*The Urhobo Boy*

Part 1

When i was about 5yrs old, all i knew was my native tongue(Urhobo) and couldn't utter a word in english. The first time i saw a car was somewhere around 1997 when my family went for a convention in Ubogo(Delta state) and for a moment i was frozen in time. I cudnt imagine something so beautiful moving on wheels. So i tapped my mom and screemed "mommy look a house on wheels!" she cudnt help but laugh. All through the trip i cudnt close my eyes as i was so engulfed by the sights and sound of city life, i captured every moment and dreamed of living in such a place.
At the convention, mom introduced me to my aunt who lived in the city and some of my cousins who were very fluent in English. I was so shy around them as i dint understood one thing they said. During launch time one of them said "come chop for here" while pointing to the food. Though i was hungry and kinda guessed from her gestures that she was inviting me for launch, it took the effort of my translator; my mom to help me understand the invitation.
When the convention came to an end, i waved my cousins goodbye and we headed back for the village. It was evening and everywhere was getting dark but i was still awake and staring out the car as usual. It was at this point i saw the 7th wonder of the world. The driver pressed a button in the car and everywhere was bright as day time. Then i saw the car light shinning from the from the front and also inside the car. I was amazed! i quickly tapped my sleeping mother and screemed "mom look! the moving house has a lantern" she laughed and went back to sleep. I tried looking at the car's lantern to figure its source of kerosene but dint see any so i figured it must have been hidden somewhere around.
We got to our stop, trekked to the water side and boarded a boat for the village. Now this is something i was familiar with, the boat was part of my culture, not those houses on wheels i saw earlier on the trip. When we got to the village, i was welcomed like a king. I gathered my friends and told them tales of my encounters in the city; How houses where moving on wheels and had lanterns on them, How the people over there spoke a different kind of language etc. It took months before i was able to finish the tales of my journey. I was respected by my peers as one who had gone to the great beyond and seen things they can only dream of.

Urhobo wado!!

Neroiam:
Urhobo wado!!

Heh!

Da one na ogburhobo...

ochuski:

Heh!

Which riverine urhobo village were you in that you didn't see a car until 1997?

SocialJustice:
Which riverine urhobo village were you in that you didn't see a car until 1997?

Ofoni in Bayelsa state.
Its only accessible by water as at then. For us to get to a motorable road, we had to cross the river and goto Odorubu through which we can access Oghoro(pardon my spelling) junction.
It was somewhere in 2017 that the Bayelsa state govt constructed a road from Sagbama through the town.

ochuski:

Ofoni in Bayelsa state.
Its only accessible by water as at then. For us to get to a motorable road, we had to cross the river and goto Odorubu through which we can access Oghoro(pardon my spelling) junction.
It was somewhere in 2017 that the Bayelsa state govt constructed a road from Sagbama through the town.

No wonder because there's no urhobo community like that in Delta state.

MYSTIC19:
Da one na ogburhobo...

Lols... i used to o... but city life has taken a toll on me. Though i can converse very well in urhobo but its not so deep like when i was a boy.

[quote author=ochuski post=87113177]
Hmm. Well but its gud in some way makes u v/gud in our language speaking not lyk me

Nice story OP. I feel that ignorance is more innocent and better than knowledge. I think that is why Africans are losing their dignity and respect as more and more I wanting to live and become oyinbo

Adeba01:
Nice story OP. I feel that ignorance is more innocent and better than knowledge. I think that is why Africans are losing their dignity and respect as more and more I wanting to live and become oyinbo

Thanks.
But i agree and still disagree on ignorance being better than knowledge. Reason being that though the ignorance served it purpose in my early life, i'm so thankful i left the village for a better life. The lives of those who stayed back is not something i would want to envision for myself.

ochuski:

Thanks.
But i agree and still disagree on ignorance being better than knowledge. Reason being that though the ignorance served it purpose in my early life, i'm so thankful i left the village for a better life. The lives of those who stayed back is not something i would want to envision for myself.

Okay I suppose let us agree to disagree on the point of ignorance
Are there any aspects of that childhood life that you miss, if so; what are they?

MYSTIC19:
Da one na ogburhobo...

