering on whether one of them is a “proper Igbo” or not. I was shocked of words. If any Igbo person does not know the meaning of Utomi, then that person should take a suicidal dive into the river Niger.

I guess some Igbos will ask of the true meaning of my surname - ADINLOFU. An Igbo man ones asked me in London whether I am a Yoruba man, that my surname looks like one. I just laughed { even though my spouse is Yoruba} and politely asked the man to pronounce my name. He ended up pronouncing it with all the Igbo-ness and accent which goes with it. While he was slowly pronouncing it, the meaning was unfolding before his eyes. He simply laughed and laughed himself to scorn.

Besides, it is a historical fact writes Emma Okocha of Izu-Anioma, that when Ojukwu even declared the Biafran Republic, he never had us in mind. Ojukwu’s Biafran and its boundary ended at Onitsha, living his kiths and kin - Midwestern Igbos - to their destiny. And yet during that pogrom of 1966, most Delta Igbo officers ran, not to Mid -West or to the West but to their kiths and kin in the East. The Chief of Biafran Navy, the late Captain W. A. Anuku, was from Agbor.

Ojukwu went further to choose Col. Banjo against the overwhelming preference of Nzeogwu {a then Mid-Western Igbo officer}, to lead that tactical assault on Midwest and on to Lagos. Most writers call it tactical because, the choice of Banjo and his subsequent antics {Read WHY WE STRUCK 1983 by Ademoyega} changed and swung the war to the advantage of the Federal troops. In that assault, Col. Banjo, who was then assisted by Lt. Col Igboba { from Ibusa}, got his assistant locked up in Benin prison over disagreements on tactics and the way and manner the invasion was being compromised.

However, while the Biafran soldiers were retreating from the Federal counter attack, Banjo, Ademoyega, and coy deliberately left Lt. Col Igboba behind at the Benin prisons only for the invading ‘British troops’ called Federal forces under the command of Lt. Col. Murtala Muhammed to stroll casually into Benin prison, locate Igboba and had him beheaded. That was the same Igboba who helped General Ironsi to quell Nzeogwu’s coup in Lagos.

Even in their genuine demand for more Igbo states, the East never count the Igbos in Delta state as worthy. Their request ought to always incorporate the demand of our people for the creation of Anioma State out of the present amorphous Delta State. After all, it will still be another seemingly full fledged Igbo State. However, I still remembered quite vividly that the late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo ones in while, had requested that the Igbos of Delta State should be given appropriate hearing in their quest for Anioma State which would have extricated and freed us from the strangle-hold of the Urhobos. But that was a lone support in the wilderness.

There is a need for the Igbos in the East to reach out to their brothers and sisters across the river Niger. This is not to say that we cannot stand on our own. The point here is that there is strength in number-“Igwe-buike”. The Igbos in the East should always seize the initiative because of their strength. They should make it their statutory duty to come to us and embrace us.

They are our fathers and, like most migration theories have confirmed about the origin of most of these communities, we are their children. We may not be business inclined like them because we are not cut out for such but we are educated and are good civil servants. Our word in most cases is always our bond. Our people are sincere to a fault and are prepared to fight with anybody for a just and sincere cause in as much as you don’t cunningly backslide or sabotage the cause. The causes that Major Nzeogwu, Pat Utomi, Col Tim Onwuatuegwu, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, Col.Nwanwo, Col. Achuzia had fought and still fighting for, is a testimony to our strength and character.

In fact to reinforce this view, I want OHANAEZE to move forthwith, their headquarters to either Asaba, Ibusa, or Ogwashi-Ukwu. I believed that the closer you are to us the better. Let us have a sense of belonging. By this invitation, I am not saying you should now come and colonise us. I am saying that we should relate and that there should be a strong cultural affinity and rapport.



Anybody in the Igbo culture area of Delta state who is in doubt about his or her Igbo historical connection, should contact Prof. Nolue Emenanjo, Executive-Director, National Institute Of Nigerian Languages, Aba, for more explanation and Professor Okoh, UNIBEN. The late intellectually versatile Prof. M. A Onwuejeogwu, another Igbo encyclopedist, who was from Ogboli-Ibusa, and founder of the Nri Museum, should have been another contact but for his death.

