I am not here to a force Igbo identity on any group of people as it is normally done here in nairaland I believe every human being has the right to choose their identity.i am from etchie local government in rivers state throughout my childhood I was told I am not Igbo which I believed, but as I grew up to become an adult I decided to put sentiment aside and face reality.it all started when I gained admission into yabatech in Lagos ,at one time it became mandatory to join a cultural group in school that relates to your ethnic group at first I was confused then I asked myself should I join Yoruba,Igbo or Hausa group in school of course I naturally joined the Igbo group since we are related which I believe a decision I believe any one in my shoes will naturally make.

As time went on we had meetings every weekends we contribute money it was more like a club.i took it serious because because we always have this feast at the end of every semester since I naturally love food I never miss any . .
Through my stay in that meeting I realised something, we are not different from this Igbo people the infact we are a part of the Igbo race.

There is this popular belief in my family that we etches and Ikwerre migrated from Benin i have always believed this ideology until I was opportuned to read an old history book written by our colonial masters in the library , I learned a lot about igbos .do you know Igbos once had tribal marks just like that of yorubas?do you know Igbos were the most difficult ethnic group to be colonised by British the resistance was bloody the stubbornness we still maintain till this day .

I have some questions and I stand to be corrected...

(1)My fellow rivers brothers if we are different from Igbos why do we bear the same names with them?why do our towns and cities bear Igbo names I guess these towns and villahes have being named thousands of years ago before our generation.

(2)is there any ethnic group in the world that bears the same name with its land,in Yorubaland where i was raised there is no place called Yoruba in Yorubaland. There is no place in hausa in hausaland.how come every Igbo speaking group outside the southeast bears the same name with its land? Etche ethnic group in etche local government,ika local government is ika people,Ikwerre local government is Ikwerres people it's so confusing and never seen before.

3) as a learned person if you ask me to define an ethnic group (tribe) I would tell you an ethnic group is a group of people who have similar language,name ,culture,food etc and it must be different from all other groups.how come we have almost 80% similarity with Igbos but we want to be different from them doesn't that confuse you.

(4)where is our Benin heritage?i had Benin friends when I was in school I can bet you there is no single similarity in our languages and style,How come there is no single Benin heritage left in our culture and language .did our ancestors develop amnesia? If it's true our Igbos influenced our culture and language how come the ogonis and ijaws in Kalabari did not adopt Igbo language despite how tiny they are?

Truth and common sense over sentiments anytime and anydaye, I am not a minority ethnic group I am Igbo the rest of can deny your Identity i am not part of you.

Truth will always prevail over falsehood.

Ojiofor:
Truth will always prevail over falsehood.

Thank you bro it's a mental thing imposed on us we are igbos ..

Ikwerres are not Igbo. When you are tired of your Igbo identity denial you know what to do till then we still regard you as Bini people.

Apawicked:
Ikwerres are not Igbo. When you are tired of your Igbo identity denial you know what to do till then we still regard you as Bini people.

Bro don't take it personal I am not one of them when an etchie man leaves porthacourt he will know he is an Igbo man all my Yoruba friends here call me Igbo boy I have no choice.

I don't know the table OP is trying to push but lemme sidon dey look first

chuka5000:
I don't know the table OP is trying to push but lemme sidon dey look first

I don't care let the table break I am not a minority ethnic group I am Igbo.

kollinzgee:


Thank you bro it's a mental thing imposed on us we are igbos ..

So far as there are still people like you in that region,there is indeed hope for the future of your people.Keep it up.

Ojiofor:


So far as there are still people like you in that region,there is indeed hope for the future of your people.Keep it up.

Don't get me wrong I believe its is a 50/50 thing not all , there are etches who believe they are Igbos and they are those who dont believe however the learned ones will easily decide the truth.

kollinzgee:


Bro don't take it personal I am not one of them when an etchie man leaves porthacourt he will know he is an Igbo man all my Yoruba friends here call me Igbo boy I have no choice.

