₦airaland Forum

meyri:
@006
So now there are rules to being African. LOL! Abeg, my dear my grandfather is 100% African. That can not be disputed. Colonial mentality is found all over Naija, not just in Rivers. If you have a English-speaking name you are a victim of it. If you change/shorten/respell your native name so that English speaking people can pronounce it easily you a victim of it.

What Mazi 006 is only saying that instead of using an english name as surname, the father's middle name would have been used. He set his own family as example.
I think the problem is mostly with Ijaw peeple not just in Rivers state but in Bayelsa and Delta states.
Even their own version of Igbo's Uwaechue is Edwin clarke.
Very shameful.

It is the non-Igbo areas mostly that bear English surnames or names and not the entire Rivers state. Apart from the english surnames they bear, they wear english hats as traditional hearts during festive periods.
I think it is an attempt to be more english than the english.
Edward Harold-Wilson, I dey salute oo!.

oweniwe:
It depends on d location, whether its rural or urban. If its rural, buy some TV's/bags of rice+ gallon of veg oil, dash them 2 the following people, king/tradi ruler, 3 youth leaders. Then buy 2 buckets of paint & paint d village school. Then call a town meeting where you'll tell them u wanna contest. Then distribute N5000 in N20 notes to those in attendance. One month 2 d election, begin 2 transfer N200 every 3 days to king/tradi ruler, 3 youth leaders & other influencial people. No forget sacrifice goat 4 village shirne. If u do these 2 letter, the people u dash things will think u'll "share" wit them when u're in "power" so they'll ORDER the villagers to vote for you. Even before INEC set foot 4 d place, u don win

What if after all the expences, they did not vote for you?.

makajibbz:
He didnt ask for suggestions on a new name,he's the father,

Are you his mouthpiece?.

You can name the child when born---NDIDI.

ada owerri---bracket.

Jarus:
I fully agree with the OP here. 90% of Chelsea fans I know joined the frenzy Mourinho brought to EPL.
I know only one person that supported Chelsea pre-JM. Oh why Chelsea?! That's the first thing I ask when I see a refined person support Chelsea. Many Chelsea fans in Nigerians are people that asks questions like 'What is Yobo doing at the back?'
Admittedly, I also started supporting Arsenal in 1999 when Kanu joined. And I know many Nigerians also have same reason for supporting Arsenal.

You are right.

006:
Gbam!

That sums it up.

@miqos02 or whatever moronic name you hide under here to post rubbish, does it mean that since 2009 you have been nairalanding, you have not come across this photograph and the debate that has followed suit. F.O.O.LS like you will do everything to exhume a photo so as to rile a particular ethnic group. I spit on this your stupendous post, so go and screw your self. Dick head.

ChinenyeN:
I'm not so sure that's the meaning of "godly", but okay. I'll just leave you to wallow in. . this (don't even know how best to describe it beyond "this". "I" is still the only sensible one up there.

You mean Fr Shenahan said non-sense. Nwokem, respect please.
We have discussed all the letters apart from 'B'.
The Igbo he met was an Igbo society that produced brave men and women. Till date, the Igbo continues to produce brave people.
With the fall of the Sokoto caliphate, the Hausa/fulani sultanate came to an end. Likewise, the fall of Oyo empire and the subdue of the Yoruba race and the fall of Overamnwen and the subdue of Benin empire in 1887.
Kudos to the Igbo people who were very brave to resist the British conquest. The western Igbo bravity manifested in Ekumeku wars. Up till 1929, when other parts of Nigeria were in firm control of the British, Aba women were still resisting British occupation. The Aros, Owerris etc also were brave to resist the British.
Who says the Igbo are not brave people?.

ChinenyeN:
Andre are you serious about all this? (rhetorical question). Of course you would be.

The Igbo people are Godly people. This was epitomised in the Umuofian culture which Achebe wrote about.
One Ahiajoku lecture, probably 1985 edition dwelt on this issue.
Ndigbo worshiped Chukwu, Chukwuokike, Chukwuabiamiri, Olisabuluwa etc. That same Chukwu they worshiped in the past is worshiped till this day. The difference now, is the concept of Jesus CHRIST that was introduced.
Hence, Fr Shenahan was right to term Igbo people as Godly.

On the ''G'' aspect, Prof Chinua Achebe dealt with that in chapter 21 of his monumental book-Things Fall Apart. Here, mr Brown learns better. The British earlier assumed that the Igbo (Umuofia) were fools pursuing childish beliefs who needed only a little enlightenment to be converted.

ChinenyeN:
Well, "B" just seems out of place because of the "bravery". "G" is far from accurate, in my opinion. If someone could find a synonym for "spiritual/religious" that starts with "g", then I would understand. Lastly, from what I've witnessed, "opinionated" would be more proper for "O" than "obedience".