The intellectual bloc of OHANAEZE should not shy away from its responsibility. The bloc should pickup the pieces and do more research work in this Igbo culture area of Delta state to establish more historical connectedness and build on such relationships. The Israelis are doing exactly that all over the world. When the State of Israel was created, most Falashas of Ethiopia, were lifted to that state because it was established that they were Jews. The Yoruba is doing the same, tracking their Oduduwa kiths and kin all over Africa and even beyond, as far as to Brazil.

Besides, this is not a question of whether the people of Agbor or Ndokwa are disclaiming their Igbo-ness or have decided or deciding to opt-out, no, it is a question of research, based on solid historical and archaeological evidences. I reckoned that all research should focus on that title of “Obi” which has been handed over to our traditional rulers from generation to generation. “Obi”, as the title designate, is an undiluted Igbo nomenclature. It is not an Hausa, Bini, Yoruba, Ishan or Fulani terminology. Apart from the differences in Igbo dialects, accents or phonetics, and historical variances in origin, the other common variable for research revolves around this term and title of “Obi ”.

Flowing from this, and of secondary relevance, is the Igbo name of their subjects. For Example, the people of Agbor and Ndokwa bear names like Isioma, Ngozi,Nwabuzor, Nduka, Chukwuma, Chukwuekwu, Chukwuka, Ibegbulem, Nwanyimogor, Nwajei, Obika, Ijeoma, Ifeoma, Nwaokolo, Nwoko, Iwebelua, Chiedu, and other names with the prefix-“Umu”. And “Umu” is a complete Igbo terminology which means “Children”. Thus “Umu-dein” means the “ Children of Dein” and there is a street in Agbor with that name- Umudein street.

It is not an issue of sentiments, emotions and unsubstantiated trivialities. Almost all the traditional leaders of Delta Igbo communities that I’d listed in part {1} hold the title of “Obi” and not Oba. And if any of them wants to invoke the anger of the gods by changing to another title, just because the leader does not want any linkage with the Igbos, may the ancestors and IGBOPHOBIA take care of that person.

In about 1979, I travelled from Agbor to Benin-city to spend some days with late Prof. Mike Onwujeogwu, who was then { I think}, either the Dean of Faculty of Social Sciences or the Head of Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Benin. One day, he told me to get dressed that we will all be travelling to Enugwu-Ukwu, the wife‘s village. While we were meandering through pot holes and following some short cuts here and there and stopping over here and now for the Prof. to greet his friends and for the wife to greet relatives, we came to a village called { I think} Isu or Isu-Aniocha near Awka. I was already fast asleep in the car.

Then the Prof. woke me up and said. This is Isu, where the founder of Igbouzo anglicised Ibusa, migrated from. He then gave me a thorough lecture of what happened. I was so stunned and flabbergasted. Since then, that indelible sight and lecture, even though he has written a book on it since 1972, has not left my memory.

After the civil war in 1970, my parents decided to migrate to Agbor. The Obi of Agbor then, Obi Ikechukwu, welcomed Igbos like wise was the Obi of Owa. Obi Ikechukwu has a friendly, approachable and welcoming disposition. By 1978, the Obi, just like any other Obi and going by the principles and practice of the patrilineal system, was anxious to have a son - a heir apparent. Fortunately, his Royal Highness had one from one of his wives, who was pregnant for him before he {the obi} died.

It was alleged that the heir’s life was in danger from other jealous wives and sensing that, the Agbor Council-of-Chiefs in consonance with perhaps, the Oba of Benin, decided to smuggle the young “Obi” out of Nigeria to London, where he lived and studied at Lewisham college, imbibed western cultures, MORES and ways of life and came back to assume his throne in about 2002. Since then, the young “Obi” has been behaving like the Duke of Edinburgh.

The Royal Highness should take time to study the history of his community. He should thrive to do away with most of his westernised ways. His subjects are complaining about that. Rumours have it that he wants to, or has changed his title from “Obi” to “Dein”. If unchecked by Agbor elders, then I won’t be surprised if at a later date he changes to Emir of Agbor. Although, I learnt from my source that it is a rumour; however, if is true and it is assented to by his Agbor Council-of-Chiefs, may the council direct all their subjects with Igbo names to drop such names and choose Benin names like Anini or Osunbor. Enough of this hypocrisy! If in this age some educated people are still contesting their culture and cannot make do with profound evidence before them because of a peculiar phobia of their own creation, then such a culture is a dead culture. “A contested culture is a dead culture.”