Nwanne I'm not taking it personal, I'm just being real. Most times what we see online is not what happens offline. In my presence an Ikwerre man his name is Enyi Ch*k*.. said he is not Igbo to his non Igbo friend that called him Igbo after hearing his name. The Igbo denial is real and like I said when your people are tired they know what to do. Ochupuru onwe ya n'ugbo adighi asi na ugbo erutolo ya

kollinzgee:


Don't get me wrong I believe its is a 50/50 thing not all , there are etches who believe they are Igbos and they are those who dont believe however the learned ones will easily decide the truth.

No problem we Igbos are like tomorrow we no get end time.We dey watch.

kollinzgee:


I don't care let the table break I am not a minority ethnic group I am Igbo.

the funniest of them all Is anioma people of delta, they speak pure Igbo, dress the Igbo cultural way, answer pure Igbo names but decided to answer another name and then become minority even in their own state where they're supposed to be the majority

Let me break it down for you, I like your approach OP, no insult, no abuse, it is quite strange to me but you have done well in that part.

Igbos only influenced the riverine tribes, they are not the same with igbos, Igbos are travellers so their culture and language must have dominated the small tribes of the riverine area they migrated to. I have a documented article by a British man that visited the area in 1800. Another thing is that dressing like igbos and speaking igbos doesn't mean they are igbos, for example look at Yoruba cousin, the Igala, they belong to Yoruboid group, they wear clothes that look like Yoruba dress, our language is quite similar to theirs, so can you tell me, are igalas in Anambra Yoruba?

I understand some of your point, your family may be one of earlier igbos immigrant and you said, your elders have said they are not Igbos you can't know more than your elders.

Thanks

chuka5000:



the funniest of them all Is anioma people of delta, they speak pure Igbo, dress the Igbo cultural way, answer pure Igbo names but decided to answer another name and then become minority even in their own state where they're supposed to be the majority

Bro you are very wrong,my first girlfriend ifeanyi was from ibuzor she never denied being Igbo.i have also seeing many delta Igbos here in Lagos they have never denied being Igbos.i am only sure of Ikwerres and and etchies not delta Igbos.my best friends in secondary school luck okoye and ugochukwu who is now in delsu never denied being Igbo we even speak Igbo together.

kollinzgee:


Bro you are very wrong,my first girlfriend ifeanyi was from ibuzor she never denied being Igbo.i have also seeing many delta Igbos here in Lagos they have never denied being Igbos.i am only sure of Ikwerres and and etchies not delta Igbos.my best friends in secondary school luck okoye and ugochukwu who is now in delsu never denied being Igbo we even speak Igbo together.

did u grow up in Delta State?

go there and see for urself
why are they still minorities in Delta (ika, ukwuani, kwale etc)
just go there and see for yourself

MinorityOpinion:
Let me break it down for you, I like your approach OP, no insult, no abuse, it is quite strange to me but you have done well in that part.

Igbos only influenced the riverine tribes, they are not the same with igbos, Igbos are travellers so their culture and language must have dominated the small tribes of the riverine area they migrated to. I have a documented article by a British man that visited the area in 1800. Another thing is that dressing like igbos and speaking igbos doesn't mean they are igbos, for example look at Yoruba cousin, the Igala, they belong to Yoruboid group, they wear clothes that look like Yoruba dress, our language is quite similar to theirs, so can you tell me, are igalas in Anambra Yoruba?

I understand some of your point, your family may be one of earlier igbos immigrant and you said, your elders have said they are not Igbos you can't know more than your elders.

