Andre Uweh:

Igbo people need more states to maintain parity.
What fed.govt can do at the moment is to create Njaba from the existing south east.
Create Anioma state from South South and zone to the south east.
Create Upland Rivers state and zone them with their Igbo brothers in the south east.
Alternatively an attempt to include Asa, Ndoki, Obigbo and Omuma people in Aba zone will be welcomed.

how does this tend to affect the ordinary people in the newly-created or are just saying all these out of sentimnets or what?

Gowon created those states to balkanize and weaken easterners so i find is puzzling that people like chinyen areadvocating the same crap. those ngwa ppl advocating aba state are simply greedy and are too lazy to compete with their fellow igbos hence they think that whipping up clannish sentimenta is the way to go. elechi amadi from ikwerre is a good example of an igbo unable to compete with other heavyweights hence he turned into a village champion. if i have the power there will be only one igbo state or eastern region and the towns can have mayors so everyone including the ngwa, ikwerre and other clannish igbos can have their lil kingdoms.chinyen,why would you feel uncomfortable with having one igbo leader? all we need are checks and balances tho.

~Bluetooth:

point of correction.yoruba in kogi state and in places like auchi and akoko edo in edo ONLY speak yoruba but do not have any link whatsoever with the tribe.i asked a friend of mine who happened to be an ijaw man the origin of ijaw but he couldnt tell me instead,he claimed ondo state is an ijawland and not yorubas'.
If equality is to be adopted,then,all ethnic group ought to have a state of their own.state creation is product of ethnic distrust

@ Bluetooth; what do you know of the Yoruba speaking people of Kogi state? Do you know anything about Owe(A dialect of the Yoruba language) which these people speak just as the Egbas and Ekiti have their own dialects The Yoruba's of Kogi , migrated from the old Ife Kingdom and were formally in Kwara State before the creation of Kogi State. Please next time, do more qualitative research before you try to CORRECT anyone.
As for those in Auchi and Akoko Edo, I dont know about their origin so no point in arguing with you but i dont think they speak yoruba as their native language though they use Yoruba names but the people  i know from there are called IGARRAS.

point of correction.yoruba in kogi state and in places like auchi and akoko edo in edo ONLY speak yoruba but do not have any link whatsoever with the tribe.i asked a friend of mine who happened to be an ijaw man the origin of ijaw but he couldnt tell me instead,he claimed ondo state is an ijawland and not yorubas'.
If equality is to be adopted,then,all ethnic group ought to have a state of their own.state creation is product of ethnic distrust

Friend, the people of the old Kabba Division of present Kogi State SEE themselves as Yoruba. They speak several dialects quite different from the Central (Oyo) dialect like Yagba, Bunu, Owe, etc, but still see themselves as Yoruba. This is most important. The Akoko-Edo, Owan and Etsako (Northern Edo) DO NOT see themselves as Yoruba

Having said that, Nigeria has to have proper and clear guidelines for what identity can be regarded as a state.

For instance, yours sincerely believes that there are 5 SUPERIDENTITIES within Nigeria. These are the FAR NORTH (Hausa-Fulani-Kanuri), the MIDDLE BELT, the YORUBA, the IGBO and the DEEP SOUTH (Edo, Ijo, Ibibio, etc). All Nigerians fall within these 5 identities which can be termed REGIONS. STATES should fall one step lower than these regions and should be spaces where the primary identities of peoples can be promoted e.g. the NGWA, or the ANIOMA. For groups which are quite small and desire to promote this identity, but are not 'reasonably' large enough to be states, a LOCAL AREA within a State should suffice. IDENTITY is very, very important for TRUE FEDERALISM to thrive and be useful.

To control proliferation of these states, REGIONS should be the Federal Units and not STATES, because these REGIONS cannot be more than 5 (I may be wrong, as the SOUTH REGION peoples may have different ideas). STATES should thus be created by each REGION, but with PROPER GUIDELINES in place.

