likewise extend the spitting to your miserable family. for accepting to be an igbon(slave). simply to avoid bring insulted by igbos. smh. ewobi Don kill you.spit on your father as well.

Preshioux:
i didnt disclaim dat, did i? i think d problem is wit me using asaba as an example..ok lemme ask dis way,
Wat makes u an igbo man??
i want a constructive statement..start 4rm sumwhere and land at a conclusion...
Pls dont tell me just language, because i wud simply ask if u mean 2 say dat the yoruba speaking ppl of ubulubu in delta state have over the years change ethnic group cos they now speak a dialect of igbo?..
Or i wud simply ask u y does the isoko's and urhobo's speak a variant of the same language, n yet they are distinct ethnic group..

Bros..oshimili people out of all the igboid groups in delta state are not one that will tell you they are not igbo...

Lynxx is related to the asagba of Asaba and he will telly you anyday he is igbo boy ok.

I dont understand people thinking that anambra, imo, ebonyi, enugu and Abia igbos are linguistically and culturally similar while igbo groups in rivers and delta state are totally different from the S.E igbos...mstcheww

igbos in the S.E have linguistic and cultural differences amongst themselves for crying out loud. However, one thing all igbos have in common is the significance of yam in the culutre

sonya4all: likewise extend the spitting to your miserable family. for accepting to be an igbon(slave). simply to avoid bring insulted by igbos. smh. ewobi Don kill you.spit on your father as well.

nna o di ka e di possess....ogbanje

sonya4all: likewise extend the spitting to your miserable family. for accepting to be an igbon(slave). simply to avoid bring insulted by igbos. smh. ewobi Don kill you.spit on your father as well.

so you village monkey is the one behind that id abi? if i slap that monkey head of yours, u go know wetin. you no go stick to your poverty ridden ikaland, mba na Asaba u wan drag into your show of shame. ewu!! your mama, papa, and whatever monkey you don call husband or wife are slaves. see the audacity. poverty ridden, no future, no education having, dirty community that do not contribute anything but shame to every community be it anioma, delta, etc have the audacity to call others slave. seee m0ron. I no blame you, the people i blame is the 1diotic SE Igbos on this forum wey give una attention making una think your community has some kind of relevance. worthless ika villager

igbo boy:

nna o di ka e di possess....ogbanje

hapu ya. instead of him and agbotean to continue dancing unclad like they've been doing, he decided to stretch that ogbanje claws of his and dance unclad for asaba. Hapu ya, let him continue running around nak3d with his dirty, poverty self

Are you people not tired of fooling yourself?
@All the igbons in the house.

Are you people not tired of fooling yourselfs?
@All the igbons in the house.

One_Naira:

hapu ya. instead of him and agbotean to continue dancing unclad like they've been doing, he decided to stretch that ogbanje claws of his and dance unclad for asaba. Hapu ya, let him continue running around nak3d with his dirty, poverty self

Oshimili land shall not be part of their contention....

Idun'oba ehis:
Are you people not tired of fooling yourselfs?
@All the igbons in the house.

guy e no concern you.....abeg face west...
ogbanje

Idun'oba ehis:
Are you people not tired of fooling yourself?
@All the igbons in the house.

Stupidity. Comes in varying degrees but I must confess this is the unattainable degree this agbontae and sunny has reached . Ok admitted that you are from Benin and possibly great grand son of a felon and low life. The question is having self admitted that you are Benin why don't you seek a Benin thread and fraternize with them but you know that they won't accept you but you are here

Ok your Benin and that's fine pls Nwa ewu go to Benin and tell them that you one of them

Have you ever asked yourself how many ika people are towing your line apart from the two miserable of you? Does it mean that your the only ika on the nairaland ? The answer is capital no but they do not see this from your idiotic and brainwashed view! You are not igbo but a migrant and that you have stated yourself and I will not call your type igbo and if any body calls you igbo I will corect him by saying you are a fake igbo and no apology for that. No pure son of soil will act like this the only problem is your neighbouring tribes sees you as igbo and Nigeria doesn't recognise you as non igbo and Delta state sees you as igbo and you don't recognise yourself as igbo. You see the level of disillusion you have attained and I give it to you Bro you are so confused


Have you asked other tribes which tribe is ika? Pls don't ask igbo but others then answer your question and go tell the ika kings to publicly come out and say they aint igbo!! But they can't do it cos they know better

God will direct you on the path of self awarenes

Idun'oba ehis:
Are you people not tired of fooling yourself?
@All the igbons in the house.

