http://igbodefender.com/2011/08/10/the-tight-igbo-connections-with-bonny/

Bonny is a town in the Nigerian Niger Delta. It is known for it’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. But what many don’t know is that the most indigenes of that town are descendants of Igbos who would have been sold into slavery, had it not been for Olaudah Equiano’s campaign against the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Igbos who settled in Bonny developed a new dialect called Bonny Igbo. In fact, the first bible ever published in Igbo was printed in the Bonny Igbo dialect.

Bonny is also famous for being the place where Jaja of Opobo, an Igbo slave from Amaigbo, in today’s Imo State, first rose to prominence. He later led is followers to form the neihbouring kingdom of Opobo.

One of the most famous Bonny families today is the Jumbo family, which is descended from Oko Jumbo, another enterprising Igboman who was Jaja’s strongest rival in Bonny.

© igbodefender.com 2011

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-732870.0.html
Continue here.

If this is what Igbos really think, THEN IGBOS ARE LIARS!

ijaw citizen: If this is what Igbos really think, THEN IGBOS ARE LIARS!

I don't think its a matter of thinking but the history is quite glaring and clear. It is no secret that Jaja was from Amaigbo in Isuama part of Igboland or that Igbo and Ibani are the two languages spoken in Bonny with Igbo being more popular.

The reason why the Igbo part of the history is seriously being suppressed is because of the civil war. At a time there were and still are attempts to change the language from Igbo to Ibani and people being fed with lies that Igbos changed their language.

He opined that what it takes to preserve a language include to teach it in schools, printing appropriate literature books, and promoting its use publicly and privately.

In his lecture, Amasenibo Eric G. Jumbo listed out the current threat to Ibani Language which include Commerce and Christian Religion.

Also speaking, Warisenibo Abinye Morgan Ogolo, challenged the people of Bonny and Opobo Kingdoms to make concerted efforts to stop speaking Ibo language.

This will help to rediscover Ibani Language so that it will take its rightful place despite the  damage it has suffered over the years.

The Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro L G A, represented by the Council Secretary, Mr. Sunny J. Pepple, called on volunteer experts of the Ibani language to partner with the Council to revive the  language.

The event featured dances, lectures and Ibani language competition among selected Secondary Schools with CSS Opobo emerging as winner while GGSS Finima and Bonny National Grammar School, emerged as runners up.

Dignitaries at the event include, Professor Emeritus E.J. Alagoa, Dr. Mrs Iyalla Amadi and the Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Information and Communications, represented by Mr. Francis Alli among others.

http://www.riversstate.gov.ng/item/1117-chairmen-set-to-develop-ibani-language-curriculum.html

Remember there were Efiks, Ibibios and many other groups involved too but going by the popularity of Igbo ahead of Ibani, Efik etc. and Bonny/Opobo is not contiguous with Igbo. it indicates these possibilities

1. That Igbos conquered and forcefully imposed a new language on Bonny and Opobo people.

2. A deep rooted history of origin and more association with Igbo speaking peoples.

3. They so much loved Igbo language that they had to drop their language for Igbo.

Also ask yourself why Ubani/Nwubani is a very common name across Southern Imo and Abia States.

Abagworo: The reason why the Igbo part of the history is seriously being suppressed is because of the civil war. At a time there were and still are attempts to change the language from Igbo to Ibani and people being fed with lies that Igbos changed
their language .

The earlier part of your quote which you delibrately omitted reads as follows

CHAIRMEN SET TO DEVELOP IBANI LANGUAGE CURRICULUM

The Executive Secretary of Rivers State Readers Project, Dr. Tony Enyia, (an Igbo man) has announced the willingness of the Chairmen of Bonny and Opobo/Nkoro LGAs to sponsor the development of Ibani language curriculum. He said that, so far it is only Eleme and Gokana languages that have developed curriculum.

Dr. Enyia, stated this while speaking as Chairman in the 2013 International Mother Tongue day celebration. He noted that the National Museum in Port Harcourt and Rivers State Readers Project will work to stop Ibani language from extinction Dr. Enyia said that learning ones indigenous language will
help the learner to think independently.

The Executive Secretary remarked that Federal Government has approved Ibani language autography while the State has enacted a law that makes the teaching of indigenous languages in the Nursery, Primary and Junior Secondary Schools compulsory.
He remarked that there is a mandate to the
Ministry of Education to ensure that Teachers are trained in the Local languages.

According to Dr. Enyia (THE SAME IGBO MAN), the fate of Ibani language lies with the Speakers and called on all concerned to leave a legacy of the language to posterity.
He emphasized that the mother tongue (not mother TONGUES) of the people expresses their essence, as it is a tool used in expressing their cultural identity.

In his address, the Curator, National Museum,
Port Harcourt, Mr. Fadamijo Omolayo ( A Yoruba man), said that the United Nations, through it’s organ UNESCO, declared February 21st of every year as the day to celebrate language diversity. He therefore encouraged people to learn their mother tongue.

Mr. Omolayo said that the challenge before the people is on how to ensure the survival of
mother tongues by getting people not only to
identify with it but also to speak it.

He opined that what it takes to preserve a
language include to teach it in schools, printing
appropriate literature books, and promoting its
use publicly and privately.

In his lecture, Amasenibo Eric G. Jumbo ( This man is from the same Jumbo family which your fellow Igbos in bigotry from the opening post of this thread ignorantly claimed to be Igbo) listed out the current threat to Ibani Language which include "Commerce" and Christian Religion. ( Most of the religious leaders there are Igbos from Igboland

Now everyone who can read and comprehend this text with emphasis on the bolded can now comprehend how ignorant you & your fellow unlearned Igbos are and your level of bigotry

ijaw citizen:

The earlier part of your quote which you delibrately omitted reads as follows

Now everyone who can read and comprehend this text with emphasis on the bolded can now comprehend how ignorant you & your fellow unlearned Igbos are and your level of bigotry

Nothing is difficult to comprehend or do you want me to post pictures and videos of boat regalia and their names, the language spoken during the festival or should I dig history archives on the origin of Jaja from Isuama? The truth is that various peoples from Isuama, Ngwa, Etche, Ndoki, Ezinihitte (all Igbo groups), Efik, Ibibio, Annang etc populate the present day Opobo and to some extent Bonny. There existed some earlier Ijaw speaking people as well but something must have led to the change of language of preference to Igbo and that is where I disagree with you. The Igbo language was not forced on anyone but was adopted by everyone either as 1st or 2nd language to Ibani long before colonization. Today people are going everywhere trying to erase the Igbo part of the history on the falsehood that they have nothing in common with Igbos or that during the regional government of barely 6years, Igbos forcefully changed the language. Why have they not been able to forcefully erase the Igbo language after 43 years?

Abagworo:

I don't think its a matter of thinking but the history is quite glaring and clear . It is no secret that Jaja was from Amaigbo in Isuama part of Igboland or that Igbo and Ibani are the two languages spoken in Bonny with Igbo being more popular.

By refusing to think and learn, you have allowed your raw & misguilded sentiments to becloud your reasoning.

Now let me explain to you, not what is "quite glaring & clear" but what is TRUELY VIVID, GLARING AND CLEAR about King Jaja of Opobo
1. In the infamous era of slave trade, a young innocent Igbo boy was condemned into slavery by his family and sold by his fellow Igbo people.
2. An Ijaw trader rescued (actually bought) this boy from his damnation at the brink of being shipped oversea and gave him a purpose in life by adopting him as a son of equal rank as his biological children.
3. This young man was then raised in Ijaw culture and LANGUAGE (Till today, Ibani is the palace/court language in Opobo) and imbibed the way of life of his Ijaw family and even adopted an Ijaw name Jubo jubogha which the British pronounced and spelt as Jaja
4. This boy who out of eternal gratitude and loyalty to his Ijaw father was groomed into a man of wisdom and strenght by his Ijaw family who accepted him in love, equity and kindness, and was later ELECTED to be leader of the family as practiced in Ijawland.

I will leave out how he rose up to be Amanyanabo (not Eze) of Opubo-ama for another time

Abagworo: The reason why the Igbo part of the history is seriously being suppressed is because of the civil war. At a time there were and still are attempts to change the language from Igbo to Ibani and people being fed with lies that Igbos changed their language.

The Ijaw natives of Opobo and Bonny know why they speak an Igbo creole (the language is actually a mixture of igbo, ibani-ijaw and pidgin) and one of the reasons was stated in the link you quoted earlier. Stop being an ignorant man and accept the facts as they are.

