₦airaland Forum

bigfrancis21:
It is not confirmed. His father was given the name, Oludara, by a Yoruba priest. Some African Americans adopt African names for that ancestral connection but his Yoruba ancestry, if any, isn’t confirmed. I’ve met a few African Americans with Igbo names like Chinua, Nnamdi etc but these names were given to them by their parents, but no Igbo ancestry was medically confirmed.

The musician, Ne-Yo, has an Igbo middle name, Chimere, given to him by his parents. However it is not confirmed if he has Igbo ancestry or not.
https://books.google.com/books?id=qN6fAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA593&lpg=PA593&dq=neyo+chimere+igbo&source=bl&ots=hkenjc8sQj&sig=ACfU3U0a9FH6jC-2paSNbv1nprZb6cFj9w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXwKPQ39npAhUrlHIEHcqoCcsQ6AEwDnoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=neyo%20chimere%20igbo&f=false

Kareem Abdul Jabbar. Heard that before? Definitely!

pazienza:
Lol!

Whatever floats your boat.

Yorubas are only found in Benin republic.

This is Yorubas in Togo. You don't need to lie here again.


And these fellow is lying saying Yorubas are only in Togo. Lie small small now.

SPECIAL FEATURES
In Togo, Atakpame keeps Yoruba language alive
Published December 30, 2015


An ethnic group in Atakpame, Togo, hold on to a distinct brand of Yoruba they inherited from their forefathers, writes AKEEM LASISI, just back from the West African country

Denisef Fantchede would have been a Nigerian but for an accident of history. She would, most likely, have been an indigene of Ile-Ife in Osun State. But she is a native of Atakpame, a community in Togo and one of those whose ancestors migrated to the West African country when tribal wars raged in the 17th century.


Yet, the same history that changed the course of her descent has made her multilingual. Fantchede speaks French, which is Togo’s official language. She speaks English, which she learnt in school and in neighbouring Ghana. She is also fluent in Ewe, one of the indigenous languages in Atakpame. Most importantly, her mother tongue is Ife, which some scholars would call Ife Togo, an ‘independent’ Yoruba dialect spoken by the majority of Atakpame indigenes, who trace their origins to Ile-ife.

Like Atakpame, like Idanre


In terms of landmark, Atakpame shares some similarities with Ibadan and Abeokuta. While the capital cities of Oyo and Ogun States flaunt the Olumo Rock and Oke Ibadan as their ancestral symbols, respectively, Atakpame, a settlement town that is about 160 kilometres away from Lome, the Togolese capital, defines its origin by seven mountains that surround it.

Just like many other towns in Yorubaland, where myths are explored to trace the people’s roots, Atakpame’s history is not complete without reference to the mountains. According to some elders of the town, the rocks played supernatural roles when the natives were engaged in battles with other ethnic groups. This is how Atakpame also shares topographical and historical similarities with Idanre, Ondo State, a town famed for the huge and acrobatic mountains that surround it.

According to Fantchede, Ife Togo is widely used in Atakpame because the people, who trace their descent to ile-Ife, are the dominant group there. She, however, expresses concern over the future of the language because not many young people speak it.

She says, “The number of young people who speak Ife here is decreasing because of changes in the society and the fact that it is not taught in schools. But I speak it any time I have the opportunity to do so. Our elders also use it constantly.”


Strange bed fellows

As a result of the entrenched cross-fertilisation that Ife Togo has had with French, Ewe, et cetera, it is easier for the Yoruba in Lome, Cotonou and Ajase, among others, to understand one another than for the immigrant Yorubas in Lome to understand Ife Togo speakers in Atakpame – and vice versa. A Yoruba scholar, Dr. Felix Fabunmi, notes that a language that is spoken by many people, such as Yoruba, usually has dialects that may differ from one another.


In a research he conducted on Ife numerals, the lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, acknowledges Ife Togo, Ife Benin, Tsabe, Ajase and Idaatsa, all of which he describes as Yoruboid, as being “the mother tongues of speech communities whose forefathers migrated from Nigeria to Dahomey, now Republic of Benin.”

This invariably covers the brand spoken in Togo, too. Fabunmi notes in a study titled ‘Vigesimal Numerals on Ife (Togo) and Ife (Nigeria) Dialects of Yoruba’, “Today, the capital of Ife (Togo) is Atakpame. The Ifè (Togo) dialect of Yoruba is spoken by approximately 90,000 people in Atakpame and the speakers stretch from the Benin boundary up to Atakpame in Togo.


