Ikwerreland: I hope this gets to the moderators of this great forum. We Rivers people are very sad about this recent development.
In Rivers State, we don't have Obigbo, what we have is Oyigbo Local Government. It is very annoying to see Oyigbo renamed to Obigbo on post moved to front page by the moderators.
We Rivers people want to believe, this is a mistake and not a deliberate act from the moderators.
I know I am not the only one who have noticed this error. The moderators should please correct this, it is very sad and unprofessional.
Below is a link to a post that made front page with Oyigbo renamed to Obigbo.
Buhari Completes The 10-Lane Superhighway Linking Port Harcourt & Obigbo (Video)
Our identity is our pride. There is no Rivers State or Nigeria government document that recognise Obigbo Local Govt. What we have is Oyigbo Local Govt in Rivers State.
I wonder why it will be different on a popular forum like Nairaland.
Thank you very much.
Shut up your putrid mouth!!! Were you even born in 1976? In 1975, was Obigbo in Rivers State? The renaming of Obigbo to Oyigbo was silly and idiotic machination of the supervisory councilor from Bori LGA. I have informed Ndigbo that the most hated enemies of Ndigbo are rooted in the southern Nigeria. It will be field day when the shithole called Nigeria disintegrates.
How is it Obi Cubana's cup of tea Nigeria is a poor and backward country? Poverty and affluence are diametrically opposed phenoniums rigged in mankind. Even if all disciples of God and Allah descend to the earth to have a word with the source of wealth, poverty must claim its share of the negotiation. It is a complete display of idiocy to frown or tell a person how to spend his/her hard earned money.
jerseyboy: Like Good Medicine, History Is Not Always Pleasant
To those who want to unfollow me because of what I wrote about the dominance of the Bini in Precolonial Niger area, please be my guest. Do not delay. Do so now.
To all those who hate me because of that revelation, please accept my sympathies. I am a researcher and a meticulous record keeper. History is not always pleasant. If you want history to always glorify you, then you do not want history, you want story. Truth is the bitterest pill to swallow.
Let me even annoy you some more, many of the people in modern-day Onitsha are of Bini origin. In fact, the elite and titleholders of Onitsha have very close consanguinity to the Binis.
Let it not be said that if you want to hide anything from our people, you should put it in writing. As long as you do not know your history, you will repeat it. And as long as you are angry when history is revealed because it does not glorify you enough, you will never fully know your history.
Two things made the Igbo more susceptible to slave-raiding than other ethnicities. The first was the Osu caste system, which made many Igbos sell their own kith and kin to others. The second thing is that the Igbos never united under one king, neither were they willing to submit themselves unquestionably to one person. That made it possible for other smaller ethnicities who had united under one king to raid Igbo villages.
It is what it is. The walls of Benin were the largest Earth structure on Earth. Please Google it. Research it. They were larger than anything man had previously built without bricks, bar none. The Benin moat was one of the longest on Earth EVER. Who do you think built it? You think the Binis did that brutally hard work themselves?
It is this same emotional response to issues that made it possible for smaller ethnicities to take advantage of disunity in the past. In 2021, what has changed?
On July 5, 2021, Southern Governors held a meeting in Lagos to press for a Southern Presidency in 2023. All the Southwestern Governors attended. Three Governors of the South-south attended. Only one Governor from the Southeast attended (Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu state). The very next day, Ohana’eze Ndi’Igbo released a statement saying that if the Presidency must return to the South, it must go to the Southeast.
I happen to agree with them. However, how can you get to lead when you do not yet understand the power of unity? As it stands now, if power returns to the South, it is going to the Southwest, not because they deserve it, but because they are united. Precisely what has changed between 400 hundred years ago and today? And then when someone unearths that history, so lessons can be learned going forward, you gather to heap insults. At the end of the day, the same mistakes of the past are made in the present. Anybody that tells you what you do not like is your enemy. He has been recruited by Hausa and Fulani. You want to hear sweet lies about the past. Is that not what the All Progressives Congress did to us? And how far has it taken us? Again, as I said before, history is not always pleasant. But if you do not learn from it, then your future will also not be pleasant. As Christ said “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Free from marginalisation, fractionalisation, and alienation. Thank you all, and may God bless you. Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.
I really do not think you made anybody annoyed instead you flaunted your stupidity in the public. I would want you to state which Igbo community was raided by any power including the mighty British. When British had field day pillaging village Empires and sacking their lily-livered weaklings in the protectorate, Ndigbo forced British to sign treaty after treaty from one community to another. When Nana of Itsekiri was chased all over the place, only Ndigbo were able to hid him and dared the British.
FreeIgbos: This overgrown baby called Reno Omokiri is very petty and stupid. At some point, the Benin empire was vast and it would be expected that an empire of such magnitude would slaves from their neighboring tribes. Is it only Igbos that were slaves? No!
Igboland is vast and while those at the periphery will easily fall prey to outsiders, it doesn't make Igbos cowards. The only difference is that Igbos are democratic people who believe in live and let's live mantra. If they were empire builders, all the minorities around us would have been totally subjugated since we greatly outnumber them.
