fero007:

I grew up thinking 3 major tribes in Nigeria were the only tribes, then i would see a bini girl or a calabar boy and call them 'omo ibo' and since I didn't understand their language it all sounded ibo to me, until recently I learnt of the other tribes in the east, the ishan, ijaw, urhobo, ogoni, Ibibio,e.t.c like 20 of them, i even met one Amadi dat told me he is not Igbo, he is ikwere, n one guy, Okoro, told me he is urhobo nt igbo
And am like where are these people in this country, then i was made to know dat the likes of Osasu(Bini), Tari(Ijaw), Kevwe(Isoko) n Ekaite(Efik) are not Igbos as I thought.
But I've noticed that these people ve many likeness with Igbos, from the customs i hear them talk about, their dress, their dance, the way of cooking, many words in their language, the way they do things generally is more like Igbo, than Yoruba or Hausa.
What is the reason for this closeness?

RedboneSmith:
When I meet Nigerians who don't know there are more than 3 ethnic groups in Nigeria, I am like "Where the hell did you people go to school?!"

The primary school I went to was so bush we held classes under a gmelina tree (my school uniforms and books all had gmelina juice stains and smell like gmelina). Yet we were all taught about the other ethnic groups that make up Nigeria. Efik, Bini, Ijaw, Kanuri, Fulani, Ibibio, etc. We knew about them before we entered JS1.

fero007:

I grew up thinking 3 major tribes in Nigeria were the only tribes, then i would see a bini girl or a calabar boy and call them 'omo ibo' and since I didn't understand their language it all sounded ibo to me, until recently I learnt of the other tribes in the east, the ishan, ijaw, urhobo, ogoni, Ibibio,e.t.c like 20 of them, i even met one Amadi dat told me he is not Igbo, he is ikwere, n one guy, Okoro, told me he is urhobo nt igbo
And am like where are these people in this country, then i was made to know dat the likes of Osasu(Bini), Tari(Ijaw), Kevwe(Isoko) n Ekaite(Efik) are not Igbos as I thought.
But I've noticed that these people ve many likeness with Igbos, from the customs i hear them talk about, their dress, their dance, the way of cooking, many words in their language, the way they do things generally is more like Igbo, than Yoruba or Hausa.
What is the reason for this closeness?

YourNemesis:


Majority of Yorubas don't know the difference. loool
It is partly due to Insular nature of Yoruba culture, and partly educational and societal ignorance plaguing them. You hear schools in the SW saying, Nigeria has three major tribes, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba and all othe tribes can be grouped under them.

A Benue friend once went to the SW, this guy was Agatu (part of Idomas).. everyone as like, ok you are Benue, so you are "Under Hausa" the look on the guy's face was like wtf! NO. Then they are like... Ok that means you are "under" Ibo because You are definitely not Yoruba.

loool

RedboneSmith:


You have a point about this being largely a SW thing. Most of the people I have met who try to categorise everybody into one of the Big Three had a SW background.

There was this friend I knew from uni. He was Igbo, but was born and raised in Ogun State. We were discussing Nigerian musicians and he said Tuface was Igbo. I said Nooo, he is Idoma. The guy said, Ehen? If he is not Igbo, is he now Yoruba? I started talking about how everybody is not either Yoruba or Igbo, and the guy just gave me the middle finger...literally.

RedboneSmith:


You have a point about this being largely a SW thing. Most of the people I have met who try to categorise everybody into one of the Big Three had a SW background.

There was this friend I knew from uni. He was Igbo, but was born and raised in Ogun State. We were discussing Nigerian musicians and he said Tuface was Igbo. I said Nooo, he is Idoma. The guy said, Ehen? If he is not Igbo, is he now Yoruba? I started talking about how everybody is not either Yoruba or Igbo, and the guy just gave me the middle finger...literally.

edupedia:


.....keep making fools of your selves and masturbating through tribal jealousy...Shiorr

edupedia:


.....keep making fools of your selves and masturbating through tribal jealousy...Shiorr

Afam4eva:


@OP
To answer your question, it's imperative that the term south-south are artificial constructs and don't necessarily mean that they are the same people. While the SE is mostly made up of Igbos, a reasonable amount of the SS is also made of Igbos or atleast Igbo speaking people even though some of them wan to be known otherwise. Now, other parts of the south-south are made up of a lot of other groups including Ijaws, Efkik/Ibibio, Andoni, Bini, Ishan and so on.

There's no such thing as Efik/Ibibio (Efik or Ibibio). They aren't interchangeable words one group.

Efiks and Ibibios have similar (almost too similar even) cultures, languages, names and the likes but they are different tribes.

Efiks are traditionally found in Calabar , Cross River State and its surroundings while Ibibios are indigenous to Akwa Ibom State. Ibibios are a larger tribe than the Efiks, Annangs and Orons put together, with the latter two being ethnic groups in Akwa Ibom State.

TSOM:


There's no such thing as Efik/Ibibio (Efik or Ibibio). They aren't interchangeable words one group.

Efiks and Ibibios have similar (almost too similar even) cultures, languages, names and the likes but they are different tribes.

