₦airaland Forum

9Pluto:
Ideally, i would love it to be on BBC pidgin/igbo or Arise, Sunrise daily etc If any of them had picked up the baton here David Hundeyin could anchor it for us.

David Hundeyin might be interested so long facts are provided and terms and conditions agreed. All pre-independence evidence gathered here and more littered online can come handy to give you an edge. If the debate is launched, I bet you it will go a long way in changing perceptions in Bonny.

BKayy:
Prove it with any source before 1970 or any physical link

He has no validation from independent and pre-colonial historians to prove so. Allow him wallow in his self-deceit.

9Pluto:
It is important for most of them to go and dig their history.

Paying reverence and coming from a place/ethnic group are two different things. That is what peolpe like Governor Wike needs to be taught if history were a subject in Nigerian schools.

My research acknowledge that the Benin empire was quite so influencial that people of other ethnic identities were paying the Oba homage. This doesn't mean they are or were of the same ethnic identity.

There is a recorded instance of such in the far away Niger delta and it is part of the things I want to teach ijaw historians in a live debate.

So Ukwani/Aboh people should look at historical records, it is all there.

You can call out Ijaw historians to a live debate by writing an article to a national daily. Or go to INC page or Speak Ibani NGO to get one or two to a debate. If in Lagos, I don't mind accompany you to a Radio or TV house in Lekki to do an open broadcast. You might want to consider a popular Youtuber to launch the Bonny/Opobo origin - truth or facts episode. But since you say you have BBC links all you need do is go on air with the findings, I assure you that the Ijaw nationalist will send a rejoinder. From the rejoinder, you can get them to come to BBC Lagos for an open contest of fact.

Biafrarep:
Good points, but meanwhile, they were never lost!

Forget about the noise by teeth filing cannibals who constitute nuisance trying to grab other people's lands.

Yeah they weren't. But actionable steps should be carried out.

Thanks for bringing it up. I don't mind volunteering my finance and time to see something happening.

Putindbutt:
*Bonny is called Okoloama BY THEMSELVES.

*Okoloba, Obani BY THE IBOS.


Which part is difficult for you to understand?

Yoruba man aka Alabo you've been busted. Allow real Ijaws fight their battle and stop disgracing erudite Yoruba’s on Nairaland.

May God bless this thread. It shows that our initial effort to curb the Ijaw identity genocide in Bonny/Opobo wasn't in vein.

Igboid:
They have been unfortunately Ijawnized.
The thing dey pain Ndoni people.
They were same people, before the Ijaws rushed Biseni and Ijawnized them.

Ijaws are aggressive expansionists. The Biseni Igbo ancestors were aloof to these schemes like most Igbos are.
We have lost Biseni forever. I can't have someone who doesn't speak Igbo as mother tongue in an Igbo gathering, ancestry or no ancestry, that's nonsense.

Biseni Ijoid language is corrupted by many Ndoni (Igboid) words and even intonation so much that other Ijaws don't understand them when they speak.
But the language is unmistakably Ijoid.

Expository. Now I understand how my ex got that her Igbo surname. Nwaku is her surname. She never told me where she’s from in Bayelsa maybe trying hide something. But I was always inquisitive by asking her question on how everyone in their village came about answering Igbo surnames. Ndoni is Oru. I have a feeling many of them were Oru close to that Brass tip. Many Bayelsa Oru have been Ijawnized.

Malawian:
There was this British woman that was busy rewriting the history of tribes in the Niger-Delta during and after the civil war. I read about it in a newspaper something in 2001-2002.

Lol, her name is Kay Williamson, born Ruth Margaret Williamson. She became famous after the civil war all thanks to those who brought the history intern to do an historical distortion job for them. Her Ijaw employers used her to do a yo-man job in the Niger-Delta.

Distinct Ibibiod tribes and languages like Ogbia and Andoni were termed Ijaw by her. While similar Igboid languages like Ikwerre and Ekpeye were termed different ethnicities. Alagoa was her famous patron.