Foolish Reno even attached his itshekiri minority group to the Bini out of his overbloated ego, as if it's one and same.
Rome once built an empire that spread throughout the world at some time, but they're nobody today. The Chinese were once conquered by the Mongols and the Japanese but today, these people won't dare China without suffering humiliation.
The so-called Bini Empire was never vast. It was more or less village thing. I cannot recall the Bini chief appointed by Oba to represent his interest in Agbor, Ugwuashi-Uku,Ibuzo or Asaba. To the best of my knowledge there was no so-called Bini Empire leader who dreamt of southeastward expansionism. Bini Empire got the beating of its life from Agbor and the people of Igbanke. A person wonders if Bini and its village leaders grew wings and flew invisibly into Igboland to collect slaves. I guess moronic dingbats seemed to spew craps about the great Igbo people to gain any form of socio-political attention. The funny remains there is single land affinity between the crap spewed by these fools and reality on the ground. I guess Nigeria is not called basket of fools for nothing.
An account belonging to the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB in the United States of America has been shutdown following concerns of suspected fraud.
POLITICS NIGERIA learned that the said account served as a central account for members to pay their monthly dues and contributions to the Eastern Security Network (ESN).
A statement by the head of IPOB directorate, Chika Edoziem revealed that the legal department of the group has directed that another account should be open to serve the same purpose.
Edoziem said that that the group received a report from the bank that some yet to be determined persons reported that they were operating a fraudulent account and subsequently requested that it should be closed down.
Although the group said it is yet to determine those who originated the fraud report, but noted that a new account has been directed by Kanu, through the legal department to be opened.
Edoziem also revealed that the Bank ordered for the account to be shut down over fraud.
The statement read in part: “Following a report to the bank by yet to be identified persons that this account is fraudulent, the bank requested that the account be closed,”.
The above post reeks of idiocy. Only ignorant fellows will react kindly to it. In USA, things are done in a civilized and human form. If a bank account is used for fraudulent purpose, the account cannot be simply closed without arrest.
murecool: Right: Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo meets a schoolboy, Bethuel, who mimics his mannerism, on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Photo: State House/Tolani Alli. Left: A teenage Bill Clinton shaking hands with President John F. Kennedy on July 24, 1963. Photo: Arnold Sachs/Getty Images
As Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made a warm touch with this young lad, Bethuel, so was young Bill Clinton then, as a student, just 16 years old, was able to meet with former US President John F. Kennedy, on July 24, 1963. It was that brief interaction between JFK and Bill Clinton that inspired him as a teenager to a life of public service, and helped lead him to a fruitful lifestyle, willing to be useful for his country. And on that 1963 encounter with JKF, he rode on, until he, Bill Clinton, won his own election, and was sworn in as the US President 30 years later, on January 20, 1993.
This is how leaders can create hope and inspire excellence in the young ones. Leadership is all about influence. Now, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is a beacon of hope for the Nigerian youth — against the battered past, he has this reassuring ambience in his carriage and how he identifies with the youth is soothing, with assuasive touch, that their tomorrow is full of today’s dreams fulfilled! It depicts a Nigeria that will be sought after by nationals across the globe. With his profound leadership style, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (PYO), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has created a realisable hope for the Nigerian youth! — Seyi Gesinde
Most Nigerians are afflicted with serious madness. The above junk is a good pointer to the fact. What makes some foolish Nigerians to embark on silly analogy which involves US and Nigeria? Nigeria is a dead wood infected with ants.
Elected officials in Nigeria constituted half of the societal decadences in the country. Instead of the foolish Ugwuenyi to set query about the illegal police check point mounted by the police, he remains busy in condoning the practice.
It is certain some dirty-mouthed goons in Nigeria will do anything to close the new avenue for self-determination opened by the two young men in Kanu and Igboho. It is unfortunate most Nigerians have not sniffed the aroma of freedom. In every aspect of mankind, Nigeria can be described as rubbish.
MalcoImX: The Nairaland post below tries to argue that Igboland is not landlocked because like Austria, which accesses the sea through the Danube River, it can access the sea through the Niger.
For the last time, Biafra irredentists should stop this concoctions and falsehoods that only them believe.
Twist it whichever way you want, Igboland is landlocked. Landlocked simply means not being able to directly access the sea or oceans.
If being able to access the sea through rivers makes a territory not landlocked, then no state in Nigeria, or any country in the world is landlocked.
Igboland, like all interior states can only lay claim to being a maritime state in the context of Nigeria, and if the federating regions were assumed autonomous, Igboland would suffer a crippling economic strangulation for its historical failure to annex the Niger Delta states.
And this, maybe, the SS states know, that's why they've always resisted all ploys and plots of the Igbo Biafrans to incorporate them in a state that only makes meaning to the Biafrans and would consign the ND maritime states to slavery.
Juliusmalema: Elder statesman, Edwin Clark, has said the Indigenous People of Biafra is dreaming with its inclusion of the South-South region in Biafra Republic.
