There's has been a constant debate on Nairaland about who is Igbo and who is not, with some Igboid groups mainly in Delta and Rivers state denying an Igbo image which they feel is being imposed upon them by some people of South Eastern origin. Why these two groups don't see eye to eye on the issue, there are facts that cannot be overlooked. These facts include the fact that these groups in Delta and Rivers state bear resemblance to groups in the South East which are collectively called the Igbos. I have always sired my opinion on this issue from my personal interactions with people from these places but nothing beats travelling to the villages and towns that makeup the place in question.

I'm neither going to dwell on the Ikwerres or the Ika or Ukwuani but i have chosen to outline what i've noticed among the Egbema group who are divided into Imo and Rivers states. Note that they are the same people who were seperated by those who did the state demarcations. If you take a trip to the Egbema in Imo state, from Obokofia through mmahu to Obeakpu and Abacheke, you won't have any form of denial as these people are bonafide Igbo people like their kith and kin in places like Orlu, mbaise or Oguta. But the moment you cross from Abacheke which is the last town/village in Imo state into Okwuzi to Mgbede and Ibuochaa, you will notice something. These people will speak Igbo if you speak to them but whenever you bring up the topic of whether they are Igbos, while some will casually agree with you, others will tell you that they are Rivers but are similar to the Igbos and if you insist, they will agree with you just to end the conversation. Even though they are not as strong in their defiance to the Igbo course like the Ukwuanis or the Ikwerres, they still have that characteristic that is common among these groups and that is the fact that something happened along the line that makes them accept a diffferent pseudonym from the Igbos. Because how will you explain that the Egbema in Imo state are Igbos and those in Rivers are not. I'm not saying that those in Rivers are not Igbos as they're classified as Igbos in the constitution. What i'm saying is that they're not so keen on the identity.

We are not begging them to be Igbos

why would u worry urself over minor things?
one man's opinion or few men opinion is not everybody's opinion.
that few peopl u met said thay aint igbo doesnt mean they aint.

BTW AINT BEGGING NO1 TO JOIN

Afam4ever has been opening threads on nairaland to instigate over this matter for years.

ever since s/he joined nairaland, as a matter of fact.



you go fear dedication to a cause.

the problem also comes from the south east

south east igbos look down on rivers igbos

We are all humans.

Afam4eva:
There's has been a constant debate on Nairaland about who is Igbo and who is not, with some Igboid groups mainly in Delta and Rivers state denying an Igbo image which they feel is being imposed upon them by some people of South Eastern origin. Why these two groups don't see eye to eye on the issue, there are facts that cannot be overlooked. These facts include the fact that these groups in Delta and Rivers state bear resemblance to groups in the South East which are collectively called the Igbos. I have always sired my opinion on this issue from my personal interactions with people from these places but nothing beats travelling to the villages and towns that makeup the place in question.

I'm neither going to dwell on the Ikwerres or the Ika or Ukwuani but i have chosen to outline what i've noticed among the Egbema group who are divided into Imo and Rivers states. Note that they are the same people who were seperated by those who did the state demarcations. If you take a trip to the Egbema in Imo state, from Obokofia through mmahu to Obeakpu and Abacheke, you won't have any form of denial as these people are bonafide Igbo people like their kith and kin in places like Orlu, mbaise or Oguta. But the moment you cross from Abacheke which is the last town/village in Imo state into Okwuzi to Mgbede and Ibuochaa, you will notice something. These people will speak Igbo if you speak to them but whenever you bring up the topic of whether they are Igbos, while some will casually agree with you, others will tell you that they are Rivers but are similar to the Igbos and if you insist, they will agree with you just to end the conversation. Even though they are not as strong in their defiance to the Igbo course like the Ukwuanis or the Ikwerres, they still have that characteristic that is common among these groups and that is the fact that something happened along the line that makes them accept a diffferent pseudonym from the Igbos. Because how will you explain that the Egbema in Imo state are Igbos and those in Rivers are not. I'm not saying that those in Rivers are not Igbos as they're classified as Igbos in the constitution. What i'm saying is that they're not so keen on the identity.

