bigfrancis21: ^^
You just committed a gross fallacy. Don't be quick to ascribe the Ede meaning of Umunede to mean cocoyam in Igbo. The pronunciation of Ede in Umunede and Ede as in cocoyam are two different things. Ede(cocoyam) has falling tones and Ede in Umunede has mid and rising tones. The Ede in Umunede is the name of the founder, whoever it was, that founded Umunede community. Don't think that the name, Ede isn't peculiar to Edos only. Some communities in Nsukka bear Ede as community name or at times Edem.

pazienza: '' Anioma is a general term that embodies groups within it''

Well, the man who coined and invented the term ''Anioma'' late Premier Dennis Osadebey, was an Igbo to the core, he was one of the founding fathers of Ohanaeze Ndi igbo, he didn't organize the igbo speaking groups in mid west into one unit, so that they will break away from the parent igbo group and uphold a new created identity, no, he created Anioma to galvanize the igbo speaking parts of the midwest into one voice, capable of holding the western frontier of the Igbo race , and then integrating them into the larger igbo groups within the east of the Niger.
Professor Chike Edozien, the Asagba of Asaba clearly understood Osadebey visions and had since aligned himself to it, he is an anioma and also a grand patron of Ohaneze ndiigbo.

You bini vagabonds cannot hijack Osadebey's Anioma vision and turn it to something else, you will have to invent a new group for yourselves, the term Anioma will never serve your division purpose, because it was built for a greater and higher purpose, which is unity of Igbo speaking tribes of midwest and integrating them into the larger igbo group as a strong powerful political and cultural block whose interests can never be taken for granted by other Igbo groups, similar to what Obi wali wanted to achieve for igbo speaking groups in rivers state, but was never able to, before his death.

pazienza:

'' ...that does not mean that their origin is Igbo''


Who exactly are the Ibos you are refering to in this context? Why is it hard for you lots to realize that there is no group in the southeast that goes by the name ''Ibo''.

umunede could have originated from Owerri, Ngwa, Asa, Idemili, etc. But can't originate from Igbo, cause there is nowhere in south east called Ibo.

pazienza: '' Shouting that i am Igbo is very offensive because it is same as shouting to an Isoko or uhrobo person that they are Edo''


Another Ignorant statement. isoko and urhrobo are not mutually intelligible with bini or Esan. On the other hand, Ukwuani is mutually intelligible with Onicha language,same with Ika. So, you are basically comparing apple with oranges here.

agbotaen: 0 Comments

In a move to ensure that the Ika language did not go into extinction, the Onu Ika Nigeria has put in place, infrastructural frame towards the re-instatement of the Department of Ika Language in the College of Education (COE), Agbor by the 2016/2017 academic session.

The Head of Collective Leadership of Onu Ika Nigeria, Mr.Daniel Usifoh disclosed this during the 15th ‘Ogwa Ika’ which was held last week in Agbor, Headquarters of Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Usifoh said that Onu Ika had partnered with Ika Bible Translation Team and Ika Language and Culture Development

Union towards the realization of the above objective(the re-instatement of the Department of Ika Language in the COE,Agbor),adding that Onu Ika is in the driver’s seat and has been funding the activities.

To give effect to this partnership, he said, in November 2012, Onu Ika encouraged and funded the printing and launching of ‘Grammar Ika’by Dr.Chinedu Anya and the Ika Bible Translation Team.

According to him, the Ika Language Centre (ILC) was recently set up with an office at No.140, Old Lagos/Asaba Road, Agbor, adding that the ILC would have a Board of Trustees made up of representatives of the 11 traditional rulers in Ika ethnic nationality, Ika Language and Culture Development Union and Ekpon communities.

Usifoh pointed out that the ILC which would be ‘the engine room’ of Ika Language revival and sustenance would have an organogram depicting its various functions, saying that “Onu Ika is also tangentially associated with and involved in the compilation of ‘Ika Dictionary’ being undertaken by Ika Bible Translation Team”.

“Onu Ika is very much aware that one cannot teach a subject and indeed, a language without relevant textbooks and teachers. It is against this background that we identified and collated various books written on Ika Language”, he said, adding that in a structured manner,Onu Ika plans to penetrate private and public schools in Ika federal constituency to start implementing Ika Language curriculum as approved by the Ministry of Education.