Abagworo: Remember there were Efiks, Ibibios and many other groups involved too but going by the popularity of Igbo ahead of Ibani, Efik etc. and Bonny/Opobo is not contiguous with Igbo. it indicates these possibilities

LOL
I seriously don't know where you got this efik crap from. This crap of yours is so strong, it cracked up my ribs with laughter.

Abagworo: It indicates these possibilties

1. That Igbos conquered and forcefully imposed a new language on Bonny and Opobo people.

2. A deep rooted history of origin and more association with Igbo speaking peoples.

3. They so much loved Igbo language that they had to drop their language for Igbo.

Also ask yourself why Ubani/Nwubani is a very common name across Southern Imo and Abia States.

We all know that the Ijaw and Igbo languages are so divergent that Igbos can't pronounce Ijaw words properly. Ibani was pronounced Ubani by Igbos. More phonetic analysis;
Ibani (Iba'ni) ends with a rising tone
Ubani ('ju:bani) end with a falling tone
Any of the origin and native meaning of each in their respective language is different, meaning Ubani is just connoted Igbo for Ibani

In No. 2 above, you implied that there is a "deep rooted history of Origin more associated with Igbo speaking people" which means that there are Igbo natives on the land.

Now my question is what is preventing these "Native Igbos" from speaking up in Bonny and Opobo against the background that a fellow Igbo man in Rivers state ( Dr. Tony Enyia) is a major player in the Ibani language project and what community did they found in Ibaniland OR what communities are they found in those areas?

All hail Eze Abagworo, King of Igbo mischief and propaganda

ijaw citizen: By refusing to think and learn, you have allowed your raw & misguilded sentiments to becloud your reasoning.

Now let me explain to you, not what is "quite glaring & clear" but what is TRUELY VIVID, GLARING AND CLEAR about King Jaja of Opobo
1. In the infamous era of slave trade, a young innocent Igbo boy was condemned into slavery by his family and sold by his fellow Igbo people.
2. An Ijaw trader rescued (actually bought) this boy from his damnation at the brink of being shipped oversea and gave him a purpose in life by adopting him as a son of equal rank as his biological children.
3. This young man was then raised in Ijaw culture and LANGUAGE (Till today, Ibani is the palace/court language in Opobo) and imbibed the way of life of his Ijaw family and even adopted an Ijaw name Jubo jubogha which the British pronounced and spelt as Jaja
4. This boy who out of eternal gratitude and loyalty to his Ijaw father was groomed into a man of wisdom and strenght by his Ijaw family who accepted him in love, equity and kindness, and was later ELECTED to be leader of the family as practiced in Ijawland.

I will leave out how he rose up to be Amanyanabo (not Eze) of Opubo-ama for another time

The Ijaw natives of Opobo and Bonny know why they speak an Igbo creole (the language is actually a mixture of igbo, ibani-ijaw and pidgin) and one of the reasons was stated in the link you quoted earlier. Stop being an ignorant man and accept the facts as they are.

LOL
I seriously don't know where you got this efik crap from. This crap of yours is so strong, it cracked up my ribs with laughter.
We all know that the Ijaw and Igbo languages are so divergent that Igbos can't pronounce Ijaw words properly. Ibani was pronounced Ubani by Igbos. More phonetic analysis;
Ibani (Iba'ni) ends with a rising tone
Ubani ('ju:bani) end with a falling tone
Any of the origin and native meaning of each in their respective language is different, meaning Ubani is just connoted Igbo for Ibani

In No. 2 above, you implied that there is a "deep rooted history of Origin more associated with Igbo speaking people" which means that there are Igbo natives on the land.

Now my question is what is preventing these "Native Igbos" from speaking up in Bonny and Opobo against the background that a fellow Igbo man in Rivers state ( Dr. Tony Enyia) is a major player in the Ibani language project and what community did they found in Ibaniland OR what communities are they found in those areas?

All hail Eze Abagworo, King of Igbo mischief and propaganda

So if a slave was adopted by someone, it erases his roots? You can't delete the Isu DNA from him by adoption. If I adopt an Ijaw, it does not remove his parents blood from him. Maybe he introduced Igbo language to Bonny which I also doubt because earlier Europeans wrote of Bonny speaking both Igbo and Ibani as well as intermarriages. Some historians even wrote that it was founded by an Ngwaman known as "Alagbara" while others wrote "Alagbarinye" as an Ijaw founder of Okolo ama. "Igwu Nga" is an Igbo name meaning "hill here" and that was the name of Opobo. The name Nwagbara is very pronounced in the Asa, Ndoki, Ngwa and Ezinihitte area of Igboland just like Ubani. We didn't live by then but at least everything in the present indicates there was obvious Igbo and Ijaw union and interaction in that area.

And to correct some wrong notions, I've never seen nor heard where an Igbo claim Bonny people to be Igbos and I don't think this thread was opened for that. I don't want to be mistaken as claiming that. I think the meaning of the thread is that some Bonny indigenes came from Igboland and Jaja is an obvious example. I only know that many Igbo groups to the South have shared history with Bonny in form of inter-marriage, trade and cross-migration.

However my disagreement is on the attempt to create a false impression of language imposition or Igbo imperialism which never existed. The Igbo they speak was a gradual preference of Igbo ahead of Ibani hundreds of years ago.

Abagworo:

Nothing is difficult to comprehend or do you want me to post pictures and videos of boat regalia and their names, the language spoken during the festival or should I dig history archives on the origin of Jaja from Isuama? The truth is that various peoples from Isuama, Ngwa, Etche, Ndoki, Ezinihitte (all Igbo groups), Efik, Ibibio, Annang etc populate the present day Opobo and to some extent Bonny. There existed some earlier Ijaw speaking people as well but something must have led to the change of language of preference to Igbo and that is where I disagree with you. The Igbo language was not forced on anyone but was adopted by everyone either as 1st or 2nd language to Ibani long before colonization. Today people are going everywhere trying to erase the Igbo part of the history on the falsehood that they have nothing in common with Igbos or that during the regional government of barely 6years, Igbos forcefully changed the language. Why have they not been able to forcefully erase the Igbo language after 43 years?

That's the truth.

ijaw citizen: By refusing to think and learn, you have allowed your raw & misguilded sentiments to becloud your reasoning.

Now let me explain to you, not what is "quite glaring & clear" but what is TRUELY VIVID, GLARING AND CLEAR about King Jaja of Opobo
1. In the infamous era of slave trade, a young innocent Igbo boy was condemned into slavery by his family and sold by his fellow Igbo people.
2. An Ijaw trader rescued (actually bought) this boy from his damnation at the brink of being shipped oversea and gave him a purpose in life by adopting him as a son of equal rank as his biological children.
3. This young man was then raised in Ijaw culture and LANGUAGE (Till today, Ibani is the palace/court language in Opobo) and imbibed the way of life of his Ijaw family and even adopted an Ijaw name Jubo jubogha which the British pronounced and spelt as Jaja
4. This boy who out of eternal gratitude and loyalty to his Ijaw father was groomed into a man of wisdom and strenght by his Ijaw family who accepted him in love, equity and kindness, and was later ELECTED to be leader of the family as practiced in Ijawland.

I will leave out how he rose up to be Amanyanabo (not Eze) of Opubo-ama for another time

The Ijaw natives of Opobo and Bonny know why they speak an Igbo creole (the language is actually a mixture of igbo, ibani-ijaw and pidgin) and one of the reasons was stated in the link you quoted earlier. Stop being an ignorant man and accept the facts as they are.

LOL
I seriously don't know where you got this efik crap from. This crap of yours is so strong, it cracked up my ribs with laughter.
We all know that the Ijaw and Igbo languages are so divergent that Igbos can't pronounce Ijaw words properly. Ibani was pronounced Ubani by Igbos. More phonetic analysis;
Ibani (Iba'ni) ends with a rising tone
Ubani ('ju:bani) end with a falling tone
Any of the origin and native meaning of each in their respective language is different, meaning Ubani is just connoted Igbo for Ibani

In No. 2 above, you implied that there is a "deep rooted history of Origin more associated with Igbo speaking people" which means that there are Igbo natives on the land.

Now my question is what is preventing these "Native Igbos" from speaking up in Bonny and Opobo against the background that a fellow Igbo man in Rivers state ( Dr. Tony Enyia) is a major player in the Ibani language project and what community did they found in Ibaniland OR what communities are they found in those areas?