IPOB, which has been proscribed by the Nigerian government, is agitating to break the South-East and South-South regions away from Nigeria to form Biafra Republic.
Both regions were part of the defunct Eastern Region which rebelled against Nigeria from 1967 to 1970.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Pidgin on IPOB, Clark said, “They are very unrealistic boys. To me, IPOB is not pursuing the right thing.”
He continued, “I told him (IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu) that he has a good fight, that the people of the East are being neglected. They have only five states, whereas other regions have six. In fact, one has seven. Based on what? Nobody knows.
“For every appointment that is being made in this country, the Igbo are shortchanged. If Universities are being distributed per state, they will have five. Others will have six while North-West will have seven. This is despite the Igbo forming the third leg when this country was created.
“So, they have a good complaint, but going about it wrongly.”
When asked if the South-South states are also part of the Biafra that IPOB is agitating for, Clark said, “How can Delta be part of Biafra? In what way? Is Biafra older or bigger than Delta?
“How can Rivers State or Akwa Ibom become part of Biafra? They are dreaming for still thinking about the Eastern Region of those days.”
On Kanu’s rearrest, Clark said, “‘I hope the Federal Government will give him a fair, decent and open trial. Because, up till today, I do not understand how the Federal Government got him back into Nigeria.
“We remember the days of Umaru Dikko who was put in a big box and brought back to Nigeria. I don’t know how this young man (Kanu) was brought back to Nigeria.”
He said claims by Kanu that he was abducted in Kenya has to be addressed by the Kenyan government.
EKONGKING: The recent burial of OBI cubana mama has given me a new perspective .
The Elite of Igbos dont care about BIAFRA ,afterall look at obi cubana portfolio ,all his investements except a few are in biafra . Why would he loose it, for Biafra . Similarly Emoney ,Emeka Offor,Arthur Eze,Allen Onyema ,Innocent Chukuma Etc . Igbo land lord ,having substantial property in Lagos,Abuja,or north will not support it . Many Igbos says hustle and make money . Why do these billionaires after hustling and making money ,loose all of it for biafra.
They make friends with Abba kyari ,why because their business interest has to be be protected .
You can argue all you can ,but sadly it does not change anything
Above stream of thought explains the reason most Nigerians cannot think. An individual investment anywhere in the world has nothing to do with the peoples' desire for self-determination. There is a reason for the position of ambassador and the existence of diplomatic missions in the world.
Until the nation states which formed the shithole called Nigeria go their separate ways, the killing of each other in the zoo will exacerbate to a momentous level.
comrodioodio001: Okowa congratulates Oraka-Onojeje on elevation in US Navy
Delta Governor, Senator (Dr) Ifeanyi Okowa, has congratulated Navy Commander Hetty Oraka-Onojeje on her promotion to the rank (0-5) in the United States Navy.
Oraka-Onojeje, a Nigerian, from Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta, was elevated to her new rank on July 1, 2021, and with the promotion, she reportedly becomes the first black woman to be promoted to that rank in the US Navy.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Olisa Ifeajika, in Asaba, Okowa said that the state government and the people were proud of the attainment of Oraka-Onojeje, describing her as energetic, result-driven and highly motivated officer.
He expressed appreciation to the US Naval authorities for finding the illustrious daughter of Delta worthy of promotion to the rank of Commander.
According to the governor, Oraka-Onojeje, has the requisite experience for her new role having graduated from the United States Naval War College in 2020.
He urged the officer to ensure that she continued to be a great ambassador of Delta and Nigeria as well as the black race.
Okowa lauded her for the successes recorded, especially at the United States Naval Recruiting Command where, according to him, she contributed in strengthening the US Navy's capacity for its constitutional role.
"On behalf of the government and people of Delta, I congratulate a fine military officer and pride of Delta, Commander Hetty Ofughara Oraka-Onojeje, on her promotion as a Commander in the US Navy.
“Over the years, Oraka-Onojeje has by dint of hard work and discipline, established herself as a team-player which has endeared her to various ship mates in the US Navy.
“As you assume your new role as Commander in the United States Navy, your family and indeed, your colleagues in the military and admirers have cause to be grateful to Almighty God for having granted you a life of great accomplishments.
``We are proud of you and we know that you will continue to be a great ambassador of our great State and nation, and as your people, we will continue to pray for you for good health and greater attainments,” he stated.
The bolded is one reason among many reasons Nigeria is called basket of fool. There are many African-America women who have attended the rank of Captain in US Navy talk less a mere Commander.
mancoconut: Igbos? Nah it's definitely your people, biggest online presence on Nairaland and Twitter and generally very toxic in nature... ordinary burial ceremony for Obi Cubana's mother and we saw a whole army of very very toxic and insecure yorubas with their frail-ego's bringing up comparisons with Mike Adenuga's burial event for his mum just to score ethnic points (as if we give a f**k or something)... imagine going so low that you now use burial ceremonies as competition just to drag Igbos? it got so embarrassing on Twitter that other yorubas had to hide or embark on damage control algorithms to save the blushes of their not-so-smart brothers... even some popular yoruba girls on Twitter were hailing Igbo guys and the men got very petty about it. The most annoying part of it all was that other tribes in the South were bemused at the level of inanity, bitterness, and hate been posited by the yorubas on Twitter over a mere burial?