“The majority of these Ife settlers migrated from Ija-Oku in former Dahomey into the Togolese territory and subsequently founded the city of Atapkame. There are several other early settlers or ethnic groups in Atakpame, such as Fon, Ewe, Aposo, Kabrelosso and Ketokoli, but the people of Seti, Jama and Igberiko are predominantly Ife. Other Ife (Togo) villages include Alabata, Okutaya, Efujaye, Oko Asade, Asoko Ayepada and Yanmosile.”

Ife Togo is well tone-marked

Yoruba is a tonal language, comprising the high, mid and low tones. That is how a word such as ‘odo’ can mean different things as the tone changes. These include odo (mortar), odo (river) and odo (zero). Also, ‘ere’ can be translated as play, sculpture and profit in different contexts and with different tonal marks, just as ‘agbon’ can be a word for a basket, coconut or wasp.


Investigation by our correspondent reveals that the Ife Togo dialect retains the tonal property of the Yoruba language. Apart from the inflexions that the natives interviewed demonstrate in their speeches, words in the books that our correspondent bought in Atakpame are duly tone-marked. Perhaps the only difference is that the mid tone, which is no more marked in the modern Nigerian Yoruba language, is still marked in Ife Togo. Indeed, our observation also shows that Ife Togo has not responded to the series of orthographical changes that the standard Yoruba has experienced, especially since the early 1970s. As a result, while Yoruba grammar now forbids the collocation of two consonants in a word, which makes Offa, Otta, Oshogbo and Ogbomosho to be written nowadays as Ofa, Ota, Osogbo and Ogbomoso, Ife Togo still flaunts words such as nwon (they), itsu (yam) and Atakpame itself!

The bible
As another Yoruba scholar, Mr. Mudasir Alabi, however, notes that Ife Togo is as rich as any other dialect of the language. Based on his observation in some of the books that our correspondent brought from Atakpame, he notes that what it may also have lost in terms of the words that the standard Yoruba borrowed from English and other Nigerian languages, it has gained through its relationship with French and other languages in Atakpame and Togo in general.


“But I could also see that Ife Togo uses phonological symbols in its writing of Yoruba vowels and consonants like ‘o’ and ‘j’,” Alabi says.

Highly imagistic

Our correspondent further observes that the Atakpame variant of Yoruba is also imagistic. A review of the Ife Togo Bible and other story books bought by our correspondent shows that it is deep enough to produce a rich literature and writers the way the Yoruba Language has produced great works and writers that include Wole Soyinka, Niyi Osundare, Amos Tutuola, Olawuyi Ogunniran and Lanrewaju Adepoju


Our investigation does not reveal any major writer in Ife Togo, but we came across artistes, especially singers, who have popularised the language in their works. Among them is Victor Star, who has released several albums, including ‘Nonu-Etse-Yeesu’, which can be translated as ‘Thank You Jesus’.

“She is a very popular singer in Atakpame. Many people like her and she uses Ife in most of her songs,” Fanchede says.

Our correspondent also visited a pharmacy shop operated by Kujo Akpo, where Ife is his medium of communication with customers.


Like the Red Sea Nagbe Kotannoa is very proud of the exploits of the forefathers of the Ife people of Atakpame. A historian, culture promoter and musician, Kotannoa, in Atakpame, is synonymous with the Tchebe traditional art, whose features are largely traceable to what obtains among the Yoruba in Nigeria. Particularly, he promotes the pole dance, a variant of what the Yoruba call ‘ageere’. In different parts of South-West Nigeria, ageere dancers entertain people at socio-cultural events, just as some of them work with masqueraders.


Kotannoa, who worked in collaboration with Emmanuel Lambert to produce ‘Thebe: Danse Traditional au Togo’, a book that documents activities of Tchebe dancers, agrees with the authorities that trace the history of Ife Togo to Ile-Ife, Nigeria. According to Kotannoa, he and his people were, in the past, referred to as ‘Anago’. But they rejected the term because they believe it is derogatory. So, they opted for Ife, which describes both the people and the variant of the Yoruba they speak.

He says, “Ife people came from Egypt. But our ancestors and scholars also noted that we first got to Ile-Ife in Nigeria. Our fathers lived in Ile-Ife for many years. Many of them werebabalawos (native doctors) and hunters. The tribal wars sacked them from Ile-Ife.”

