A PEOPLE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO SAY WHO THEY ARE AND ASSOCIATE WITH WHOMEVER THEY LIKE.SOME GROUPS IN DELTA NORTH AREA OR ANIOMA ARE VERY MINDFUL OF WHO THEY ARE AS PER THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE , ONE OF SUCH PEOPLE ARE THE IKAS , THIS OFTEN BRINGS HEATED ARGUEMENTS AND SOME TIMES IT OFTEN ENDS IN ABUSES ,I AM IKA AND I AM PROUD OF MY ETHNIC NATIONALITY, I HAVE NO APOLOGY TO GIVE TO OTHERS WHO FEEL I SHOULD SAY IAM IGBO. JUST TO EDUCATE SOME PEOPLE , IN THE ANIOMA AREA OF DELTA, 11 LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN , WHICH INCLUDE IGBO, BINI, OLD YORUBA, IGALA ,UKWANI, ABOH ,IKA AND OTHERS.
IN PLACES LIKE UGBODU THEY SPEAK IGBO AND OLUKUNMI,IN AGBOR -THEY SPEAK IKA AND BINI.
HAVING SAID THIS , I WANT TO SAY THAT THIS CONCIOUSNESS OF BEING IGBO, HAUSA, YORUBA,AND OTHERS JUST STARTED LESS THAN 150 YEARS AGO , AFTER THE BRITISH CAME,AND MOST KINGDOMS IN ANIOMA AREA WHERE LIVING ON THEIR OWN AS AGBOR KINGDOM,OWA KINGDOM ,ISELEUKWU AND OTHERS .BUT DUE TO HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF WAR AND INTERMARRIAGES AND TRADING ,POPULATIONS MIXED AND CULTURES AND LANGUAGES FUSED.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR WAS THE BINI EMPIRE THAT CONTROLLED ALL THE AREA OF DELTA NORTH , THEN THERE WAS THE NRI -IGBO FACTORS TOO.AND THE IGALAS,YORUBAS AND ISHAN E.T.C.
HAVING SAID THIS ONE WILL OBSERVE THAT MOST IKA KINGDOMS LIVED SEPERATELY DEFINING THEIR FUTURE AND WERE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY BINIS AND HAVE LIVED AS KINGDOMS AND NATIONS FOR CLOSE TO 1000 YEARS,THEY HAVE PRESERVED THEIR IDENTITY AS A SEPERATE PEOPLE ,DIFFERENT FROM BINIS OR IGBO,BUT HOWEVER THEY HAVE TAKEN A LOT OF THINGS FROM BOTH IGBO AND BINI CULTURE.
IT WAS NOT DUE TO THE CIVIL WAR THAT IKAS SAY THEY ARE NOT IGBOS,WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ON OUR OWN , WE HAVE NEVER AT ANY POINT IN OUR HISTORY SAID WE WERE IGBO , SO IT IS FARE THAT WE ARE RESPECTED AS RESPECT BEGETS RESPECTS .
1. IKA HAS SOME IGBO CULTURAL TRADITIONS LIKE-
2. IKENGA ,3. IWAGI, AND WORSHIP OF ALI
SO ALSO IKA HAS MANY BINI TRADITIONS LIKE ,1. IGUE, IKABA,OGBANIGBE,OSIEZI,OHUMWEEDEN, OVIA, OLOKUN AND OTHERS .

IKAS ALSO FOLLOW THE BINI TRADITION OF KINGSHIP FROM FATHER TO SON CALLED OBI SHIP WITH REGALIA LIKE THE OBA OF BENIN, AND USING THE BINI USELU STYLE OF CHIEFTHANCY ,LIKE OBASOGIE, IHAMA, OLOGBOSHERE AND OTHERS. THE TOWN,PALACE AND HEREDITORY CHIEFS.
OUR LANGUAGE WHICH WE ALSO CALL IKA IS AN AMALGAMATION OF IGBO AND BINI LANGUAGE ,BOTH IN WORDS AND STRUCTURE ,
LIKE , NANI IRI - HOW ARE YOU ,
NENYI KPAMI OSELOBUE HUN OGI GBODONEYIN UYA- LETS THANK GOD FOR CHASING AWAY SUFFERING FROM US .