Stupidity. Comes in varying degrees but I must confess this is the unattainable degree this agbontae and sunny has reached . Ok admitted that you are from Benin and possibly great grand son of a felon and low life. The question is having self admitted that you are Benin why don't you seek a Benin thread and fraternize with them but you know that they won't accept you but you are here

Ok your Benin and that's fine pls Nwa ewu go to Benin and tell them that you one of them

Have you ever asked yourself how many ika people are towing your line apart from the two miserable of you? Does it mean that your the only ika on the nairaland ? The answer is capital no but they do not see this from your idiotic and brainwashed view! You are not igbo but a migrant and that you have stated yourself and I will not call your type igbo and if any body calls you igbo I will corect him by saying you are a fake igbo and no apology for that. No pure son of soil will act like this the only problem is your neighbouring tribes sees you as igbo and Nigeria doesn't recognise you as non igbo and Delta state sees you as igbo and you don't recognise yourself as igbo. You see the level of disillusion you have attained and I give it to you Bro you are so confused


Have you asked other tribes which tribe is ika? Pls don't ask igbo but others then answer your question and go tell the ika kings to publicly come out and say they aint igbo!! But they can't do it cos they know better

God will direct you on the path of self awarenes

Idun'oba ehis:
Are you people not tired of fooling yourself?
@All the igbons in the house.

Stupidity. Comes in varying degrees but I must confess this is the unattainable degree this agbontae and sunny has reached . Ok admitted that you are from Benin and possibly great grand son of a felon and low life. The question is having self admitted that you are Benin why don't you seek a Benin thread and fraternize with them but you know that they won't accept you but you are here

Ok your Benin and that's fine pls Nwa ewu go to Benin and tell them that you one of them

Have you ever asked yourself how many ika people are towing your line apart from the two miserable of you? Does it mean that your the only ika on the nairaland ? The answer is capital no but they do not see this from your idiotic and brainwashed view! You are not igbo but a migrant and that you have stated yourself and I will not call your type igbo and if any body calls you igbo I will corect him by saying you are a fake igbo and no apology for that. No pure son of soil will act like this the only problem is your neighbouring tribes sees you as igbo and Nigeria doesn't recognise you as non igbo and Delta state sees you as igbo and you don't recognise yourself as igbo. You see the level of disillusion you have attained and I give it to you Bro you are so confused


Have you asked other tribes which tribe is ika? Pls don't ask igbo but others then answer your question and go tell the ika kings to publicly come out and say they aint igbo!! But they can't do it cos they know better

God will direct you on the path of self awarenes

Most of the well-to-do anioma people who are enlightened, exposed, educated and successful see no problem accepting that they are Igbo. And you see them carrying the identity around with them and upholding it. Jay Jay Okocha, Ngozi Okonjo, Pat Utomi, Chuka Edozien, Lynxx Utunu, Uti Nwachukwu etc are all delta Igbo who identify with Igbo causes. They attend Igbo social gatherings and mix well with Igbo from other areas. Then, funny enough, you'll discover that its the idle, unoccupied, unexposed and low-reasoning people of the Igbo-denial axis that will busy themselves and be terribly preoccupied with an issue as trivial as being Igbo or not.

On the larger circle out there in the helms of national affairs, these anioma people all identify as Igbo. You'll find them in Lagos, Abuja all speaking Igbo and identifying with their Igbo brothers but then you come to nairaland where every aboki, boy boy and barrow pusher has access to the internet and see them making so much fuss out of a topic as trivial as this. Apparently, some cannot even type correctly and if by chance you happen to meet the people behind these monikers, you'll be shocked at what you'll see and start asking yourself why you even bothered to start arguing with them in the first place - someone you wouldn't ordinarily consider arguing with in the first place if you saw them live. International records, online websites, published textbooks all published that all Igbo-speaking clans who speak related Igbo dialects are Igbo. Why then coming here to make failed unnecessary baby attempts? Why addressing their anger toward the wrong audience? Why don't they face the international community and focus and changing the so-called 'wrong' publication and injustice meted out to them?

One trend has been noticed. Any igbo-denying person from rivers or delta state, the moment they get appointment on the federal level and leave their state and move into the greater world, they realize their longtime mischief, drop it, and quickly integrate into the greater Igbo field. Nobody wants to be left out, especially when they find themselves in a land of a totally different ethnic group (hausa in Abuja, Kano or Yoruba in Lagos). These people quickly drop their anti-igbo sentiments and see that its of no use to them. And they integrate into the Igbo fold there. Look at Ezenwo(a) (O)Nyesom (N)wike, the ikwerre man with a terribly mutilated Igbo name who rose to the federal level, dropped all anti-igbo sentiments of his, and took on his Igbo identity full time in dressing(Ezenwa Nwike frequently attends federal meetings in full Igbo regalia and red cap), language, mannerism etc. Onyesom Nwike has been called an Igbo man countlessly by his federal counterparts and I'm yet to hear him deny that. Chibuike Amaechi is another person nowadays who identify with Igbo causes. Maybe he has ulterior political motives for doing that, I don't know. Or maybe he has risen above the identity crisis of his ikwerre people.