9Pluto:
Wow...this is impressive. At least most of them agree they do not need to discard the igbo identity. The main task now is to let them understand, why and how come they are speaking igbo. Their ancestors were not slaves in bonny as claimed, neither was the igbo language the language for trading. they are bona fide pro genies of proud Bonny and Opobo progenitors.

The acclaimed Ebane too is actually the igbo dialect of Bonny as proven by recorded history.

The name bonny is because the referred to themselves as Ebane, other igbos called them obani/ubani while kalabari called them Ibani.

Exactly. Only that the Ijaws decided to use the Ibani Kalabari called the people as their name. They also went ahead to elevate Kalabari dialect spoken by migrants in Finima as the fraudulent Ibani language that was lost to the real Ubani dialect (Igbo) .

Ekealterego:
They are trying to eliminate any trace of Igbo in Bonny people. IYC keeps intruding their threads, threatening them to abandon Igbo language.
You can see that the Ibani people are not having any of that.

Bringing facts here on Nairaland is a right step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. Such as.
1. Inviting Bonny/Opobo people to Igbo the cultural gathering as was the case with the forgotten Ahajioku festival held in Owerri. King Jaja Jeki V used to be a guest.

2. Informing Ohaneze or any Igbo group to open up Igbo associations in Bonny. Getting King Pepple of Bonny and King Jaja of Opobo to endorse these pro-Igbo Ubani unions.

3. Sending an Igbo delegation to visit with Bonny/Opobo.

4. Sponsorship of Igbo language competitions in Bonny/Opobo.

5. Opening of Facebook groups where Igbophilic Bonny/Opobo indigenes are admin. This will help to counter the guerrilla warfare being financed and sponsored by INC/IYC.

6. Supporting Pro-Igbo Bonny/Opobo sons like Dakuku Peterside for Governorship.

7. Sponsoring historians to write the true Bonny Igbo origin history of her Kings and people that will give Alagoa’s fraudulent revision the death knell.

The fallout of this thread should be the creation of strong Igbophilic Bonny/Opobo groups as that the only thing that will counter the INC groups like BON, Speak Ibani etc.

9Pluto:
I am sure you won't see that Kamalu in all their fabricated records of Bonny Kings. The other ones are now being misspelt.

Exactly. The Ijaws got away with that evil identity genocide by wiping away all Bonny Igbo origin, Kingship & people, concluding that Igbo are aquaphobic as only slavery brought Igbos to Bonny.

Vintagepipes:
Check these names, it went even farther, farther into the Kingship genealogy.
It is from a neutral source in Major Glynn.

Chineke! All Igbo names Alagoa will be cursing the coming of the internet.

Identity genocide is a crime against humanity. Changing a people’s identity through hook or crook should be punishable by death.

Three types of Genocide was committed in Bonny/Opobo. The first by Isaac Boro during the civil war and the 2nd by Ijaw nationalist after the civil war. The 3rd ongoing since 1999 by INC/IYC.

Alabo7978:
you want me to mention where it was stated that kalabari, Bonny is an ijo language.
and you now say kalabari speaks NDOKI..hey God..now I know you've been playing stupid play. Eastlink you of all people.
I thought you were smart, I dn mark you, I won't reply you again.

Forget that case. You countered a point saying that Crowther called Kalabari language Ijo. So show us the section where the said Ijo was written as the language of Kalabari by Crowther.

Anonymous15:
"the language spoken at Bonny TODAY is ndoki"

how tactifool of you to emphasize on "Today"
while avoiding the main question I asked you on your notion that Bonny spoke Igbo in those days while it was clearly stated by pepple and crowther that the language"Bonny" spoken was the same in calabari.
and I asked you,
"if Bonny spoke Igbo, can we all now say calabari speaks Igbo too??"

but you answered that Bonny speaks ndoki TODAY, smh. you want to claim Bonny, but you didn't know you'd be claiming calabari too.

two things can be deduced from this your reply
1) that you ALL THIS WHILE knew Bonny spoke the Bonny dialect which IS THE SAME LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN CALABARI

2) that you don't even know at all that Bonny speaks the Bonny language CURRENTLY, but Igbo is a second language there.