HAVING SAID ALL THIS MOST IKA PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF WHO THEY AND THEY KNOW THEY ARE IKAS , BUT WE STILL HAVE SOME IKAS WHO ALSO SAY THEY ARE IGBOS THAT IS ALSO THEIR FREE RIGHT.WE DO NOT QUARREL WITH THEM,THE IKA PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SAID ALL IKAS COME OR MIGRATED FROM THE SAME PLACE ,BUT WE KNOW IKAS ARE HETEROGENOUS SOME COME FROM IGBO,BINI, ISHAN, ORA, UKWANI,ANIOCHA AND OTHER AREAS BUT THROUGH WARS, INTERMARRIAGES AND OTHER THINGS THESE PEOPLE HAVE LIVED ALMOST SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF YEARS AND HAVE DECIDED TO BE IKA.I COME FROM OWA KINGDOM AND EACH OF OUR VILLAGES WILL TELL YOU WHERE THEY MIGRATED FROM BUT HOWEVER SINCE THE 12TH CENTURY WHEN THE GREAT WARRIOR KING ODOGUN CONQUERED THE VILLAGES AND MADE IT INTO OWA KINGDOM,WE HAVE ALL BEEN LIVING AS ONE.
IKA HAVE TAKEN THEIR DESTINY IN THEIR HANDS AS WE HAVE OUR SOCIO-POLITICAL ORGANISATION CALLED ONU IKA AND OGUA IKA ,THERE IS ALWAYS AN ANNUAL LECTURE PROMOTING IKA ETHNIC NATIONALITIES CULTURE AND HISTORY, THE LAST ONE WAS RECENTLY HELD IN UTE-OGBEJE KINGDOM IN IKA NORTH EAST OF DELTA STATE.
NO IKA MAN CAN DENY THE INFLUENCE OF IGBO ,NOR CAN WE DENY BINI INFLUENCE , BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WE ARE IKA PEOPLE ,AND WE CAN CHOSE WHO EVER WE WANT TO ASSOCIATE WITH.NO TREAT OR INTIMIDATION CAN CHANGE OUR STANCE AS THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR PEOPLE FROM ALL OUR KINGS, CHIEFS,NOBLES, PEASANTS HAVE SPOKEN THAT THEY ARE IKAS.

Agbotaen, are you still bothering yourself over this? You have nothing to worry or be apologetic about. You say you are Ika. No problem. Don't concern yourself with other Igbo pushing some identity on you, because, all things considered, you're really not under any obligation to accept such broad categorization. So just be cool and continue about with your business.

Honestly, this kind of topic has been overdone. So, to each his own (literally and figuratively).

agbotaen:

   A PEOPLE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO  SAY WHO THEY ARE AND ASSOCIATE WITH WHOMEVER THEY LIKE.SOME GROUPS IN DELTA NORTH AREA OR ANIOMA ARE VERY  MINDFUL OF WHO THEY ARE AS PER THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE , ONE  OF SUCH PEOPLE ARE THE IKAS , THIS OFTEN BRINGS HEATED ARGUEMENTS AND SOME TIMES IT OFTEN ENDS IN ABUSES ,I AM IKA AND I  AM PROUD OF MY ETHNIC NATIONALITY, I HAVE NO APOLOGY TO GIVE TO OTHERS WHO FEEL I SHOULD SAY  IAM IGBO. JUST TO EDUCATE SOME PEOPLE , IN THE ANIOMA AREA OF DELTA, 11 LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN , WHICH INCLUDE IGBO, BINI, OLD YORUBA, IGALA ,UKWANI, ABOH ,IKA AND OTHERS.
     IN PLACES LIKE  UGBODU THEY SPEAK IGBO AND OLUKUNMI,IN AGBOR -THEY SPEAK IKA AND BINI.
     HAVING SAID THIS , I WANT TO SAY THAT THIS CONCIOUSNESS OF BEING IGBO, HAUSA, YORUBA,AND OTHERS JUST STARTED LESS THAN 150 YEARS AGO , AFTER THE BRITISH CAME,AND MOST KINGDOMS IN ANIOMA AREA WHERE LIVING ON THEIR OWN AS AGBOR KINGDOM,OWA KINGDOM ,ISELEUKWU  AND OTHERS .BUT DUE TO HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF WAR AND INTERMARRIAGES AND TRADING ,POPULATIONS MIXED AND CULTURES AND LANGUAGES FUSED.
         ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR WAS THE BINI EMPIRE THAT CONTROLLED ALL THE AREA OF DELTA NORTH , THEN THERE WAS THE NRI -IGBO FACTORS TOO.AND THE IGALAS,YORUBAS AND ISHAN E.T.C.
       HAVING SAID THIS ONE WILL OBSERVE THAT MOST IKA KINGDOMS LIVED SEPERATELY DEFINING THEIR FUTURE AND WERE HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY  BINIS AND HAVE LIVED AS KINGDOMS AND NATIONS FOR CLOSE TO 1000 YEARS,THEY HAVE PRESERVED THEIR IDENTITY AS A SEPERATE PEOPLE ,DIFFERENT FROM BINIS OR IGBO,BUT HOWEVER THEY HAVE TAKEN A LOT OF THINGS FROM BOTH IGBO AND BINI CULTURE.
            IT WAS NOT DUE TO THE CIVIL WAR THAT IKAS SAY THEY ARE NOT  IGBOS,WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN ON OUR OWN , WE HAVE NEVER AT ANY POINT  IN OUR HISTORY SAID WE WERE IGBO , SO IT IS FARE THAT WE ARE RESPECTED AS RESPECT BEGETS RESPECTS .
          1. IKA HAS SOME IGBO CULTURAL TRADITIONS LIKE-
  2. IKENGA ,3. IWAGI, AND WORSHIP OF ALI
     SO  ALSO IKA HAS MANY BINI TRADITIONS LIKE ,1. IGUE, IKABA,OGBANIGBE,OSIEZI,OHUMWEEDEN, OVIA, OLOKUN AND OTHERS .
     
