₦airaland Forum

Kanaga and Tsatsii are two fake people deceiving each other. Their romance is all acting for the show

darfay:
Yes that's were I'm from, I'm fully aware of the deep relationship both communities continue to share even though there are some element who are trying to rewrite that part of our history by opting for a more fashionable migration from Benin but the evidence is not really in their favour. I also believe the migration would have happened after olomu was established as an urhobo community if not we would have retained some element of both languages in our dialect, their is also a possibility of acculturation, I find it odd that neighboring communities like enwhe with a supposed igbo migration has a dialect more closer to urhobo than ours that actually migrated from that axis, infact "come" in enwhe is "Yare" and not Nyanze


I'm vaguely aware of kiagbodo, is it close to olomu?I knew they were are bilingual ijaw people. Plus one of the satellite communities/villages of olomoro is ikiagbodo. I think colonization might have put an end to an outward(west/east) migration of urhobo (of ughelli) and isoko people as evidenced by bilingual communities like kiagbodo and some ndokwa clans ibedeni ,ashaka and Ase that are bilingual

Our ancestors kept records in their own way albeit inefficient, they told folklores which in itself Forms the bulk of what we know about our past. I partially followed that argument on ogie/oba debate, very informative tbh. I once came across a scholarly report that postulated that edoid people migrated from edo North. I don't know how factual it is but of the edoid languages north of sapele, I hear Esan is the most intelligible with ours.

Interesting observation. I noticed that the Edo North people call God Oghene and their women behave exactly like Urhobo women even the ones that are Muslims, hardworking and witty. There is no doubt in my mind that these people are the closest people to the Urhobos and may be closer to them than the Isokos except for language

Tinubu has lost the North

firJ:
Marvin, six pack on potbelly…

you are wicked

Looks scary

COOL10:
Marvin and Thabang's self control is off the roof.

Especially Thabang. Nelisa and Olivia have thrown themselves at him in every possible way, but baba no gree oo 😄😄.

Marvin is just not sexually attracted to JayPee. E get some kind pvssy person no suppose fvck.

younger men are selective of women they sleep with. They can't easily sleep with someone they are not attracted to particularly when they are not very sexually active(addicted) yet. That is the case of Thabang when he gets to a certain age, he is going to realize that pvssy na pvssy so far it's clean

As for Marvin, the guy is gay. So many red flags, including:

1. It was said that Uti posted his picture and turned off the comment
2. He goes about flaunting his muscled body shirtless all day
3. He obviously isn't attracted to any female in that house

Eeghe:
Igbudu/agbaja rings a bell?

you graduated from UNIBEN too?

safarigirl:
Omo, you don tey O

I was in primary school when I watched it. I can still name at least 7 of them from that set

Gaetano from Uganda
Abby from South Africa
Stefan from Namibia
Alex from Kenya
Warona from Botswana
Zain from Malawi
Cherise from Zambia
Sammy from Ghana
Bayo from Nigeria.
Tapuwa from Zimbabwe


It's been a long time.

*modified*

Just as some people here were in primary school when you watched BBN season 1(Bisola set). Na so life be, all of us go old las las

Eeghe:
Ask around
I don’t have teeth

I was in 100level. Watched that season in UNIBEN common room. Those years of shower hour.

Where were you then?

Eeghe:
Mmeli has it too lol
He reminds me of Gaetano a little bit

You watched the first season of BBA? We are old o

Everything about Marvin shouts GAYYYY!!!

Titaniumental:
This your logic is not logiking at all.

What do you say about Keagan Petersen that won then,cos he is in thesame category as the people vu mentioned above if not worse

well, i didn't watch that season

Clement1111:
Pere entered finals sha

my bad

safarigirl:
Whether he win or not, he's a top contender.

with the exception of Tayo, the guys on my list never made it to the finals. You know what distinguished Tayo from the others on the list? He never frolicked with any female in the house, even though he had a pretty, massive assed, bald headed SA girl on his case throughout that season. Blue Aiva came in in 2mins and Yemi lost his sanity. People dey see these things o

Clement1111:
🙄🙄🙄

Dey play,His situation with Khosi is why we are having this conversation whether he is liked or not

On a neutral ground,Yemi na top Contender same as Kanaga

not true. People like Yemi never win. TTT, the rich Tiv boy of Laycon's season, Tayo of BBA, Yemi's lookalike that married the girl he fvcked in his season, the dark Ijaw boy that got maria fingered, the yellow tall, pink haired boy from last year BBN.