Show us where Ijaw was mentioned as the language of Kalabari by Crowther and you win. Despite all the argument you are yet to show us the section in that historical article were Ijaws was mentioned. Or was Ijo, Ijaw, Izon, Jo-men, Jos non-existent then? If Kalabari was speaking same language as Bonny. And Bonny language was clearly spelt out as Igbo (looking at the word list and accounts of virtually all history), it means one thing. That both Kalabari and Bonny spoke an Igbo dialect still spoken today in Ndoki before the arrival of the Ijaws.

AlexBells:
Referendum is actually for your own good, you shall be the one inviting UN

IPOB clown run away from here. Go open another thread to discuss your multi-ethnic Biafra with Ijaws. Igbo province ko Sheep province ni.

9Pluto:
Hello Guys, please does anyone have access to Google docs? I need to find out something.

cc
Slayerforever
Bkayy
Ekealterego
Igboid
Ofoigbo
Eastlink

From what I am seeing someone may need to write a book about, 'The Pepples, a succession of successful igbo kings'.


@Ofoigbo in that literature you quoted Baike as telling us who Bonny people were, you were not magnanimous enough to tell us that he mentioned the ijo and thoroughly defined their territory.

Lots if fictions in ijaw Wikipedia accounts.

Annie Pepple is actually Ani pepple

Yeah, Annie Pepple is actually Ani. I was gobsmacked when I saw that spelling somewhere in a literature.

Igboid:
Dude Asimini and Okpara Ndoli were both Igbos.
The slave masters in Bonny were Igbo. The enslaved were mainly Igbos as well.

I don't understand what any of the above have to do with an outsider like you?
You are not of Asimini lineage which is Igbo, neither were you of the slaves lineage which were Igbo as well.
So what's your own?

Too bad the Alabo dude rushed to pick the aspect that mentioned Wari. Cultural borrowing took place during the Kingship of Asimini. Asimini and Haliday were Igbos. Asimini only made adjustment to Bonny house system due to the wars with her neighbours. Bonny needed to be militarized to protect her trade deals against rival tribes. And so Asimini changed the system of the original Ndoki bloodline kindred into a war canoe house where men needed to prove themselves to earn recognition. And the only place to prove yourself was in battle.

Till today Bonny house system includes those from the original settlers and their generations. Such as Haliday, Asimini, Kambasa, Ndoli, Alagbarinye, Opuamakuba etc and those whose house forms part of the Wari system instituted by Asimini. Now most slaves who won battles with Asimini in the Andoni war became freeborn and got Wari to themselves. Ex-Ijaw slaves got Wari named after them and hinterland Igbos ex-slaves got same.

Asimini made Bonny great and also caused the identity crisis that hangs around Bonny today.

9Pluto:
Dear @Alabo7978,

While most of your friends here have only been about insults and empty threats, you seem to be the only one here who has been trying to engage in a conversation.

Would you by chance be interested in a live debate on this topic?
We could fix a suitable date, find a suitable medium and host so we could thrash this conversation once and for all.
2 or 3 persons from both sides of the argument.

What do you say?

SlayerForever
BKayy
Ekealterego
Fejoku
OfoIgbo
Igboid
afonjaheadhunts
Eastlink

Lol, I’m in bro. But are the Ijos ready
Oh I forgot, their champion Alagoa is now weak and aged. The Ijos need a Goliath like the Philistines to go to battle.

BKayy:
I think that should be in another thread.
A thread created to explain how Bonny current monarchy came about and also the confusion of the name "Amayanabo"

Such beautiful topic shouldn't be hidden in between a long thread like this because it explains the origin of this insanity.

You are right. I’ll keep time later to find the Google book links.

Pepple is an offspring of Asimini and wasn't born then.