   IKAS ALSO  FOLLOW THE BINI TRADITION OF KINGSHIP FROM FATHER TO SON CALLED OBI SHIP WITH REGALIA LIKE THE OBA OF BENIN, AND USING THE BINI USELU STYLE OF CHIEFTHANCY ,LIKE OBASOGIE, IHAMA, OLOGBOSHERE AND OTHERS. THE TOWN,PALACE AND HEREDITORY CHIEFS.
         OUR LANGUAGE WHICH WE ALSO CALL IKA IS AN AMALGAMATION OF IGBO AND BINI LANGUAGE ,BOTH IN WORDS AND STRUCTURE ,
   LIKE , NANI IRI -  HOW ARE YOU ,
    NENYI KPAMI OSELOBUE HUN OGI GBODONEYIN UYA- LETS THANK GOD FOR CHASING AWAY SUFFERING FROM US .

     HAVING SAID ALL THIS MOST IKA PEOPLE ARE PROUD OF WHO THEY AND THEY KNOW THEY ARE IKAS , BUT WE STILL HAVE SOME  IKAS WHO ALSO SAY THEY ARE IGBOS THAT  IS ALSO THEIR FREE RIGHT.WE DO  NOT QUARREL WITH THEM,THE IKA PEOPLE   HAVE  NEVER SAID ALL IKAS COME OR MIGRATED FROM THE SAME PLACE ,BUT  WE KNOW IKAS ARE HETEROGENOUS SOME COME FROM IGBO,BINI, ISHAN, ORA, UKWANI,ANIOCHA AND OTHER AREAS BUT THROUGH WARS, INTERMARRIAGES AND OTHER THINGS THESE PEOPLE HAVE LIVED ALMOST SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF YEARS AND HAVE DECIDED TO  BE IKA.I COME FROM OWA KINGDOM AND EACH OF OUR VILLAGES WILL TELL YOU WHERE THEY MIGRATED FROM BUT HOWEVER SINCE THE 12TH CENTURY WHEN THE GREAT WARRIOR KING ODOGUN CONQUERED THE VILLAGES AND MADE IT INTO OWA KINGDOM,WE HAVE ALL BEEN LIVING AS ONE.
   IKA HAVE TAKEN THEIR DESTINY IN THEIR HANDS AS WE  HAVE OUR SOCIO-POLITICAL ORGANISATION CALLED ONU IKA AND OGUA IKA ,THERE IS ALWAYS AN ANNUAL LECTURE PROMOTING IKA ETHNIC NATIONALITIES CULTURE AND HISTORY, THE LAST ONE WAS RECENTLY HELD IN UTE-OGBEJE KINGDOM IN IKA NORTH EAST OF DELTA STATE.
               NO  IKA MAN CAN DENY THE INFLUENCE OF IGBO ,NOR CAN WE DENY BINI INFLUENCE , BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WE ARE IKA PEOPLE ,AND WE CAN CHOSE WHO EVER WE WANT TO ASSOCIATE WITH.NO TREAT OR INTIMIDATION CAN CHANGE OUR STANCE AS THE VAST  MAJORITY OF OUR PEOPLE FROM ALL OUR KINGS, CHIEFS,NOBLES, PEASANTS HAVE SPOKEN THAT THEY ARE IKAS.

On the issue of Igbo, everyone already knows about Igbuzor and Akwukwu Igbo, no one has explained why they've used the word Igbo.

You cannot chose what other Ika are and what they are not, just like no one can force you to be Igbo. You can't speak for all Ika, and all Ika don't agree with you. There are many Ika people who have put two and two together to realise that they are Igbo, so there's no need worrying yourself over what people call the Ika: You'll always be seen as Igbo, so the only thing left to do is to get over it. It seems you're with the band of Ika people that like to claim everything Edo, when Edo themselves will never claim you, or have claimed you, they will only humour you and they know the history of the enmity between the Ika warriors of old and the Benin Empire.

