Afam4eva: This is a common thought of non-ikwerre people especially those who live in PH. It's mostly predicated on the fact that according to a lot of people, Ikwerre people can look for trouble and they fight a lot. You can have a small disagreement with an Ikwerre person and the next thing he does is to enter his kitchen to get a knife. I've experienced this too cos i've lived in Ikwerreland. Though i don't know if this behavior is only limited to just Ikwerres.

Abagworo:

1st of all Ikwerri is a diverse group. The part in Port Harcourt which suffered from overwhelming urbanization developed indigene/settler syndrome similar to "Omonile"s of Lagos. They believe they can assert authority as the true natives by hostility. It has however reduced drastically since Amaechi became Governor.

ibiso1986: @ afam,, I think its limited to just the ikwerris.. The riverine are more refined and educated (okrika/kalabari/bonny/opobo) cos of the exposure of the british colonial masters centuries ago.. Most visitors that come to ph town assume everybody is from ikwerri and all rivers people are heartless.. That's totally false.. There are still countless tribes in rivers state

pazienza: It is akin to the believe that mbaise are the most cunning clan in igboland,so much as,you are better off living with a snake than with an mbaise person. "If an mbaise and a snake enter you house,kill an mbaise first; as he is more dangerous". All these are just misconceptions,they have no truth in them.

Afam4eva:
While they may not be the truest representation of Ndi Ikwerre, i have lived in Ikwerre land and i know better.

pazienza: well,thats your experience. I have spent some time in ikwerreland too,when my cousin was in uniport,i visited him at where he stayed then,i think the name of that ikwerre villa was rumualo or something like that,his landlord and the wife are the most kind hearted people i have ever seen,and they are indigenes of that place. People differ,it's bad to lump people together and label them.

Eze Promoe: Laughing in Ikwerre and Okrika

*clears throat*

OP, from your name, you're Kalabari. I understand the OP very well. For those who don't know what I mean, you know how Igbo and Yoruba are to themselves on the internet, that's what Ikwerre and Okirika/Kalabari are to themselves. The Okrikas/Kalabaris believe that the Ikwerres are greedy and selfish and they as well as they liken them to their kins in the East whom are known by other people around the country to be of such attitude. On the other hand, the Ikwerres refer to their counterparts as being greedy and lazy. Who are the indigenes of the original PH is still a topic of controversy among them till tomorrow. Amaechi's plan to demolish waterfronts is seen by these folks as that same hatred.

Now back to topic, the truth is that Ikwerres are not wicked like people seems to see them, if not you won't see this level of hospitality portrayed by them, as in the case of PH. The only thing I see as problem in the Ikwerres is that they don't travel out, they think that their land is the best. I'm not saying it's bad, self-pride is good in this case. I'm being maternalised in Ikwerreland, and from my observations, its only few that portrays these traits which is also ubiquitous among other groups. Ikwerre and in fact Rivers people in general are very hospitable. When I came to conclude this is one of my experience in Etche, when I and some people were arriving from a funeral in Imo state, our vehicle broke down in the middle of the night when we were returning. We asked for were we could pack our car but our hosts even gave us shelter to pass the night. Rivers people in general are very peaceful people, that is why even at their ethnic diversity, you barely here of inter-ethnic clashes. RUMU IKWERE WU ELE OMA!

Afam4eva:
You're right about Ikwerres being hospitable...Ikwerreland is the only place i've seen in Nigeria where Hausa, Yorubas, Ijaws live in their villages without being molested. When i lived in Ikwerre land, i never felt like a stranger because of the Igbo connection.

Same with me. Even as I speak the dialect together with them, they see me as one of them. When I was much younger, I play community match with them as an indigene and people don't try to detest that. There are some people who are in my position who will even forget where their fathers are from.

Afam4eva: This is a common thought of non-ikwerre people especially those who live in PH. It's mostly predicated on the fact that according to a lot of people, Ikwerre people can look for trouble and they fight a lot. You can have a small disagreement with an Ikwerre person and the next thing he does is to enter his kitchen to get a knife. I've experienced this too cos i've lived in Ikwerreland. Though i don't know if this behavior is only limited to just Ikwerres.