2. the asaba people and their neighbours are not ikas , so whatever they believe is not our problem , they believe they are igbos that is good for them but majority of ikas believe they are ika , and we are an ethnic group , as of now no ika king is a member of ohaneze ndigbo , that is enough statement and ika people have also said that ogua/onu ika is the highest body for ika ethnic nationality and not ohaneze ndigbo , that point is very clear.
3. ika people have taken the bull by the horn by their resolve to start teaching ika language in college of education in agbor, and other things , if the igbos like they can engage in all their propaganda that ika is igbo , that will not move ika people as we are resolute in saying we are of ika ethnic group.
4. in ika , we have about 6 language variations and the seventh called oza language , so ika is a nation just like bini or isoko or igbo.
5. if isoko that is similar in language to uhrobo resolved with evidence that they are not uhrobo, and esan that has similarities with benins said they are not bini and the bini respected them , then why are the igbos not matured enough to understand that a people who has similarities and also lots of differences with them are a different ethnic group.
6. in 1930 , our fathers first defined our ethnic identity by their declaration and letter to the british that they are not binis , and neither were they part of any ethnic group in nigeria.
7. in 1967 the igbos made an attempt to annex ika into their igbo fold , during the war and our fathers also responded and put the record straight that the ika people are not igbo , and that ended it , and up till date ika has not had or being part of any igbo ethnic meetings .
8. as for the man who said ika is un productive , i think he is a senile igbo man who does not know left from right , and if i might ask what can igbos give or do for ika people in nigeria ? or do they want to give us their disjointed political culture ? and their inability to have a sence of direction ? or is it their money politics and their not having a leader that they want to give to us ? i think igbos should learn from ika people , we are small but more organised than igbos and we are very proud to be ika ethnic nationality and we are blessed with men and natural resources ---------------

1. an ika man in person of osaigbovo ogbemudia ruled old midwest and bendel , he was from igbanke .
2. james gbenoba the obi of agbor was a minister in western region
3. chief edward anuku from owa was a minister in western region
4. professor p. osunhon from umunede was a minister of midwest region
5. ivie jegbefume of abavo was a minister in midwest
6. edobor osaigbovou from owa was a minister in midwest region.
7. mr ehikwe from agbor was the secretary of NPN in bendel state.
8. sam ebonka from owa was deputy governor of delta state.
9. prince sam obi was speaker of delta and later acting governor delta state ,he is from ute,
10. barrister okonta from abavo was former speaker , delta state.
11. chief ifeanyi okowa was former secretary to delta govt and now chairman senate committee on health , he is from owa.
12. ambasador keshi is from igbodo
13. ambassador ogdson echegile eguabor is from owa , he is ambassador to sierraleone .
14. chief okunbor is from ute and he is hief of staff to delta govt.
15. jim ovia is from agbor , he is owner of zenith bank and owner of visafone and one of the richest business man in nigeria ,
16. nduka irabor is from owa and a foremost journalist in nigeria.
17. steve omojafor is from owa and he is one of the leading light in advertising industry in nigeria,
18. nduka obaigbena is one of nigeria foremost media owners, even in africa ,
19. major general ugo buzugbe from owa is the secretary to nigeria army ,
20. major general usiade retired was former director of army finance ,
21. deputy inspector general ugbaja is from owa ,
22. dein of agbor is one of the most revered monarchs in nigeria and youngest crowned king in the whole world
23. obi of owa , efeizomor is a highly revered monarch , and a host of others in ika land
24. cairoh ojogboh was former adviser to president musa yardua and a host of others
9. ika is one of the centres of agriculture in delta and nigeria as our people were known as great farmers called owe , and we are also blessed with , clay , and other minerals , also the recent discovery of oil in ika land has increased our economic relevance , right now they are building an oil flow station in owa-alidinma , and drilling has commenced in abavo, ute , ekuku agbor and other ika areas ,
10. owa has the largest railway village in the niger delta and it is also the spot for the proposed inland port for niger-delta , when all this facilities become functional , great economic waves will hit the area .
11. we have a huge crop of educated indegenes and many professors , and great talent , ika people are not loud and noisy people like the igbos , so we seldom draw huge attention , but we are making great progress in nigeria and we are miles apart from many other people , even in a state like delta with many ethnic groups the ika nation has fared better than many others in aPPOINTMENT OR political waters and thanks to our cool and unambigous nature , our neighbours like the uhrobos, binis, isokos, ijaws , ndokwas trust us , and our leaders understand politics