By the way Olukwumi is an extinct language, and Bini is not a language of Agbor.

Eze Chima is not a Bini name! [size=15pt]Owi Igbo![/size]

[b]Idu lua Nwunnye
On the appointed date the bride�s family prepare large quantity of food for the in-laws and visitors. The items are displayed while negotiations for the bride price follow with dialogue; thus:  the brides the family may ask such questions after presenting the visitors with kolanut and drinks on their arrival. What is your mission? We saw a beautiful flower or udara (cherry) and we want her to be the one to be giving food to our son. (He is introduced). The groom is asked �Will you be able to look after her?� he replies �yes�. He is asked again �Are you sure- definitely sure. If you see her can you identify her?� and he replies again �Yes�. After which a mock negotiation ensues like this �The bride price is one million/five million naira. OK, we will pay ten million.� The mock negotiation goes on for a while, before the bride is asked by the leader of Umu-Adas (married women from the bride�s family) if she was prepared to marry the man. If the answer is in affirmative she reports back to the group. The bridegroom�s family presents the specified bride price. Normally N10, 000.00 is presented contained in an envelop after other monetary obligations have been met. The spokes man from the brides family shows the elders the money, depending on the family between N1,000.00 to N3,000.00 is taken and the balance is given back to the  bride grooms family. They are asked to start life with it for the young couple.
The above paste highlights the fact that Ika is not different from other Igbo groups.

Andre, is that seriously going to be your defense? Does your case seriously hinge on that piece of evidence? Wow. . . Hehh. . .

@Agbotaen: You have established your fact long time ago that you are not Igbo, we do not have any problem with that. I even personally asked you if you required assistance from me to relocate to Binin.
My message to you is that you should live the Ikas alone who intend to identify as Igbo. You can not speak for over 300,000 Ikas.
Secondly, you should work towards efforts that will see an Anioma man become governor of Delta state come 2011.
Coming to nairaland to twist your history so as to make Ika non-Igbo has failed immensely. You even twisted Dein Ikenchukwu's name to whatever I do not know in an attempt to rile the Igbo.
Hence, why not attempt my options to you as your fallacies has always been dictated and severely dealt with.

ChinenyeN:

Agbotaen, are you still bothering yourself over this? You have nothing to worry or be apologetic about. You say you are Ika. No problem. Don't concern yourself with other Igbo pushing some identity on you, because, all things considered, you're really not under any obligation to accept such broad categorization. So just be cool and continue about with your business.

Honestly, this kind of topic has been overdone. So, to each his own (literally and figuratively).

Seconded!

I think Ika is pure Igbo in every way but let the Ikas make their own choice.I personally think only Igbodo should be included in the Anioma project.

Hi all,i hav decided not to coment on this thread,but i was busy reading some coments both good/bad,but the last few coments realy has made me to speak,firstly i dnt knw if u guys stil remember me,cos we were speakin on a similar topic here,but it generated into abuses because i never had enough ikas to back me,@chinenye,i want 2 appologise for all the bad words i said 2 u in the other thread,this is becos i've realised that u take critical caution to think and understand peoples plight,also for not going ur other igbos in forcing igboness on the ikas,thank u,so the main reason i want 2 coment is the false coment posted by andre,pls sir i also respect u,because it seems u r a professor of nigerian culture,but please stop imposing igboness on us,u said agbotean is speakin for himself,that is nt true,agbotean is owa,and i am umunede,and i tell u that we are proud of our tribe,IKA.I decided not to talk because the last time i did,i got alot of e-courses,frm u guys.Thanks.@Agbotean.Eworo yaki wu.

We are still having this conversation because Nigeria has never conducted a proper census. I will advocate that in the politics section.

A proper census asking people to identify their tribes in Nigeria will solve this.
The census will create a proper map of Nigerian ethnic groups.
Personally, I struggle with this sometimes because you don't know how to identify people. Some dude comes to me and tells me he is Ikechukwu, and speaks a brand of Igbo to me, I would think he is Igbo.

Boundary groups like the Ika may have mixed ancestry, but a census will figure this out. In such a census, historical linguistic and anthropological investigations will be conducted alongside the census to produce a thorough ethnic map of Nigeria. I'm tired of misunderstandings.

sonya4all:

Hi all,i hav decided not to coment on this thread,but i was busy reading some coments both good/bad,but the last few coments realy has made me to speak,firstly i dnt knw if u guys stil remember me,cos we were speakin on a similar topic here,but it generated into abuses because i never had enough ikas to back me,@chinenye,i want 2 appologise for all the bad words i said 2 u in the other thread,this is becos i've realised that u take critical caution to think and understand peoples plight,also for not going your other igbos in forcing igboness on the ikas,thank u,so the main reason i want 2 coment is the false coment posted by andre,pls sir i also respect u,because it seems u r a professor of nigerian culture,but please stop imposing igboness on us,u said agbotean is speakin for himself,that is nt true,agbotean is owa,and i am umunede,and i tell u that we are proud of our tribe,IKA.I decided not to talk because the last time i did,i got alot of e-courses,frm u guys.Thanks.@Agbotean.Eworo yaki wu.

