₦airaland Forum

Ndiigbo make up more than 50% of the Nigerian diaspora population.
TRUE or FALSE ?

Nobody really knows what percentage of the country's population any tribe really is.
Population figures in this country are always fraudulent.

kpaminose:
Ye si kini? Ye si ni ele erira ke unu gi eku oku?

You mean you don't have the verb to be 'bụ / wụ' in Ika?
Ọ wụ gịnị? Aha m wụ.....

kpaminose:

chijiblaze: Ị shị a hụ wụ nini? Ị shị ọ wụgh kpa nnụ na-eshi ekwu ụka?

How the fvck do you expect me to understand this?

Ị sị na ọ wụ gịnị? Ị sị na ọwụghị otù unu na-esi ekwu okwu?

Now do you understand that? Now give us the translation in Ika.

kpaminose:
Who said Owerri is very close to Ika? From all my research, I only notice very very insignificant similarity. Not even enough to give it any attention

Ị shị a hụ wụ nini? Ị shị ọ wụgh kpa nnụ na-eshi ekwu ụka?

Godream:
Yes, I posted this already in the translator thread....and I can't seem to figure out the difference between:

"anyị chị anụ" and "unu akwọghị anyị"

I understand the difference in unu, anyị etc, but why use akwọ instead of chị ? for the negation in the second sentence would "unu achịghị anyị" work as well? or am I misunderstanding chị vs akwọ in the use of the meaning 'carry'?

Kwọ is to carry someone, either on the back, Ọ kwọ nwa n'azụ. or carry in some kind of vehicle A na-akwọgharị ya na moto.
Chi as a verb to carry (bearing in mind other unrelated meanings of the word chi) can stand for to grasp something in the palm of ones hand. Or to hold a lot of items of a countable object. Chịrị okwute.
Or to heard/ lead animals. Ọ na-achị nnama.
Or a possessive characteristic that one has. O nweghi ihe Ọ chị

Godream: In addition is there any reason why ọ is used instead of o? such as in this example sentence? "ọ na-esi anụ"

The rules of vowel harmony ndakọrịta udaume dictate that the pronoun must correspond with the same group as the vowel in the root verb.
O deela, heavy vowel O goes with another heavy vowel E in dee
Ọ pụọla, light vowel Ọ goes with another light vowel Ụ in pụọ
But in the present tense, the use of the auxiliary verb na- changes everything to light vowels to correspond with the A in na- so you have
Ọ na-eri light vowel Ọ goes with another light vowel A in na-. Not minding the heavy vowel I in ri.

Godream: Still just trying to grasp the basics so I'd appreciate any assistance, also trying to figure out which dialect, Onitsha vs. Owerri, I am actually trying to focus on, since alot of material and books do not seem to indicate which dialect they are explaining..making it overly difficult to figure out verb stems etc

biko, achị m wink

Just learn central Igbo. That's the one written in books and used by the media. And it's understood by all Igbo and Igboid people.
Anambra Igbo is kinda marginal and restricted to Onitsha people. With time you'll get to understand both.

Godream: "anyị chị anụ"

Now this looks Ikwerreish! Unu not Anụ

mrvitalis:
Mabise ..we had it rough during the last fight ...ojukwu left his village to mabise to declear Biafra and refuse to make us capital ..we took the blow and we were the only place not conquered by the Nigerian army ...but today nah mabise won't want such rubbish again ..we lost too much the last time

What MAB ISE?

So what's the difference between Hausa and Awusa, pronunciation wise? To most people they're basically the same.
Another thing is that: One is the English name, the other is just the Igbo name, take it or leave it.
I understand that the way the people concerned call themselves sounds somewhat like horser or hoe-sir, now it'll be a difficult task to ask an Igbo woman in the village to reproduce these sounds.
Igbo language doesn't use diphthongs 'au' nor does it put one consonant immediately after another, instead syllables are linked up to one another by vowels. So in place of 'How-sir', you just and a vowel between the two syllables to give 'How-u-Sir'. Which can be written like: Awusa. simple for Igbo people to pronounce! Can't you notice how easily this flows from the mouth than Howser, which involves a lot of friction!
Ony'Awụsa, ndịAwụsa, and Am'Awụsa names cannot change.

Progressive01:
Igbos are tolerant, respectable, honourable, hardworking, etc. Ipobs are everything Igbos are not.

They bring shame to Igbos worldwide.