Just speaking from the heart,

@Karfe.
word from a wise one.

spicyhoney:

@ Bluetooth; what do you know of the Yoruba speaking people of Kogi state? Do you know anything about Owe(A dialect of the Yoruba language) which these people speak just as the Egbas and Ekiti have their own dialects The Yoruba's of Kogi , migrated from the old Ife Kingdom and were formally in Kwara State before the creation of Kogi State. Please next time, do more qualitative research before you try to CORRECT anyone.
As for those in Auchi and Akoko Edo, I dont know about their origin so no point in arguing with you but i dont think they speak yoruba as their native language though they use Yoruba names but the people  i know from there are called IGARRAS.

the kabba people of kogi speak a version of yoruba that any yoruba can understand but their ROOT is disputable in yoruba history.no arguement about that.
I have been to igarra and i discovered that the general language there is YORUBA because they have varieities of language which do not blend the residents well.left for me,i would prefer true federalism to state creation.

Ares, that's a dumb assertion to make.

Abagworo, that's exactly how I see it. Those Igbo seem to want to engage themselves and others in wishful thinking, believing in what did not, until recently, begin to exist.

UcheUwadi, who are you to tell me my identity? Who are you to tell me about my people? Apparently, judging by your post, I see that there is much you don't know. We Ngwa are much more than just a clan. We are an ethnic nationality (by virtue of the definition of "ethnicity" and "nation". As for language, according to linguistics, if speakers of two or more modes of speech can inherently communicate, they are speaking the same language. If only you were correct about Ngwa and Aro being able to inherently communicate, I would have agreed with you. That isn't the case though, and you and I and Aro people know this.

Let us though, entertain your statement that Aro people inherently understand Ngwa, while considering a harsh truth. . politics and identity play a role in determining language. Now, if indeed Ngwa and Aro people could inherently communicate, then what we would end up having is a "Spanish-Italian" scenario on our hands. Are you familiar with the Spanish-Italian situation?

Udezue, what kind of division are you talking about? How can there be all this "division" to "Igbo unity" if there was no pan-Igbo consciousness, before? This "divide and conquer" thing you all keep hammering on is just wishful thinking. And I don't agree with one Igbo leader because I believe wholeheartedly in "Ohnaleze" (vox populi vox dei). One Igbo leader is a step towards rulership, and as an Ngwa-Igbo, I detest the idea. The closest thing to one Igbo leader that I would agree with would be a symbolic "figurehead" for diplomatic reasons and by case appointment only. Also where did I state that Ngwa is the only unique group? Are you forgetting that I always state that each Igbo group (NOT sub-group) is uniquely its own? Although we are all Igbo groups, we are not synonymous with each other. We are only similar, and not the same.

Karfe, I agree completely.

Foolish people. two governors where 1/2 can cover. they just want to steal more. all our revenue goes on recurrent expenditure.

this dude are suppose to creat job not state. useless set malagonistic lacostas

@karfe
i agree with your submission but it is not convincing enough that it will solve tribal disputes that happen.
Speaking of yoruba,the history of the tribe is traceable and the states which the yoruba occupy are conspicuous and undisputable save for kwara that was drawn to the north central.nigeria would be better if the present six regions is given constitutional.they would operate on their own as feedrating unit while recognising the central govt as the head of the units.
this process was better before state creation.it would give avenue for competition in infastructural development and human development.it will also reduce centralisation of power on the president.
those canvassing for state creation are doing so purely out of greed,nigeria doesnt need to be broken into pieces for development to spring up.

ChinenyeN,

I feel that you are one of a small minority of the Ngwa Clan population who feels this way. You know you all want your own state, because of the so called 'marginalization' that is occurring in Abia State. And it ONLY has to do with politics. You all think the power in Abia State resides in Umuahia, but you should know that even some people in Umuahia feel marginalized by the current administration. My area in Umuahia South LGA do not like the fact that someone from Umuahia North LGA is in power. You see how idiotic the views that if it is not them in power, then it is not good.