Let us analyze this issue in more details. This Igbo identity all boils down to the very same fact that i have mentioned severally on nairaland before - that the issue of state boundary, which are only but artificial demarcation lines, is the cause of identity issues by many Igboid groups. These groups cling onto state and geographical zone boundaries for their identities. Tear these boundaries or states down and assign new states or boundaries to them and you see them adjusting happily to their new identities. Re-adjust state boundaries and join the Egbemas of Rivers back with their brothers in Imo state and watch the anti-Igbo stance fade away gradually. On the other hand, take some pro-Igbo communities in the SE zone and assign them to nearby SS states and watch them take an anti-Igbo stance over the years. This brings us to the very question of if belonging to the SE zone has helped to preserve the Igbo identity among the self-acclaimed Igbos today? We all know that familiar line of reasoning -- I am from the SE, therefore I am Igbo. I have no choice but to be Igbo. If so, it means that the collective Igbo consciousness of SE Igbo is due to the very fact that they are in the SE zone. Take out the SE zone tag and assume all 6 zones in Nigeria are 'de-zoned' today, will this pro Igbo consciousness as we have it in SE still be strong as it is?

If this is the case, we have to be glad in one way to the military governor (not sure which) for the creation of the SE zone specifically which has helped to foster Igbo consciousness and awareness, which other pro Igbos from the SS can identify with and benefit from. In other words, had there been no SE zone created specifically to refer to Igbo people, what would be of our Igbo consciousness today?

Speaking of a solution, since being in the SE is the psychological and subconscious determinant of someone to accept being Igbo, do we not see the simple solution to this problem? It is simple. Extending the boundaries of SE (and Igbo consciousness) to include surrounding Igbo-speaking communities in the SS will proportionally extend the Igbo consciousness that comes with being from the SE. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Igbo-speaking people in the SS grew up without that Igbo consciousness in their psyche compared to their Igbo-speaking brothers growing up in the SE. Look and think no further beyond this. Boundary adjustment is the simple psychological solution to this issue that has been around for decades.

Once you bear Obinna or Nkechi and your market days are eke orie afor nkwor and you call land ani or Ana or ala

You call God ..Chukwu or OLISAH

You are igbo

End of discussion

bigfrancis21:


Let us analyze this issue in more details. This Igbo identity all boils down to the very same fact that i have mentioned severally on nairaland before - that the issue of state boundary, which are only but artificial demarcation lines, is the cause of identity issues by many Igboid groups. These groups cling onto state and geographical zone boundaries for their identities. Tear these boundaries or states down and assign new states or boundaries to them and you see them adjusting happily to their new identities. Re-adjust state boundaries and join the Egbemas of Rivers back with their brothers in Imo state and watch the anti-Igbo stance fade away gradually. On the other hand, take some pro-Igbo communities in the SE zone and assign them to nearby SS states and watch them take an anti-Igbo stance over the years. This brings us to the very question of if belonging to the SE zone has helped to preserve the Igbo identity among the self-acclaimed Igbos today? We all know that familiar line of reasoning -- I am from the SE, therefore I am Igbo. I have no choice but to be Igbo. If so, it means that the collective Igbo consciousness of SE Igbo is due to the very fact that they are in the SE zone. Take out the SE zone tag and assume all 6 zones in Nigeria are 'de-zoned' today, will this pro Igbo consciousness as we have it in SE still be strong as it is?

If this is the case, we have to be glad in one way to the military governor (not sure which) for the creation of the SE zone specifically which has helped to foster Igbo consciousness and awareness, which other pro Igbos from the SS can identify with and benefit from. In other words, had there been no SE zone created specifically to refer to Igbo people, what would be of our Igbo consciousness today?

Speaking of a solution, since being in the SE is the psychological and subconscious determinant of someone to accept being Igbo, do we not see the simple solution to this problem? It is simple. Extending the boundaries of SE (and Igbo consciousness) to include surrounding Igbo-speaking communities in the SS will proportionally extend the Igbo consciousness that comes with being from the SE. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Igbo-speaking people in the SS grew up without Igbo consciousness in their psyche compared to their Igbo-speaking brothers growing up in the SE. Look and think no further beyond this. Boundary adjustment is the simple psychological solution to this issue that has been around for decades.

You're spot on. Infact, a scenario played out yesterday where an Egbema guy from Rivers came up with the usual arguments about how Egbema is not Igbo only to be shut up by a number of other Egbema guys from Imo state. It just sounded funny to me that the same people just because they're in different states can come from different ethnic groups.

Igbo kwenu