Peter Ifeanyi Odili, the self-proclaimed 'rivers man' as if 'rivers' is a tribe, who felt he could deny his igbo identity and run under the umbrella of 'rivers man' got the terrible shock of his life when Obasanjo who was his closest ally denied him the presidential slot because Obasanjo KNEW he was and CALLED him an Igbo man. The last trip of Odili to Abuja was to solidify his presidential plans and the man returned from that trip so dejected and frustrated. Not even vice president was in Obasanjo's mind for Odili. 'He's an Igbo man please, I can't give any Igbo man such power', that must have been exactly Obasanjo's thoughts about him. Let any Ika, Ikwerre, Etche man come out tomorrow for presidency under the disguise of south-south man or Rivers/Delta man and see if he won't get a full resounding 'IGBO MAN' from the rest of Nigeians. They'll get served with the Odili treatment.

When the chips are down, other tribes still know where all these Igbo-denying people belong to and place them accordingly. These tribes are doing a great job of constantly reminding these people that they are Igbo no matter what their rantings could be.

In Abuja where I live, the Edos are my closest brothers apart from my Ika brothers. I relate with them more than I relate with even my Aniocha/Oshimili brothers. I have never been called an Igbo by them even during my Sec. Sch. in Benin. Even other Delta ethnic groups don't call us igbos apart from the Urhobos that call us Igbos for political reason. I spent all my primary and Sec. Days in Edo and Delta States, I understand all the cultures in these two states. The length and bredth of these two states are bound together by their Benin migrations, cultures and traditions practiced their.

Idun'oba ehis:
In Abuja where I live, the Edos are my closest brothers apart from my Ika brothers. I relate with them more than I relate with even my Aniocha/Oshimili brothers. I have never been called an Igbo by them even during my Sec. Sch. in Benin. Even other Delta ethnic groups don't call us igbos apart from the Urhobos that call us Igbos for political reason. I spent all my primary and Sec. Days in Edo and Delta States, I understand all the cultures in these two states. The length and bredth of these two states are bound together by their Benin migrations, cultures and traditions practiced their.

Your username says it all. It depends on where you grew up and who you grew up around. There are Igbo people that relate more with Yoruba people based on the fact that they lived in core Yoruba areas while growing up. So, it's a personal thing and not general.

Why is that it's only the igbos outside of Ikaland that call us igbos. I have never heard an igbo man anywhere in Ikaland say Ika is Igbo. Are they afraid? Or maybe they know better than their igbo brothers outside Ikaland.

I am not igbo and I can never be igbo. God forbid. A people that sell their women for money. A people that kil their sons inorder to inherit their wive and property leaving the man's children to die of hunger. The other day we went to Imo state for marriage can't believ what I saw. We also went to thesame Imo for the burial of an inlaw, they were requesting for a cow even though we were the one that actually gave them a wife. What an uncultured and barbaric bunch ıgbos are. Always twisting things to suit them. Bunch of hypocrytes and propagandist.

Idun'oba ehis:
Why is that it's only the igbos outside of Ikaland that call us igbos. I have never heard an igbo man anywhere in Ikaland say Ika is Igbo. Are they afraid? Or maybe they know better than their igbo brothers outside Ikaland.

I am not igbo and I can never be igbo. God forbid. A people that sell their women for money. A people that kil their sons inorder to inherit their wive and property leaving the man's children to die of hunger. The other day we went to Imo state for marriage can't believ what I saw. We also went to thesame Imo for the burial of an inlaw, they were requesting for a cow even though we were the one that actually gave them a wife. What an uncultured and barbaric bunch ıgbos are. Always twisting things to suit them. Bunch of hypocrytes and propagandist.

monkey, shut up your stinking mouth. Who cares if you are Igbo or not. With over 30 million Igbos, who needs a fool like you, idiot

To know that the igbos are up to something, in any igbo website when they want to list igbo cities the first city they call is Agbor, Asaba, Ibusa, Ogwashi-UKU, Port harcort, before they list any SE City. Some have even extended it to Igbanke and Umunede leaving some more develop SE city. They bombard these lies in every website so as to misinform people.

That reminds me, I read in one igbo site that the name Ogwashi Uku is Igbo, and that it means palace of nshi as if ogwa is an igbo word. That's a big lie, Ogwashi Uku is a combination of three Benin words though one of them has been coruptd.
Ogwa means palace/gathering in Benin/Anioma languages.
Ashi is the Aniocha/Oshimili version of Ika/Benins Ehi and it means God/personal god/the creator/guardian spirit and destiny. While Uku is the Benin word for big. Some igbos have started changing the speling to ukwu inorder to make it look igbo.
Ashi is a very popular word in Aniocha/Oshimili area. They use it to make sentences such as Ashi oyen neduya etc. They use it to give names like Ashiedu, Ashioma etc. You can now deduce the meaning of Ogwashi-Uku from the above. Ask any Aniocha/Oshimili person the meaning of ashi and see if am lyeing.