What has IPOB done to you that would make you tag them intolerant, dishonourable, disrespectful or lazy?
These people have an objective to protect their own from those who wish and do them ill, and they [IPOB] go about their campaign in a peaceful manner through peaceful street protests, sit-at-home boycotts, flag distribution and pasting, and generally creating awareness.
Just like their sister organization, the movement for the actualization of the sovereign state of Biafra (MASSOB). This clearly contrasts with the activities of similarity opinionated organizations like the Basque ETA which carried out a bombing campaign which claimed thousands of civilian lives in both France and Spain just to press home their demand for a separate homeland. The PKK in Turkey is actually engaged in a war with state to demand secession for the Kurdish people. These have been rightly recognized worldwide as terrorist organizations, just like the one in Chechnya, fighting the Russian government and people, with civilian casualties, just for independence. None of these has happened with MASSOB/ IPOB. Their struggle to date has remained an unarmed one.
Coming to the Nigerian scene, several ethnic / regional pressure groups exist such as the MOSOP for the Ogoni people, the numerous Ijaw oriented Niger-Delta militant groups and even the Yorubas' OPC. These are all guilty of conducting violent armed campaigns, bombings, kidnapping of unconnected innocent civilians for ransom, for money, killing members of the Nigerian armed forces and police, declaring parts of the country as independent states or no-go areas for other people, and even armed robbery! Do you think IPOB is really worse?

Progressive01:
Igbos are tolerant, respectable, honourable, hardworking, etc. Ipobs are everything Igbos are not.

They bring shame to Igbos worldwide.

What has IPOB done to you that would make you tag them intolerant, dishonourable, disrespectful or lazy?
These people have an objective to protect their own from those who wish and do them ill, and they [IPOB] go about their campaign in a peaceful manner through peaceful street protests, sit-at-home boycotts, flag distribution and pasting, and generally creating awareness.
Just like their sister organization, the movement f

Vice president Oluyemi. Super Minister Babatunde. Driver of the economy Kemi. Wow...I didn't know they were all Fulani..

I miss you... Akpịrị gị na-akpọ m nkụ.

It could be Mavrodi's Magic MoneyDouble a.k.a. MMM.
Not as if it's the first time...

nijabazaar:
Well, if a serious Tsunami should hit, Even Anambra that is further inland wont be spared...thank god we don't have such thermal ocean activity but then you can't really trust nature, what with all the pollution/drilling going on in the delta.



....and some super serious ice-melting is going on in the artic. and the worst part is Trump and Russia don't believe in Climate Change. So this 50 years timeline might just be a wishful and broad estimation. The time might actually be just in a two decades or three

What difference does it make what the president Trump believes or not. Even other world leaders who believe and claim to be championing the climate change gospel and seeking green policies are rather helpless to stop what nature is doing. Most times it's all talk and condemnation but little action. China says it needs to burn billions of tons of coal to power its bulging population. India says it's just playing catchup with the emissions of other developing countries. Even Canada and Australia with less than 2% of China's or India's population are competing to surpass the pollution of these giants. All these results in more CO2 in the atmosphere exacerbating the already catastrophically menacing greenhouse effect and politicians in Europe will gather just to talk about it or even how to make money from it. Meanwhile, all these green politicians and activists fly around the world in highly carbon emitting jet planes to deliver their lectures.
Besides there's a school of thought that rejects the link between Carbon IV Oxide in the atmosphere and global warming. Many scientists and politicians subscribe to this point of view. Same as Trump. If all CO2 emission is stopped today, global warming still continues. Methane gas emissions from cattle herding and the gastrointestinal organs of ruminants worldwide produces more greenhouse effect than all the fossil fuels burning in this world. Add one or two volcanic eruptions to the mix and you'll realise man made pollution is just minuscule.
So all I'm saying is: All those things happen on their own. The earth alternates between epochs of very cold and very hot climatic conditions. Have you not heard about Ice Age? So the temperature will continue rising, the oceans will continue surging, coastal areas like Lagos and the Niger delta will continue sinking, and nothing will stop it. Only that the government should be aware of these things and prepare adequately for any eventuality. It isn't wise that tens of millions of people and trillions of naira capital be invested in Lagos now to the detriment of the rest of the country. If the government can move the political capital of the country away from Lagos to the North for strategic military insecurity, the government can likewise move the economic capital away from Lagos to say the East, for strategic climatic insecurity.
That way we would be able to safeguard the economic survival of the people of the largest black nation on earth. But as for Lagos, it's simply beyond salvation. Let the ocean have it!