12. IKA people are not against any one , but since ancient times we have defined our identity and we are not subservient to any ethnic group be it benin or igbo , we are simply of ika ethnic group .

finally the first names that umunede kingdom was called was ukpehoro kingdom and later it was changed to umunede , ukpehoro primary school is in umunede as a testimony and that is purely an edo name , however ika as a people and language have been influenced by two groups the edos and the igbos and that reflects even in our language so today the ika language is a hybrid between edo and igbo and some times edo and igbo words are joined to form a word or sentence -----------------------
1. ehioma- my god is good , ehi -means god in bini while oma is igbo for good.
2. ehiyemofe ------- god gave me freely , ye is igbo for give but ofe is free in edo/yoruba language ,
3. umunefe- umun is igbo for children , while efe is edo for wealth .
in ika umun, omun means children ,
whatever people write about ika , we know our origin and we know where our founders came from , we do not claim that all ika people came from same place , but we came from different places to form our ika ethnic nation .

chux4liv:
I concur with your clarification of Ibo/Igbo but I disagree with your last statement that they could have originated from Owerri, Ngwan, Idemilli When Its clearly cited as origininating from bini (You don't want agree they're bini origin. but want them to claim eastern origin??)

agbotaen: IGUE FESTIVAL IN OWA KINGDOM .
YOU are all invited to the ibiewere and igue festival in owa kingdom, and this is slightly more than 500 years since our fore fathers first celebrated this festival , it is used to thank our ancestors for a successful year and to pray for good tidings in the coming year .
2. the obi and ohaimens( chiefs) will be well dressed while the ada and ebenrens will be thrown in a glamorous dispay of owa/ika culture .
3. this festival marks the end and the start of a new year for edo and edo- related people ,
4. agbogidi iyare , ojenebo iyare , obazuaye iyare ,
ojenebo ni sikirigba .
obi owa ,iselogbe ------- happy new year and i also wish my village idumu-izomor , iselogbe ooooo and also to the entire owa and agbor kingdom , who will also be having their igue festival ,
to the great dein , i say do dein , do baba ,
nitor nei fei iseh .

chux4liv:
I concur with your clarification of Ibo/Igbo but I disagree with your last statement that they could have originated from Owerri, Ngwan, Idemilli When Its clearly cited as origininating from bini (You don't want agree they're bini origin. but want them to claim eastern origin??)

Afam4eva:
He's not saying they originated from those places. He's just saying that it makes more sense to say they originated to those places but not Igbo because there's no place called Igbo. That's the mistake you folks keep making. There was no such thing as Igbo kingdom, village etc in the past and not at present. Even if there is, it's just a borrowed name used to describe the Igboid tribes.

4. in ika , we have about 6 language variations and the seventh called oza language , so ika is a nation just like bini or isoko or igbo.
5. if isoko that is similar in language to uhrobo resolved with evidence that they are not uhrobo, and esan that has similarities with benins said they are not bini and the bini respected them , then why are the igbos not matured enough to understand that a people who has similarities and also lots of differences with them are a different ethnic group.

Pharoh:

Thank you agboaten for this because this is what i have been trying to point out to them but they will not see it. How can someone say ukwuani is a dialect of a created igbo language when there are three major variations of the ukwuani language and slight variations across the clans in both ukwuani and aboh areas. It is that simple respect and recognition that is giving them problems but thank God that Ikas and Ndokwas are organised more than the over 40 million so called igbos.

Even look at the aniocha/oshimili guy that should tune in to our organization expertise in anioma and go on with their enuani language and identity but he wants to kill himself with the igbo identity. Well it is time we just leave these guys to their folly and pursue our destiny as we so wish, a lot is going on behind the scenes but they are just so ignorant.