9Pluto:
A lot of debates or arguments have been going on mainly between(igbos and ijaws) about the identity of Bonny and Opobo people. So much that lots of indigenes are confused about their own identity. The reason for this is not far fetched. The igbo language is an indigenous language in both places and while most inhabitants bear English names, some bear ijaw names and few still retain their igbo names. However, I will try to be as neutral as possible while I implore you to be a little objective as we embark on this historical fact check.
Most of the arguments in my opinion have been nothing more than mere conjectures. For instance, ijaw people claim the igbo language spoken in both places is foreign or creolized version while trying to force inhabitants to start learning an entirely new language different from their mother tongue. There are also claims that igbo language was the language of igbo slaves the ijaws were trading. It is surprising how this eventually became an indigenous language making it the first of such incidence on the African continent. Even Freetown in Sierra Leon didn't experience such change neither did Calabar another important slave port on the Gulf of guinea.

We have also seen both igbos and ijaws trying to make their own interpretations of what they think must have happened and as such both groups twist words to have meanings in their their own language.
For example:
Ndoki-ndoki/aminadokiari
Ibani-ubani/ibani/igbani
Ama-Ama
Amanyanabo-Ama onye nabo/
It might interest you to know that the title Amanyanabo use by ijaws originated from Bonny. The igbo interpretation means, “The town/community of 2 kings/persons”.
Bonny traditionally had 2 kings as documented by Captain Hugh and he was friends with both men who held him in high esteem.
King Pepple and King Holiday were both kings that reigned in Bonny at the same time.


To understand the reality of who Bonny and Opobo people are I would be rellying on the Memoirs of Captain Hugh Crow of Liverpool(1765-1829) and I implore any true son of Bonny or Opobo to consult this book or any other one written before it to really find out their identity. If you do not have much time, you can read from chapter 10, however reading the whole book gives a huge insight into slavery. It is important to note that while the author confirmed Eboes/igbos as natives of Bonny, there was no mention or acknowledgement of ijaws. But I am using my discretion to assume that the ijaws were the Brass people as the author asserts that they came from the Brass country which is located North West of Bonny.

Impotant dates:
Captain Hugh Crow of Liverpool(1765-1829)
King Jaja of Opobo 1821-1891
Technically King Jaja was born 12 years after slave trade was abolished.
Slave trade was abolished in 1809 by Sir Wilberforce.
Apart from being a popular slave merchant, Captain Crow(a.k.a Play man) was very popular with Kings and Natives of Bonny. He was so popular that he was invited to crown one of the Kings of Bonny at a time and he was regularly invited to help resolve palaver in the kingdom. He was captain of the last ship that left Bonny with slaves after slavery was abolished.

The author's memoir is insightful for many reasons:
It rendered a vivid account of what trans Atlantic slave trade looks like. In his assertions, slaves taken off the West African coast to America were better off than their countrymen left behind in Africa. During the period in review, whites were also slaves and most Britons including the author became prisoners of the French.

The author asserts that:
Bonny people are chiefly a mix of Eboe/Igbo and Brass/ijaw people.
He described/mentioned the igbo country in the hinterland and the brass country lying north-west of Bonny.
However, most of the details of daily living amongst the natives was more in tune with igbo lifestyle.
He talked about igbo native doctors he referred to as dibia and the enormous influence they wield in justice and health administration, even the kings respect them. He also described details of igbo marriage customs and funneral as observed in Bonny.
He talked about the use of elephant during the commemoration of King Pepple's father 10 years after the father's death. He mention the value of elephant tusk.
Contrary to conjectures that the name Pepple was European's attempt at pronouncing Perekule, the author asserts that Bonny people derived joy in bearing english names as he himself was responsible for crowning a King who he named after an English prince. An incident that excited the populace. He confirms that both King Pepple and King Holiday were igbos.
He described in detail the physique, including complexion and character of different tribes eboes, brass, appas, quaws, ottams etc

The author described one Chief Fubara who was an acquaintance of King Pepple. He asserts that Chief Fubara was not an indigene of Bonny but a stranger who migrated from his country during a crisis with a false claim that he was a warrior in his native country.