All hail Eze Abagworo, King of Igbo mischief and propaganda

Mr. Ijaw Citizen,
Be it hard as you may try to downplay the heavy Igbo presence in Bonny and Opobo, your supposed 'Ijaw' areas, the truth is that all your futile biased efforts and hullabaloo all end right here on this thread, and doesn't step an inch beyond nairaland.
The people of Bonny all speak Igbo and to a lesser extent, Ibani and the people of Opobo speak only Igbo. Now I want to make this clear to you: the whole populace of Bonny and Opobo ARE NOT IJAW by blood. During the slave trade in the 19th century, there was a heavy presence of Igbo slaves from the Igbo hinterland.
Further injection of Igbo people, culture and language came after the slave trade was abolished and all the captured slaves brought recently from Igbo land to Opobo and Bonny to be sold couldn't be sold off again, then the Igbo slaves SETTLED then there AMONG the Ijaw natives. The proportion of the Igbo people to the Ijaw was highly significant in both areas that Igbo language became the common spoken language. In addition, the Igbo language was spoken as a second language by all the minorities living along the Niger Delta and was used as a common means of communication with the Igbo people from the hinterlands.
After the Igbo slaves settled there, it was noted that the natives refused to teach their language to the Igbo people and outsiders but rather they reserved it as a secret language instead. This factor led to the heavy decline in the usage of Ibani in Bonny, the total death of the Language in the Opobo area and the pervasive usage of Igbo language in both areas. When the christian missionaries landed in Bonny, note that the natives did not present Ibani to the missionaries but they presented Igbo as their language instead.
This history is clearly captured in the work of Roger Blench of which a snapshot image of his pdf book is shown below. The full PDF material can also be downloaded here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEwQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rogerblench.info%2FLanguage%2FNiger-Congo%2FIjoid%2FIbani%2FIbani-English%2520dictionary.pdf&ei=9a12UZqsGISMO8SqgMAD&usg=AFQjCNFwak52P0FClDB2M4XeYRy4X0Vseg&sig2=xjJrI-zJS26YVTz8QNqe9Q

It is interesting to note that you can't claim the natives of Bonny and Opobo to be only Ijaw. The areas may be Ijaw land but the people ARE A MIX OF IGBO AND IJAW. And these people have willingly abandoned Ibani language and instead held on to the Igbo language - a much vibrant language with over 30 million speakers. Why would they hold on to a sickening language with very little to offer in place of a language with which they can communicate effectively with over 40 million people?
You're also aware that about 10 years ago this same effort to Ibanize the children of Bonny and Opobo was carried out but it failed and the parents quickly withdrew their children from the supposed Ibani language classes because it simply did not and can't work.

Eze Promoe: The whole Igbo saga in Rivers state was all poised by the civil war. Even Ikwerres were forced to deny their Igbo roots.
Unfortunately for the traitors, they never knew that no matter how hard you try, you can't form a new language overnight.
Our brothers come back let's reunite.

Honestly, the aftermath of the civil war has dealt a serious blow to us. We have recovered a great deal anyway.

Eze Promoe: The whole Igbo saga in Rivers state was all poised by the civil war. Even Ikwerres were forced to deny their Igbo roots.
Unfortunately for the traitors, they never knew that no matter how hard you try, you can't form a new language overnight.
Our brothers come back let's reunite.

When you write or say something like this, it will be translated as land grab or quest for oil as passed down by the propagandists. However I think Igbos should plan more with Southeast and Anioma alone in mind because we are the despised ones.

Abagworo:

So if a slave was adopted by someone, it erases his roots? You can't delete the Isu DNA from him by adoption. If I adopt an Ijaw, it does not remove his parents blood from him.

Tell that to the Ika people who also have Bini DNA, Tell that to Onitsha people all of which have Bini DNA. Tell this crap to Oru-Igbos & Ndoki people whose ancestors & founding fathers respectively are Ijaws. Keep disgracing yourselves, DNA ko, blood ni!

Abagworo: Maybe he introduced Igbo language to Bonny which I also doubt because earlier Europeans wrote of Bonny speaking both Igbo and Ibani as well as intermarriages.

No need to respond to this, you're not even sure, you're just speculating as usual.

Abagworo: Some historians even wrote that it was founded by an Ngwaman known as "Alagbara" ( this ngwa name sounds yoruba-ish to me, I'm sure the yorubas would have a better claim to Bonny than these Igbo land-grabbers) while others wrote "Alagbarinye" as an Ijaw founder of Okolo ama.

The former was how the Igbos intended to rewrite our history after the civil war, while the later is A PART of the original history of Ibani People.

Abagworo: "Igwu Nga" is an Igbo name meaning "hill here" and that was the name of Opobo. [/qoute] WAS that the REAL name of Opubo Ama or its intended name in the Biafran Igbonization scheme? Please explain yourself. [quote author=Abagworo] The name Nwagbara is very pronounced in the Asa, Ndoki, Ngwa and Ezinihitte area of Igboland just like Ubani.

Is this Nwagbara the same as the Alagbara claimed earlier or this is just you speaking from your mouth & an.us simultanouesly?

Abagworo: We didn't live by then but at least everything in the present indicates there was obvious Igbo and Ijaw union and interaction in that area.

The only obvious Ijaw & Igbo interaction took place in Oru-Igbo territory and centuries later at Ndokiland and all of these areas which were initially non-Igbo areas had already been GRABBED into Igboland.

A

bigfrancis21:

Mr. Ijaw Citizen,
Be it hard as you may try to downplay the heavy Igbo presence in Bonny and Opobo, your supposed 'Ijaw' areas, the truth is that all your futile biased efforts and hullabaloo all end right here on this thread, and doesn't step an inch beyond nairaland.

See this mugu! Only Igbo fools like you come to the internet to relish their subconscious fantasies.

On the contrary, it is all the Igbo propagated lies, propaganda & misconceptions feed to innocent gullible nigerians who may not be familiar with the Niger Delta all ends here and never goes beyond Nairaland into reality.

If you Igbos are truely bold, go beyond the internet and step up claims on Ijawland in reality. Imagining Bonny and Opobo as Igbo towns being ruled by Ijaw kings (Amanyanabo) imposed on them, the Igbos must be the laziest people on earth!

bigfrancis21: The people of Bonny ALL speak Igbo and to a lesser extent, Ibani and the people of Opobo speak only Igbo.

Who is making up this stupid statistics? why do Igbo like making fool of themselves? Yes they speak an Igbo creole, yet they are not igbos. Bonny maintown is where Igbo creole is mostly spoken, other towms like Finima, Abalamabie, Kalaibiama, Orupiri etc all speak pristine Ibani. I'm ready for all you Igbo liars

bigfrancis21: Now I want to make this clear to you: the whole populace of Bonny and Opobo ARE NOT IJAW by blood.

Let me give your the pleasure of making it VERY clear to you that Bonny and Opobo ARE ALL IJAW BY BLOOD. Ijaws own the land, lived on the land for more than a thousand years before slave trade, and absorbed Igbo slaves which make up less than 5% of the entire population can not pollute the entire Ijaw bloodline of Ibaniland.

bigfrancis21: During the slave trade in the 19th century, there was a heavy presence of Igbo slaves from the Igbo hinterland.

How heavy can the presence of few slaves be compared to the native Ijaw population? Shallow minded bigots!

bigfrancis21: Further injection of Igbo people, culture and language came after the slave trade was abolished and all the captured slaves brought recently from Igbo land to Opobo and Bonny to be sold couldn't be sold off again, then the Igbo slaves SETTLED then there AMONG the Ijaw natives.

The further injection of "igbo people" (not culture) was actually the age-long interaction between Ibanis and Ndoki people ( who are actually Ijaws who allowed Igbos migrants to settle amonst them, they are now Igbo speaking and classified as Igbos but their Ijaw culture is still very pronounced). I will deal with the freed Igbo slaves later.

bigfrancis21: The proportion of the Igbo people to the Ijaw was highly significant in both areas that Igbo language became the common spoken language.

This is how typical Igbos encourage themselves in self delusion. How can the proportion of freed slaves be be "highly significant" to the local population.

Let me go further to educate this fool that Igbo slaves wasn't the major reason why Igbo is spoken there, it was actually relations with the Ndoki people that was largely responsible for the Igbo spoken in Bonny.

bigfrancis21: In addition, the Igbo language was spoken as a second language by all the minorities living along the Niger Delta and was used as a common means of communication with the Igbo people from the hinterlands.