Idun'oba ehis:
To know that the igbos are up to something, in any igbo website when they want to list igbo cities the first city they cal is Agbor, Asaba, Ibusa, Ogwashi-UKU, Port harcort, before they list any SE City. Some have even extended it to Igbanke and Umunede. They bombard these lies in every website so as misinform people.

That reminds me, I read in one igbo site that the name Ogwashi Uku is Igbo, and that it means palace of nshi as if ogwa is an igbo word. That's a big lie, Ogwashi Uku i a combination of three Benin words though one of them has been coruptd.
Ogwa means palace/gathering in Benin/Anioma languages.
Ashi is the Aniocha/Oshimili is

Once again, shut up your stinking mouth. No one is interested in your long sermon, castrated monkey.

Ngodigha1:
Once again, shut up your stinking mouth. No one is interested in your long sermon, castrated monkey.

I dont have time for fools like you. Do you know what your name sounds like in Ika/Benin language. I wil not you, but that's what you are.

clefstone: For some time now I hv been reading some amusing and quite interesting threads concerning d issue of Delta Igbos and Identity ish. Most of the points from both sides hv been sound and sensible. I might be wrong, but i hv observed tht majority, if not all igbos beliv all of the pple of Delta North are Igbos. Before I go on, I must add tht we r all entitled to our opinions no matter hw offensive.
Presently, i happen to live in d north and my experience here has made me to know d level of ignorance Nigerians tend to exhibit in d understnding of pple outside their ethnic grp. For example, to d average untravelled southerner, all northerners r Hausas, a complete fallacy that wud make the indigenes of entire states like Benue nd Plateau cringe(Idomas and Tivs don't even speak hausa). The northerner and Yorubas i met during service all believed tht if u r not a northerner nor Yoruba, u automatically r Igbo, a conclusion that is sickening to millions of pple down south.
Personally, i hv learned to live wit such fallacies but i hv not learned to be Igbo yet. Yes, being Igbo is a way of life, a way of life markedly different from my 'peoples way of life'. My people here refer to the people of Aboh, a distinct tribe wit a distinct language that is Igboid. I read somewhr an article wc stated tht language is very dynamicand tht d language of an entire people can change within 100yrs. The change in language doesnt make d people a 'new ethnic grp'. For example, its obvious tht a time, wud come wen some ethnic groups will lose their present languages because of d strong influence of English language, wud tht make them Englishmen? Today we celebrate Christmas and soon we might strt celebrating Halloween nd thanksgivin, wud tht make us Americans?
Are Abohs Igbos? The right person to ask is the Aboh man nd i bet u he'd say no. Are Asabas Igbos? I cnt speak for them cos i'm not Asaba. Yes, we(Abohs) share some similarities wit the ibos such as name, words(i am tempted to use language but it myt be misleading) and......hmmm....very little more, mayb masquerades but that doesnt make us same ethnic grp. We r more like two different pple tht met and shared ideas.
By d way, d term Delta ibo is only used for the sake of ease of description to refer to pple of delta state such as Abohs whose languages r similar to d igbo language.

odumchi: Don't you guys ever get tired of arguing the same thing over-and-over again?

I wonder o, my brother. Some people just derive joy in creating Igbo vs not-Igbo threads and the ensuing arguments that follow. And the image they create of such threads on nairaland are usually far from the reality in life.

The white man who presented a full speech in Igbo in year 18xx or so to the Obi of Aboh by collecting extensive igbo words from igbo slaves in sierra leone in preparation for the coming of Christianity to Igboland wouldn't have attempted presenting it at all in Aboh if he felt or sensed that the people weren't Igbo or Igbo-speaking.

When all these Igbo-denying people come out denying Igbo, one begins to wonder what's wrong with being Igbo? The Igbo people that are very much comfortable in their own skin that walk around everyday going their daily duties, have they died since? Have they been stoned to death since?

I sense that state boundaries are really the cause of this confusion. People use state boundaries which are mere artificial constructs to determine who's Igbo or not. Dismantle all the 36 states and a whole different concept will come into mind. Reorder the boundaries and create new states and you'll see the Igbo groups adjusting to what they've been put into. You'll find out that its just a case of mere physical boundaries. Adjust the western and southern boundaries of Anambra state to include parts of Delta Igbo and Ndoni in Rivers state respectively you'll see that suddenly all the Igbo denial from there will stop. It will be unlikely to hear someone from the new Anambra state claiming 'I am from Anambra state but I'm not Igbo'. The newly included people will now feel relaxed and feel a more sense of belonging that they are now with their brothers who they are more closely related to. Extend the southern boundary of Imo state to include Etche, Egbema, Omumma and all the Igbo denial coming from that axis will stop. Extend the south-western boundary of Abia state to include Obigbo and all the anti-igbo segments from there will stop. Case closed. All the identity problem has been solved. Then you'll find out that state boundary all along has been the main cause of denial which is a very little problem to solve. Gowon saw this right from the onset and used it to create disunity within the Igbo group to which our people fell heavily for it.