And this is why I call on OHANAEZE to embark on further research in this “Igbo culture area” of Delta state, establish the historical links, migration trends, patterns of settlement, cultural diffusion, symbolisms, feast and festivals and their resemblances, contacts and acculturation in the whole amalgam and; to try as much as possible, to harmonise researches that have been done already and to stand firmly by the synthesized result. There is a need to focus research on the following movements in their chronological order as culled in the late Professor Onwuejeogwu,s book titled: The traditional Political System Of Ibusa {1972}, namely;

“the Owerri-movement before A.D. 800 ; the Eri-movement about A.D. 800; the Nri-movement about A.D. 900 to 1911; the Isu-movement between the 15th and 16th centuries; the Ubulu-movement around the 17th century; the Aro-movement around the 17th and 19th centuries; the Idu or Bini-movement around the 18th century and the Igala-movement between the 18th and 19th centuries.” These movements, especially the Nri, Isu, Ubulu, Idu, Aro and the Igala movements should be of tremendous interest to OHANAEZE research unit and this is because these movements seemed to be the ones which have had profound impact on the cultures and thought processes of the people of these communities.

The studies and research should be based on technique of participant observation. By this, I mean the researchers have to live with the people they are studying over a long period of time. You don’t stay in the USA and London and lift opinionated articles devoid of any research technique to claim that you are Urhobo or Benin while your name is Emeka Okafor.

I believed strongly that If tomorrow the Jews are to prove that there is a trace of archaeological evidence establishing consanguinity between Igbo and Hebrew and as such, have come to lift the willing Igbos to the State of Israel, as they did to the Falashas of Ethiopia, I guess those people of Ika and Ndokwa and some others, who are still in a state of denial about their Igbo linkage, will automatically turn around to announce that their father’s father’s father’s father’s name is NRIJIOFO, just because they want to migrate to Israel. Funny world! I rest my case![/b]

Ogunagbon or whatever,is not the founder of agbo,there already existed a thriving proto igbo group in agbo,before the coming of the bini migrants. The founder of Agbor is a man called Ogele,he was said to have had four sons named after the four igbo market days. The first obi of agbor,before the bini influence was Eboka( family is greater) that should tell u the true origin of agbor. The bini migrants know where they came from,when they are tired,they can go back.

1. it shows that igbos are great propagandists and they dont have morality , their business is to lie and cheat and what else can we say , look at the statement ika started the civil war , that is a bloody lie , or is nzeogwu and aguiyi ironsi who took power after the coup were they ika people , i think an average igbo person is so daft that they do not know the difference between ika and aniocha ,or ika and oshimili person or an ika and igbo person.
2. the only ika person of note that fought for biafra was anuku and he was not from agbor ,but he was an owa man , despite that 100 percent of owa people backed the nigerian troops to send the biafrans packing from ika land as general muritala was residing in owa kingdom and supported by obi of owa during the war , muritala was even given a title in owa called ojeba.
3. please igbo propagandists tell the world that a yoruba man called banjo was the one that led biafra to capture midwest area,and the vast majority of yorubas rejected biafra, it was good biafras were expelled from midwest because the region would have been destroyed by now with lieing and theiving people.
4. as for igbo propagandist the first name of agbor over 8 thousand years ago was called ominijie and it is an edo name , later the kingdom was called igidi and ruled by ogele ,so ogele was not a person but the title of the former kings of agbor and it is not an igbo name and later changed to agbon which means earth in benin language ,and ruled by dein/obi dynasty , let me proceed to give you the names of some of the ogele that ruled agbor----
1. agbonzegbe
2. ohunwangho
3. edebiri
4. egbekojie
5. aigbonsula
and others , and these people ruled agbon thousands of years ago.
and these names are edo names ,
if we want to write the name of agbor , it is properly agbon and not agbo that many igbo propangandist say.
5. yes igbos say ika are poor people , but we are rich in character and culture and we are proud of that unlike igbos who pride themselves in ill gotten wealth and a people who will give kingship to any rich fraudstar like nebolisa and others that i know , that goes for the kingship tradition in igbo land .
6. an ika man is one of the richest business man in nigeria , mr jim ovia , owner of zenith bank and visafone , and other great ika people who have made their marks in other fields in nigeria,
7. the dein of agbor is one of the greatest kings in nigeria , and he is also famous and has made history allover the world as the youngest monach in the world and agbor kingdom is quite ancient.please igbo propagandist tell me the igbo kingdom as great and famous as agbor kingdom ? or is it your nri that ended in 1930s and is not even a proper monarchy ?
8.as for the man who said ika people are suffering in delta state , i think he is just a clown that does not understand any thing about delta state or midwest as ika people are not suffering , ika is quite ok,let me give you indices------------
1. delta is made up of many ethnic nationalities like uhrobo ,ijaw, itsekiri, isoko, and ika, aniocha,oshimili,ndokwa - who have agreed to form the anioma union .
2. positions ika has held-----,
acting governor- sam obi from uteokpu in ika,
deputy governor sam ebonka from owa-alizomor
speaker- martins okonta from abavo
speaker sam obi from ute okpu
secretary to government of delta, chief author .i. okowa from owa-alero
chief of staff to government , okunbor from ute okpu,
accountant general of delta , agbele from ute
senator representing delta north - senator okowa from owa
former special assistant to president of nigeria , cairo ojougboh
special assistant to deputy senate president okoh , from agbor,
ambassador to sierraleone , godson echegile eguabor from owa-alero
secretary ,nigeria army , general buzugbe from owa kingdom,
the head of anglican church ,nigeria okoh nicolas from owa-alero,
and many others in delta state ,and ogbemudia who ruled old midwest /bendel is an ika man ,so by any standard ika in delta are not suffering in fact we are holding key positions in government and we are not the ones crying marginalisation ,and i know the igbos are the cying baby of nigeria ,always crying marginalisation and cheap propaganda .
9. igbos should be ashamed of trying to claim ika area , because if a people rejected you in times of danger and denied you and even helped your enemies to chase you out of their area , why claim such people and if ika is so poor like igbos say , so of what use are they to igbos , please leave ika alone as an average ika person thinks the igbos do not have any meaningful civilization or kingdom,so please bihia ika -which means leave ikas.