From the 1900's up till 1920's, Fr Shenaham witnessed an obedient Igbo groups that were obedient enough to abandon some of their obnoxious ways. They were obedient to abandon the killing of twins etc. Indeed, Ndigbo are obedient people.

ifyalways:
ajuju dokara crotchet !
I agree with the "I" part though,others . . . .ajuju dokara crotchet.
Bia dis 006,i hope na i bughi Toshamn

How about the G aspect. Igbo people are Godly. Prior to the coming of christianity, Ndigbo have been Godly. The whites on their arrival in Igboland initially believed the Igbo were ungodly. Later, they confessed to their folly.

NGUGI WA THIONGO.
One of the best African writers. Some of his publications includes ''weep not child''. This book is extensively read in Nigeria. I can still remember some interesting lines from that work.
Weep not child,
Weep not my darling,
With this kisses, let me remove your tears.

Abagworo:
i dont know if you actually live in nigeria because to the best of my knowledge there is no war.on a broader sense of it,ikwerres and other igbo groups are igbo but if you come down to the basics,the politics of ethnicity changes.for example to an imo state man,the entire anambra seems to speak one language and have homogenous culture but inside anambra they can spot the differences between awka,onitsha,ogbaru,nnewi etc.in rivers state nobody calls himself ijaw or igbo.ethnic groups are based on clans and that is why ikwerre is majority.ogba,egbema,ndoni,ikwerre,ekpeye,etche,oyigbo(ndoki) are never grouped as a single ethnic group.thesame with okrika,ibani,kalabari.andoni and ogu.

Living in Nigeria or not has got nothing to do with the issue at hand. Obama does not live in Nigeria yet, he knows the high level of corruption in Nigeria. The Ijoos have this attitude of identifying someone as Igbo when it pleases them. Do I need to live in Nigeria to understand that Amaechi's attempt of changing the ugly shape of Port Harcourt has been seen as an Igbo attempt to clear non-Igbo groups from Port Harcourt.
Once again, if the Ijoos wants to unite with their Igbo neighbours, they should search themselves times and times over to ascertain if they actually meant it. As for me personally, unity is feasible.

bawomolo:
taye taiwo must have benjamin buttons syndrome lol

Respect please.

Under Governor Melford Okilo, Igbo people in Rivers state were regarded as Ijoos. In Rivers state, When Governor Peter Odili was the governor of Rivers state, he was simply Ndoni. When this same man wanted to be the president of Nigeria, he was reminded that he is Rivers Igbo.
When, Rotimi Amaechi was campaigning, he was an Ikwerre man. But when this Ikwerreman wants to demolish houses built where they were not suppose to be built, then Amaechi becomes Igbo.
Ijoo people should search themselves thoughroughly, if they are ready for peace.

In 1974, Emperor H. Selasie visited Jamaica, during the visit, journalists asked him if he was the Messiah to come. He made no comment.

udezue:
Andre uweh,
You are very right.

When it is convenient for them, those Igbo groups in Rivers are not Igbo. When inconvenient, they become Igbo. Even in some cases, they paint the entire Rivers state with Ijoo colours. Yet Ndigbo are the majority ethnic group in Rivers state.

Unity is feasible between the two ethnic groups. For that to be achieved, the Ijoo has to recognise the Igbo groups in Rivers state as Ndigbo. They should not see them as Ijoo. They should not see them as Ikwere, or Ekpeye, but rightly as Igbo people.

As early as 1914, tribalism has crept into Nigeria as a result of Lugard's system of administration in Nigeria. Awolowo was only 5 years by then and could not have introduced tribalism in Nigeria.

Lord Fredrick Lugard, though amalgamated the north and the south, chose to keep the north separate from the South. Southerners were forced to live in Sabongari-strangers quarters. People from Southern Nigeria, in spite of the amalgamation of 1914 were still regarded, (not as fellow Nigerians), but as strangers in Northern Nigeria. Southerners were not allowed to own land in the north. There were no mixing of the inhabitants from the South to the North being contaminated by evil influences from the South.

Is the above descriptions of the Igbo people correct and precise?.

Bishop Joseph Shanahan who introduced western education and the christian gospel message to Ndigbo  arrived at Onitsha in 1902. In his journeys, he penetrated the Igbo heartland, dealt first hand with all groups of Igbo people and all shades of Igbo opinion. Shanahan by his continued contact with Ndigbo through 1913-1926 reached  an understanding of the Igbo character which he expressed at various times and in various ways.
  Father Shanahan tried to summerise the Igbo traits by referring to the name they bear, to him Shanahan I.B.O meant:
I-stands for Industry, ingenuity and inventiveness.
B- stands for boldness, bravery.
O-stands for obedience.
  One of the Igbo teachers who worked with him, William Onuchukwu interjected-the name is IGBO and not IBO. To this Father Shanahan added 'yes' and G-stands Godly.