Meet any igbo-denying person and ask him why he says he's not Igbo and the next thing he'll tell you is, 'I'm not from the south-east', or 'I'm not from the east'. East/south east have now become the determining factor in deciding who is Igbo or not. Which means that if parts of Anambra, Imo and Enugu at the boundaries(of which the people are proud Igbos today) are carved out from their present locations into adjacent bordering states, the people will suddenly stop being Igbo and instead identify with the name of their native clans.

If state boundaries are the yardstick to which Igbo-denying people use to determine who's Igbo or not, fine, give it to them the way they want it. Adjust the boundaries accordingly and solve their identity crisis problem.

@Op...if you discredit using language to determine your Igbo ancestry, now tell me, what is the unifying language factor that makes the Onicha man and the Owerri man, who both speak totally different dialects, Igbo? These two people speak almost mutually unintelligible dialects but today see themselves as one. Please tell me, if not language, what else unifies these two people to classify them as Igbo?

I'm waiting for your reply.

www.nairaland.com/1362294/abohs-delta-state-not-igbos

Idun'oba ehis:
Why is that it's only the igbos outside of Ikaland that call us igbos. I have never heard an igbo man anywhere in Ikaland say Ika is Igbo. Are they afraid? Or maybe they know better than their igbo brothers outside Ikaland.

I am not igbo and I can never be igbo. God forbid. A people that sell their women for money. A people that kil their sons inorder to inherit their wive and property leaving the man's children to die of hunger. The other day we went to Imo state for marriage can't believ what I saw. We also went to thesame Imo for the burial of an inlaw, they were requesting for a cow even though we were the one that actually gave them a wife. What an uncultured and barbaric bunch ıgbos are. Always twisting things to suit them. Bunch of hypocrytes and propagandist.

clefstone: . Mr. Big francis, i hv pondered ova most of these points u hv analysed so many times in d past but they stil do not prove much.
On creation of states creating artificial boundaries and causing identity crisis, my grandma who is stil alive today was born way b4 any state or regional boundary was created in Nigeria and yet doesnt beliv she is Igbo. On d contrary, i beliv creation of regional boundary has made some tribes in d east identify as Igbos as a way of strenghtenin nd unifyin the region. Aboh, wit a very rich culture and proud of her past has refusd to abandon her identity in d name of unificatn, wc in itself is not a bad thing. I must admit tht it wud be politically favourable in d present times to unify wit d Igbos but d price to pay wud b a loss of our ancestral identity, too huge a price to pay.
Sometin u must consider before any conclusion is, how did these pple live before d colonial times?
Concernin language, no need to dwell on this one for too long, culture is not equal to language. The Scots r not Englishmen though they speak English nd r politically united

Well, you should know that 100 years ago and beyond, all Igbo clans existed and bore the respective names of their clans. The onicha people identified as onicha, the awka man identified himself as awka, the ikwerre man said he's ikwerre, the owerre man said he's owerre, the asaba man said he's asaba, and so on. The general name, 'igbo' was non-existent then and was NEVER used to classify these peoples. The same thing was also observed during the slave trade when 'igbo' slaves were taken from different clans in 'igboland' and when they arrived the americas and were asked their tribes, they mentioned instead their clan names such as etche, arondizuogu, isuama, omumma, okigwe, etc. How the whites got to call these language-related clans Igbo, no one knows. And when they were called Ebo by the whites the slaves were very much surprised as they had never heard the name before while back in their homeland. The term 'Igbo' might be a name borne out of slavery during the slave trade. In Asaba Igbo, 'Igbo' the way it is natively pronounced with down accents means 'slave' in their dialect while in other dialects it means nothing but the Igbo as we know it today whether tribe or language. Whether these delta igbo people used it to refer to other clans east of the niger who sold their people out to slavery as 'igbo'(slaves), I don't know, and maybe its there the name stuck up, nobody knows. But the name was carried over to the americas where the whites grouped all these clans speaking a common language together under one umbrella called 'Ebo'. Thank God they did if not the Igbo presence and identity in the slave trade would have forever been lost in the annals of history.