You guys keep on talking about obi of asagba like he speaks for the whole anioma people, except monarchy in ukwuani land a king does not leave his domain for Christ sake to go and attend meaningless ohaneze meetings. We have our apex organization and just like ikas we are working hard to realize our destiny and forge ahead. Do they even know about the underground coalition to resurrect the midwest or bendel republic again?.

Like i said it is not productive to continue this discussion with you guys because you keep yapping about benin this and benin that but we keep on telling you that we are ikas and ndokwas but the explanation keeps flying off the window. So those who still wants to throw abuse about bini vagabonds can take over the thread for all i care.

Pharoh:

Thanks very much

We do get that when the argument goes sore or when we are not shifting our ground as expected with the usual argument from the language and culture angle. This clannish scourge is everywhere and even in ukwuani or Ika areas but with all round development and enlightenment, the issue will be reduced to the nearest minimum. See all the igboid group are one big family but it is made of different people and it is this simple fact that is eluding most of us here. A cluster of industry means a collection of different industries as a cluster of people is a collection of different people. Igbo is a people cluster made of other people who are not igbos and when the heat becomes high, we surely know where we can pitch our tent into.

I don't know if the land tenure system is applicable all over Nigeria where the land is not actually sold but leased for 100 years. Anyway people sell land to other people all over Nigeria but when Nigeria breaks up then the possibility of loosing those lands are high. People are not comfortable when people they sell land to start making statements like we own 70 percent of lagos or ikwerre land. This will surely cause hostility between you and the host community, people can go to any extent to sort this issue out as your ancestral land is dear to you so i don't know

Pharoh:

You made reference to we like you are not core igbo so you mind i ask where you are actually from?. There is no difference in dialects actually because Ika, ukwuani, Ikwerre and the other igboid groups in ebonyi state are a different languages on their own. They all have their own dialects where applicable and because they are all closely related then it looks like one is a dialect of the other but it is not. Igbo is the largest group in this family hence people confuse all the others to be a dialect of it but they are not actually. Norwegian, danish, Icelandic and Swedish are all Scandinavian languages with their own dialects but they are all related so the possibility of finding the same meaning or spelling for some certain words is high. Certain words mean the same across the igboid language family and not igbo language because the others are relative language to igbo but not a dialect of it.


We are not talking about lands but identity and i don't think there was any significant records of meeting people when they first came to the land. People moved about centuries ago unlike now that the world is civilised, the people in America and Australia today took the lands from the indigenous people. The issue here is about identity and let me conclude by saying ukwuani, Ika, Igbos, Ikwerre and the others belong to one family but the bone of contention is just the name of the family.

Why the yorubas were able to accept that identity is because they did not use the name of any ethnic group within the family to collectively address them. The problem was using igbo to address all of us instead of using a neutral term to address us while everyone still kept their own indigenous names. There is a lot to loose for we as ukwauni people if we start promoting igbo in place of our ukwuani identity because the essence of being ukwuani is not the same as being ika, igbo or ikwerre.

We are only related by language and culture and that is where it actually ends because all the other factors are different if not all. We can all collective make things happen like one big family but giving up our identity means starting afresh all over again. The essence of being an ukwuani man is unique to us only and has been passed from generation to generation and that is different from the essence of being an igbo man. This is one of the reasons an igbo man sees the others as lazy and laid back but in the actual sense they are not because the essence is different. If i decide to call myself igbos today then i will have to give up the essence of being uwkuani and start living like an igbo man, i get the you don't behave like real igbo from igbos alot so you see my point.

Pharoh:
I don't really understand but i think it is ikwerres that use rumu but we use umu for children in ukwuani. Igboid means all the languages within it are related languages, so sometimes a word can mean the same or be spelt exactly across this family group. Sometimes they could be spelt slightly different from one language to another or entirely different across the language family.

Igboid - Ekpeye, Igbo, Ika, Izii, Ezaa, Mgbo, Ikwerre, ogba and Ukwuani-Aboh languages.