Iamgrey5:
He is saying the population census that doesn't favour them is wrong and he also gave Yorubas on Togo, Sierra Leone and Gambia a new identity.

I will clear him once I am free.

pazienza:
Official discount for 1952 was 3 percent. Remember this is not Yemi Oluwale Ewedu stats we are dealing with.
1952 was not annulled.


An estimate was done by a neutral body in 1921, you were beaten hands down by Ndiigbo, another was done in 1931, you were again panel beaten, and a real census was done agaIn in 1952, you were hammered again.
Seeing you couldn't measure up, you resorted to your Ewedu Yemi Oluwale mode in 1963 and was called to order by annulment.

Chai. The life of Afonja under Igbo shadows must be very painful.

See what matters now. Hausa and Igbo controlled government conducted the census in 1963. So, it stands.

1921, 1931 and 1951 census can't stand because sample and estimation were used and there was 12% undercounting (cheating). Moreover, they all included the population of North and South Cameroon. Was Yorubas in Benin, Togo, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire counted? Nay. It can't stand. EOD


Take am.

Iamgrey5:
That is despite the fact that the census in 1963 was conducted by an anti Yoruba government to a large extent.

I believe alot of Smaller tribes in the North were grouped as Hausa or Fulani in the first census

Exactly! I wanted ask him who was in control of government. Na dem people.

Nzeodogwu:
All of you should use this info and clear every ignorance and deliberate mischief.

This is the current one. 1963 census.

pazienza:
Looking at that 1963 result, does it make sense to you that Igbo population percentage suddenly dropped while Yoruba caught up with and surpassed it?
Did you send Yemi Oluwale on castration mission of igbo males to achieve such a miracle.

Of course, the census Lacked credibility and was immediately annulled. Nah today yansh dey back?



https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=BZfY6O8k3PsC&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=Was+1952+Nigerian+census+annulled?&source=bl&ots=yOpBhMtSr7&sig=ACfU3U3iqsbfyjUA_JuoHz9OU4xpFpImQg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjX9LDAr8jpAhWHnxQKHbANCxYQ6AEwCnoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=Was%201952%20Nigerian%20census%20annulled%3F&f=false

Those were when Nigeria still had future.
I bet if its today, the senseless Ewedu census would be allowed to stand, while the Igbo would be dubbed as wailers by Union of all Igbophobic ethnic groups in Nigeria who would support any madness, as long as the Igbo are at the receiving end of it.

Base on this report, 1921, 1931 and 1951 census are unacceptable because 1921 and 1931 census were solely based on sample and estimation while there was 12% undercounting in 1951. So, it's null and void. Gbam. But if you insist, 1963 census. Stands.

We know who rejected it.

pazienza:
It was annulled for Yemi Oluwale-esque manoeuvres you were attempting to pull off.

We don't deal with annulled census results, just as we don't take Yemi Oluwale Ewedu stats serious.

Who annulled it? Show us proof here but until then, this stands. Take am.

pazienza:
The 1963 census was discredited because you Yorubas wanted to do a Yemi Oluwale ewedu stats there, the East tried to keep up with your figure inflation but couldn't. Ultimately the census was cancelled because of widespread irregularities at West and East.
No be today Yoruba man started wanting to compete with Igbo man with wuruwuru and never equal footing.

Yoruba desperation, the same you are exhibiting in this thread, destroyed the 1963 census and rendered it null and void

See it again.

Until you bring another one, this settles it. Case closed. Gbam.

Show me were the census was cancelled.

pazienza:
No one knows.
But looking at 1931,1921 and 1952 figures, we still believe its Igbo before Yoruba.
And until another ethnic census is conducted, 1952 remains the gold standard.

Thank you!

Now, you and the world will know. Take am.

This is 1952 and 1963 census. Igbo is second most populous in 1952 but Yoruba took over and became the second in 1963. Gbam!

Like you said, until you bring another census after 1963, Yorubas remains populous than Ndigbo Amaka.

pazienza:
Now in the spirit of fun. Something occurred to me.

The Yoruboid people in Togo and Gambia don't identify as Yorubas. They have mixed with their neighbors over there and developed their own independent ethnicity. They can't be referred as Yorubas as they don't identify as such. They can be said to be a people of Yoruba descent, just as Urhobo, Isoko, Esan, Epie even though of Bini descent, are no longer Binis today as they had evolved their own distinct ethnicity for more than 300years now.
Those groups had evolved their own independent ethnicity about same time Yoruboid groups in Nigeria were evolving into Yoruba ethnicity. They were never for once part of Yoruba ethnicity, but they are Yoruba related.