The usage of Igbo in Nigeria is only a recent construct that started in the 1920s. A newspaper of 1924 carries a story of an awka man and an onitsha man discussing over a new unfamiliar name the whites who had come into Nigeria were calling them. And when they prodded the whites further to ask them why they were being called a name they were not used to instead of their clan names as usual, the whites explained to them that because he the awka man speaks a language which the onicha man also speaks and understands then both clans must be related and are brothers so they will be called one name which is 'Igbo'. And they said 'ok'.

The whites used 'Igbo' to classify together all language-related clans in 'Igboland' who happened to be speaking variations of basically the same language for harmony and ease of identity. Apparently, 92% of these clans accepted their new identity. However, their former historical identity was never wiped away and was still preserved as village name or LGA name as we see today. The clan of Abia state called 'Igbere' (corrupted anglicised version of Igbo ere or Igbo ereghi) had their name borne during the slave trade when neighbouring clans tried to invade their clan to capture their children and people and sell them away as slaves. The Igbere natives fought back furiously and chased away the invaders and were very proud of their feat that they termed themselves, 'Igbo ereghi' meaning 'Igbo couldn't sell us'. Apparently, they didn't see themselves as 'Igbo' but instead the clans around them were 'Igbo' not them. Similar trend is still found in our times now, the Agbor for example.

As observed in current times, a few clans will rather stick to their native name and reject the general name classification of which they were classified under based on linguistic similarities.

The scots that you gave an example of still have their own native language called 'scottish'. But due to the terrifying language spread from their nearby english-speaking neighbours, English has crept into every nook and cranny of the land of the scots and almost uprooted their language, thus leaving most of them speaking English and less scottish. However, the people who speak English, in addition to their own native language, either monolingually or bilingually still identify as scots. The same is happening in the country of New Zealand today whereby the people's native language is Maori but due to the invasion and colonization of the English-speaking people in New Zealand coupled with the banning of Maori-speaking and the imposition of English as the sole official language in New Zealand, Maori language is fast becoming extinct as only less than 15% of the millions of Maorians in New Zealand can actually speak Maori. The 15% which when translated to numbers yields about 4,000 people only. However, the people don't identify as English but Maori.

But the case of the Igbo people is different as virtually all Igbo clans existed as well-delineated republican groups presided over by a council of elders. And the Igbo people were never known to be colonialists who were won't to invade other people's lands and impose their language on them like the English. Never was that recorded in history of the Igbo people. That is why anybody who speaks an Igbo dialect today is automatically considered an Igbo person, because he is not speaking an imposed language on him but rather a language passed down to him by his ancestors which is part of his ancestral heritage acquired by the ancestors by their own self will.

If any of these Igbo clans want to claim the case of the Scottish or Maori, then let them step up and tell us what their original language was before igbo colonization wiped it away. Let them also show us at least one surviving speaker of such proto language as valid proof of their so-called Igbo colonization. I bet 1000% no one can't come up with such evidence. As strong as English is in New Zealand and Scotland, coupled with the voluntary imposition of English on the people, yet their original language still managed to survive and are being spoken by a few percentage of the whole populace as evidence that they ARE NOT ENGLISH people, as they still have their original language. Then why can't the same be said for Aboh, Ikwerre, Ika, Agbor etc?

I understand full well that its not a must an Igbo clan accepts the general 'Igbo' classification they have been given, and that each clan has a right to stick to its usual ancestral first clan name. But then it should be noted that the classification was done MAINLY on linguistic grounds as language is the strongest linking element between different set of peoples that is used to establish relations. Once two groups of peoples speak entirely different languages, then they cannot be related.

On this same delta igbo issue, this is what a yoruba man, an outsider who has observed the delta igbo people, their language, culture, mannerisms, masquerades etc, had to say;

Dudu_Negro:

If Aboh bear Igbo names and speak Igbo and are custodians of Igbo masquerade cults, then there is a footprint of shared identity and the depth and broadness of that presence needs to be tracked and accounted for. Dont you think?

Dudu_Negro:

On Aboh being Igbo or not, personally I have no opinion but it strikes as odd that a culture in which the tongue and cults and naming all follow that of a parent cannot then dispute its roots, unless it can prove that it came into the tribal family by way of adoption. In that case a deeper inspection is needed to answer question about the roots.

www.nairaland.com/1362294/abohs-delta-state-not-igbos

The same way this outside observer made his keen observations and made his comments is the same way the white men who landed here hundreds of years ago made their own observations and put them into textbooks.

Idun'oba ehis:
To know that the igbos are up to something, in any igbo website when they want to list igbo cities the first city they call is Agbor, Asaba, Ibusa, Ogwashi-UKU, Port harcort, before they list any SE City. Some have even extended it to Igbanke and Umunede leaving some more develop SE city. They bombard these lies in every website so as to misinform people.