Eke40seven:
Also, you are not correct actually when you say the sound, "GB" is not available in the Yoruba language.
What of 'Egba', GBa (hit or kick), GBadun (enjoy), GBolohun (vowels), 'GBe' (Carry), etc.

Example of alphabets/sounds not available in yoruba language but available in the igbo language are "ñ" as in Nneka and NneNna (that's why you pronounce, 'Ineka' and inena respectively) or you say "omo ina" because you simply cannot pronounced Nna.
A cousin of mine complained bitterly how Yoruba people pronounce his name as "Ayele" instead of "Anyaele".

Another example is, "Tsch" as in 'Church' or 'Charity', Chinedu or Chichi. Native Yorubas would pronounce, "shorsh", "Sharity", Shinedu and Shishi respectively.

Every consonant and vowel available in the word 'Igbo' as in the people are also available in Yoruba. Although I can't really wrap my head around why most call it, " Yiiboo". Only very well travelled and educated ones can even attempt to pronounce, "ebo".

May be that's why people say Igbo is difficult to learn.

The Yoruba "GB" sound is thicker and longer than the Igbo version. Just like the "KP" sound. Think of the Yoruba Pele (sorry) against Akpu (food).
So the problem has less to do with the accent marks, i.e. rising or falling tones on the vowels in "Igbo" but the length and weight of the "gb" sound. It should be pronounced lightly that's why it erroneously seems to some people like a mere "b" hence Ibo.
The correct thing is Ìgbò.

It reminds me of one book I read in primary school: "Samankwe and the highway robbers"
One of the robbers was nicknamed: "Tijjani alias Ahmed Okafor"!!!

Well difficult.
You do look typically African, you can walk the streets in Lagos without being seen as different, but it's hard to place you. Some African Americans have thoroughly mixed heritage from various parts of Africa even European and native American peoples.
You'd need to wait for the DNA results.

Every State in the south and middle belt should have at least one or two ports.

Cross River: Calabar, Abi on the Cross River
Akwa Ibom: Oron, ibaka
Ebonyi: Afikpo on the Cross River
Abia: Ohambele on the Imo River
Imo: Oguta on the Orashi River Niger confluence
Rivers: Port Harcourt (Onne), Bonny island,
Bayelsa: Brass, Nembe Town,
Delta: Warri, Asaba & Aboh both on the River Niger
Anambra: Onitsha on the River Niger
Enugu:
Benue: Makurdi on the River Benue
Kogi: Lokoja Niger Benue confluence, Idah on the River Niger
Edo: Agenebode,
Ondo:
Osun:
Ekiti:
Oyo:
Ogun:
Lagos: Tin can island, Apapa already there.

There's nothing revealed here on the nature of the sickness nor whether he'll be going back again.

ChimaAdeoye:
How do we know they are Hausa and not Yoruba?

It is amazing that Yorubas ain't no longer cowards. Wow! the new generation Yoruba actually stands and fights.

Didn't you see the man with the basket and onions scattered everywhere.

I don't know about the others.

auggie340:
OSU caste system has been discouraged in Igbo land...You shud mind ur utterances esp. on issues you know nothing about...Every tribe had practices that are termed "terrible" by today's standard, wah matters is whether such is still been widely practiced...

"On 20 March 1956, Igbo legislators in the Eastern
House of Assembly, Enugu abrogated the then
common practice of referring people to as osus" wikipedia

You should rather bother urself about ur tribe and any uncivilized practices that still goes on there, at least you'll be commenting on issues you know a lot about

You could be liable to prosecution and possibly face jail time if you make the mistake of calling someone "Osu".
This law is still in force especially in the southeast. I don't know about other parts of the country. It's high time we brought that law to take effect online and drastically punish all those uninformed Afonjaical trolls carelessly branding about such a sensitive and forbidden label and let them know what they're dealing with!

Afam4eva:
Pashi = dowe ya = keep
Iyon = That thing
Ebomu = There

Pashi iyom ebomu = Keep that thing there

In which universe does this sound Igbo?

Pasa iye ọmụ ebe ọmụ.
which is actually:
Pasa ihe ọhụ ebe ọhụ.
or in central Igbo: Dowe ihe ahụ ebe ahụ.
and with vowel assimilation "Olilo ụdaume":
Pasa iye ọmụ ebe ọmụ.

And you think it's not Igbo.