1. i am a proper owa/ika man with a family history of about 700 years , i am also a descendant of owa kings and royalty ,and my fore fathers were part of those who built owa , so i know the history and culture of my people.
2.if the generality of ika people avoid igbos like a plague , it is because they are convinced that they are not igbo,and i will advice you igbo people to make do with communities in delta that claim to be igbo , but as for ikas , they cannever be igbon,or igbo .we are an ethnic group like others and our 1930 declaration that ika is not part of any known ethnic group in southern nigeria still stand.
3. there is no propaganda that will make a real ika man become an igbo man , and there is no research that you will carry out as if you trace ika history to ancient times , all you see is something different from igbo,
4.my ancestor was king of owa kingdom in fact owa history regards him as the greatest king that ever ruled owa that is why they call him igbedigin no gidigan ( ogidigan in owa dialect means the great) he ruled in 13th century and these were the names of his prominent children ----
oviagbon, osunhon, ugbebor, ibiuzugbe,aimonagbone,imade,orokonogbe,obakpolor,ikpolor,eboigbodin,omigie, agbontaen,orue and others and this was about 400 years before benin conquered ika area ,so that tells us some thing till date.
5.ika is a unique culture of its own , developed by our ancestors after so much toil, and war so we will not allow spoilers whose culture is alien to us to destroy our unique culture

None of the trash u write,will change the fact that agbor was established by a man named Ogele,whose name became a title in agbor,until the emergence of the first Obi of agbor,obi eboka. And also,the fact that the Nze title,had been in agbor,before the coming of bini migrants. Agbontae,u r fighting a lost battle,just pack your bag already,and move to bini. Btw,have you heard of the obi of agbor,by the name obi adigwe? Hahahaha!

Another senseless post by paziani,your problem is just ignorance,its like a case of telling one's father where they had once lived... All the harsh words put up by agbontean,is as a result of the increasing stupidity,and land grabbing disease plagueing the igbo man... .Ka m dere gi ya na asusu igbo..Habu ndi ika,maka ha abughi ndi igbo.....

sonya4all: Another senseless post by paziani,your problem is just ignorance,its like a case of telling one's father where they had once lived... All the harsh words put up by agbontean,is as a result of the increasing stupidity,and land grabbing disease plagueing the igbo man... .Ka m dere gi ya na asusu igbo..Habu ndi ika,maka ha abughi ndi igbo.....

So you even know how to write central igbo? Why then are you running away from your shadow? Why can't you be like your kinsman Wizboy,who embraced his igbo identity,and is reaping the reward.