Umunede and Owa/Agbor don't even speak the same thing. This is the foolishness of this argument, they hardly see themselves as one sub-group. It doesn't matter whether anyone feels they're being forced or not, people are going to tell you the truth. How can you say Ika is a different language from Igbo because it's a dialect, yet you claim Agbor and Umunede are one? Okay, when was the last Ika daughters meeting, or Ika elders congress anywhere?

Owi Igbo, ya ka I wu!

sonya4all:

Hi all,i hav decided not to coment on this thread,but i was busy reading some coments both good/bad,but the last few coments realy has made me to speak,firstly i dnt knw if u guys stil remember me,cos we were speakin on a similar topic here,but it generated into abuses because i never had enough ikas to back me,@chinenye,i want 2 appologise for all the bad words i said 2 u in the other thread,this is becos i've realised that u take critical caution to think and understand peoples plight,also for not going your other igbos in forcing igboness on the ikas,thank u,so the main reason i want 2 coment is the false coment posted by andre,pls sir i also respect u,because it seems u r a professor of nigerian culture,but please stop imposing igboness on us,u said agbotean is speakin for himself,that is nt true,agbotean is owa,and i am umunede,and i tell u that we are proud of our tribe,IKA.I decided not to talk because the last time i did,i got alot of e-courses,frm u guys.Thanks.@Agbotean.Eworo yaki wu.

I have always maintained that traces of ancestral history is not a determinant factor for some Ikas to disclaim Igbo. The city of London was founded by the Romans who called it Londinium. Yet Londoners are proud English people. So the case of Bini fouders of Ika has and will always be defeated.There is no type of research that you guys will carry out that will be better than that done by Onwuejeogwu. Onwuejeogwu mind you, is an Igbo from Delta state. For over 20 years of his research, he came to the conclusion that Ika people are Igbo people. For the fact the few non Igbo are very vocal on the net does not mean they speak for the entire IkaIgbo.

One of these days i promise to visit Ika land to personally verify all these arguments.

I remember driving along umunede sometime ago and i heard a guy screaming 'anyi bu umunne' to somebody else on the other side. That to me is clearly intelligible Igbo. If the guy was a native of umunede is another thing which i couldn't verify.

But i promise to drop by in the future to confirm how Igbo or less Igbo these Ikas are.

excanny:

One of these days i promise to visit Ika land to personally verify all these arguments.

I remember driving along umunede sometime ago and i heard a guy screaming 'anyi bu umunne' to somebody else on the other side. That to me is clearly intelligible Igbo. If the guy was a native of umunede is another thing which i couldn't verify.

But i promise to drop by in the future to confirm how Igbo or less Igbo these Ikas are.

You should also comfirm why Obi of Akumazi (now late) and some Ika Obis traveelled to Asaba nov 2008 to elect Amb Ralph Uwaechue as President gen Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
You should also comfirm why the college of education Agbor has one of the best depts of Igbo language in Nigeria.
You should also confirm at what time Ikas hired linguist to teach them Igbo language.
You should also confirm why Ikas do not speak Bini despite the proximity to Benin.

excanny:

One of these days i promise to visit Ika land to personally verify all these arguments.

I remember driving along umunede sometime ago and i heard a guy screaming 'anyi bu umunne' to somebody else on the other side. That to me is clearly intelligible Igbo. If the guy was a native of umunede is another thing which i couldn't verify.

But i promise to drop by in the future to confirm how Igbo or less Igbo these Ikas are.

I have done that at Igbanke.I stopped at a family compound at Igbanke in Edo state just to be sure.Frankly they speak a slightly difficult Igbo but I was able to understand most of the statements.The most interesting thing is that the old man told me that they are Igbos and had always been while some of his children believe they are not because they are in Edo state.I ended up arguing with them but their father vindicated me.They believe Igbos are identified by state and not language.they do not have benin type of kingship but imo state kind of village organisation with eze as the traditional ruler while they also have ichies and dioparas as found in imo state.live in compounds and are mainly agrarian.