We should be looking for more unity and the commonalities among the vast Igbo groups. What makes you think that your clannish Ngwa are better than others. Someone needs to make you all low, because you all are not special. To anyone else, you are an Igbo. You bear IGBO names, and you speak a dialect of Igbo. So that makes you an Igbo. Nothing more and nothing less.

And I pray for the day that One Igbo leader to unite us all and represent the views of the entire Igbo race. Not something based off this stupid clan structure.

UcheUwadi_:

ChinenyeN,

I feel that you are one of a small minority of the Ngwa Clan population who feels this way. You know you all want your own state, because of the so called 'marginalization' that is occurring in Abia State. And it ONLY has to do with politics. You all think the power in Abia State resides in Umuahia, but you should know that even some people in Umuahia feel marginalized by the current administration. My area in Umuahia South LGA do not like the fact that someone from Umuahia North LGA is in power. You see how idiotic the views that if it is not them in power, then it is not good.

We should be looking for more unity and the commonalities among the vast Igbo groups. What makes you think that your clannish Ngwa are better than others. Someone needs to make you all low, because you all are not special. To anyone else, you are an Igbo. You bear IGBO names, and you speak a dialect of Igbo. So that makes you an Igbo. Nothing more and nothing less.

And I pray for the day that One Igbo leader to unite us all and represent the views of the entire Igbo race. Not something based off this silly clan structure.

A minority tribe that dont have less than five local govt is only misplacing its priority by canvass for a sovereign state instead of agitating for a system that would recognise both 'minority and majority' as nigerians and not a minority as lesser animal.

And another example of why the Ngwa are trying to create their own state is based off of land as well. They are trying to follow the example of the Ikwerre cousins and what they did to the non-indigene Igbos in Port Harcourt.

I am quite puzzled and alarmed that the Ngwa elite and this young Ngwa fellow is trying to create a new Ngwa Ethnic Nationality. It will be only a matter time that the Ngwa would want to be called Ngwa instead of Igbo and will disassociate themselves with the wider Igbo populace.

Just look at the Ikwerre who perfected this assault on their Igbo kin, but look at how this backfired. Look at Port Harcourt and how the Ijaw have expanded into the Ikwerre prized city of Igwe Ocha, oops I mean Port Harcourt. The statue of Isaac Boro stands prominently in Port Harcourt which was never an Ijaw town.

The Ngwa and their conceited nature just like the Ikwerre may choke on their words.

Before this thread turns to something else, you all have to note that Chinenye has not denied his Igbo origin. I know in other threads he has floored those guys with identity crisis. The proposed Aba state is not an entirely Ngwa state but consist of Ndokis, Ohambeles, Asas etc. It is to the advantage of Ndigbo to have additional states including Aba state.

UcheUwadi, your posts show how much you don't know, as well as how much you are assuming. Since when have we Ngwa said we were better? We say we are not synonymous, but we don't say better. To say that I am among the minority of the Ngwa ethnic nationality who feels this way only goes to show how much you don't know about Ngwa consciousness. Get it straight. We Ngwa have no problem with the rest of Igbo, as evident by how freely we associate with other Igbo. We know, understand, ascribe to, and appreciate the fact that we are similar, by virtue of being "Igbo", BUT we simply don't see us and other Igbo as one and the same. To us, being Igbo is second, by a long shot, to being Ngwa.

Again, go and familiarize yourself with the definitions of "ethnicity" and "nation/nationality/state". Ngwa met all those requirements long before colonialism. You're pushing for something that never existed (claiming "division has entered", and you're trying to force what isn't necessary. Be honest with yourself, there is no real Igbo ethnicity. All we have is a loose sense of recently developed Igbo identity.

Again, you are in no position to tell me my identity, or where my loyalties should lie. Growing up, I have only felt "Ngwa". It is only recently that I even began to conceive of myself as being "Igbo". You cannot honestly expect me to be willing to drop a fundamental part of my identity and ascribe to some relatively new identity, just to make you non-Ngwa happy. I simply won't do that. I will carry my Ngwa-ness with me wherever I go, while at the same time having some sort of sense of Igbo identity, but never ask, and expect me to give up my Ngwa consciousness (something so fundamental to who I am) for Igbo identity.

