bigfrancis21:


You just need to hear them speak. The people of Opobo and Bonny all speak one native language - Igbo. No other language whatsoever do they speak in addition. Neighbouring towns surrounding Bonny may still speak Ibani but Bonny town proper speaks pure Igbo. The first Igbo bible was written in Bonny Igbo, and the dialect is notable for saying, 'ike m' for 'me' which funny enough means 'my buttocks' in other Igbo dialects and 'ike gi' for 'you/yours' which means 'your buttocks' in other Igbo dialects. Chinua Achebe, in one of his books, had written about a funny Igbo christian interpreter from a distant land to his town who was known for saying, 'ike m' and 'ie gi', which confused the people of his village. Many of these people, though, bear 'Ibani' names such as Fiberesima etc. they barely know the meaning of in addition to Igbo names as well. They all practise Igbo customs, namely 'omugwo', and celebrate Igbo festivals they share in common with their Ndoki Igbo neighbours such as the Nwaotam festival. However, their dressing style is Rivers/Riverine style.

Also, parts of Okirika in Rivers state are also Igbo-speaking. Hilda Dokubo Mrakpor, the Nollywood actress, is a Rivers state indigene from Ogu-Bolo LGA who speaks fluent Igbo. Patience Jonathan is an Okirika woman who speaks Igbo as native language.

Ignore many things you read on nairaland. People just come on here to create false impressions about certain realities. All you need to do is visit these towns to verify for yourself.

bigfrancis21:


You can't be from Opobo and Bonny as the same time as they are 2 distant places from each other sharing similar ancestral patterns of origin.

bigfrancis21:


You just need to hear them speak. The people of Opobo and Bonny all speak one native language - Igbo. No other language whatsoever do they speak in addition. Neighbouring towns surrounding Bonny may still speak Ibani but Bonny town proper speaks pure Igbo. The first Igbo bible was written in Bonny Igbo, and the dialect is notable for saying, 'ike m' for 'me' which funny enough means 'my buttocks' in other Igbo dialects and 'ike gi' for 'you/yours' which means 'your buttocks' in other Igbo dialects. Chinua Achebe, in one of his books, had written about a funny Igbo christian interpreter from a distant land to his town who was known for saying, 'ike m' and 'ie gi', which confused the people of his village. Many of these people, though, bear 'Ibani' names such as Fiberesima etc. they barely know the meaning of in addition to Igbo names as well. They all practise Igbo customs, namely 'omugwo', and celebrate Igbo festivals they share in common with their Ndoki Igbo neighbours such as the Nwaotam festival. However, their dressing style is Rivers/Riverine style.

Also, parts of Okirika in Rivers state are also Igbo-speaking. Hilda Dokubo Mrakpor, the Nollywood actress, is a Rivers state indigene from Ogu-Bolo LGA who speaks fluent Igbo. Patience Jonathan is an Okirika woman who speaks Igbo as native language.

Ignore many things you read on nairaland. People just come on here to create false impressions about certain realities. All you need to do is visit these towns to verify for yourself.

Curlieweed:


Charles (Charlie Boy) Oputa is from Oguta in IMO State. Is he Ijaw or Igbo? After you've answered that question, do a Facebook search with the name Oputa. You will discover that the majority of people with that name are from Bayelsa.

The question of ethnic identity is a bit more complex than some of you simplistically put it. Some communities may have people with diverse origins as inhabitants. I will rather go with what the inhabitants choose to call themselves than the opinion of outsiders.

Your attempt at concatenating Opobo with Bonny is misleading. Opobo and Bonny were not even in the same province before the creation of Rivers State. Opobo lands were acquired from the Obolo and belong to himself and his descendants.

bigfrancis21:


You can't be from Opobo and Bonny as the same time as they are 2 distant places from each other sharing similar ancestral patterns of origin.

stebell:



Since yu know the history of my place more than me, can yu pls tell me where the Opobo man came from or did we jus fall frm the moon??
For the the Opobo man, Bonny is our ancestral home and no place else. We are Ibanis and bear Ibani/Ijaw names. there is nothing in me that shows I am Ibo. so pls continue with ur IPOB agitation I pray it comes through, but I'll not be blackmailed into being part of Biafra.

Curlieweed:


You're clearly mistaking me for someone else. In my comment I clearly stated that the indigenes of each community should be allowed to state what they are. I really don't give a flying fckk one way or the other. If you read my posts, you will see that I am not in support of a Biafra 2,0 that includes even one non-affirming Igbo sub-ethnic group. In fact I stated that I will stand with the "one" Nigeria proponents and fight such a monster.

pazienza:
The Ottams were the aborigines of Opobo, they were Igbos.

ikennaj44:
claims and counter-claims everywhere, if opobo are ijaw, why do they speak igbo as their native language instead of jaw language, do igbos Colonized them? it is a well established fact that the first king and the founder of opobo was an igbo man, who settle in on empty land where they presently are today, it is blatant lie for an inter-trade between two group to completely oust out one anothers language, atleast the alleged dying language must survive because not all the inhabitants of each groups are into said trade, it those not sound logic to rational minds. Nigeria was colonized by Britain, have nigerians lost their native languages.