The author proved that ijaws were not selling igbo slaves as claimed in some quarters. According to him, everyone/every tribe was sold as slave. He described instances where some igbo chiefs set people up with their beautiful young wives and victims eventually pay a fine or become slaves. He explained the reason why more igbo slaves were sold. They were more relatable to Europeans than most other tribes.

Captain Hugh is credited with one of the earliest attempt to create an Eboe/igbo dictionary.
The author asserts that Opobo is an Igbo name for male children.
He also said that natives are often marked according to their origin and that Bonny natives often have short cupped perpendicular markings on both sides of their temple(this is consistent with the igbo tribal mark).

He confirmed the existence of Cannibalism, that Andoni was considered a dangerous place to venture, the fact that Calabar people eat dog meat,the fact that he planted coconut trees on one of the islands, the influence of Benin empire, that some Brass people were usually employed to make salt during dry season under the Benin empire amongst other things.

I was planning to post pages from his write up to buttress some points, unfortunately i cannot do so on this forum as it seems to permit posting only few images at a time. But i will post some.

CONCLUSION

Bonny and Opobo people are a mix of Eboe/Igbo and Brass/Ijaw people in origin. This document however asserts a more igbo origin or dorminance as most of his history of the ancient kingdom was about igbos(The word Brass appeared 14 times in the history of Bonny, while the word Eboe appeared 48 times). This perhaps explains the existence of the igbo language spoken there and the presence of igbo masqurades like nwaotam. Shalom

P.S: I am being challenged to prove that Brass people are Ijaw people, so I must state once more that this was an assumption on my part and it remains to be proven or disputed.

@OP please make corrections to the bolded. I just went through it and saw the mistake.
The two Chiefs that shared power then were Asimini & Halliday.
I’ll keep time to post a link here. It's actually a detailed history written by an English historian that will blow your minds away.

The topics covered were the following.

Kingship system.
Bonny practiced gentocracy - Okpara system where elders led the people. Any wonder why Ndoli the first leader of Okoloma was called Okpara Ndoli. It was the British who introduced Kingship system in Bonny. This brought rivalry between houses and two leading figures began their rivalry from there. Chief Haliday vs Chief Asimini. Haliday was senior and was calm in disposition. Asimini on the other hand was rash and dictatorial.

Haliday began the systemic rise of Bonny who dwelled on salt trading and farm goods with Ndoki in the Imo river into deal in stuffs like slavery. However, during these period Bonny was at war with her neighbours like Kalabari and Andoni. They needed a strong leader and by virtue of his military might Asmini led victorious battles against Andoni and Kalabari.

On returning to Bonny he took power from Haliday and exiled him. It took the intervention of the British who appealed to Asimini to relax the banishment and bring him back home.

Asimini was the first true King of Bonny and reformed Bonny house system from an indigenous blood kindred system into a military system called Wari. Asimini borrowed q lot of cultural system from Kalabari who were the strongest clan then. It was Asimini who began the idea of using slaves to fight in battle with freeborns. He was the first to free slaves who proved themselves worthy in battle and gave them a war canoe house of theirs.

Religious system
Bonny practiced the same religious system as those in Igboland. The Iguana cult similar to that in Aboh and sourcing divination from Aro priest who visited Bonny occasionally for cleansing.

Blood Relation
Bonny had two blood relations. The Ndoki their hinterland kinsmen who they shared origin, culture and trade links by virtue of the Imo river and the Brass people with whom they had a blood Convenant with for warfare against their enemies. Brass themselves are linked with Aboh. Any wonder why their lingua-franca is Igbo.

This screenshot gotten from the INC/IYC sponsored BON (Ibani Nation) facebook group show an Ijaw evil machination to finish what their pirate ancestors couldn't finish in Bonny/Opobo.

1. Jojo pirates that the Europeans recorded in the 18th century tried but failed.

2. Next was Dappa Biriye who was the first southerner to align his NDC with the northern NPC inorder to achieve the task of landgrabbing Bonny. Biriye's ancestors might be migrant Ijaws, who like Chief Fubara mixed with Bonny people and began to do an inside job for his true Ijaw lineage. The same with Fombo another Ijaw migrant in Bonny who helped stopped the teaching of Igbo bible in Bonny after the war.