I just can't imagine how someone in his right senses would be making FALSE CLAIMS with confidence and boldness, that's how brainless, empty and futile the Igbos have become in this modern era. As for those of us in the Niger Delta, we'd understand the gravity of this falsehood. They are now taking the unfortunate situation of Ibani people loosing their language to make senseless generalizations.

bigfrancis21: After the Igbo slaves settled there, it was noted that the natives refused to teach their language to the Igbo people and outsiders but rather they reserved it as a secret language instead. This factor led to the heavy decline in the usage of Ibani in Bonny, the total death of the Language in the Opobo area and the pervasive usage of Igbo language in both areas. When the christian missionaries landed in Bonny, note that the natives did not present Ibani to the missionaries but they presented Igbo as their language instead.
This history is clearly captured in the work of Roger Blench of which a snapshot image of his pdf book is shown below. The full PDF material can also be downloaded here: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEwQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rogerblench.info%2FLanguage%2FNiger-Congo%2FIjoid%2FIbani%2FIbani-English%2520dictionary.pdf&ei=9a12UZqsGISMO8SqgMAD&usg=AFQjCNFwak52P0FClDB2M4XeYRy4X0Vseg&sig2=xjJrI-zJS26YVTz8QNqe9Q

I'm actually surprised you know this fact, yet you claimed it was the town being overpopulated by Igbo slaves that led to the decline of Ibani language.

Now let me explain the fate of the last batch of between 2000 to 3000 Igbos at Bonny when slave trade was abolished.

More than 1200 of such slaves mostly women and children at the grasp of freedom returned to Igboland. The rest remained in Bonny, worked under powerful Ijaw chiefs as SEX SLAVES, LABOURERS & FOOT SOLDIERS. Other were used as sacrificial victims to Ikuba, a local god in Bonny.

This policy you cited above was enacted when a serious war broke out between Kalabari & Ibani people. The freed Igbos slaves who were LABOURERS and FOOT SOLDIERS to major chieftaincy houses (canoe houses) were used to execute these wars.

It occured to the Ibanis that their foot soldiers captured by the more powerful Kalabaris were turned to fight against them,after they have divulged some Ibani secrets to the Kalabaris ( kalabari & Ibani are mutually intelligible like all neighbouring Ijaw clans) because at then the Igbos understood and spoke Ijaw, it was then that the Igbos soldiers were prohibited from learning the language ( as against the abandonment of Ibani language by natives from earliest times as claimed by igbo bigots).

This policy had one major setback; the inability of Ibani people to give instructions to their igbo labourers and foot soldiers in their local Ibani language, this made them to start speaking Igbo creole ( igbo mixed with Ibani & pidgin) to their Igbo subordinates.

More than 2000 of such Igbo soldiers were killed during the war while a very few survived.
THESE FEW IGBOS THAT SURVIVED THE WAR WAS NOT THE REASON WHY IBANI PEOPLE SPEAK IGBO CREOLE.

The MAIN reason why Bonny & Opobo speak Igbo creole is because of continous relations (mainly intermarriage) with their Ndoki relatives ( an Ijaw people close to Igbo mainland who accomodated igbo migrants & lost their language to Igbos a long time ago).

Opobo became the worst hit because they are located at the mouth of the Imo river that connects Ndoki and Ibaniland. At this point, let me make it clear that Ijaws don't share direct boundary with Igbo. We share boundaries with Ibibio, Ogonis & Edoid people who adopt igbo language (Ikwerre, Ekpeye, Ogba, Ndokwa etc)

Now hear the rantings of a proper Igbo land grabbing expansionist

bigfrancis21: It is interesting to note that you can't claim the natives of Bonny and Opobo to be only Ijaw. The areas may be Ijaw land but the people ARE A MIX OF IGBO AND IJAW. And these people have willingly abandoned Ibani language and instead held on to the Igbo language - a much vibrant language with over 30 million speakers. Why would they hold on to a sickening language with very little to offer in place of a language with which they can communicate effectively with over 40 million people?

Now you begin to understand why people we say Igbo have a grand plan to dominate us. Our Yoruba neighbours at the western N/Delta don't make such threat to us, Our Edo neighbours in the North don't do that too, Its only the cleptomaniac Igbos that are busy claiming lands in the internet. Terrible & pathetic cowards!

bigfrancis21: You're also aware that about 10 years ago this same effort to Ibanize the children of Bonny and Opobo was carried out but it failed and the parents quickly withdrew their children from the supposed Ibani language classes because it simply did not and can't work.

On the contrary, that effort is working and it is reaping fruits. Its just recently that UN, FG & the rivers state goverment are lending their support to the Ibani people towards the restoration of their language.

We all read earlier how students from Opobo defeated their counterparts from Bonny in a competitiion involving writing an essay in Ibani as well as spoken Ibani language competition.

The opposition to Ibani language came ONLY from the Schools at NLNG residential area located at Finima. They rejected the policy because most of the students in the school are children of oil workers from all over nigeria and foreigners. Otherwise the program which was executed without external support was largely successful all over Bonny and Opobo.

ijaw citizen: Come on guy! these claims are evident in the title of the thread, everywhere here in nairaland and all over the internet, don't force me to root out threads & cites where the claims that all Eastern Ijaw clans down to Nembe were founded by Igbos and claims that the entire south-east and south-south was once populated by Igbos before Ijaws & other Niger Deltans came to live amongst them.

If that is not the claim made here, why aren't there other threads where you write about the igbos in Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja, Kano etcwho also intermarried there. Guy pls be coherent for once, how can someone be an INDIGENE of Bonny and come from Igboland at the same time? how many of such Igbo groups have shared history with Bonny apart from Ndoki people who are in fact Ijaw people Igbonized over a period of time?

You write as if they just migrated there innocently, as if not thru' slavery imposed on them by fellow Igbos.

I have never said Igbos imposed their language on us, but the aspect of Igbo imperialism is real. What the fcck is Umu Ubani, Igwe Nga, Igwe Ocha, Odurogwu and all the renaming of Ijaw towns. They even go as far as creating an Igbo origin for all Ijaw groups.

Opobo is barely over a hundred years old yet you claimed they've been Igbonized "hundreds of years ago". I don't wanna sound like all Igbos are this Stu.pid, all people are welcome to Ijawland and live in peace with us but we will not tolerate this overbearing attitude of Igbo e-Warriors and their internet campaign of public deception and the justification of their land grabbing agenda

To address you. Umu Ubani is used in Opobo by Opobo people as I have witnessed personally and was not created by South-easterners. They greet "Ubani maranma" and no Southeasterner does that. I never used the word "Igbonized" as you are stupidly trying to claim. I rather wrote that a preference for use of Igbo language ahead of Ibani was a spontaneous phenomenum and was not imposed by Igbos or colonial masters as some people have been trying to claim.

Abagworo: And to correct some wrong notions, I've never seen nor heard where an Igbo claim Bonny people to be Igbos and I don't think this thread was opened for that. I don't want to be mistaken as claiming that.

Come on guy! these claims are
evident in the title of the thread, everywhere
here in nairaland and all over the internet,
don't force me to root out threads & cites
where the claims that all Eastern Ijaw clans
down to Nembe were founded by Igbos and
claims that the entire south-east and south-
south was once populated by Igbos before
Ijaws & other Niger Deltans came to live
amongst them.
If that is not the claim made here, why aren't
there other threads where you write about the
igbos in Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja, Kano etcwho
also intermarried there.

Abagworo: I think the meaning of the thread is that some Bonny indigenes came from Igboland and Jaja is an obvious example. I only know that many Igbo groups to the South have shared history with Bonny in form of inter-marriage, trade and cross-migration.

Guy pls be coherent
for once, how can someone be an INDIGENE
of Bonny and come from Igboland at the same
time? how many of such Igbo groups have
shared history with Bonny apart from Ndoki
people who are in fact Ijaw people Igbonized
over a period of time?

You write as if they just migrated there
innocently, as if not thru' slavery imposed on
them by fellow Igbos.

Abagworo: However my disagreement is on the attempt to create a false impression of language imposition or Igbo imperialism which never existed. The Igbo they speak was a gradual preference of Igbo ahead of Ibani hundreds of years ago.

I have never said Igbos imposed their
language on us, but the aspect of Igbo
imperialism is real. What the fcck is Umu
Ubani, Igwe Nga, Igwe Ocha, Odurogwu and
all the renaming of Ijaw towns. They even go
as far as creating an Igbo origin for all Ijaw
groups.