I completely give up on you people, Twitter yesterday exposed how very low you yorubas are (save for a reasonable few of course).
rosinkkit: 90% of igbo millionaires and billionaires are EXTREMELY selfish. THEIR OWN FAMILIES SUFFER, apart from the wife and kids.
They rarely do anything for their own communities apart from maybe distribute rice and provisions to the villagers at christmas.
You will see an Igbo man worth several millions of dollars. Some of his brothers/cousins etc will still be hustling on the streets, some even hawking.
You never see that with northerners. Once one of them is rich, and you see the brothers, you won't even know the one that is the big shot, because they're all solid.
When they travel to Dubai, you'll see up to 20 of them at the airport, from Alhaji to his brothers, sisters, mum, dad, cousins, drivers, hairdressers, house helps etc.
An Igbo man, if he travels with anyone, na him wife and maybe his kids. Finish.
More often than not, he just sneaks out alone.
I think the refusal of wealthy Igbos to share their wealth is a reason for the continued marginalisation of Igbos in Nigeria. Political influence requires that you have a large base of well-to-do elite. When you restrict that elite to a tiny club of monied men, your base is weakened, and easy to manipulate. It is very easy for others to take advantage of your group.
The above is idiotic conjecture by an inferior mind.
Jones4190: APC = PDP, Prove ? ANSWER Since we know they are both parties, The 2nd "P" in PDP is a constant and so may not be included in the equation. OR we may as well say APC"P" = PD"P"
"P" = Party Divide both sides of the equation by the constant "P". Resulting in APC = PD This means that if A+P+C = x, Also P+D must be equal to x Meaning A+P+C = P+D Using the alphabet A -Z numbers, whereby A = 1 and Z=26 Substituting letters with their corresponding numbers. A,P,C = 1,16,3 P,D= 16,4 A+P+C = 1+16+3 = 20 P+D= 16+4 = 20 Therefore APC = PDP
The hypothesis is wrong. There is no "P" in APC which denotes party therefore APC is has no clear associate for a political party. APC is club or cult. However if you forget about political party in the equation, one P on each side of the equation shall become a constant variable whose value is equal.
udele1: I know many IPOB members dont even know what to demand. They don't even know the root cause of their problem. All they know is that kanu promised them a better life in Biafra.
Better make your reasonable demands now. Before they tell you signed sealed and delivered again.
You are one colorful reason Nigeria is called basket of fools. I guess you know there is an organization known and referred as IPOB. Unless you are as goofy as your writeup has indicated, the demand of IPOB cannot be reminded to a toddler.
szczescie: I'm just noticing Ijaw sounds like I Jew and izon sounds like Izrael lol
Any topic that has to do with Name or politics or something that indicates maybe Yorubas on Nairaland there are always comments from nairalanders who are Igbo making some funny remarks.
I assumed it was friendly banter between Igbos and yorubas.
But now the way they are attacking ijaws and we are not responding, I know we don't have that kind of friendly banter or atleast I don't recall anytime we agreed to have such exchanges. I also don't understand why they do this, I will say a few, a few Igbos on Nairaland want to appropriate, annex Ijaw states, Ijaw people etc to Igbo.
Look many of you are not good students of history or you were taught wrong things so I will just point you in the right direction, I won't tell you what to think.
But I want to assure you with all honesty and sincerity, ijaw people (I am an ijaw man both from my father and my mother and I am from one of the royal families in ijaw land) So I know what I am saying, Ijaw people do not hate Igbos, we do not hate yorubas, we do not hate anyone, and we try as much as possible from what I perceive and what I can tell, we try our best to avoid conflict, remember when others where saying if their tribe doesn't get this or that doesn't happen baboon blood will spill, our person said my election is not worth anybody's life. That is just one example.
However the calmness of the crocodile is not weakness, why do I say all these?
People do not seem to know that by number of states and by population the ijaw tribe is amongst the top 3 and top 4 tribe respectively
Because we don't make noise or hurl insults online to stir ethnic or tribe conflicts doesn't mean we are not in Nigeria or we can't do it. We just refuse to do it.
I do not think it is wise or fair for some Igbo people on Nairaland to keep claiming ijaws are these and that, we see all the insults targeted at us especially and even almost exclusively from the Igbos, I've never met an Hausa or Fulani man both online or offline who was insulting of ijaws. Many ijaws have lived peacefully with yorubas for so long you can't even tell the difference now, In ajegunle and environs in the 60's and 70's there were large ijaw settlements or enclaves or however you want to call them, there are also large numbers of ijaws in some Yoruba states even some ijaws in ijaw states bear Yoruba names, many can speak Yoruba my mom speaks Yoruba and she's from Bayelsa, her half brothers are named taiye, kehinde etc Yoruba names.