ChinenyeN:
My turn to answer those questions.

The Questions
----- My Answers. . .

1is it not possible that some igbos might have founded some parts of bini instead of it being only that bini founded some part of igbo?
----- It is very, very possible. In fact, it is highly probable, and I wouldn't be surprised if such is actually the case. Migrations are migrations and people cross migrate. It would not be very smart of an individual to doubt that some Igbo could have migrated past the Niger.

2why do ikas speak igbo instead of bini despite their proximity?
----- The answer to this one is fairly simple. Considering the size of Ika now, and considering their linguistic affinity to other Igbo, one cannot rule out the probability of an already firmly-established Igbo settlement in Ika area prior to their movement from Bini. That isn't to say that the Ika are not in-part, Bini. Their Bini affinity claims don't sound far-fetched to me.

3is there any possibility that igbos founded some yoruba towns like ado,ijebu and abeokuta?
----- I remember reading an online article from some Nigerian journalism site (can't recall the article specifically though, but I can go and check) where an Abeokuta man (chief, or some highly revered member of their community) was speaking about their affinity to Ngwa people. . . sounded like a stretch to me, but I understood the general idea. Some Igbo could have settled as far as Dehomey, and even founded towns there (that is a possibility).

4is it also possible that some yorubas reached igboland and founded some towns too?
----- If someone could believe that some Igbo could reach Dehomey, then it would be hypocritical to believe that some Yoruba could not have reached, nor founded some towns in Igbo.

5are all igbos linked with nri?
----- That would depend on what kind of linkeage you're talking about. If you mean ancestrally? Then no. If you mean commerce & industry? then indirectly, yes, but I suspect that would likely have began during the time of the slave trade, and primarily with the help of the Aro.

6why do almost 60% of the igbos traditionally deny being igbos.
----- Because it isn't/wasn't their identity. It isn't/wasn't their name. I could even venture to say that many Igbo were unaware of the term/identity "Igbo" until much later on during the slave trade era.

7is there any village or town in igboland apart from igboukwu and amaigbo that traditionally reffered to themselves pre-colonial times as igbo and who are they?
----- Because I do not know the story(ies) of Igbouzo and Akwukwu Igbo, I can only really say that the only two communities that, in pre-colonial times, referred to themselves as "Igbo" were the people of Igbo-Ukwu and Ama-Igbo. Then, there's the people of Orlu who, I believe have in pre-colonial times referred to themselves as Umu Igbo (they recall a progenitor whose name is/was "Igbo Ngidi". So maybe Ama-Igbo and Igbo-Ukwu are Orlu offshoot settlements. Just a deduction, so no one should quote me on that.

8who are the isuamas?
----- I'm not all too sure, so no one should quote me, but I believe that this question is connected to #7. It is my suspicion that the Isuama are Igbo indigenes and Eri descendants.

Chinenye@ no6: I still maintain that Igbo denial is not up to 60%. About 15 percent and mostly from Ika, Ikwerre and Ndokwa areas. But they are in the minority.
Up till the 1800's, the Yorubas did not see themselves as Yorubas. They even constantly warred amongst themselves until the British arrived. Even after the arrival of the British, Yoruba groups of Ijebu and Egba did not accept A Yoruba tag of their groups. That was achieved under the nationalist.
Yet in today's Nigeria, they do not deny their Yoruba heritage. The Igbo emerged in a similar fashion though earlier than that of the Yoruba. We all know why some of them are denying their Igbo heritage and that has been discussed extensively.

ChinenyeN:
I can actually only fluently write that in Ngwa. I'm not sure how to translate that to General Igbo.

Nsogbu adighi. Dezie ya na olu ndi Ngwa ma obu olu ndi Abayi. Odi ka I wu onye Abayi?.
Na agbanye gi, Igbo wu Igbo.

Surely, it is not an Igbo masquerade. Never.
Anyway, that is shameful.

ChinenyeN:
Very. Very. I'm not even sure what got into the heads of you and your peers; attacking me as if I'm a deltan who denies Igbo affiliation. I've stated it many times over that I am a proud Igbo. I may see myself as Ngwa, but I do recognize Igbo affiliation. I don't know why you lot found it so difficult to understand that. Anyway, here is not the place for this. Just know that you all have been wrong the entire time; very, very wrong.

Dee ya na asusu Igbo.

May God restore his health Amen!.