All the above are languages on their own but closely related so words can mean the same, slight different or entirely different across the family. The others are not a dialect of the igbo language as it is just one of the languages in the family so people should just try to look away from the population of igbo within the family.

agbotaen: 0 Comments


finally the first names that umunede kingdom was called was ukpehoro kingdom and later it was changed to umunede , ukpehoro primary school is in umunede as a testimony and that is purely an edo name .

agadez007: i am not trying to convince you bini wannabes that you are igbo or not,but it is really a puzzle that a bini man married and settled with a bini woman and named their settlement an igbo name and practised most of our cultures,this is pure bumkum we call it ajambene
anybody familar with obosi oral history will know that when onitsha people crossed the river niger they were already igbo-speaking,so the story of picking igbo language whilst trading and inter-marrying with igbos is pure bullcrap,just think about this we were made to know that onitsha and other delta ibo are a very proud people they look down on igbos across the niger for being dosorganised and having no royalty whatsoever but how did they ahead to adopt the same language of the people they
see as inferior?



IGBO KWENU

agbotaen: 1. i dont know who the igbos are trying to deceive and convince ,if majority of ika rejected being igbos in 1967 , and up till now they are not part of ohaneze ndigbo , is that not a statement?
2. igbos were not known to have kings in the past but now all their villages are now quashi kingdoms , and they are cannot tell us that they borrowed kingship from ika/ bini people .
3. your numbers do not matters to us , isreal is one of the best nations and they are less than 5 million , even the over 40 million igbos claim to come from isreal , thats a shame .oooooooooooo.
4. ika is small but we are very organised , while for almost 1000 years our towns and villages and kingdoms were ruled with a proper political monarchy , the so called igbos were still living in unorganised villages and hamlets , if not for british that developed big tows in igbo land , they would still be living in unorganised states.
5. ika people are preserving their language and culture , our bible is under way , our dictionary is under way , so let me see how your igbo language will dominate ika , i go see , you people better wake up , ika is a seperate language that has similarities with bini and igbo language and it is not igbo , it is a seperate language worth studying to any level , it is a language that is more complete, and we are proud of it.
6. igbo was formed by the british less than 200 years ago , and ika people are not part of that formation , we are our own people .
7. 90 percent of ika culture is from edo areas , with 10 percent coming from igbo areas , but ika has never claimed to be benin , and we have never claimed to be igbos too , we are just ika people.
8. yes ika has been influenced by our neighbours but we have resolved to bring back ika language and culture and remove all things that are not ika from it , and teach our people to be ika proper.
9. our villages are called idumu and thats not an igbo word , our family is ebon/iboze/agbon , and our towns are called ogbe , this are non igbo words , and in our language we know words that came from igbo and those that came from edo ,

10. ika people migrated into ika from benin, ishan, ora, ndokwa, aniocha, igbo and even yoruba , and all these people inter married and exchanged cultures and became ika ethnic nation , but each of our villages still kept their history and ika is a rich nation .
11. no matter what igbo propagandists say , we we ika people are not moved , we will not join your ohaneze ndigbo and we will not say that igbo is our tribe , because we are ika people. and for your information the monarchical system adopted by asaba is very recent , it is not as old or traditional as agbor or owa or umunede monarchy ,so go and study delta north history . or have you seen obi of owa or obi of abavo or umunede or dein of agbor in ohaneze meetings before ? or are they members ? the answer is absolutely no , they are only members of ogua/onu ika

pokur:
Ebo and ogbe are not Igbo words?.Dude,u drunk or something?.You can keep dissociating yourself from your Igbo kin if u like,but don't spread such falsehood here again.

some-girl:


So clearly, the issue isn't grabbing land of those who identify as Igbo after all cos Lagos is clearly not Igbo land. Distancing yourselves from people who could potentially claim your land anyways whether or not you agree to being one of them is pointless after all. That's beside the point however.




I'm predominantly from Imo State.

Your comment implies that there is an Igbo language which Ika dialects/ languages differ from. Can you please clarify which of the Igbo dialects or Igboid languages (if you prefer to see refer to them as such) is the standard Igbo langauge, which you have compared your dialects/ languages with.