But the yorubas have never one day come online to claim ijaw people are Yoruba, some ijaw or many ijaws largely agree through oral history that ijaws came from Bini but even the Bini people have NEVER one day said we are lesser than them or their subjects or any of that or we must fight their battle or must support them.
But online no week passes without some form of name calling, tribalism etc being flung at us from the Igbos and Most times it goes unreplied read the topics here on Nairaland that has to do with anything concerning ijaws. It is not as If we are not on Nairaland, it is not as if we don't see them or read them. We just chose not to reply.
But it has graduated to the level of propaganda and this is why I needed to post this, because in the future some of them will claim "if the ijaws were not or are not Igbos why did they kept quiet" their children may say " if your parents weren't Igbos why didn't they reply when my parents claimed they were Igbos" so this is the post saying WE THE IJAWS ARE NOT IGBOS.
what do I mean? Some Igbos online are now claiming all ijaws or most ijaws are Igbos, firstly, na by force?
Secondly in what way are we Igbos? We don't speak same language most of us do not share a common ancestor or history, during the Biafra war you renamed some places to Igbo names and claimed they had always been like that as if we don't have history, I want you to read Mary Henrietta Kingsley's book on West African History read the part on Nigeria and the Kalabari people or new Calabar people as they were called then, see if you can find ONE, just ONE Igbo name, also we have been bearing Portuguese names and naming our places Portuguese and English names since 1700's does that mean we are Portuguese or English? till today Port Harcourt is named after Harcourt, Bishop Bara heart, Braithwaith memorial, Forcados, even the ijaws you know off from wayyyy back their names where Isaac, George, Melford, Graham, West and so on.
Thirdly you forget we where once clumped under eastern region and we agitated to leave for certain reasons, go and read history about the creation of old rivers state and maybe you'll understand, Northerners didn't create rivers state for no reason or because they wanted to, We Rivers people, ijaw people wanted our own state, because according to those who were alive then and who moved for it, Eastern Region which the Igbos were a part of became Igbo, I don't think you understand that, everything good that came to eastern region was centered in Owerri, Enugu or any other exclusively Igbo town, rails, govmt buildings, anything, port Harcourt was in existence but nothing came that way all other old cities of other tribes were in existence but attention was not given to them, and there was serious nepotism.
This led to people like Melford okilo and co. Pressuring Gowon for a state,
Even when it comes to cessation from Nigeria don't forget Niger Delta Republic was declared on February 23, 1966 and they fought with federal forces before being defeated. Isaac Boro and his comrades were jailed for treason by Ojukwu and co. Ojukwu fought for Nigeria against the NDR only to turn back barely 3 years later and try to force us into Biafra, without even a sorry oh, you guys were right then. He just woke up and added us to battle and think we will fight for him just like that, Let us fight under Biafra and gain independence under Biafra Lol. A Biafra whose identity is so igbolised, igboitic. From there god to currency to flag to everything that is not a country in which an ijaw man will thrive, it will be frying pan to fire.
I as a person I am not against Biafra if you want it Goodluck to you left for me I would allow the refrendum, what I disagree with is your manner of trying to forcefully coerce others into your Biafra, you want freedom from Nigeria but you don't want to respect freedom of Niger Delta from Igbos?
Port Harcourt is the most free, most open, most accepting city in all of Nigeria. Yes! I've been to all big cities they usually speak Igbo(Enugu, Owerri), Yoruba (Lagos) or Hausa (Kano, Abuja) but in Port Harcourt English is the default, it is the language you are expectes or assumed to speak.
In Owerri and Enugu people expected me to speak Igbo, when I went to buy something the seller spoke Igbo to me, in Kano the bus drivers many spoke ONLY Hausa not even pidgin English, in Lagos along the conversation you'll just hear the speaker burst into rants in Yoruba and leave you lost in translation.
There are alot of Igbo people especially from imo in port Harcourt, but there are also many Akwa ibom people, many yorubas and people from everywhere else, we have our own problems like everyone else, we don't deny it. But insulting us trying to get us agitated will not help you in any way at all.
You want us to hate the hausa's but it is you dragging our land, it is you selling things to us 2 times the price because we are not Nwokem
You only want us not because you love us or you want the best for us or because we are brothers or anything like that but merely because you want numbers when you want to fight Hausa people or Yoruba people.
You claim we migrated from Ghana, Sierra Leone etc, lol we haven't denied it and we are not saying it's impossible but didn't you also migrate from somewhere to wherever you are today? Dont you claim to come from Israel? So if that's true it means even the land under your feet should be taken from you.
Also you are not doing yourself any good by fighting everybody, insulting everybody, everybody knows nothing only you knows everything, only you is smart everyone else is dumb. You are fighting yourself into a corner a corner that will keep reducing as you fight away everyone who can possibly help you.
I will continue to advocate that ijaws do not fall for the trap of becoming hateful people, we should keep following peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see God. We should remain accommodating that's why people say Ijaw people don't travel, travel to where when PH, Yenagoa, and other Niger Delta states are the most accommodating? No religious, ethnic, language intolerance, no cheating you because you are not my brother or you can't speak my language.