Thanks

Mister man don't provoke me
I am a 27 year old man I know what is right and what is wrong I am not daft I am the only one in my family who has this ideology I have argued it with my late dad before.
The British colonised us for over 400 years they taught us their language, religion and culture how come we still retained our mother tongue and culture till this day Do you know they are yorubas in Brazil? Do you know they are Igbos in Jamaica? Despite the fact that their ancestor were taking there as slaves they still know there origin till this day. Think! think! think! Dont allow hate cloud your judgement it will destroy you eventually.
Our forefathers never documented any historical records for us to read and know where we came from unlike the Europeans all we have to do now is just to use our scientific knowledge and common sense to determine where we came from.

As for the elders, elders can be misleading old age doesn't equate wisdom and understanding.most elders don't even know our history as much as I do most elders don't even know our ancstors had tribal marks like yorubas until I told them.

chuka5000:



did u grow up in Delta State?

go there and see for urself
why are they still minorities in Delta (ika, ukwuani, kwale etc)
just go there and see for yourself

Maybe you are right but the worst I have heard is "we are delta igbos"

kollinzgee:


Maybe you are right but the worst I have heard is "we are delta igbos"

Delta state was not even part of the East. They were part of the West. Yet you guys want to annex part of Delta state? How does that even work?

Zooposki:


Delta state was not even part of the East. They were part of the West. Yet you guys want to annex part of Delta state? How does that even work?

Maybe you should first ask yorubas why they always include kwarra and kogi in Yorubaland since its in the North.

kollinzgee:


Mister man don't provoke me
I am a 27 year old man I know what is right and what is wrong I am not daft I am the only one in my family who has this ideology I have argued it with my late dad before.
The British colonised us for over 400 years they taught us their language, religion and culture how come we still retained our mother tongue and culture till this day Do you know they are yorubas in Brazil? Do you know they are Igbos in Jamaica? Despite the fact that their ancestor were taking there as slaves they still know there origin till this day. Think! think! think! Dont allow hate cloud your judgement it will destroy you eventually.
Our forefathers never documented any historical records for us to read and know where we came from unlike the Europeans all we have to do now is just to use our scientific knowledge and common sense to determine where we came from.

As for the elders, elders can be misleading old age doesn't equate wisdom and understanding. most elders don't even know our history as much as I do most elders don't even know our ancstors had tribal marks like yorubas until I told them.

Igbos elder know everything but intentionality hide the tribal mark stuff or that further prove they are not Igbos , at the bolded, you are very wrong.

kollinzgee:


Maybe you should first ask yorubas why they always include kwarra and kogi in Yorubaland since its in the North.

I thought the Fulanis took Kwara from them? Not sure about the history of Kogi.

My fellow etche , Ikwerre and ika brothers and sisters in this site let me tell you something.if Ikwerre and etche were carved into imo and Abia states we would be be claiming Igbos today.i once hate Igbos with passion because I believe they easily dominate wherever they go and they seem proud however I discover I was only hating on myself .I like digging deep and I found the truth which is we are a different dialects of the Igbo people.

I strongly believe The hatred and denial began during the civil war , because my father told me how ojukwu was conscripting ikwerre and etche children into the army against their parents will. most of the boys never came back home alive maybe they died in combat.he also said they denied being Igbos because they heard how Nigerian soldiers massacred innocent Igbo civilians whenever they conquered any territory
So denying Igbos was a way to save their ass because it was a genocidal war lets not let people separate us from our brothers nature will punish us for it. It's more like a North and South Korea thing political borders is just what separates us that's all.I

MinorityOpinion:


They know everything but intentionality hide the tribal mark stuff, at the bolded, you are very wrong.

Are you in there minds how sure are you mister?
Most of this our elders were little kids during the civil war..

kollinzgee:
My fellow etche , Ikwerre and ika brothers and sisters in this site let me tell you something.if Ikwerre and etche were carved into imo and Abia states we would be be claiming Igbos today.i once hate Igbos with passion because I believe they easily dominate wherever they go and they seem proud however I discover I was only hating on myself .I like digging deep and I found the truth which is we are a different dialects of the Igbo people.