below is a what an opobo lady said

http://www.africabusinessworld.com/opobo-stepping-forward-to-claim-their-igbo-heritage/2015/10/27/

momonny:
Opobo dont speak igbo as their native language they speak ibani. Like birom people in jos speak Hausa but they are not Hausa. Igbo is a general language spoken by everybody in Bonny/Opobo but their main language is ibani so dont mix up.

momonny:
Opobo dont speak igbo as their native language they speak ibani. Like birom people in jos speak Hausa but they are not Hausa. Igbo is a general language spoken by everybody in Bonny/Opobo but their main language is ibani so dont mix up.

Abagworo:


Opobo was founded by an Igbo man in 19th century and has never spoken Ibani. It is recently Ibani is being introduced. Bonny and Finima were the ones speaking Ibani.

ikennaj44:


https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opobo/Nkoro
.
.
momonny, thanks for your input, though I will not engage in a prolonged debate with you. please can you expatiate the disappearance of the native language, what is mystery behind such sporadic transition?

momonny:
thats a lie, stop distorting history when king jaja came to opobo people where their. Do ur research

momonny:
thats a lie, stop distorting history when king jaja came to opobo people where their. Do ur research

Dhugal:

Jaja didn't "come" to Opobo,he established Opobo.Took the virgin land from the Ibibio tribe that originally claimed it and established a state on it.Opobo is his personal property and that of his progeny for life to come.
Who taught you all these nonsense you're spewing out?.
Opobo's history is so recent it can never be rewritten nor changed by anybody.

Dhugal:

Jaja didn't "come" to Opobo,he established Opobo.Took the virgin land from the Ibibio tribe that originally claimed it and established a state on it.Opobo is his personal property and that of his progeny for life to come.
Who taught you all these nonsense you're spewing out?.
Opobo's history is so recent it can never be rewritten nor changed by anybody.

momonny:
king jaja was the only ibo man in that entourage.

pazienza:
The Ottams were the aborigines of Opobo, they were Igbos.

ijawcitizen:
Why are you igbos behaving so erratically like tormented souls. Always looking for peoples land to claim and yet you still wonder why people detest you. Do you think this attitude of yours is normal? Do you even imagine how you would feel if people start claiming your land eg Onitsha

ijawcitizen:
Why are you igbos behaving so erratically like tormented souls. Always looking for peoples land to claim and yet you still wonder why people detest you. Do you think this attitude of yours is normal? Do you even imagine how you would feel if people start claiming your land eg Onitsha

99xtr6r:
To all notorious people and land grabbers parading on NL as Ijaw miscreants:

“Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds. The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly" - Albert Einstein


The Opobo/Nkoro people are mainly farmers and fishermen. They are of Igbo extraction. They speak Igbo language mixed with pidgin and Igbani. Just like the neighbouring Bonny, founded by Ndokis of Azuogu, slaves from the hinterlan transformed the demography of the area when the Transatlantic Slave Trade was abolished. Ijaws who came in as porters also settled there and the Igbo language was adopted. Although, there are no indigenous Ijaw communities there, most Ijaw migrants and porters have fully been integrated into the original indigenous Igbo communities.
http://www.magnusabe.com/
True confession by Magnus Abe.

ijawcitizen:
Why are you igbos behaving so erratically like tormented souls. Always looking for peoples land to claim and yet you still wonder why people detest you. Do you think this attitude of yours is normal? Do you even imagine how you would feel if people start claiming your land eg Onitsha where the king is of Bini descent.

ijawcitizen:
I am not really bothered about this general Igbo rascality, even the Opobians are here seeing this madness and we are taking notes.

Continue making your absurd claims on Opobo & Bonny from the internet, it is your problem and not ours.

When you finally take your first bold initiative to take this madness to Bonny & Opobo, you will finally hear from the Ijaw nation.

Until then, we are enjoying the circus show of madness.

stebell:
Hw many people in Iboland answer Ijaw names like Tonye, Ibim, Ibiso et al.
Don't ever yu get it mixed up OP and his band of followers.
Opobo and Bonny are Ijaws and cannot be Igbo land. Never.
I don't want to even talk about this any further cos I see that yu Biafran/Igbo peeps won't stop with this delusion of urs.

I'm an Ijaw and frm Opobo/Bonny, I don't think their is any name in ma community or tradition that resembles that of the Igbo. The only thing I can think of is marriage between both tribes/region.

I say again, Opobo Town and Bonny are Ijaws and not Ibos.

steppin:
This is quite annoying. I don't understand the need to include people who are not interested in being Igbo into your agenda.
Igbos in Nl should stop doing this. In reality, Igbos don't give a damn about anyone who decides to join them or not.

macluvph1:


What of Uranta,Dienye,Ogolo etc.

Hope the above names are ijaw, am ready to dish out at the spot 20 Opobo names that are affiliated to Ibo names.