ika was not founded by ezechima , ika communities existed long before ezechime , and ikas do not associate themselves as having been founded by ezechime, we only say he passed through our land , thats all , and as for aniomas producing governors in delta state, why do you bother yourself so much, try and attend to the cries of marginalisation that the south east have been shouting about .leave deltans alone , we know how to handle our problem.in delta state there are many groups like uhrobo, isoko, itsekiri, ijaws and the other groups that make up anioma such as aniocha,oshimili, ndokwa and ika .
out of all these groups it is the uhrobos that have produced the governor most,while the others did not , so this is the first time an itsekiri is governor in person of uduaghan , so what about isokos,? what about ijaws? .what about okpes ? so aniomas are not specially denied , it will come to our own turn.too. in the equation the aniomas have faired better in political power than many others in the state, we have produced two-deputy governors, speakers, secretary to governments, chairman of the P.D.P. ,MINISTERS .AMBASSADORS ,COMMISSIONERS AND OTHERS ,it is only the position of governor alone that we have not gotten , and we are not the only ethnic group in delta that have not got it .so lets strategise we will get there .other people who are not from delta should not cry themselves out , let them face the myriads of problems in the south ease like kidnapping, armed robery, lack of infrastructural facilities and leave delta state alone.

just some corection , in agbor kingdom there are two languages spoken,which are ika and ozarra( an edoid) language close to bini.

agbotaen:

ika was not founded by ezechima , ika communities existed long before ezechime , and ikas do not associate themselves as having been founded by ezechime, we only say he passed through our land , thats all , and as for aniomas producing governors in delta state, why do you bother yourself so much, try and attend to the cries of marginalisation that the south east have been shouting about .leave deltans alone , we know how to handle our problem.in delta state there are many groups like uhrobo, isoko, itsekiri, ijaws and the other groups that make up anioma such as aniocha,oshimili, ndokwa and ika .
out of all these groups it is the uhrobos that have produced the governor most,while the others did not , so this is the first time an itsekiri is governor in person of uduaghan , so what about isokos,? what about ijaws? .what about okpes ? so aniomas are not specially denied , it will come to our own turn.too. in the equation the aniomas have faired better in political power than many others in the state, we have produced two-deputy governors, speakers, secretary to governments, chairman of the P.D.P. ,MINISTERS .AMBASSADORS ,COMMISSIONERS AND OTHERS ,it is only the position of governor alone that we have not gotten , and we are not the only ethnic group in delta that have not got it .so lets strategise we will get there .other people who are not from delta should not cry themselves out , let them face the myriads of problems in the south ease like kidnapping, armed robery, lack of infrastructural facilities and leave delta state alone.

I think the argument continues because certain things arent addressed. Ok, for instance by your words, ika is a tribe,if so what language were they speaking before the igbos and bini influenced them linguistically and culturally. Another thing that i've observed that is leading to arguments is, why is is that the other tribes that were under the benin empire such as the yoruba, itshekiri, urhobo, ijaw dont have a similar story.How come none of them clain that they were bini people that were absorbed liguistically and culturally by those respective tribes? yorubas(ekiti,ondo), itsekiri, urhobo,ijaw also have bini influence linguistically and culturally so why is the ika case differently?. I think if you can address these issues it would bring these arguments to are close.Seems like a lot of people just want more of an insight thats all.

chyz:

I think the argument continues because certain things arent addressed. Ok, for instance by your words, ika is a tribe, if so what language were they speaking before the igbos and bini influenced them linguistically and culturally. Another thing that i've observed that is leading to arguments is, why is is that the other tribes that were under the benin empire such as the yoruba, itshekiri, urhobo, ijaw dont have a similar story.How come none of them clain that they were bini people that were absorbed liguistically and culturally by those respective tribes? yorubas(ekiti,ondo), itsekiri, urhobo,ijaw also have bini influence linguistically and culturally so why is the ika case differently?. I think if you can address these issues it would bring these arguments to are close.Seems like a lot of people just want more of an insight thats all.

No, not necessarily. That won't bring anything to a close, because this issue is not so much about linguistics or culture, but identity.

LETS LOOK AT ITSEKIRI TRIBE IN DELTA STATE,- THEY ARE A PEOPLE THAT CLAIM,TO BE FOUNDED BY BINI AND YORUBA MIGRANTS AND IT IS EVIDENT IN THEIR CULTURE WHICH IS SOMETIMES A MIX OF YORUBA AND BINI CULTURES .,BUT TODAY THEY HAVE DEVELOPED CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT FROM YORUBA AND BINI , THEY ARE ITSEKIRIS , EVEN THOUGH THEIR LANGUAGE IS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY OLD YORUBA WITH MANY BINI WORDS .HISTORY OF ITSEKIRIS TELL US THAT IGINUWA THE SON OF OBA OLUA OF BENIN , MIGRATED TO ODE-ITSEKIRI AFTER COMMITTING SOME OFFENCES IN BENIN , SO HE WAS SENT AWAY , AND HE CAME WITH MANY SLAVES, SERVANT AND WIVES AND WARRIORS,SO HE MET SOME IJEBU PEOPLE AT THE WATER SIDE WHO MIGRATED THERE YEARS AGO, AND TOGETHER THEY INTER MIXED AND THE ITSEKIRI TRIBE WAS FOUNDED AND IGINUWA A PRINCE FROM BENIN BECAME FIRST OLU OF ITSEKIRIS .SO WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN IKA CLAIMS , TO BEING A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE FIRST BINIS, THEN IGBOS AND OTHERS .
EVEN UHROBO AND ISOKOS , SAY SOME OF THEIR TOWNS WERE FOUNDED BY IGBOS,OTHERS BY BINI AND OTHER PEOPLE .AND IJAWS. SO WHY ARE IKAS DIFFERENT ? .
I AM FROM DELTA AND THERE IS HARDLY ANY COMMUNITY IN DELTA THAT I CANNOT GIVE YOU THEIR BRIEF HISTORY .