@karfe
i agree with your submission but it is not convincing enough that it will solve tribal disputes that happen.
Speaking of yoruba,the history of the tribe is traceable and the states which the yoruba occupy are conspicuous and undisputable save for kwara that was drawn to the north central.nigeria would be better if the present six regions is given constitutional.they would operate on their own as feedrating unit while recognising the central govt as the head of the units.
this process was better before state creation.it would give avenue for competition in infastructural development and human development.it will also reduce centralisation of power on the president.
those canvassing for state creation are doing so purely out of greed,nigeria doesnt need to be broken into pieces for development to spring up.

Bluetooth, no structure or human arrangement can ever bring absolute relief. The best you can do is try and evolve structures that will go a long way in taking care of MAJORITY of the people who have found themselves in Nigeria. For this to happen, we must allow EVERYONE to state their cases, even if unpalatable, and say WHO they are and WHERE they want to be. Then we must allow REFERENDUMS (or is it REFERENDA?!) to be carried out within particular shady areas (Should have been done for Bakassi). With time these arrangements can be fine tuned with the agreement of everyone involved.

UcheUwadi, Udezue, Abagworo, ChinenyeN, please sheath your swords and let us try to come up with a workable structure, first within NIGERIA. We have not really tried, so it may not really be true to say we have failed. After all is said and done, we must drive on the same roads, drink the same water, eat the same food. Each man must have a feeling of IDENTITY and SECURITY within Nigeria.

It will not be perfect, but marriage is something of compromise of all parties. After we are sure that other Nigerians have our interests at heart, then we can begin to sort out our sociopolitical and economic issues

Thank you Abadaba. I don't know why they fail understand that.

Karfe, agreed. I don't mind compromising. I compromise with Igbo identity, afterall. I haven't and will not neglect the Igbo and Igbo identity, but Ngwa is my priority. If only these posters here would understand that.

ChinenyeN:

That isn't enough to determine identity. Regardless of the progenitor, we did not begin to develop a single group conscience until post-colonial era. That conscience is key to defining ethnic groups. The Igbo are still, to this day, not an ethnic group. That larger body conscience has yet to fully take root. Most Igbo still see themselves as members of their respective group conscience, while their Igbo identity is relegated to the back burner.

As for Coleman's write-up, I've been knowing that, and it is exactly what I've been stating here this entire time, regarding my Ngwa people. We've been having our own consciousness. You're only presenting confirmation of my stance. We Ngwa, in pre-colonial times had a constitution, general, yearly all-Ngwa gatherings, and have always recognized Ngwa-Ukwu as "foundation capital". This is something I already knew, and it is the foundation of my viewpoint and understanding of 'Igbo Identity'.

Igbo identity is not new, and nothing will convince me that it is new. Igbo have been interacting with each other since they ventured out of each others arms lengths. They didn't see themselves as the same 'fraction' but at the same time they hardly ventured out of their lands, yet they ventured frequently to their other 'non-existent' ethnic zones (e.g Awka to Aba), why? Because they knew they had a common tie with each other. Just because they didn't have a common word for themselves doesn't mean they didn't know they had ties. They had wars, yes. They had/have issues with disunity, yes. Again, using England as an example, did the Northern English not riot about the wealth that stops in the south over and over again? Did this mean they weren't English?

If Igbo is not an identity, what are the Igbo then? A 'linguistic group' that happens to share religion, culture and even genes?

Ngwa is a tribe, not an ethnic group. Not to be fussy but here is dictionary.com's definition of tribe and ethnic group.

Ethnic group

1.
pertaining to or characteristic of a people, esp. a group (ethnic group) sharing a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like.
2.
referring to the origin, classification, characteristics, etc., of such groups.

Tribe

–noun
1.
any aggregate of people united by ties of descent from a common ancestor, community of customs and traditions, adherence to the same leaders, etc.
2.
a [size=15pt]local division[/size] of an aboriginal people.
3.
a division of some other people.