Opobo is barely over a hundred years old yet you claimed they've been Igbonized "hundreds of years ago". I don't wanna sound like all Igbos are this Stu.pid, all people are welcome to Ijawland and live in peace with us but we will not tolerate this overbearing attitude of Igbo e-Warriors and their internet campaign of public deception and the justification of their land grabbing agenda

ijaw citizen: A See this mugu! Only Igbo fools like you come to the internet to relish their subconscious fantasies.

On the contrary, it is all the Igbo propagated lies, propaganda & misconceptions feed to innocent gullible nigerians who may not be familiar with the Niger Delta all ends here and never goes beyond Nairaland into reality.

If you Igbos are truely bold, go beyond the internet and step up claims on Ijawland in reality. Imagining Bonny and Opobo as Igbo towns being ruled by Ijaw kings (Amanyanabo) imposed on them, the Igbos must be the laziest people on earth!

You must have been REALLY REALLY angry when you saw my post! This person has exposed the actual situation on ground!

Enyi a, no Igbo man is trying to claim your land. Mainstream Igbo people are too busy each day attending to their businesses to be bothered about something trivial like claiming Bonny and Opobo. Bonny and Opobo may be Ijawlands, yes, but they contain significant Igbo elements, which are obvious in the language and culture (Nwaotam masquerade) - all these you're trying so hard to deny!

Shebi for Bonny and Opobo, after una impose all Ibani titles and names give una kings finish, if him comot make him speak, na IGBO IGBO all the way.

You claim you people are 100% Ijaw yet your kings attend the annual Igbo Ahiajoku lecture in Owerri every year where your supposed 'Amanyanabo' claims each time that he feels happy to be re-united with his kith and kins again!
Tell me, did we force him to attend?

Who is making up this stupid statistics? why do Igbo like making fool of themselves? Yes they speak an Igbo creole, yet they are not igbos. Bonny maintown is where Igbo creole is mostly spoken, other towms like Finima, Abalamabie, Kalaibiama, Orupiri etc all speak pristine Ibani. I'm ready for all you Igbo liars Let me give your the pleasure of making it VERY clear to you that Bonny and Opobo ARE ALL IJAW BY BLOOD. Ijaws own the land, lived on the land for more than a thousand years before slave trade, and absorbed Igbo slaves which make up less than 5% of the entire population can not pollute the entire Ijaw bloodline of Ibaniland. How heavy can the presence of few slaves be compared to the native Ijaw population? Shallow minded bigots!
The further injection of "igbo people" (not culture) was actually the age-long interaction between Ibanis and Ndoki people ( who are actually Ijaws who allowed Igbos migrants to settle amonst them, they are now Igbo speaking and classified as Igbos but their Ijaw culture is still very pronounced). I will deal with the freed Igbo slaves later. This is how typical Igbos encourage themselves in self delusion. How can the proportion of freed slaves be be "highly significant" to the local population.

Let me go further to educate this fool that Igbo slaves wasn't the major reason why Igbo is spoken there, it was actually relations with the Ndoki people that was largely responsible for the Igbo spoken in Bonny. I just can't imagine how someone in his right senses would be making FALSE CLAIMS with confidence and boldness, that's how brainless, empty and futile the Igbos have become in this modern era. As for those of us in the Niger Delta, we'd understand the gravity of this falsehood. They are now taking the unfortunate situation of Ibani people loosing their language to make senseless generalizations.


I'm actually surprised you know this fact, yet you claimed it was the town being overpopulated by Igbo slaves that led to the decline of Ibani language.

Now let me explain the fate of the last batch of between 2000 to 3000 Igbos at Bonny when slave trade was abolished.

More than 1200 of such slaves mostly women and children at the grasp of freedom returned to Igboland. The rest remained in Bonny, worked under powerful Ijaw chiefs as SEX SLAVES, LABOURERS & FOOT SOLDIERS. Other were used as sacrificial victims to Ikuba, a local god in Bonny.

This policy you cited above was enacted when a serious war broke out between Kalabari & Ibani people. The freed Igbos slaves who were LABOURERS and FOOT SOLDIERS to major chieftaincy houses (canoe houses) were used to execute these wars.

It occured to the Ibanis that their foot soldiers captured by the more powerful Kalabaris were turned to fight against them,after they have divulged some Ibani secrets to the Kalabaris ( kalabari & Ibani are mutually intelligible like all neighbouring Ijaw clans) because at then the Igbos understood and spoke Ijaw, it was then that the Igbos soldiers were prohibited from learning the language ( as against the abandonment of Ibani language by natives from earliest times as claimed by igbo bigots).

This policy had one major setback; the inability of Ibani people to give instructions to their igbo labourers and foot soldiers in their local Ibani language, this made them to start speaking Igbo creole ( igbo mixed with Ibani & pidgin) to their Igbo subordinates.

More than 2000 of such Igbo soldiers were killed during the war while a very few survived.
THESE FEW IGBOS THAT SURVIVED THE WAR WAS NOT THE REASON WHY IBANI PEOPLE SPEAK IGBO CREOLE.

The MAIN reason why Bonny & Opobo speak Igbo creole is because of continous relations (mainly intermarriage) with their Ndoki relatives ( an Ijaw people close to Igbo mainland who accomodated igbo migrants & lost their language to Igbos a long time ago).

Opobo became the worst hit because they are located at the mouth of the Imo river that connects Ndoki and Ibaniland. At this point, let me make it clear that Ijaws don't share direct boundary with Igbo. We share boundaries with Ibibio, Ogonis & Edoid people who adopt igbo language (Ikwerre, Ekpeye, Ogba, Ndokwa etc)

. Who ever said Finima, Abalamabie, Kalaibiama, Orupiri were also Igbo-speaking towns? I've also noticed Igbo language infiltrating into those areas as well, even to as far as Kalabari. All this language spread is by the efforts and self-will of the natives! Igbo people were never known to be colonialists who would colonize other people and impose their languages on them just like the English or Spanish for example. Patience Jonathan is a Kalabari woman who speaks only fluent pure Igbo. Hilda Dokubo Mrakpor is an actress who speaks pure Igbo and even stars in Igbo language movies. Even Jonathan himself is rumored to be from Okoloama or sth in Bayelsa where the people speak Ekpeye (akpa ohia) which is largely Igboid.

You try to make the fact that bonny speaks Igbo a very minor thing when in fact it is a major task. It is not so easy to erode the native language of a people in just one swipe - this has to take place gradually and over the course of many years, 50 - 100 years maybe. This is also not an easy task. From the look of things, the Bonny and Opobo natives willingly stopped speaking Ibani and adopted Igbo with time. Igbo was never imposed on them in anyway.

Be it hard as you try to put it, if you claim the Igbo slave population was very minute to have led to the prevalence of Igbo in Bonny and Opobo, then why then is Igbo so rife in all these places? You claim that it was as a result of some Kalabari wars...I laugh heavily at your claim. A claim you sit behind your computer and make-up. I've brought forward evidence to buttress my point that the main reason for the prevalence of Igbo in Bonny and Opobo was the presence of a large Igbo slave population. You find it hard to swallow this and would rather point to some other made-up lie when this fact was noted and recorded by a German doctor who was present in bonny in 1840. Igbo language had already taken foothold in Bonny as at the time the German doctor made his observation - as far back as 1840! Ha!

You claim that Ijawland (Opobo and Bonny) are no where close to Igbo land yet you claim that the reason for the prevalence of Igbo in those places are as a result of the close relations of the people with their Ndoki (Igbo) neighbours. Haba! Why do you contradict yourself sorely like this? How can you claim close Ndoki relationship when you've claimed Bonny and Opobo are no where close to Igbo land?

I dare you. Bring forward concrete evidence to buttresses your claim that Igbo language was spread as a result of kalabari wars and ubani relations with Ndoki people. Your claim is all make-believe. Till then,
I'm waiting.

You claim that my noise doesn't step an inch beyond nairaland when it has been noted worldwide that Opobo and Bonny are dialects of Igbo, and the Igbo customs being practised in those areas. Now which one holds more sway, your little anti-Igbo squirms on nairaland or internationally noted facts?
Don't forget that all these information are live on the internet for millions worldwide to read and believe.

Now hear the rantings of a proper Igbo land grabbing expansionist Now you begin to understand why people we say Igbo have a grand plan to dominate us. Our Yoruba neighbours at the western N/Delta don't make such threat to us, Our Edo neighbours in the North don't do that too, Its only the cleptomaniac Igbos that are busy claiming lands in the internet. Terrible & pathetic cowards!
On the contrary, that effort is working and it is reaping fruits. Its just recently that UN, FG & the rivers state goverment are lending their support to the Ibani people towards the restoration of their language.