Finally if you are interested in knowing where most ijaw people stand on breaking the country called Nigeria. It's one of three things 1. No, don't break it. 2. Southern Nigeria (which will include Yoruba and Igbo regions) 3. Niger Delta Republic.
No Biafra that's not even an option except for a few hungry irrelevant people or just social media noise by one or two people with multiple accounts.
Why those 3 options? Because Nigerian politicians are the same, just greedy people interested in Thier pocket breaking Away from Nigeria will not stop the likes of Wike, godswill akpabio etc from doing their evil deeds and ruling badly. If an ijaw man becomes president or not it will not affect me personally. If an Igbo Ann becomes president it will not affect you personally, the north have been president for so long yet the ordinary northerners have very little or nothing to show for it.
We are not Igbos we are a distinct separate entity with different language, culture, dressing, history, delicacies, oral traditions, value system etc
We left the eastern region for a reason and wouldn't want to go back to that arrangement ever again we either remain alone or if we have to stay with the Igbos then Yoruba people, Tiv people INFACT all the middle belt and south west will be in that union. To counter balance each other, minimise bigotry, tribalism and so on.
That we are not exactly the same doesn't mean we cannot work together for the betterment of human life.
Thank you Stay in love
The above crap is arrant nonsense. In fact, you wrote like a typical Ijaw. You claimed the disparage of Ijaw comes from Igbo peeps on nairaland. A person wonders how you arrived at such silly deduction. You also insinuated that Ijaw could easily climb to 3rd or 4th largest ethnic group in Nigeria. It is very laughable before people with human intellect. The so-called Ijaw from Gold Coast to Ikot Abasi are not close to 3 million people yet a loafer made a silly assumption. There is nothing like a claim to the fact about the stock of people who constituted the so-called Ijaw are mostly Boat people, European porters extracted from Akwapim-Togo areas including Filipinos and Indians who were shiphands on the British Schooners. By the way, the real name was coined.
IGBOSON1: For what you say in the second paragraph to kick off fully, Owerri needs DIRECT access to the outside world! Sam Mbakwe airport needs to serve a few international routes!
You could not be more correct with the bolded. However the dumbass fools are busy talking about imaginary silly restructure without substance. Most Igbo people in diaspora do not want to fly into Nigeria via Lagos or Abuja. They prefer Enugu, Owerri or even Igweocha (Port Harcourt) to Lagos or Abuja.
sanctity454: Rochas owns a large scale farm at ohaji, owns a large scale of Owerri real estate market, plus exotic stores and supermarket, hotel. Apart from the fact that he influenced a lot of people to invest in Owerri hospitality industry. Till date did you know that Rochas is about to open a mall at onitsha road?, at former Rochas foundation, including a television station at reach fm.
It appears wherever the rogue of former governor of Imo State wants to acquire real estate in Imo State, the gimmick was to use "Rochas foundation" as frontal. Rochas Okorocha is the most corrupt-minded governor who had ever led Imo State. If I had to decide the fate of the dingbat, he will never gain day in his sorry life. Same goes to the current efulefu at the helm of Imo State.
November1857: EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian Government Asked Us To Abduct You – Kenya Operatives Told Nnamdi Kanu, Chained Him To Floor For Six Days SaharaReporters learnt that the Kenya operatives chained Kanu to the floor for six days, not knowing who he was, until the news about him began to filter in.
Security operatives in Kenya who bundled the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to an undisclosed apartment, confessed to him that they were sent by the Nigerian government to abduct him.
SaharaReporters learnt that the Kenya operatives chained Kanu to the floor for six days, not knowing who he was, until the news about him began to filter in.
SaharaReporters was told that Kanu, by that time, had suffered injuries in his neck and his wrist.
SaharaReporters gathered that Kanu, for the first time, was interviewed on Wednesday by the Department of State Services officials in Abuja, in the presence of his lawyers, led by Barrister Aloy Ejimakor.
It was during the interview that the revelations of what happened to Kanu in Kenya came out.
“Kanu was interviewed by DSS agents today in the presence of his lawyers. He had injuries on his neck and wrist from torture. They said they didn’t know who he was. They chained him to floor for six days but they became nice to him once they found out who he was,” a top source revealed.
Pastorfavourdes: Fajuyi As a Bridge Between The Yoruba and the Igbo
First published in my column, #TheAlternative, in today’s ThisDay.
In my column last week, I published a piece, titled ‘Destroying Age Old Myths About The Yoruba’, in which I described the heroic sacrifice made by Colonel Adekunle Fajuyi as apocryphal.
Apocryphal simply means a historical event that cannot be proven.
I was referring to the refusal by Colonel Fajuyi to abandon the then Head of State, Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, choosing instead to be loyal to him until death, even though he was given the option to remain behind at the Military Governor’s residence, which would have spared his life.
I have since discovered that I was wrong, and I apologise to the family of the late great Colonel Fajuyi. The account of his death is not apocryphal. There were witnesses and I have since verified the authenticity of the account of his death from an eyewitness and another remote witness.