ON NAMES NO ONE IS TWISTING ANY ONES NAME , IKAS HAVE BOTH BINI AND IGBO NAMES AND THE BINI NAMES IS OLDER IN IKA LAND THAN THE IGBO ONES, THE BINI IS USUALLY OUR FAMILY NAMES LIKE NDUKA OBAIGBENA .
NDUKA IRABOR .
IRABOR AND OBAIGBENA ARE THE FAMILY NAMES.

@agbotaen.Ika is not the only part of Igbo that has influence from a different ethnic group.It is also not the most difficult spoken Igbo.Why you find it difficult trying to prove its distinctiveness is because all your reasons exist in all parts of Igboland.Take my LGA which is Oguta in Imo state.Their is claims of Bini and Oru origin.The brand of Igbo is almost thesame with Ukwuani in Delta state.We also have some families with Benin sounding names but we are Igbos right now and not Bini.If you travel further east to Abia and Ebonyi states,the language switches to a mix of ejagham,ekoi,ibibio and Igbo.Yet they know their boundary.Ikas identity crisis is because of the civil war and pride on the part of Ika.I am of the school of thought that ethnicity cannot be imposed on anyone but frankly every indices proves Ika as at least a type of Igbo.

One thing i know is that it's more easier for aspects of culture such as mode of dressing, food, occupation, etc to change than the language.

Ika claims that it's language is 60% Igbo, 40% bini; while their customs are 20% Igbo, 80% bini.

ChinenyeN:

No, not necessarily. That won't bring anything to a close, because this issue is not so much about linguistics or culture, but identity.

Speak for yourself.People gain closure by knowledge and research if need be.you can only speak for yourself.

Abagworo:

frankly every indices proves Ika as at least a type of Igbo.

Best phrase structure I have ever come across, in my opinion.

agbotaen:

LETS LOOK AT ITSEKIRI TRIBE IN DELTA STATE,- THEY ARE A PEOPLE THAT CLAIM,TO BE FOUNDED BY BINI AND YORUBA MIGRANTS AND IT IS EVIDENT IN THEIR CULTURE WHICH IS SOMETIMES A MIX OF YORUBA AND BINI CULTURES .,BUT TODAY THEY HAVE DEVELOPED CHARACTERISTICS THAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT FROM YORUBA AND BINI , THEY ARE ITSEKIRIS , EVEN THOUGH THEIR LANGUAGE IS HEAVILY INFLUENCED BY OLD YORUBA WITH MANY BINI WORDS .HISTORY OF ITSEKIRIS TELL US THAT IGINUWA THE SON OF OBA OLUA OF BENIN , MIGRATED TO ODE-ITSEKIRI AFTER COMMITTING SOME OFFENCES IN BENIN , SO HE WAS SENT AWAY , AND HE CAME WITH MANY SLAVES, SERVANT AND WIVES AND WARRIORS,SO HE MET SOME IJEBU PEOPLE AT THE WATER SIDE WHO MIGRATED THERE YEARS AGO, AND TOGETHER THEY INTER MIXED AND THE ITSEKIRI TRIBE WAS FOUNDED AND IGINUWA A PRINCE FROM BENIN BECAME FIRST OLU OF ITSEKIRIS .SO WHAT IS DIFFERENT IN IKA CLAIMS , TO BEING A MIXED GROUP OF PEOPLE FIRST BINIS, THEN IGBOS AND OTHERS .
EVEN UHROBO AND ISOKOS , SAY SOME OF THEIR TOWNS WERE FOUNDED BY IGBOS,OTHERS BY BINI AND OTHER PEOPLE .AND IJAWS. SO WHY ARE IKAS DIFFERENT ? .
I AM FROM DELTA AND THERE IS HARDLY ANY COMMUNITY IN DELTA THAT I CANNOT GIVE YOU THEIR BRIEF HISTORY .