That reminds me, I read in one igbo site that the name Ogwashi Uku is Igbo, and that it means palace of nshi as if ogwa is an igbo word. That's a big lie, Ogwashi Uku is a combination of three Benin words though one of them has been coruptd.
Ogwa means palace/gathering in Benin/Anioma languages.
Ashi is the Aniocha/Oshimili version of Ika/Benins Ehi and it means God/personal god/the creator/guardian spirit and destiny. While Uku is the Benin word for big. Some igbos have started changing the speling to ukwu inorder to make it look igbo.
Ashi is a very popular word in Aniocha/Oshimili area. They use it to make sentences such as Ashi oyen neduya etc. They use it to give names like Ashiedu, Ashioma etc. You can now deduce the meaning of Ogwashi-Uku from the above. Ask any Aniocha/Oshimili person the meaning of ashi and see if am lyeing.

Suddenly, ukwu, the igbo word for 'big' or 'mighty' which was spelt wrongly by the whites as 'uku' has suddenly become a bini word? So because these cities, Oka spelt as 'Awka', Enugwu spelt 'Enugu', Owere spelt 'Owerri', Onicha spelt 'Onitsha', Okunano was spelt 'Awkunanaw' were spelt wrongly by the whites (because then the standard Igbo spelling orthography hadn't yet been developed), hence they don't deserve to be Igbo towns again, right? Oh I see. They are now Benin words because they deviate from their standard Igbo spellings, right?

I have a delta Igbo friend from Oshimili who bears Ashinze which he told me is their dialect version for Arinze. The usage of Ashi in Ashinze totally belies your outrageous claims of Ashi being a benin word that means Ehi(Chi in Igbo) or whatever. I have never seen the name, 'Ashiedu' before. However, 'Ehiedu' does exist for which 'Chiedu' is its synonym. Ashi is never a complement for Ehi.

The people of Ogwashi Ukwu have it in their history that they are descendants of Nri(Nshi) people. Of course, that same pattern of translation of r for sh in Nri to Nshi still repeats itself in the translation of 'r' in Arinze to 'sh' in Ashinze in Ogwashi Ukwu Igbo. What of Orimili (the name for river in Anambra) and Oshimili (still the same name for river in delta igbo)? The anambra man says 'aru' (body), the delta igbo man says 'ashu', the Nsukka man says 'Eshi'. The r for sh translation continues.

I studied at UNN, Nsukka and the Nsukka people also believe they are descendants of Nri who they also pronounce instead as 'Ishi'. They bear surnames such as 'Onyeishi' (You all must have heard of Sam Maduka Onyishi the Nsukka man who owns Peace Park company) meaning 'Onye Nri' (Nri person). Funny how Nri became totally corrupted to 'Ishi'. The same Ishi which the Ogwashi people bear in their village name.

Ogwa is a full Igbo word with its meaning deeply rooted in Igbo.

In case you don't know, the Bini also share similar 4 market day system with the Igbo - Eken, Orie, Aho, Okwo and the Igbo market days are Eke, Orie, Afo/Aho, Nkwo. Can't you see that they borrowed this system from us? Or must the Igbo only be the people that borrow everytime from other tribes, and others don't borrow from us, right? Or you want to slyly overlook that aspect. The Idoma also use the Igbo 4 market days system exactly. Now, if the bini people also use, 'Ukwu', can't it be that they borrowed it from the Igbo instead?

I understand that you feel close to the bini people because you schooled and grew up there. Its totally perfect. I did my secondary school in Owerri though I'm from Anambra and I feel a closeness for Imo people and even speak owerri igbo when I want to. But that shouldn't make me to turn around and renounce my roots. My spoken Igbo is still anambra Igbo all the time all the way, which the owerri people love to hear each time I speak it.

If you say you're not Igbo but Ika, fine. Its your personal belief. No one is forcing you to be Igbo. But don't start dragging the whole delta igbo or Ika into your isolation propaganda. Not every Ika person shares the same views with you. Definitely not the IGBOdo or Ekwuoma people.

Idun'oba ehis:
To know that the igbos are up to something, in any igbo website when they want to list igbo cities the first city they call is Agbor, Asaba, Ibusa, Ogwashi-UKU, Port harcort, before they list any SE City. Some have even extended it to Igbanke and Umunede leaving some more develop SE city. They bombard these lies in every website so as to misinform people.

That reminds me, I read in one igbo site that the name Ogwashi Uku is Igbo, and that it means palace of nshi as if ogwa is an igbo word. That's a big lie, Ogwashi Uku is a combination of three Benin words though one of them has been coruptd.
Ogwa means palace/gathering in Benin/Anioma languages.
Ashi is the Aniocha/Oshimili version of Ika/Benins Ehi and it means God/personal god/the creator/guardian spirit and destiny. While Uku is the Benin word for big. Some igbos have started changing the speling to ukwu inorder to make it look igbo.
Ashi is a very popular word in Aniocha/Oshimili area. They use it to make sentences such as Ashi oyen neduya etc. They use it to give names like Ashiedu, Ashioma etc. You can now deduce the meaning of Ogwashi-Uku from the above. Ask any Aniocha/Oshimili person the meaning of ashi and see if am lyeing.