The Latinos/hispanics are people of mainly Spanish origins. But separated from Spain by oceans and crossbred with Ameridian natives,and sometimes Negrros, they have developed a distinct ethnicity of theirs independent of Spain, while retaining Spanish language and culture.

Before some one starts talking about Igboids Igbo denials, I would let you know that we still have people from there identifying as Igbos, and most importantly, they are all still in same country with Ndiigbo.

Can I ask you a question? What is the population of Yorubas after 1952 census?

Do you know Hausa is the most populated followed by Yorubas and Igbos respectively?

safarigirl:
Oga forgiveness, welcome o

I recently had a football argument with one guy, na so I rush go transfer market for stats, I come remember you, for my mind I just said, "oga forgiveness will be so proud of me"

Hehehehe! Very proud...

Thanks. I appreciate.

do4luv14:
Choiii chairman of stats, and whoscore is back,


hope say you go forgive me, wey no remember you ontime ehn


welcum back egbon

Hahahaha! You sins have been forgiven you by God na. Who am I?

Thanks. I appreciate.

komekn:
Were you deh since.

Ah the forum missed you.

I remember when they use to say you are me and l am you.

That's how funny it gets here.

I dey here ooo. Thanks for remembering me ooo.

Hahahaha! It was very funny though. Anyway, thanks.

Learn some few things. In conclusion, there are indigenous Yorubas in Sierra Leone and Gambia.

I already know about Igbos in EG but it's a mixture of Igbo and Efik people.

pazienza:
There are no indigenous Yorubas in Togo.
The Yorubas in Benin wouldn't have made up the deficit Yorubas had against Igbos in that census in 1952.

Atakpame in Togo is inhibited by who?

mostob:
BTW
thesupernerd
forgiveness
kog45
and others.... Nice to have you back here...you're welcome

Thank you.

daveP:
welcome back man..

Thanks.

TheGoodJoe:
Welcome forgiveness. It has been a while. Glad to have you back.

Thanks thegoodjoe.

seunmsg:
The bank’s internal procedures are clear, it is only the ethics committee that can investigate the president. The ethics committee probed him for three good months and found nothing, that should be the end of the matter. If the US want another investigation, there must be an amendment to the rules and regulations of the bank. Corruption cannot be fought through illegality. An independent investigation of the president is in violation of the banks rules, regulations and governance system.

Nigerians get sense ooooo.

TheSuperNerd:
This man. The Egbon of Screenshots and uefa coefficients. Man, glad to see you again jare.

Nna Oga Goodjoe matter no be small thing ooo... Na me bring am back finally shaa.

My hi to the family.

Hahahaha! Okay. No wahala.

Thanks. I will.

maidaboi:
chai you have missed a lot
thegoodjoe Don go Finland come back
lol

Bros, I was very busy during the lockdown ooooo though I was active in the foreign section before then. Na just recently I begin get free small.

How thegoodjie take go Finland for dis lockdown? He follow mammy water reach?

Icon4s:
Forgiveness you know say I miss you sha

There are days I will just sit and remember some of the arguments here and how emotions usually run hot and I will just laugh.

Good to see you man.
Trust you are good.

Hahahaha! I am good and thanks for remembering me.

Maybe, that will come up again once the league and CAF resume back to action. Hehehe!

maidaboi:
whats your take on billing propaganda

Bros, I haven't been following sport news these days. You can brief me on this. Thanks

maidaboi:
welcome back sir remain Micheal,Forgiveness and goldfish

Okay na. Thanks.

Hmm!?

What did the previous government do while in government?

Na wa ooo.

fk001:
SALLAH VIDEO: How Arewa Women Pampered Their Husbands Under Lockdown

Known for their beauty as well as their incredible wears, Arewa (Northern) women who are often perceived as conservatives and reserved, may have busted that myth as they took the opportunity of the confinement occasioned by the novel Coronavirus pandemic to lighten the sparkles around their love lives with their spouses.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCuyFb8PJeU

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157257184802703&id=96184337702

Come and help us celebrate love

May God bless Arewa nation. It's good they begin to showcase their culture to other parts of the country.

gurunlocker:
If US is not very sure about the allegations, they won't ask for another investigation..... Sure they have hard evidence.

The same way they had evidence against Trump.

Some are baseless as a result of envy.

Na wa ooo. Economy slavery.