As far as your history about itsekiri it seems like a fraud of the Yoruba history of Oduduwa. Infact it is the same story but with different names. The Itsekiri trace their ancestry to the Ife kingdom which is yoruba land.I dont know who told you that story you typed. Oba "Olua" is definitely false. Its sounds like a fabrication of "Oluwa" in yoruba so its not adding up. Go read about Oduduwa and learn how the story that you posted about it is fabricated.The Itsekiri came under Bini rule just like the urhobo,Ijaw, Igbo. But can you please answer my previous question so that we all can get more clearification of the Ika issue?

agbotaen:

ON NAMES NO ONE IS TWISTING ANY ONES NAME , IKAS HAVE BOTH BINI AND IGBO NAMES AND THE BINI NAMES IS OLDER IN IKA LAND THAN THE IGBO ONES, THE BINI IS USUALLY OUR FAMILY NAMES LIKE NDUKA OBAIGBENA .
NDUKA IRABOR .
IRABOR AND OBAIGBENA ARE THE FAMILY NAMES.

I wonder what makes some of Ika so easily to accept any thing that deals with history that is not Igbo.when it comes to igbo it always has to be the less of. How is the Bini names older when you speak igbo? LOL. My last name is also a mixure of Bini and Igbo. And Bini is not usually the family name so stop lying. You name a couple bini names to prove what? what happened the the many Igbo names? I guess those dont matter right? I bet your last name is Igbo too, infact i have no doubt of that.

chyz:

Speak for yourself.People gain closure by knowledge and research if need be.you can only speak for yourself.

Please, it's glaringly obvious that I'm speaking for the situation and not anyone in particular. Here's why. . .

1. You stated that the debate is only continuing because things like 'linguistics' (general speech) and 'culture' (festivals, names, gods, ideologies, common practices, etc.) weren't or aren't properly addressed. You then went further to give a comparison with other groups (Yoruba, Itsekiri, etc.), asking why they don't have a similar story as Ika.

2. Your statements basically imply that the reason(s) for this on-going debate hinge on perceived characteristics (linguistic & cultural affinity).

3. Now, if we take your reasoning of this situation seriously (the hinging of the debate on linguistic & cultural affinity), then what we can expect is that the debate should actually have long since ended. Why? Because Ika's general linguistic and cultural affinity with other Igbo types is glaringly obvious. So obvious that the Ika themselves cannot deny it (and they haven't). So, according to you, this debate should not even be happening.

4. But what do we currently witness? The debate continues. Apparently, the issue of linguistic or cultural affinity hasn't brought anything to a close. There are still those who are arguing their Igboness.

5. Why? The issue was never about linguistic or cultural affinity, in the first place. It was about perceived identity. Perceived identity is the only thing that can effectively interfere with all of that, because it isn't based on any of that, to begin with.

6. So, your implication is wrong, because this debate still goes on, and if you insist on continuing to take the rout of linguistics and culture, without addressing the real issue, which is identity, this debate will keep going on, because identity is not entirely concerned with linguistics or culture. It is largely an independent entity of its own.

ChinenyeN:

Please, it's glaringly obvious that I'm speaking for the situation and not anyone in particular. Here's why. . .

1. You stated that the debate is only continuing because things like 'linguistics' and 'culture' weren't or aren't properly addressed. You then went further to give a comparison with other groups (Yoruba, Itsekiri, etc.), asking why they don't have a similar story as Ika.

2. Your statements basically imply that the reason(s) for this on-going debate hinge on perceived characteristics (linguistic & cultural affinity).

3. Now, if we take your reasoning of this situation seriously (the hinging of the debate on linguistic & cultural affinity), then what we can expect is that the debate should actually have long since ended. Why? Because Ika's general linguistic and cultural affinity with other Igbo types is glaringly obvious. So obvious that the Ika themselves cannot deny it (and they haven't). So, according to you, this debate should not even be happening.

4. But what do we currently witness? The debate continues. Apparently, the issue of linguistic or cultural affinity hasn't brought anything to a close. There are still those who are arguing their Igboness.

5. Why? The issue was never about linguistic or cultural affinity, in the first place. It was about perceived identity. Perceived identity is the only thing that can effectively interfere with all of that, because it isn't based on any of that, to begin with.

6. So, your implication is wrong, because this debate still goes on, and if you insist on continuing to take the rout of linguistics and culture, without addressing the real issue, which is identity, this debate will keep going on, because identity is not entirely concerned with linguistics or culture. It is largely an independent entity of its own.

Are you from delta state?

chyz:

Are you from delta state?

Do you have acute memory problems? How can you ask me such a question?

ChinenyeN:

Do you have acute memory problems? How can you ask me such a question?

Exactly.why are you even discussing delta issues.should you be worrying about your aba people?