We all read earlier how students from Opobo defeated their counterparts from Bonny in a competitiion involving writing an essay in Ibani as well as spoken Ibani language competition.

The opposition to Ibani language came ONLY from the Schools at NLNG residential area located at Finima. They rejected the policy because most of the students in the school are children of oil workers from all over nigeria and foreigners. Otherwise the program which was executed without external support was largely successful all over Bonny and Opobo.

@Bolded...hahahahah. Largely successful only on nairaland baa?

Well, sorry to burst your ignorance but I ain't no Igbo colonialist. In history, the Ijaw people have been noted to abandon their language for another when they encounter a much stronger language. Take the Apoi ijaw and Arogbo Ijaw in ondo state, for example, who no longer speak Ijaw but only Yoruba. Now tell me, why did they stop speaking Ijaw? Did the Yoruba people colonize them nor force their language on them? I rarely hear you complain about the Apoi Ijaw speaking yoruba neither do I hear you make efforts to Izonize the Apoi people. When it comes to anything Igbo, some core indignant tribalists charge like they've seen the devil. As usual, you Ijaw people rushed and changed their former yoruba king titles and gave them Ijaw king titles, just like you people did for Opobo and Bonny, yet that hasn't stopped them from speaking Yoruba. Is that all to it? Let me ask you, why do you people just stop at only giving Ijaw king titles? If the native people truly want to reclaim their Ijaw ancestry, why don't they make the conceited efforts of re-claiming their original language? In the case of the Apoi and Arogbo their population might be 100% Ijaw blood yet Yoruba is their lingua franca. Wow, Yoruba another expansionist tribe.

Ibani competition: You claim there was a secondary school ibani competition between Opobo and Bonny. Ok. If this is even true, shebi na only competition? Shebi as dem do am for secondary school, no be there him end? As dem do Ibani finish for school dem go carry am come house dey communicate with momsi, popsi, even grand momsi wey sabi only Igbo? Dem go carry am go market make dem price with d market women in Ibani, women wey only sabi speak Igbo

I did french in secondary school and right now I can't say one simple statement in french. My sister did french in secondary school, turned out to be the best in French in her school, went for two competitions but right now she has forgotten almost all of her french, save for a few sentences. Why? Because she didn't find the use of french useful any inch beyond the walls of her secondary school!

Why aren't the Ibanization efforts being spearheaded by the natives themselves instead of a few disgruntled anti-Igbo folks? Or do you really think that they would want to adopt a language that has little to offer that would further isolate them rather than stick to a language that opens them to a communication with over 40 million people? I'm sure that behind all these ibani-propaganda cover you've created for yourself, you can hardly express yourself in Ibani yet you go around making noise for Ibani. Its pitiful.

Eze Promoe: Ever since Abacha banished them to their creeks, they've been venting their anger on us. Na we get Abacha

Ignorant Igbo man!
When did Abacha "banish" Ijaws to their creeks?
When did Ijaws vent any "anger" on Igbo people? Do not take our 'high tolerance level' for stupidity, be warned!

....

abagoro:

To address you. Umu Ubani is used in Opobo by Opobo people as I have witnessed personally and was not created by South-easterners. They greet "Ubani maranma" and no Southeasterner does that. I never used the word "Igbonized" as you are stupidly trying to claim. I rather wrote that a preference for use of Igbo language ahead of Ibani was a spontaneous phenomenum and was not imposed by Igbos or colonial masters as some people have been trying to claim.

Stop sounding incoherent, it all boils down to your imaginary claim that there are "native" igbo people there but I'm categorically telling telling you that there are none.

What you find there are either decendants of absorbed slaves (Oko Jumbo, Jaja) now acculturated Ijaws, or Ndoki people (previously an Ijaw speaking people) now acculturated Igbos, 'Igbo speaking' women (mostly from Ndoki) married to Ijaw men, children of such marriages who spoke their mothers' language, and migrant Igbo pastors and petty traders.

If you like go and conduct a survey amongst Igbo creole speakers in Bonny & Opobo, you will never find "Native Igbos" because there are none.

Even before those towns were founded by their Ijaw founders, they had already been pre-occupied by other Ijaws most of whom were forced to move to present day Kalabari & Andoni communities. Typical examples of such towns are Anyama (Andoni) & Tombia (kalabari).

You Igbos should stop encouraging yourselves in self delusion. Ijaws will never be in a Biafra with your lots. Come to terms with that and you'll realize that Igboland is landlocked. At best, it would be formed with Calabar people with access to the sea where they must insist to rule over Igbos.

ijaw citizen:
You Igbos should stop encouraging yourselves
in self delusion. Ijaws will never be in a Biafra
with your lots. Come to terms with that and
you'll realize that Igboland is landlocked. At
best, it would be formed with Calabar people
with access to the sea where they must insist
to rule over Igbos.

That you don't want to join a country for the SE/SS doesn't mean that all other Ijaws don't want to. You can't speak for the whole Ijaw nation. In fact, your opinion may be of minority. Many of these Niger Deltan tribes may seem to be silent on the country issue because there don't seem to be any soild plans being made to actualize it, only the protests. The moment the United Nations take up the case and start making plans to actualize it just like they liberated South Korea from North Korea few years ago, you'd be shocked at the overwhelming support that would be coming from these ND groups, including the Ijaw, that will be willing to break free from the shackles and domination of the North and join a country where they'd have better say and control over its affairs.

Then, stop acting like the Igbo people are the cause of your problems. We are in no way not the cause of Nigeria's problems. Whenever unity with the Igbo people is mentioned, all you begin to see is Igbo domination and the cornering of you people of your resources. That is totally false! Come to South East presently (Enugu, Owerri, Awka, Onitsha, Aba, Nnewi etc) and see the massive developments that are going on. SE is now one of the fastest developing zones in Nigeria. All these are being executed without the so-called oil money but rather the hardwork, intelligence, ideas, business mind, perseverance and efforts of the Igbo people themselves. The moment you begin to realize that the Northern people are truly cheating the southern people of their God-given resources and money, and the massive atrocities being committed by North, then will you open your eyes to the fact that the Igbo people are truly not your problem. Only then will you begin to address the situation and call for the need for all southerners to unite and form a strong coalition against the Northerners. Long long before the civil war and subsequent anti-Igbo sentiments, the whole southern tribes lived peacefully - Igbo/Ibibio/Ijaw as one, and co-operated with understanding and love. There were no anti-Igbo/anti-Ijaw sentiments existing in the minds of the people. Things flowed well. This is such a scenery I'd love to be re-created again for we the southern people, and this unity will be required to actualize for ourselves a united SE-SS country of our own of which there'll be 5 major tribes - Igbo, Ibibio/Efik, Ijaw, Edo and Urhobo/Isoko.

And by the way, if the Ijaw refuses at any point to join this new country (of which I support the adoption of an entirely new name since a lot of sentiments have been attached to the name 'Biafra'), we will never be landlocked at all since the country will have great access to the sea through Calabar, Akwa-ibom, part of Rivers, Onitsha and the whole stretch of Anambra lying next to the River Niger. And mind you, the Ibibio/Efik group has always been the closest tribe to the Igbo since time immemorial and they still remain so till date. They don't bear the anti-Igbo animosity many Nigerians bear towards the Igbo.

In addition, If the Ijaw decides to remain part of Nigeria, your land area will be an isolated island since it will be surrounded by the new southern country and will be entirely cut off from the rest of main Nigeria. Relations will Nigeria will be severely impaired and your land will only be used as a pawn to utilize the natural resources present of which the huge profits realized will be used to continue to develop the North as usual.

bigfrancis21:

You must have been REALLY REALLY angry when you saw my post! This person has exposed the actual situation on ground!

Symptom #1 : Imaginary detection of people's feeling

bigfrancis21: Enyi a, no Igbo man is trying to claim your land. Mainstream Igbo people are too busy each day attending to their businesses to be bothered about something trivial like claiming Bonny and Opobo.