Christians swear in God's name, with bible (even though the same bible forbids them from doing so), Muslims swear with the Koran and say Insh'a Allah.
Traditionalists swear by the name of their local gods / goddess like the;
"ogwungwunminogwungwusikolakporoduimio"
and use red fowl and white goat with talisman and charm.
Atheists can swear with anything or nothing at all. They can swear using dictionary and in the name of Epicurus, Socrates, Nietzsche, or Hitchens.

Some Efik people in Ikot Ansa, Ikot Ishie in Calabar town do actually trace their ancestry to Igbo areas. [Native] People around there acknowledge this and refer to them as Igbos; despite the fact that they speak Efik and not Igbo and are fully integrated into the communities as locals.

Aha Obodo Niile Dị n'Ụwa a.

Obodo ndị dị n'Ala Afụrịka

Nnajiriya (Nna jiri ya)
Kemerunu (Ka e mere unu)
Bene (Be Ene)
Togo (Too ogologo)
Gana (Gaa na)
Ebe Ọdụenyi / Mpi-Enyi
Sere Lọnụ {Ugwu Agụ}
Libe nrịa {Nnwere onwe}
Malị (Ma ọlị)
Bụgịnafaso (¿Ọ bụ gị na fa so?)
Sịnịgalụ
Kepu Opi Achara
Gambịa {Kambịa (Ka m bịa)}
Gịnị (¿Gịnị?)
Gịnịbụsọ (¿Gịnị bụ sọ?)
Ikwetọ Gịnị (¿I kwetụọ Gịnị?)
Nije
Chadị (Chị adịghị)
Sụdanị (Sụ daa n'anị)
Ndịda Sụdanị
Obodo Etiti Afụrịka
Ite Ọpịa
Jibuti (Ji bu nti)
Sọmalịa (Sọ m arịala)
Ịrịtarịa (¿Ị rịtara ya?)
Ijupụta (I jupụtara)
Libie (Nlibinye)
Ntụnisi
Alajiriya (Ala jiri ya)
Alaeze Moroko (Mara Oko)
Mụrịtanị
Kenya (Nke nya, Ike nya)
Ụga nda
Rụwanda
Burundị (Buru ndị a)
Kongo (okongo)
Obodo Kongo Ọhanachị n'udi Ọhakarasị
Gaba ọnụ
Ngọla (Nga Ọla)
Zambịa (Zaa m bịa)
Malawị
Mụzambiki
Zimbabuwe (Zim mba bu uwe)
Bọsụwana
Nnamịbịa (Nna m Ị bịala)
Obodo Ndịda Afụrịka
Lesotu
Ala Sụwazị
Makadasịka
Kọmọrọsị
Sechielu

Agenda:
Igbo presidency 2019, Buhari sick leave, Osibanjo acting and succession plan, IPOB Biafra agitation and Nnamdi Kanu detention, new state creation in the s/East, Rochas vs Willie face-off, I-am-not-Igbo denying syndrome, a.o.b.

Appleyard:
Strategically, it doesn't make any sense. Economically, it's even more senseless.

I can't really fathom what they're aiming for.

It does make sense to me.
Morocco is pretty isolated at the moment. ECOWAS in West Africa is the continent's strongest regional block and a bastion of political stability cooperation and economical growth.
Northern African countries don't really cooperate with each other that much even with their close similarities. (Arabic language, Islamic religion and White/ Berber population)
I've never heard of any Free Trade or free movement protocol between North African countries. But these things Morocco stands to get from ECOWAS.
The problem Morocco has with the rest of all other African countries is the situation in the Western Sahara which Morocco lays claim to.
This was what made it quit the organization for African unity 30 years ago (hence the Moroccan absence from the reformed African Union).
Do you know that Morocco once applied to join the European Union? They now understand that isolation policies aren't helpful.
Morocco is very rich. And is able to buy political support in West Africa to further it's cause in the Western Sahara crisis.

Cire80:
I'm an Ika man and I'm telling you that we don't understand central Igbo. I won't argue about your understanding Ika language or not. For you as an Easterner to understand Ika language depends on many things. It's possible you're from the Eastern clans that have kinship with Anioma and for you to watch Ika request on TV shows you may be resident in Delta and hence already conversant with Ika-Anioma terms. Most Ikas only understand some few Edo but I understand Edo to a great extent. I have the gift of understanding a language from a different related language that I know. I know some few international language and I'm able to understand other related languages from these languages.

Written Ukwani look like Igbo but spoken Ukwani is not easy to understand. I'm an Anioma man. Don't argue these things with me.

The only difference between Ukwuani and central Igbo or mainly Anambra Igbo is the intonation of speech.
I've never lived in Delta state b4. I only saw the videos on YouTube.
Ika is not like Edo in any way. Only Igbo.