The emboldened statement puzzles me as I believe language and culture are all that is required to establish a relationship between groups. What are the "all other factors" that are different?
If your statement was made in reference to origin, still makes no sense as you know various Igbos groups have different origins and histories.

Unless there is evidence that a place name like "Umunede" was corrupted by Igbo settlers or Umu also means children or something else in Bini langauge and Bini towns/ villages exist which are named in that format, the name indicates the presence of Igbos in the area whether they be indigenous people or fellow migrants, who named the place after Ede, "the Bini migrant".

I understand your argument of not wanting to be grouped as Igbo however even if all Igboid groups were lumped together under a different name, there would still be those who would seek to separate themselves. The Igbo classification isn't the issue.
By the emboldened statement you have admitted to being of the same stock as other Igbo sub groups/ Igboid groups whether or not you choose to dissociate yourselves from the group name.
I think most people who've participated in this debate seek/ sought to make it clear to all that you speak an Igbo dialect/ Igboid language.

I for one, do not dispute your claim that some Ika people have Bini links. This is only natural given your location.

some-girl:


So clearly, the issue isn't grabbing land of those who identify as Igbo after all cos Lagos is clearly not Igbo land. Distancing yourselves from people who could potentially claim your land anyways whether or not you agree to being one of them is pointless after all. That's beside the point however.




I'm predominantly from Imo State.

Your comment implies that there is an Igbo language which Ika dialects/ languages differ from. Can you please clarify which of the Igbo dialects or Igboid languages (if you prefer to see refer to them as such) is the standard Igbo langauge, which you have compared your dialects/ languages with.

The emboldened statement puzzles me as I believe language and culture are all that is required to establish a relationship between groups. What are the "all other factors" that are different?
If your statement was made in reference to origin, still makes no sense as you know various Igbos groups have different origins and histories.

Unless there is evidence that a place name like "Umunede" was corrupted by Igbo settlers or Umu also means children or something else in Bini langauge and Bini towns/ villages exist which are named in that format, the name indicates the presence of Igbos in the area whether they be indigenous people or fellow migrants, who named the place after Ede, "the Bini migrant".

I understand your argument of not wanting to be grouped as Igbo however even if all Igboid groups were lumped together under a different name, there would still be those who would seek to separate themselves. The Igbo classification isn't the issue.
By the emboldened statement you have admitted to being of the same stock as other Igbo sub groups/ Igboid groups whether or not you choose to dissociate yourselves from the group name.
I think most people who've participated in this debate seek/ sought to make it clear to all that you speak an Igbo dialect/ Igboid language.

I for one, do not dispute your claim that some Ika people have Bini links. This is only natural given your location.

So clearly, the issue isn't grabbing land of those who identify as Igbo after all cos Lagos is clearly not Igbo land. Distancing yourselves from people who could potentially claim your land anyways whether or not you agree to being one of them is pointless after all. That's beside the point however.

I'm predominantly from Imo State.

Your comment implies that there is an Igbo language which Ika dialects/ languages differ from. Can you please clarify which of the Igbo dialects or Igboid languages (if you prefer to see refer to them as such) is the standard Igbo langauge, which you have compared your dialects/ languages with.

The emboldened statement puzzles me as I believe language and culture are all that is required to establish a relationship between groups. What are the "all other factors" that are different?
If your statement was made in reference to origin, still makes no sense as you know various Igbos groups have different origins and histories.

Unless there is evidence that a place name like "Umunede" was corrupted by Igbo settlers or Umu also means children or something else in Bini langauge and Bini towns/ villages exist which are named in that format, the name indicates the presence of Igbos in the area whether they be indigenous people or fellow migrants, who named the place after Ede, "the Bini migrant".

I understand your argument of not wanting to be grouped as Igbo however even if all Igboid groups were lumped together under a different name, there would still be those who would seek to separate themselves. The Igbo classification isn't the issue.
By the emboldened statement you have admitted to being of the same stock as other Igbo sub groups/ Igboid groups whether or not you choose to dissociate yourselves from the group name.
I think most people who've participated in this debate seek/ sought to make it clear to all that you speak an Igbo dialect/ Igboid language.

I for one, do not dispute your claim that some Ika people have Bini links. This is only natural given your location.