Isn't that what pidginized urhobo youths call those who are well grounded in the language?


Shame

ochuski:

Ofoni in Bayelsa state.
Its only accessible by water as at then. For us to get to a motorable road, we had to cross the river and goto Odorubu through which we can access Oghoro(pardon my spelling) junction.
It was somewhere in 2017 that the Bayelsa state govt constructed a road from Sagbama through the town.

Are you from Ofoni? being planning to explore the village, can I ask some few questions?

Efewestern:


Are you from Ofoni? being planning to explore the village, can I ask some few questions?

Yes i am... buh its been a long time av been there.

Been a city boy all my life.

Born and raised in Warri. Dad made sure we learnt English first and foremost. He outlawed pidgin and would only permit a little vernacular. He didn't let us mix either. The man was/still is an authoritative totalitarian. We grew up with Barney & Friends, Kid's songs, Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, Ed, Edd and Eddy and other mid to late 90s shows. We didn't have cable but this man was determined to rent them as VHS tapes and after a show was finished, he would make us repeat what we learnt in English. Didn't learn Urhobo till I was a teenager. Whenever we went to the village, the other kids simply avoided us.

Hustling has spoilt my English. I have noticed that Nigerians refuse to give you opportunities if you speak fancy English and they're more likely to beg you for financial assistance.

I have always wondered what living in the village would be like.

ochuski:


Yes i am... buh its been a long time av been there.

Aside Ofoni, what other Urhobo/Isoko towns do we have in your LGA? what do you think about the perception of your people towards the Urhobo nation, are they proud of their Urhobo root?

atheistandproud:
Been a city boy all my life.

Born and raised in Warri. Dad made sure we learnt English first and foremost. He outlawed pidgin and would only permit a little vernacular. He didn't let us mix either. The man was/still is an authoritative totalitarian. We grew up with Barney & Friends, Kid's songs, Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones, Ed, Edd and Eddy and other mid to late 90s shows. We didn't have cable but this man was determined to rent them as VHS tapes and after a show was finished, he would make us repeat what we learnt in English. Didn't learn Urhobo till I was a teenager. Whenever we went to the village, the other kids simply avoided us.

Hustling has spoilt my English. I have noticed that Nigerians refuse to give you opportunities if you speak fancy English and they're more likely to beg you for financial assistance.

I have always wondered what living in the village would be like.

lols... very funny story.. its cool though.
Well, i understand what your dad was trying to do and maybe his motive. He just wanted a better life for his kids.
its normal for you to miss what growing up in the village feels like but u can always get that if you try visiting the village once in a while now that you're grown and follow your relatives to the farm and see what the forest has to offer. That has worked for me quite alright.

Again i feel leaving the village was a life saver for me and if given a second chance i would do exactly same thing again. For a fact, most that stayed back dint further after secondary school, got baby mama's, etc.

ochuski:


lols... very funny story.. its cool though.
Well, i understand what your dad was trying to do and maybe his motive. He just wanted a better life for his kids.
its normal for you to miss what growing up in the village feels like but u can always get that if you try visiting the village once in a while now that you're grown and follow your relatives to the farm and see what the forest has to offer. That has worked for me quite alright.

Again i feel leaving the village was a life saver for me and if given a second chance i would do exactly same thing again. For a fact, most that stayed back dint further after secondary school, got baby mama's, etc.

As an Ughievwen indigene, there's a beautiful accent my people have when they speak Urhobo. My parents have it too. It's smooth, the consonants and vowels are bent in a sweet way that I can't explain. But when I open my mouth, they'll (relatives and village people) start laughing at me. My mom has tried to repair my Ughievwen accent but it's nonexistent. One time, they accused me of speaking like an Agbarho man only for an Agbarho to say I don't sound like them at all. That my Urhobo is Anglicised. It was a step uncle that consoled me that they were just been bitter or were teasing me so I shouldn't take it to heart.

I really don't have confidence expressing myself in the language. because them go laugh me wella.

Efewestern:


Aside Ofoni, what other Urhobo/Isoko towns do we have in your LGA? what do you think about the perception of your people towards the Urhobo nation, are they proud of their Urhobo root?