I don't understand what the gain will be from demarcating Nigeria into village sized "states", Nigeria itself is the size of one state alone in America, and all this will cause is unnecessary growth to the government.

NenyeN
But before Ngwa, your autonomous community comes first. For example, Abayi, Ngwa and then Igbo. Am sure, where you are probably in the USA, you will firstly identify with your immediate village before the Ngwa etc.
Also, someone else can be Umunede, Ika and Igbo. To some people, it is very difficult.
Also someone can be Moniya, Ibadan and Yoruba. That should not be a problem to sane people.

Ezeagu, them traveling long distances doesn't prove anything. People traveled from northern Igbo areas to Edo-speaking areas to trade. So I guess they saw each other as the same?

Ngwa fits that definition of ethnicity that you gave. We Ngwa have peculiar culture in Igboland. Of course, in the broad sense, we are similar to other Igbo groups, but we have distinct cultural and religious practices that are NOT THE SAME as the rest of Igbo. Language wise, linguist say that two speakers are speaking the same language if they can inherently communicate without having to learn each other's mode of speech (that is what language is. . . the ability to inherently communicate). Ngwa cannot inherently communicate with THE REST OF IGBO, save for a few border Umuahia and Mbaise communities, Ndoki (of which, the larger body of its villages trace themselves to Ngwa), and generally Asa (who are either Ngwa or Etche) and Etche (who surprisingly enough claim so share progenitors with Ngwa). Origin-wise, Ngwa-Ukwu is the birthplace of Ngwa identity. Ngwa-Ukwu is our "foundation capital". Our progenitors may have come from Owere, but the moment they crossed the Imo is the moment that they forged Ngwa identity, in Ngwa-Ukwu. Ngwa identity was not forged in Owere. So our origin is Ngwa-Ukwu. We are not a tribe. Tribes don't develop states.

And where did I say that Igbo is not an identity?

Andre, true, my autonomous village is where I hail. It is my town, but I (we Ngwa) recognize, both now and in precolonial times, a larger Ngwa consciousness.

Please reps should remember divide delta into two; Anioma state and Urhobo state.

Andre Uweh:

NenyeN
But before Ngwa, your autonomous community comes first. For example, Abayi, Ngwa and then Igbo. Am sure, where you are probably in the USA, you will firstly identify with your immediate village before the Ngwa etc.
Also, someone else can be Umunede, Ika and Igbo. To some people, it is very difficult.
Also someone can be Moniya, Ibadan and Yoruba. That should not be a problem to sane people.

Is that the short form of that ugly name?

Make these Reps do quick. We need a state for every individual. At least, there will be no marginalisation.

Ngwa is not an ethnic group and can never qualify as one okay. My aunt is Ngwa and married to an Ngwa. I still haven't seen anything about them that makes em an ethnic group different from mine. The relatives who are from a distinct ethnic group are the ones who are Ijaw, Yoruba, Itsekiri, Efik-Ibibio, and even some Hausa.

What you see within the Ngwa that qualifies them as an ethnic nation is the samething I see within the Oka, Aro, and Ajali people. Oka and Aro-Ajali people are clearly different just like the Ngwa but they are no ethnic nations. They are tribes. Ngwa is a tribe whether u like it or not. Imagine asking for some peanut sized state that will be nothing but the size of Alief in Houston. *mcheeww* Ridiculous.

Of what use will Aba state be? How does that benefit the larger Igbo populace? I see no benefits except benefits for greedy unintelligent village champions looking for easy way to get political limelight and money which won't get them anywhere. Ngwa dialect can be learned within a month just like other dialects so that does not qualify what u speak as a language at all. It took me a montha to understand Bende dialect without asking questions so I know Ngwa is no exception. You act like Ngwa dialect to other dialects is like French and Arabic.
The emergence of Aba state will the support of the larger Igbo populace so the sooner you quit thinking there is something special about you the better. The Anioma agitation needs the support of the larger Igbo populace and even the minroty among them who thought that it was fashionaable to deny the Igbo have come to realize that. The Ikwerre who have the same attitude have learned to slow it down hence they were able to get Amaechi to become governor in Rivers state for the 1st time even though they are the largest grouop in Rivers state.