Efiks are traditionally found in Calabar , Cross River State and its surroundings while Ibibios are indigenous to Akwa Ibom State. Ibibios are a larger tribe than the Efiks, Annangs and Orons put together, with the latter two being ethnic groups in Akwa Ibom State.

Afam4eva:

I think you're teaching the wrong person. I'm aware of the differences between Efik, Ibibio, Annang and Oron but to me, they're the same people no matter how much they choose to balkanize themselves. Besides, i won't be the first person to use the Efik-ibibio nomenclature.

TSOM:

You are on this thread 'reprimanding' folks who think Nigerian tribes are basically Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba yet, still on the same thread, you are stubbornly insisting Ibibios and Efiks should be lumped into one tribe regardless of their differences?

You are supposedly 'enlightening' ignorant folks but you insist on staying ignorant even in the face of the enlightening facts I laid bare? The ironic hypocrisy of it all!

I'm Ibibio and you wouldn't override my history with your ignorance. That ignorant folks use Efik and Ibibio interchangeably doesn't negate the truth - it is wrong. What you think you know is inconsequential when matched with facts.

michaelkaroh:
The time will come and now is, when BROTHERS will disregard minute differences and embrace the truth of their origins. I believe deeply that most tribes in the delta are just offshoots of ancient igbos. E.g my tribe (urhobo) seem to have many words and phrases shared with igbos. I have been doing alot of research of recent and I have been able to match over 30 words and phrases common to both tribes. It is very wrong to classify us(urhobo) as edoid when we are closer to igbos culturally. Some urhobo towns even kept record of their igbo ancestors. To me urhobos speak an igboid dialect with edoid accent. For example the urhobos call the heart "ubi udu" due to their edoid accent, in truth what they are trying to pronounce is the igbo phrase "obi ndu" translated "the seat of life" which is the heart. I wish dna testing can be done on this tribes to know who is who and end this self hate I see all around for if you hate your brother you hate yourself. The way igbos speak ill of urhobos is sickening and vice versa. The civil war messed everything up, distrust and hate is the order of the day. God help US.

scholes0:


Chai, self hate is bad.
So Urhobo is Igboid now? Osanobla oghene!

michaelkaroh:
How is it self hate to state the truth. Are you dismissing all I wrote without researching it. In the nearest future things will change for the better.

scholes0:


You are funny.
So because urhobo and Igbo have some words that look alike was your reason?
Are you aware that even Yoruba and Igbo share tons of similar words and word cognates?

Your problem is self hate, because even a layman can see that Benins , Ishans, Isokos and Urhobos are all related more to themselves than they are to other tribes.

michaelkaroh:
do you even know history. Go to the oba's palace and ask him why he never steps foot in urhobo land. Go and ask evwreni people and they will boldly tell you their ancestors were igbos. Learn history my friend, it will do you a lot of good.

scholes0:


You are funny.
So because urhobo and Igbo have some words that look alike was your reason?
Are you aware that even Yoruba and Igbo share tons of similar words and word cognates?

Your problem is self hate, because even a layman can see that Benins , Ishans, Isokos and Urhobos are all related more to themselves than they are to other tribes.

Probz:


Ikwerre’s Igbo and Eshan’s closer to Yoruba than Igbo.

fero007:


To me the isokos and urhobos are less like Bini, etsako, ishan and more like itsekiri, ijaw and kwale

scholes0:


ohh so the ancestors of Evwreni people are Igbos but they started speaking an edoid language and decided to start calling themselves evwreni.
Evwreni and igbide were not founded by Igbos in any way, the legend only makes mention of an Igbo hunter who came to settle among the people there.

Some people might have revised the folklore, but you haven just heard the actual version from me

michaelkaroh:
you just gave me the actual version as what exactly?, perhaps as the final authority on urhobo history...brother you're funny. To begin with, what is the basis for the classification of urhobo as edoid?, is it because of the similar accent?....if tomorrow urhobos start speaking with a french accent people like you would classify them as francophone or so. Can you tell me why urhobos were called "heebo" during the slave trade....why some ancient urhobo names are pure igbo like "okoro".....you say we share a lot with edos and I say we only share a bitter history with them and an accent due to forced association.

scholes0:


Isokos yes maybe.
Urhobos.... well it depends on which area. They are culturally between Benin, Itsekiri and maybe ijawish.

Etsakos on the other hand aren't even benin-like.

michaelkaroh:
you just gave me the actual version as what exactly?, perhaps as the final authority on urhobo history...brother you're funny. To begin with, what is the basis for the classification of urhobo as edoid?, is it because of the similar accent?....if tomorrow urhobos start speaking with a french accent people like you would classify them as francophone or so. Can you tell me why urhobos were called "heebo" during the slave trade....why some ancient urhobo names are pure igbo like "okoro".....you say we share a lot with edos and I say we only share a bitter history with them and an accent due to forced association.

fero007:


Well I don't know more than what am told. One of friend, umuokoro, an urhobo, told me that ancient urhobos were a distinct Edo group(like afemai n ishan mixed 2geda), who migrated through Aniocha area, interacting and intermarrying the Igbo people and absorbing their culture, before finally moving to their current home in Niger delta were they met the Ijaws, and also interacted with them to absorb their culture.

I guess that means I rhinos are partly Edo, partly Igbo and partly Ijaw, right?