3. Then came Isaac Boro who used the opportunity of Balewa's removal to begin landgrabbing the territories of the Edoid Yenagoa division under the guise of 12 day revolution. When Ironsi crushed him he lied he was fighting for Ijaw emancipation. Immediately, Ironsi died and north took back power, Boro remembered he had an unfinished business and continued from where he stopped this time using the civil war to carry out genocide in Bonny, Opobo, Kalabari and other communities with Igbo origin. He enforced the name change of Bonny heritage and forced them into the Ijaw angle.

4. After the end of the civil war, the Ijaw led Rivers state military government continued ftom where Boro stopped. But this time they got empowered by northern led government who helped them with the abandoned property and the mass wiping of Igbo heritage in Rivers state. The shallow Ikwerre and Ogoni who couldn't see the bigger picture joined the Ijaw in sharing the largese from the cake. While the Ijaws sponsored Alagoa and Fombo to write their fraudulent history on Igboid tribes who overnight became Ijaws, the Ikwerre were helped to institute a hate-inspired movement against their own tribesmen.

The illiterate army that Kanu groomed keep testing your idiotic powers. I hope innocent villagers don't pay for the terrorist act of these idiots.

ESN and other IPOB miscreant carrying out these terrorist act are on their own. Nobody send them work. The federal government should fish out the pepetrators and bring them to book.

Alabo7978:
Ok then,
Do me a favor and visit encyclopedia Brittanica
(The world's largest information repository)
It isn't owned by anyone. It has over the years removed thesis and reports that were found to be incorrect.
Go and enlighten yourself and come back and tell me what you found.

Lol, Encyclopedia. The one written by you Alabo aka Alagoa Jnr. Who takes Encyclopedia Britttanica as genuine. The elder brother of Wikipedia

GreatBoss:
All these claims of Ijaw land, just go and claim it physical, and not this much talk on Nairaland always.

Go and claim them physical.
Stop showing us lies created by ibos.
Go and claim them physical.

We are still in phase 1. Watch out for phase 2. Hopefully, you come stand on our way wearing your drunk odeshi apparel.
Threat dey pass threat.

Ekealterego:
Okoloma existed before any human dwelled in Bonny. Stop your fables. OKoloma is as old as Ndoki.
Another fable, Tales by the moonlight. Where is this written? We come with fact, you come with myths with no receipts.
See the difference.
Slayerforever, Eastlink (see your Alinsaw Egbema), Newage98, see your Ekpahia (Ekpeye), Bkayy, Igboid.
Let us make reference to a colonial map of Igboland.

You can see Ubani at the bottom

Yeah, I noticed the Alensaw. I guess the writer made use of our suffix name instead of Egbema. Egbema Alinso

SlayerForever:
Very good idea. I wonder how ashamed some people in Bonny will be when they truly realize their present king bears a fraudulent name.

It will be devastating. How far about that your Facebook group. I think we need to start forwarding these evidence there.

I think we need to open a thread on this fraudulent Perekule the Ijaws keep using for King Pepple. I open the thread and one uninformed admin sent it to food section. We can use the opportunity to tell the true story of King Pepple, his Igbo name, his Igbo origin and his exploits. At least unlike the Ijaws, we use facts to back up our findings.
What do you think Slayerforever?

9Pluto:
Thanks for your kind updates.

You are welcome

SlayerForever:
Eastlink will know the source. I think he's the one who uploaded it first.

It's not the same as Ekealterego's own.

For those interested, click the link below for the source.
https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=9E_zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86&dq=king+pepple+from+pepper&source=bl&ots=fGTkP8XETD&sig=ACfU3U3KYZCi8LewH_2n4RAw0jGOPy_3Xw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiTm7emosjyAhXxA2MBHVIxCf0Q6AF6BAg1EAI#v=onepage&q&f=true

You can also check below for the Nairaland thread.

https://www.nairaland.com/6716756/evidence-king-pepple-got-name