Yet all of you are decendants of Ojukwu & all the land grabbers
Symptom #2: Double talking, being highly unreliabe!

bigfrancis21: Bonny and Opobo may be Ijawlands, yes, but [s] they contain significant Igbo elements, which are obvious in the language and culture (Nwaotam masquerade) - [/s] all these you're trying so hard to deny!

bold claim! Nwaotam is Ndoki masquerade, not Igbo masquerade. There are NO other Igbo clans having this same masquerade. Symptom #3: Imaginary detection of Igbo culture in Ijawland!

bigfrancis21: Shebi for Bonny and Opobo, [s] after una impose all Ibani titles and names give una kings finish, if him comot make him speak, na IGBO IGBO all the way. [/s]

Symptom #4: False claims

bigfrancis21: You claim you people are 100% Ijaw yet your kings attend the annual Igbo Ahiajoku lecture in Owerri every year [s] where your supposed 'Amanyanabo' claims each time that he feels happy to be re-united with his kith and kins again! [/s]
Tell me, did we force him to attend?

chronic Liar Igbo-ukwu Mohammed!
No "KINGS" or "AMANYANABO" attended any senseless lecture.

Symptom #5: Being a chronic liar!

bigfrancis21: . Who ever said Finima, Abalamabie, Kalaibiama, Orupiri were also Igbo-speaking towns? [s] I've also noticed Igbo language infiltrating into those areas as well, even to as far as Kalabari. [/s]

Kolomental Igbo extremist, a South eastern equivalent of Northern Boko haram
Symptom #6: Notification & magnifying false trend

bigfrancis21: All this language spread is by the efforts and self-will of the natives! [s] Igbo people were never known to be colonialists who would colonize other people and impose their languages on them [/s] just like the English or Spanish for example.

Biafran land grabber shut up!
Symptom #7: Inability to account for OR admit one's actions, even current actions

bigfrancis21: [Dame] Patience Jonathan is a [s] Kalabari woman who speaks only fluent pure Igbo. [/s] Hilda Dokubo Mrakpor is an actress who speaks pure Igbo and even stars in Igbo language movies.

Dame Patience Jonathan is an Okrika woman who speaks fluent Wakirike language and crude Igbo despite growing up in Igbo. Hilda Dokubo is so gifted, she is capable of speaking up to 5 languages
Symptoms #8: Acute ignorance

bigfrancis21: Even Jonathan himself is [b] rumored [/b]to be from [s] Okoloama or sth in Bayelsa where the people speak Ekpeye (akpa ohia) which is largely Igboid. [/s]

Correct Igbo Liar Mohammed & extremist identified!
Symptom #9: Rumour mongering & Acute Ignorance Type 2

bigfrancis21: You try to make the fact that bonny speaks Igbo a very minor thing when in fact it is a major task. It is not so easy to erode the native language of a people in just one swipe - this has to take place gradually and over the course of many years, 50 - 100 years maybe. This is also not an easy task. From the look of things, the Bonny and Opobo natives willingly stopped speaking Ibani and adopted Igbo with time. Igbo was never imposed on them in anyway.

Just as they ported to Igbo back then, they have now decided to switch back to Ijaw [porting things ] And that is why Igbos like you want to commit suicide over Ijawland.
Symptom #10: Always contemplating suicide

bigfrancis21: Be it hard as you try to put it, if you claim the Igbo slave population was very minute to have led to the prevalence of Igbo in Bonny and Opobo, then why then is Igbo so rife in all these places? You claim that it was as a result of some Kalabari wars...I laugh heavily at your claim. A claim you sit behind your computer and make-up. I've brought forward evidence to buttress my point that the main reason for the prevalence of Igbo in Bonny and Opobo was [s] the presence of a large Igbo slave population. [/s] You find it hard to swallow this and would rather point to some other made-up lie when this fact was noted and recorded by a German doctor who was present in bonny in 1840. [s] Igbo language had already taken foothold in Bonny as at the time the German doctor made his observation - as far back as 1840! Ha! [/s]

After showing you evidence, you're still
asking for the same evidence. Apart from being a liar like most of your fellow Igbo extremists, you're also sounding redundant!
Symptom #11: Shallow mindedness & sounding redundant

bigfrancis21: You claim that Ijawland (Opobo and Bonny) are no where close to Igbo land yet you claim that the reason for the prevalence of Igbo in those places are as a result of the close relations of the people with their Ndoki (Igbo) neighbours. Haba! Why do you contradict yourself sorely like this? How can you claim close Ndoki relationship when you've claimed Bonny and Opobo are no where close to Igbo land?

Symptom #12: Lack of comprehension!
You are not brilliant at all, comprehension is a major problem for you and your Igbo extremist! For a temporary cure to that, Oya scroll up and read my post again and see how you're embarrassing Igboland

bigfrancis21: I dare you. Bring forward concrete evidence to buttresses your claim that Igbo language was spread as a result of kalabari wars and ubani relations with Ndoki people. Your claim is all make-believe. Till then,
I'm waiting.

Symptom #13: Inability to notice/identify a proof when presented with one

bigfrancis21: You claim that my noise doesn't step an inch beyond nairaland when it has been noted worldwide that Opobo and Bonny [s] are dialects of Igbo, and the Igbo customs being practised in those areas. [/s] Now which one holds more sway, your little anti-Igbo squirms on nairaland or internationally noted facts?
Don't forget that all these information are live on the internet for millions worldwide to read and believe.

Symptom #14: Celebration of "GREAT FEATS" of misinformation
No matter the size of the elephant, it can't cause an earthquake!
No matter the volume of MISINFORMATION some Igbo fools flood the internet with, it can not form a droplet of truth. They will all fall like Biafra!

bigfrancis21: @Bolded...hahahahah. Largely successful only on nairaland baa?

Well, sorry to burst your ignorance but I ain't no Igbo colonialist. In history, the Ijaw people have been noted to abandon their language for another when they encounter a much stronger language. Take the Apoi ijaw and Arogbo Ijaw in ondo state, for example, who no longer speak Ijaw but only Yoruba. Now tell me, why did they stop speaking Ijaw? Did the Yoruba people colonize them nor force their language on them? I rarely hear you complain about the Apoi Ijaw speaking yoruba neither do I hear you make efforts to Izonize the Apoi people. When it comes to anything Igbo, some core indignant tribalists charge like they've seen the devil.

Symptom #15: Inability to identify & emulate good qualities from others.
I'm sure Igbos have a lot to learn from Yorubas, think hard & you'll know what I'm talking about.

bigfrancis21: As usual, you [s] Ijaw people rushed and changed their former yoruba king titles and gave them Ijaw king titles, just like you people did for Opobo and Bonny, [/s] yet that hasn't stopped them from speaking Yoruba. Is that all to it? Let me ask you, why do you people just stop at only giving Ijaw king titles? If the native people truly want to reclaim their Ijaw ancestry, why don't they make the conceited efforts of re-claiming their original language? In the case of the Apoi and Arogbo their population might be 100% Ijaw blood yet Yoruba is their lingua franca. Wow, Yoruba another expansionist tribe.

Wonders shall never end!
Symptom #16: Chronic liar type 2, Acute Ignorance & Acute arrogance!

bigfrancis21: Ibani competition: You claim there was a secondary school ibani competition between Opobo and Bonny. Ok. If this is even true, shebi na only competition? Shebi as dem do am for secondary school, no be there him end? As dem do Ibani finish for school dem go carry am come house dey communicate with momsi, popsi, even grand momsi wey sabi only Igbo? Dem go carry am go market make dem price with d market women in Ibani, women wey only sabi speak Igbo

I did french in secondary school and right now I can't say one simple statement in french. My sister did french in secondary school, turned out to be the best in French in her school, went for two competitions but right now she has forgotten almost all of her french, save for a few sentences. Why? Because she didn't find the use of french useful any inch beyond the walls of her secondary school!

Symptom #17: Senseless & incoherant analysis

bigfrancis21: Why aren't the Ibanization efforts being spearheaded by the natives themselves instead of a few disgruntled anti-Igbo folks? Or do you really think that they would want to adopt a language that has little to offer that would further isolate them rather than stick to a language that opens them to a communication with over 40 million people? I'm sure that behind all these ibani-propaganda cover you've created for yourself, you can hardly express yourself in Ibani yet you go around making noise for Ibani. Its pitiful.

Symptom #18: False claims & Acute megalomaniac!

This is enough diagnosis of the Igbo nation. All these are all SYMPTOMS of an advanced form of Biafra disease aka LANDLOCKOPHOBIA

bigfrancis21:

That you don't want to join a country for the SE/SS doesn't mean that all other Ijaws don't want to. You can't speak for the whole Ijaw nation. In fact, your opinion may be of minority. Many of these Niger Deltan tribes may seem to be silent on the country issue because there don't seem to be any soild plans being made to actualize it, only the protests. The moment the United Nations take up the case and start making plans to actualize it just like they liberated South Korea from North Korea few years ago, you'd be shocked at the overwhelming support that would be coming from these ND groups, including the Ijaw, that will be willing to break free from the shackles and domination of the North and join a country where they'd have better say and control over its affairs.