Cire80:
It's not true. An Onye Igbo can't understand Ika and Ukwani well. Written Ukwani sounds so much Igbo but try listen to spoken Ukwani. Igbos can only pick some words and sentences. I'm an Ika man and I've tried to communicate in Ika with Igbo friends but they always get lost. I speak Ika to them because an average Ika man can't speak central Igbo. I don't know if Ukwani can understand central Igbo but we Ikas don't understand central Igbo properly.

If you don't know central Igbo then you cannot know Ika! If you understand Ika, Ukwuali, Ikwerre or any other Igbo dialect you'll definitely understand central Igbo. Because central Igbo is the main point from which other dialects diverge. Central Igbo contains the most popular Igbo forms of wordings and speech I.e. the ones most frequently encountered in the majority of Igbo dialects.
I listen to Ika news on Delta TV and YouTube and I understand most of what they say. Same as Ikwerre on RSTV. Ukwuani is even the closest to central Igbo and much more easier to understand than Ika and Ikwerre.
I have no problem with delta-Igbo people claiming whatever origin they imagine, but when they speak their native tongue I'll understand. Because it's just Igbo language!

Cire80:
Bro, I respect people like you that are honest and argue out of deep personal conviction irrespective of whose ox is gored. I don't know what side you are on this but I'm certain you know the answer to most of these questions you're asking probz. As for me, I'm not completely on any side.

In my opinion, the op is right to some extent but he's trying to argue from an objective angle which I think is not possible in this topic. And his authoritative generalization is another issue.

And all those saying they understand Ukwani and Ika are not being truthful. You understand some things but you can't understand Ika and Ukwani except you've spent some time in an Ika and Ukwani town.

Maybe you'd need to spend some time in Ika-land or Ukwaliland to become fluent in the dialects but ordinarily listening to them, if you understand central Igbo language you will be able to figure out more than 80% of what Ika and Ukwuali people are saying.
And an Onye-Igbo can become quite fluent in the language within one weekend of interaction with the natives of these places.
This is notwithstanding the fact that these Ika and Ukwuali people understand central Igbo perfectly well without first studying it.

He can't. He'd have to resign as Emir (handing over to his rival cousin) revert back to his former name (Lamido Sanussi) then run the risk of failing at the poling booth.

cheruv:
Gbam
N'igbo...anyi nwere nzi uzo ndi a
Afo [north]
Eke [east]
Nkwo [south]
Orie [west]

I si owuwa anyanwu...ihnye i bu n'uche bu "orient" . i sikwanu odida anyanwu,ihnye i bu n'uche bu "occident"
Gbasara akuko eke na orie...a nētinye "ihu" n'ihu aha ya ka o gosi na o bughi aha ahia ka i nēkwu maka ya,kama o bu uzo ka i nēzi
Ka Chukwu mezie okwu

Mụ onwe m ánụtụbeghị ihe dị otu a mbụ.
Ihe m ma àmá kemgbe ụwa gbo ndị mmadụ na-ekwu bụ nke a:
Ugwu na Ndịda: ya bụ nke a na-akpọ "North" na "South" n'asụsụ Bekee.
Nke ọzọ a bụrụ: Ọwụwa-Anyanwụ (Akụkụ ahụ̀ Anyanwụ si amalite ije ya n'isi ụtụtụ) nakwa ọdịda ya - Ọdịda-Anyanwụ (Ebe ahụ̀ Anyanwụ na-adà mgbe chi chọrọ íjì)
Ihe a bụkwa nụ ihe onye ọbụla nwere ike iji anya ya wee hụ. Ọ bụkwa nụ ya ka a na-ekwu mgbe a na-eji asụsụ Igbo na-agbasa ozi na redio nakwa na T.V.
O nweghi obodo ọbụla na-akpọ akụkụ ndị ahụ̀ m kọwara n'elu ebea udi aha dịka: "ihu-Eke" ma ọbụ "ihu-afọr". Okwu dị otù ahụ̀ abụghị Igbo Izugbe nke o ji abụ olu ndị mpaghara ọbụla n'ala Igbo. Belụsọ ma ọ bụ ihe gị onwe gị bidoro n'aka gi (na-ekwu kwa nụ ya naani gị).
Ị mara obodo na-akpọ udi aha ndị dị òtù a, gbaa mbọ ka ị gwatụ anyị ya, ka anyị mara.
Ndeewo.