I'll have to ask my dad about the other communities when i get to speak to him.
My people are more proud of their Ijaw roots than their urhobo origin. For a certainty, it has helped them politically and otherwise. Infact, most people now give their children Ijaw names. In my house, i and my dad are the only ones with Urhobo names because we are part of the old generation. All my younger brothers bear ijaw names and this applies to most families.
Urhobo is considered as just a lingual franca in the community because even the traditional ruler bears Amanaowie which is Ijaw.
You cant blame us any less for this decisions as Ofoni is a true ijaw community by virtue of the fact that they are sons of TARAKIRI. Other villages who are sons of Tarakiri also know this and accepts Ofoni as their own.
Presently the incumbent deputy governor of Bayelsa state is a son of Tarakiri from Ofoni.
Egberi Fa o

ochuski:


I'll have to ask my dad about the other communities when i get to speak to him.
My people are more proud of their Ijaw roots than their urhobo origin. For a certainty, it has helped them politically and otherwise. Infact, most people now give their children Ijaw names. In my house, i and my dad are the only ones with Urhobo names because we are part of the old generation. All my younger brothers bear ijaw names and this applies to most families.
Urhobo is considered as just a lingual franca in the community because even the traditional ruler bears Amanaowie which is Ijaw.
You cant blame us any less for this decisions as Ofoni is a true ijaw community by virtue of the fact that they are sons of TARAKIRI. Other villages who are sons of Tarakiri also know this and accepts Ofoni as their own.
Presently the incumbent deputy governor of Bayelsa state is a son of Tarakiri from Ofoni.
Egberi Fa o

Revealing, I know Ofoni is paternally Ijaw and Maternally Urhobo, but the constant denial by some Ijaw groups about where Ofoni belongs shows they do not consider you Ijaw, they just do so because of politics.

The incumbent deputy governor was rejected by IYC, they never saw him as an Ijaw man, he had to denial his Urhobo root severally during his campaign.

I understand where you're coming from, sticking to your Urhobo identity will do you no good but rather make your community marginalized.

Efewestern:


Aside Ofoni, what other Urhobo/Isoko towns do we have in your LGA? what do you think about the perception of your people towards the Urhobo nation, are they proud of their Urhobo root?

There are 6 isoko villages in bayelsa and 1 urhobo village. At least we outnumber you people in somewhere

ochuski:


I'll have to ask my dad about the other communities when i get to speak to him.
My people are more proud of their Ijaw roots than their urhobo origin. For a certainty, it has helped them politically and otherwise. Infact, most people now give their children Ijaw names. In my house, i and my dad are the only ones with Urhobo names because we are part of the old generation. All my younger brothers bear ijaw names and this applies to most families.
Urhobo is considered as just a lingual franca in the community because even the traditional ruler bears Amanaowie which is Ijaw.
You cant blame us any less for this decisions as Ofoni is a true ijaw community by virtue of the fact that they are sons of TARAKIRI. Other villages who are sons of Tarakiri also know this and accepts Ofoni as their own.
Presently the incumbent deputy governor of Bayelsa state is a son of Tarakiri from Ofoni.
Egberi Fa o

What language is more widely spoken?

darfay:


There are 6 isoko villages in bayelsa and 1 urhobo village. At least we outnumber you people in somewhere

Lol.. agreed, you outnumbered us in Bayelsa, but politically speaking, we still the boss

darfay:


What language is more widely spoken?

Urhobo, they reason some are going the Ijaw way is probably because of politics, you know how minority can feel inferior when surrounded by a major group.

if they were in Delta, he'd not say this.

In BAYELSA, sagbama LGA have some Urhobo communities like ofoni and odoni. There is one isoko community called Anibeze.

sageb:
In BAYELSA, sagbama LGA have some Urhobo communities like ofoni and odoni. There is one isoko community called Anibeze.

Actually 6

Anibeze

Abuetor

Osifo

Osikwenike

Ikpide iri

Kenan iri

darfay:



Isn't that what pidginized urhobo youths call those who are well grounded in the language?

Shame

obgeni calm down... before you type rubbish.see I say what I like and when I like to..

MYSTIC19:
obgeni calm down... before you type rubbish.see I say what I like and when I like to..

and mind you that's not what they call them.. it means illiterate