ChinenyeN:

Ezeagu, them traveling long distances doesn't prove anything. People traveled from northern Igbo areas to Edo-speaking areas to trade. So I guess they saw each other as the same?

Ngwa fits that definition of ethnicity that you gave. We Ngwa have peculiar culture in Igboland. Of course, in the broad sense, we are similar to other Igbo groups, but we have distinct cultural and religious practices that are NOT THE SAME as the rest of Igbo. Language wise, linguist say that two speakers are speaking the same language if they can inherently communicate without having to learn each other's mode of speech (that is what language is. . . the ability to inherently communicate). Ngwa cannot inherently communicate with THE REST OF IGBO, save for a few border Umuahia and Mbaise communities, Ndoki (of which, the larger body of its villages trace themselves to Ngwa), and generally Asa (who are either Ngwa or Etche) and Etche (who surprisingly enough claim so share progenitors with Ngwa). Origin-wise, Ngwa-Ukwu is the birthplace of Ngwa identity. Ngwa-Ukwu is our "foundation capital". Our progenitors may have come from Owere, but the moment they crossed the Imo is the moment that they forged Ngwa identity, in Ngwa-Ukwu. Ngwa identity was not forged in Owere. So our origin is Ngwa-Ukwu. We are not a tribe. Tribes don't develop states.

And where did I say that Igbo is not an identity?

Andre, true, my autonomous village is where I hail. It is my town, but I (we Ngwa) recognize, both now and in precolonial times, a larger Ngwa consciousness.

Which state did Ngwa have? Ngwa is a band of villages and a league of traders just like any other Igbo tribe out there, or maybe I'm wrong, No? You implied that the Ngwa dialect is a different language altogether because no other Igbo speakers can understand it, then you listed four key Igbo communities that understand it. Ngwa is a dialect and shares practically all the same words with Igbo only with a few letters changed.

It's fine having an Ngwa identity, but that should not come in the way of a much older and important establishment. The Ngwa consciousness has been there but the slaves that left Igbo lands hundred or so years ago did not classify themselves as 'Ngwa' because they knew the power in numbers.

Akanbi_edu:

Make these Reps do quick. We need a state for every individual. At least, there will be no marginalisation.

sooner or later,there would be more agiation for that.lwkmd

Thread for the creation of states in the whole federation these ibo street uchins have hijacked it. Ngwa Vs Umunade.
Very soon they will turn it to Ojukwu and Ikemba thread.

olabukola:

Thread for the creation of states in the whole federation these ibo street uchins have hijacked it. Ngwa Vs Umunade.
Very soon they will turn it to Ojukwu and Ikemba thread.

shut the fuk up niggu we all know youre not yoruba and just some dumb niggu who signs on another NL name the perpetuate arguments.

NO YORUBA NIGGU IN THE WORLD WOULD KNOW WTF UMUNADE OR NGWA IS. SO STOP ACTING LIKE A BYTCH
In a couple of minutes you will sign off and start to argue with yourself switching NL names and shiot.

olabukola:

Thread for the creation of states in the whole federation these ibo street uchins have hijacked it. Ngwa Vs Umunade.
Very soon they will turn it to Ojukwu and Ikemba thread.

lwkmd

sjeezy8:

shut the fuk up niggu we all know youre not yoruba and just some dumb niggu who signs on another NL name the perpetuate arguments.

NO YORUBA NIGGU IN THE WORLD WOULD KNOW WTF UMUNADE OR NGWA IS. SO STOP ACTING LIKE A BYTCH
In a couple of minutes you will sign of and start to argue with youreself switching NL and shiot.

i think he's not so happy that yoruba are joining in the noise-making.too bad for him

what we need is an end to poverty and ot creation of states