Then, stop acting like the Igbo people are the cause of your problems. We are in no way not the cause of Nigeria's problems. Whenever unity with the Igbo people is mentioned, all you begin to see is Igbo domination and the cornering of you people of your resources. That is totally false! Come to South East presently (Enugu, Owerri, Awka, Onitsha, Aba, Nnewi etc) and see the massive developments that are going on. SE is now one of the fastest developing zones in Nigeria. All these are being executed without the so-called oil money but rather the hardwork, intelligence, ideas, business mind, perseverance and efforts of the Igbo people themselves. The moment you begin to realize that the Northern people are truly cheating the southern people of their God-given resources and money, and the massive atrocities being committed by North, then will you open your eyes to the fact that the Igbo people are truly not your problem. Only then will you begin to address the situation and call for the need for all southerners to unite and form a strong coalition against the Northerners. Long long before the civil war and subsequent anti-Igbo sentiments, the whole southern tribes lived peacefully - Igbo/Ibibio/Ijaw as one, and co-operated with understanding and love. There were no anti-Igbo/anti-Ijaw sentiments existing in the minds of the people. Things flowed well. This is such a scenery I'd love to be re-created again for we the southern people, and this unity will be required to actualize for ourselves a united SE-SS country of our own of which there'll be 5 major tribes - Igbo, Ibibio/Efik, Ijaw, Edo and Urhobo/Isoko.

And by the way, if the Ijaw refuses at any point to join this new country (of which I support the adoption of an entirely new name since a lot of sentiments have been attached to the name 'Biafra'), we will never be landlocked at all since the country will have great access to the sea through Calabar, Akwa-ibom, part of Rivers, Onitsha and the whole stretch of Anambra lying next to the River Niger. And mind you, the Ibibio/Efik group has always been the closest tribe to the Igbo since time immemorial and they still remain so till date. They don't bear the anti-Igbo animosity many Nigerians bear towards the Igbo.

In addition, If the Ijaw decides to remain part of Nigeria, your land area will be an isolated island since it will be surrounded by the new southern country and will be entirely cut off from the rest of main Nigeria. Relations will Nigeria will be severely impaired and your land will only be used as a pawn to utilize the natural resources present of which the huge profits realized will be used to continue to develop the North as usual.

Your level of intelligence is too shallow for me to be exchanging words with you. Have a nice day-dreaming, sailor!

ijaw citizen: Symptom #1 : Imaginary detection of people's feeling

Yet all of you are decendants of Ojukwu & all the land grabbers
Symptom #2: Double talking, being highly unreliabe! bold claim! Nwaotam is Ndoki masquerade, not Igbo masquerade. There other Igbo clans having same masquerade. Symptom #3: Imaginary detection of Igbo culture in Ijawland!

Symptom #4: False claims

chronic Liar Igbo-ukwu Mohammed!
No "KINGS" or "AMANYANABO" attended any senseless lecture.

Symptom #5: Being a chronic liar!
Kolomental Igbo extremist, a South eastern equivalent of Northern Boko haram
Symptom #6: Notification & magnifying false trend Biafran land grabber shut up!
Symptom #7: Inability to account for OR admit one's actions, even current actions Dame Patience Jonathan is an Okrika woman who speaks fluent Wakirike language and crude Igbo despite growing up in Igbo. Hilda Dokubo is so gifted, she is capable of speaking up to 5 languages
Symptoms #8: Acute ignorance
Correct Igbo Liar Mohammed & extremist identified!
Symptom #9: Rumour mongering & Acute Ignorance Type 2
Just as they ported to Igbo back then, they have now decided to switch back to Ijaw [porting things ] And that is why Igbos like you want to commit suicide over Ijawland.
Symptom #10: Always contemplating suicide
After showing you evidence, you're still
asking for the same evidence. Apart from being a liar like most of your fellow Igbo extremists, you're also sounding redundant!
Symptom #11: Shallow mindedness & sounding redundant

Symptom #12: Lack of comprehension!
You are not brilliant at all, comprehension is a major problem for you and your Igbo extremist! For a temporary cure to that, Oya scroll up and read my post again and see how you're embarrassing Igboland


Symptom #13: Inability to notice/identify a proof when presented with one

Symptom #14: Celebration of "GREAT FEATS" of misinformation
No matter the size of the elephant, it can't cause an earthquake!
No matter the volume of MISINFORMATION some Igbo fools flood the internet with, it can not form a droplet of truth. They will all fall like Biafra!



Symptom #15: Inability to identify & emulate good qualities from others.
I'm sure Igbos have a lot to learn from Yorubas, think hard & you'll know what I'm talking about. Wonders shall never end!
Symptom #16: Chronic liar type 2, Acute Ignorance & Acute arrogance!

Symptom #17: Senseless & incoherant analysis

Symptom #18: False claims & Acute megalomaniac!

This is enough diagnosis of the Igbo nation. All these are all SYMPTOMS of an advanced form of Biafra disease aka LANDLOCKOPHOBIA

Are all these meant to get at me? After writing all that jargon, you log in with another account to like your dumb post?

You are indeed a child. Your post clearly indicates someone who has utterly run out of intellectual points and therefore resorted to rantings, insults, fightings and name-callings rather indulging in useful discourse. Anyway, I don't expect anything intellectual from you, you clearly do not have any points left.

I've never taken an inch of what you say here seriously. You're so much filled with hatred against the Igbo. Your negative attitude and opinion are not representative of the entire Ijaw nation one bit. President Jonathan, an Ijaw man, is such an ally of the Igbo. He's brought much development to south east since becoming president, much more than any other president has done such that SE is one of the fastest developing regions in Nigeria today. Love wins.

ijaw citizen: Your level of intelligence is too shallow for me to be exchanging words with you. Have a nice day-dreaming, sailor!

Or rather your intelligence does not match my own?

Mr Igbo extremist,
pls take those diagnosis seriously because your hatred is beyond redemption. Only God can open those eyes and mind so clouded and blurred with bigotry.

I can't join issues with you, hope you can slightly imagine why? don't bother, I know you can't.

Nairaland has been turned to a forum where any John Thomas with little access to the internet comes up to to freely display his idiosyncrasies, hatred, tribalism, and ignorance. Keep going round spreading your imaginary anti-Igbo sentiments. I just wish you'd be able to finally overcome your anti-Igbo animosity just like Alh Harem finally did.

Please stop debating with this fellow,he is not Ijaw unless you like wasting ur time with alhaji harem or whatever he calls himself.

bigfrancis21: Nairaland has been turned to a forum where any John Thomas with little access to the internet comes up to to freely display his idiosyncrasies, hatred, tribalism, and ignorance. Keep going round spreading your imaginary anti-Igbo sentiments. I just wish you'd be able to finally overcome your anti-Igbo animosity just like Alh Harem finally did.

That's the major problem with Igbo people with your kinda mentality!

Nobody hate Igbos yet they shout everywhere about how people hate them.

When people challenge and expose the lies you & your fellow Igbos are spreading on the internet the consequence being making Igbos look stu.pid & childish, the next thing you do is shout how people hate Igbos.

We will never stop confronting the lies you and your fellow Igbos e-warriors/extremist are spreading here on nairaland and all over the internet. Better go and treat your LANDLOCKOPHOBIA before you contaminate better reasoning & level headed Igbos.

ijaw citizen: That's the major problem with Igbo people with your kinda mentality!

Nobody hate Igbos yet they shout everywhere about how people hate them.

When people challenge and expose the lies you & your fellow Igbos are spreading on the internet the consequence being making Igbos look stu.pid & childish, the next thing you do is shout how people hate Igbos.

We will never stop confronting the lies you and your fellow Igbos e-warriors/extremist are spreading here on nairaland and all over the internet. Better go and treat your LANDLOCKOPHOBIA before you contaminate better reasoning & level headed Igbos.

OMG!! My truthful lies are all over the internet! What a massive heartbreak it would be for you to see these:

You see what LANDLOCKOPHOBIA is pushing you guys into? So cowardly

Why don't you summon some little courage, go to Bonny and shout stuupid things like "Igbo kwenu" and expect to come back in one piece