I wanted to address this but before i did, I had to go back to page 78 to make sure this was not the other ID sonya4all created. since it is, I ain't got time dealing with you. All I'm going to say is stick to your ika side. leave us alone. my grandmother is from Ogwashi uku so I personally know what her people identify themselves as. If u no know, next time ask. I'll give you a hint: Ngozi iweala is from there and she's from a royal family
Earlier you decided to speak for Asaba in one of your id, now you decided to speak for Ogwashi, etc. what is your problem? Stop bringing wahalla for us, stay in your area. ogini bu your problem?

igbo boy:

Oshimili land shall not be part of their contention....

Abi ooo. I honestly don't know why he's trying to drag us into this argument. SMH

igbo boy:

guy e no concern you.....abeg face west...
ogbanje

Don't blame him. The likes you can blame is the SE Igbo that continue to stretch the argument and fighting with him and the other one.

One_Naira:

I wanted to address this but before i did, I had to go back to page 78 to make sure this was not the other ID sonya4all created. since it is, I ain't got time dealing with you. All I'm going to say is stick to your ika side. leave us alone. my grandmother is from Ogwashi uku so I personally know what her people identify themselves as. If u no know, next time ask. I'll give you a hint: Ngozi iweala is from there and she's from a royal family
Earlier you decided to speak for Asaba in one of your id, now you decided to speak for Ogwashi, etc. what is your problem? Stop bringing wahalla for us, stay in your area. ogini bu your problem?

Don't drag Sonya4all into this. I and the other guy that posted on Asaba are two different individuals. Are you that daft that you dont knw that nairaland is a public forum where anybody can post his/her views. Or do we as Deltans have no right to post in a Deltan thread?

@ Bigfrancis
Since when onyeishi become onye nshi again?
Incase you dont know onyeishi is a variant of onyeisi or onyisi. Nsuka people sometimes change S to SH and always change letter A to E eg. Akwa to Ekwa, Anya to Enya etc.

One_Naira:

I wanted to address this but before i did, I had to go back to page 78 to make sure this was not the other ID sonya4all created. since it is, I ain't got time dealing with you. All I'm going to say is stick to your ika side. leave us alone. my grandmother is from Ogwashi uku so I personally know what her people identify themselves as. If u no know, next time ask. I'll give you a hint: Ngozi iweala is from there and she's from a royal family
Earlier you decided to speak for Asaba in one of your id, now you decided to speak for Ogwashi, etc. what is your problem? Stop bringing wahalla for us, stay in your area. ogini bu your problem?

Why is Igboboy and you always talking about somebody bringing problem to you because he says the truth? Are you up to something? It's like you have an ulterior motive or maybe you are just obsessed by the igbos.

Idun'oba ehis:
@ Bigfrancis
Since when onyeishi become onye nshi again?
Incase you dont know onyeishi is a variant of onyeisi or onyisi. Nsuka people sometimes change S to SH and always change letter A to E eg. Akwa to Ekwa, Anya to Enya etc.

The ishi is pronounced with falling intonations, as in its pronounced as 'ishi' that means blindness. The same way you pronounce 'nri' with falling tones is the way they pronounce 'ishi' with the same falling tones. Not onyeisi (as in oga, chairman) that is pronounced with rising tones.

I've listened severally to a program, Nsukka Deeje program, done in Nsukka dialect and aired on LionFM (UNN's campus radio station) while on campus and I'm telling you exactly what the elders and custodians of their culture always say concerning their Nri(Ishi) heritage.

Our departmental secretary was Madam Onyishi and her name is pronounced with falling intonations, not rising intonations as in Onyeishi for 'chairman or Oga'. Same with Sam Maduka Onyishi. Many Nsukka people bear Onyishi as surname.

Idun'oba ehis:

Don't drag Sonya4all into this. I and the other guy that posted on Asaba are two different individuals. Are you that daft that you dont knw that nairaland is a public forum where anybody can post his/her views. Or do we as Deltans have no right to post in a Deltan thread?

Sonya shut up. you think think you are fooling anyone but nigg@ you ain't fooling anyone.
On page 78 when others addressed this your Id, you used your Sonya id to defend yourself. on the page where i addressed the "Asaba" guy, no reference to you, somehow the "sonya" id took offense to my comment and once more defended using that id.

https://www.nairaland.com/458875/delta-igbo-bendel-igbo-what/78

LMFAO. NL is a website where one person can create multiple Id and pretend to be someone else. So many people have done it, you are not the only one, the only difference is you actually suck at it