The events were confirmed by a former minister, who also happened to be a soldier in the Nigerian Army when that incident happened. He was there and saw it and confirmed it.
Also, a former President, who was himself involved in pulling Nigeria away from the brink confirmed it.
Colonel Fajuyi pleaded for the life of his guest, Major General Ironsi, and when his pleadings fell on deaf ears, he insisted that if Ironsi would be killed then it would be over his dead body.
The rest is too gruesome to recount here, and out of respect for his family, I will stop here.
Colonel Fajuyi was a hero like no other. The only person who has shown a similar loyalty in Nigeria’s history is former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was the best friend of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, and who stood by his friend, in life and death.
After Nzeogwu’s death (the circumstances of his death are still hazy and shrouded in controversy) at the age of 30 on July 29, 1967, his friend, Olusegun Obasanjo, cared for his family, and assisted his siblings with their education, and became like a son to his mother.
(Let me here note that Nzeogwu’s death was spiritual, and dare I say mystical, because it occurred on the first anniversary of the July 29, 1966 Northern counter coup. Why is this significant? It is significant because on that day, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi was killed as a direct result of Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna’s actions of January 15, 1966. Ifeajuna himself would later be executed in Biafra on September 25, 1967. If you attended primary school in Nigeria between 1960 and 1990, you may perhaps have used an exercise book known as the OLYMPIC 2B Exercise Book. The man who was drawn on the front cover of that exercise book is Emmanuel Ifeajuna. The drawing is of his Gold winning High Jump at the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, in Vancouver, Canada).
At great risk to his political future, Chief Obasanjo wrote a biography of his late friend simply titled, Nzeogwu, which was published in 1987.
That book caused an uproar in the North because of the way and manner Obasanjo eulogised the man who killed the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, believed to be Northern Nigeria’s greatest and favourite son.
Obasanjo did not have to do it. None of Nzeogwu’s military colleagues from Eastern Nigeria did it. But he did. And in the preamble to the book, he admitted that he knew he was attracting enmity to himself, but that he would take it as the price he had to pay for honouring his late friend’s memory.
As a matter of fact, thousands of copies of the book were bought by Northern groups and taken to the University of Zaria (now known as the Ahmadu Bello University), where they were burned in a ceremony eerily reminiscent of the Nazi Book Burnings organised by Josef Goebbels.
As they were burning the books, the mixed group of students, faculty members and clerics were insulting Obasanjo, calling him in English and Hausa “arne”, ''traitor'', ''conspirator'' and ''ungrateful person''.
The anger and indignation caused by the book was so widespread. There were riots, and the Niger State Government (the then military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a great admirer of Ahmadu Bello was from Niger state), revoked the Certificate of Occupancy to a 5,000-hectare piece of land that had previously been allocated to Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Limited.
The furore caused by the event made the book an Instant bestseller, and I read it as a thirteen year old boy. It attracted the foreign press, and the New York Times did a special feature on the troubles caused by the book in a piece entitled ‘Of Fig Leaves, Art and Other Disputes; Nigeria: Strife Stirred By Best Seller’.
That New York Times piece is still available online. I urge my readers to read it.
It was speculated that Obasanjo’s political career was over, because of his book on Nzeogwu. Some even went as far as saying that he lost the race to be the Secretary General of the United Nations to Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt in 1992, because the Babangida administration was not really keen on his candidature for what they felt was his stab on the back of the North with the book, Nzeogwu.
Babangida may not personally have retained his bitterness five years after the book. However, there were elements in the North that nursed their bitterness up until then, and even beyond. Some still nurse that grudge to today.
So, it riles me when some persons accuse the Yorubas of being betrayers. Which person, living or dead, has shown as much love, loyalty and commitment to Nzeogwu, at such great personal cost to himself, as Obasanjo?
It is one thing to show loyalty to the living. At least, you can expect your loyalty to be rewarded. However, to show loyalty to the dead is almost unheard of. It is most chivalrous and altruistic, precisely because it cannot be rewarded. It is a virtue worth commending and emulating.
Obasanjo again displayed this trait, when he showed his loyalty to his late friend, Shehu Musa Yar’adua, by almost singlehandedly making his younger brother, Umaru Musa Yar’adua, his successor.
Umaru Musa Yar’adua, had already concluded plans to retire to a tertiary institution as a chemistry teacher, when Obasanjo plucked him out almost from obscurity. He did not have the clout, finances, or alpha personality required to dominate the political landscape of 2007. As a matter of fact, Obasanjo campaigned for him in more states than he himself campaigned.
Many people do not know this, but Obasanjo appointed Nzeogwu’s brother as one of his Special Assistants when he returned as Nigeria’s elected President in 1999. He also appointed the son of another January 15, 1966 coup plotter as his Special Assistant (I am honour bound not to mention the name of his father).
Not done, Obasanjo then appointed Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi, the son of the late Major General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, as Minister of Defence in 2006. That was one of the most difficult ministerial appointments in Nigeria’s history, because certain persons felt it was an insult to their injury. And that, perhaps, was why Obasanjo only appointed him as minister in his second term. If he did it in his first term, he might not have won a second term.