I strongly believe The hatred and denial began during the civil war , because my father told me how ojukwu was conscripting ikwerre and etche children into the army against their parents will. most of the boys never came back home alive maybe they died in combat.he also said they denied being Igbos because they heard how Nigerian soldiers massacred innocent Igbo civilians whenever they conquered any territory
So denying Igbos was a way to save their ass because it was a genocidal war lets not let people separate us from our brothers nature will punish us for it. It's more like a North and South Korea thing political borders is just what separates us that's all.I

So why do you think they were not carved into Imo and Abia? During the regional government when the Igbos were at the helm of affairs, did they see and treat these people as Igbos? Do your research and find out the atrocities these people suffered in their hands. Till now do they really see you as Igbo if not for their political convenience because they feel it's what gives them the right to say that they must include the South South in their Biafra instead of the true Biafra of the 5 Eastern States.

I would suggest that you make effort to convince the rest of your family members to accept being Igbo first before addressing other ethnic groups just based on your experience at Yaba polytechnic.

This is pure truth,if u hate Igbo without reasons,u will find out that u are hating yourself.

Tranquill:


So why do you think they were not carved into Imo and Abia? During the regional government when the Igbos were at the helm of affairs, did they see and treat these people as Igbos? Do your research and find out the atrocities these people suffered in their hands. Till now do they really see you as Igbo if not for their political convenience because they feel it's what gives them the right to say that they must include the South South in their Biafra instead of the true Biafra of the 5 Eastern States.

I would suggest that you make effort to convince the rest of your family members to accept being Igbo first before addressing other ethnic groups just based on your experience at Yaba polytechnic.

Oooohhhhh
Now I see the reason why, but that still doesn't change the fact that we are igbos.oyo empire did worse to their fellow yoruba states did they reject being yorubas...google Ikwere and etche and tell me the answer..i sense you are a Yoruba man I notice you guys hate Igbos a lot in this site..by the way no one it talking about biafra here.

kollinzgee:


Oooohhhhh
Now I see the reason why, but that still doesn't change the fact that we are igbos.oyo empire did worse to their fellow yoruba states did they reject being yorubas...google Ikwere and etche and tell me the answer..i sense you are a Yoruba man I notice you guys hate Igbos a lot in this site..by the way no one it talking about biafra here.

Your response even suggests that you are actually from Umuahia and not Etche as you claim. Good luck.

Tranquill:


Your response even suggests that you are actually from Umuahia and not Etche as you claim. Good luck.

You are free to think whatever you like it's the Ikwerres that have problem with Igbos not we just that the hate Is contagious it spread to us.

kollinzgee:


You are free to think whatever you like it's the Ikwerres that have problem with Igbos not we just that the hate Is contagious it spread to us.

So saying 'I am not Igbo' ='I hate Igbo'
Bro, you are very intelligent.

kollinzgee:
My fellow etche , Ikwerre and ika brothers and sisters in this site let me tell you something.if Ikwerre and etche were carved into imo and Abia states we would be be claiming Igbos today.i once hate Igbos with passion because I believe they easily dominate wherever they go and they seem proud however I discover I was only hating on myself .I like digging deep and I found the truth which is we are a different dialects of the Igbo people.

I strongly believe The hatred and denial began during the civil war , because my father told me how ojukwu was conscripting ikwerre and etche children into the army against their parents will. most of the boys never came back home alive maybe they died in combat.he also said they denied being Igbos because they heard how Nigerian soldiers massacred innocent Igbo civilians whenever they conquered any territory
So denying Igbos was a way to save their ass because it was a genocidal war lets not let people separate us from our brothers nature will punish us for it. It's more like a North and South Korea thing political borders is just what separates us that's all.I

Op I am 100% with you. You can check my comments here. I am an Etchie too, from OKEHI 2.

Go punish anybody that said I am not Igbo

Alawe:
Op I am 100% with you. You can check my comments here. I am an Etchie too, from OKEHI 2.

Go punish anybody that said I am not Igbo

T