Before then, Obasanjo made him an Ambassador. Can you imagine the flak Obasanjo got from the North? Obasanjo did not have to do it.
As a matter of fact, Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi was actually another eyewitness to the events of July 29, 1966. He was with his father at Colonel Fajuyi’s residence. He was hidden for his safety, but he knows what happened. And he is still alive today.
After Fajuyi was killed, his successor as Military Governor of the Western Region, Adeyinka Adebayo, became almost like a surrogate father to the late Aguiyi-Ironsi’s daughter, Louisa Aguiyi-Ironsi, who grew up partly with his own children.
Young people of Southeastern origin should not think that the Yoruba are their enemies, or that they are perpetual cowards, ‘sabo’, and betrayers. It is not true.
The only way we can ensure a level playing ground for all Nigerians is by having a common Southern front. When we have Southern solidarity, then we will have Southern equality with the North.
However, if you believe that the Yoruba cannot be trusted, Bendel people are cunning, Rivers people are backstabbers, and Akwa-Ibom and Cross River are ‘ete’ boy boy, then we will only have Southern disunity.
This is 2021. The son of a Black African Kenyan man is the most popular US President that ever lived according to a survey of mostly White people. His wife, the great granddaughter of slaves, is today the most admired woman in America, and possibly the world. A Nigerian is in the Biden cabinet, and seven Nigerians were recently elected or re-elected into the British Parliament.
Primordial thinking is dying out internationally. We cannot be the holdout in Nigeria. We should not be.
It is time to purge ourselves off primordial sentiments. Nigeria is in too bad a state for us not to realise our predicament and face our common challenges.
And even if we cannot be friends, let us at least be comrades. We have a common challenge with the nepotism of the Buhari administration. What we need in 2023 is a government headed by a Nigerian from any part of Nigeria (but preferably an Igbo person, not for primordial reasons, but to right historical injustices) who can treat all Nigerians equally.
And we are not going to get that if we call each other ‘ajeokutamamomi’ or ‘ewu Yoruba’. The cabal that believe in nepotism are watching us and laughing. Their divide and rule tactics are working.
And lastly on this issue, when I posted last week’s column on Facebook, a young man from the Southeast justified the stereotype of the Yoruba as betrayers, by alleging that they had usurped the houses of Igbos as abandoned property after the civil war.
The truth about that sensitive subject is that cases of ‘abandoned property’ was an issue that erupted amongst the ethnic nationalities that were themselves consanguineously linked to the Igbos in and around Port Harcourt and in around the Benue area (less prominent in the Benue area, and more prominent in the Rivers area).
In Lagos, as well as the entire Western region, property belonging to the Igbos were not seized by the Yoruba. Not at all. As a matter of fact, not only were the Igbo able to reclaim their houses in the Western Region after the war, they were also able to claim back rent for the period between 1967-1970.
An example of this is the case between the late Alex Ekwueme and Otunba Subomi Balogun. Although they were not really friends, per se, they lived close to each other. Just before the outbreak of the civil war, Alex Ekwueme left Lagos for the Eastern Region, like most prudent Igbos.
After the war, he returned to Lagos and, surprisingly, met his house in a renovated condition. While he was wondering what happened, his neighbour, Mr. Subomi Balogun, approached him and gave him his back rent in cash. These were the words that Mr. Balogun spoke to Mr. Ekwueme on that day in 1970:
“I renovated your house, rented it out and this is the rent we collected.”
Otunba Balogun is still alive, as are the children of Alex Ekwueme. This account can be confirmed from eyewitnesses.
What we need at this point in time is mutual respect and keeping our eyes on the prize.
Which is why I am a bit peeved that some Southern state Governors did not attend the Southern Governors meeting which held in Lagos on Monday, July 5, 2021. All the Governors of the Southwest attended. Apart from the Governor of Enugu, no Southeastern Governor attended. They were represented. One of them did not even bother to send a representative.
The Governor of Cross River (who always looks like someone about to cry), did not even bother with the meeting.
This is not the time to be represented. This is the time to be present! Only Southern unity can bring about the emancipation of our people from the killer herdsmen and bandits now plaguing our land. If we do not hang together, we will all hang separately.
Southern Governors should read and memorise Genesis 11:6:
“The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them.”
If possible, let that be their motto.
Reno Omokri
Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Avid traveller. Hollywood Magazine Film Festival Humanitarian of the Year, 2019.
The bolded in the above crap are the most nonsensical falsehood I ever heard. Anybody who knows anything about parade ground understands there is nothing such as plead or option in a coup. Those who were present at the government house in Ibadan had categorically stated there was never such drama. Col Fajuiyi had been allegedly tagged as one of principal targets by the pugilists of July 29, 1966 coup. I am not surprised this foolish regurgitated craps from western Nigerian publication of 1967 still make rounds.
Politics › Re: Nairaland Stop Renaming Oyigbo To Obigbo In Rivers State, It Is Unprofessional by Idiko1: 7:20pm On Jul 29, 2021