They never win

Onyi99:
Twitter is the worst
I stopped going there

it wouldn't get to you if what they are saying isn't true. The truth is that the South African HMs are better behaved human beings. Very respectful and sensitive.
What you and other Nigerians should do is take a step back and see yourselves in the Nigerian HMs, perhaps you would then understand that we should learn from the SAns a bit of how to behave ourselves.

scondy:
Easy....na safari start ...so i returned the favour...so far both guys are likeable ....no one is tryna demarket kanaga....but if una begin drop sly comments about yemi being problematic ...we would highlight his moping....loool

Yemi is not likeable

IGoComotYaTeeth:
Ye! Ye! Ye! Ye! olohun!!! I don give you new name, your name is no longer IgbuduMonkey, your new name is now Observer Aka ObservationMonkey! I know say no be only housemates you dey observe, you're also observing all the monikers on nairaland too. So you've been busy monitoring all our comments here too? I don dey fear you.

I need you to observe meobizy and safarigirl for me.

attention seeking comments like this make me realize I'm old now. You will grow too bro

safarigirl:
LMAO.. Sickler ke? Once person no get body, una go dash am sickler.

If you know the sort of medical attention sicklers need, you'll know Biggie cannot even bring such a person for this show. Even person wey get asthma no go make am. If e pass ulcer, Biggie no dey for the other ones.

Juicy Jay said he is asthmatic. The way you speak with authority like you are the owner of this BB thing ehn

My observations so far:

The South African reps of the show selected housemates that are likeable with a potential to win while the Nigerian counterparts selected wild people that will bring drama. Most of the Nigerian girls on the show are prostitutes(no need to sugar coat anything).

It is obvious that the Nigerian big brother franchise is controlled by the LGBTQ community in Lagos with Denrele and Uti very influential in the process. They are an ultra liberal community that include loose girls- the San Francisco of Nigeria

The Miracle guy looks like Melvin of the Dillish's BBA season

A South African will likely win, the only Nigerian housemate that might upset this prediction is Ebubu

AjaanaOka:
These days I prefer to be an onlooker on NL, but everytime I see people make this particular or similar comments, I can't help but want to say something. It's frustrating that despite the strides that have been taken since the '70s in the area of Igbo studies, despite what scholars now know about their involvement in long-range commerce (See for example, David Northrup's classic "Trade without Rulers", Nairalanders continue to repeat the nonsense that Igbos did not move out of their homeland before colonialism.

The vast majority of Igbos were subsistence farmers, and as such were not very mobile. But everyone who knows the first thing about precolonial Igbo history knows that clans and towns which specialized in long-distance travelling for the purpose of trade, medical practice or craftsmanship were developed among the Igbo.

The Awka, the Nkwerre, the Abiriba, the Aku of the Nsukka area, the Aro, et cetera, all ventured beyond the borders of what we recognize today as Igboland, plying their trade and practising their craft.

I never wrote that Igbos did not venture beyond their borders, I wrote that they didn't venture in long distance trade as they do today. If they did, there would be irrefutable vestiges scattered around. The Igalas do not shout about their precolonial exploits but we see the impact in their geographic spread around the south. If the Igbos were into long distant trade as they are now, you wouldn't have to prove anything, the evidences would be there for all to see

The insular nature of the Igbos clearly shows that they were a largely isolated group. This doesn't mean that they didn't venture out of their homeland, but it must have been rare and for reasons other than long distance commerce


Cc Igboid

Igboid:
Aboh is not the only Igbo speaking town where one Igbo clan fought and displaced another.
Why are you hyping on it?
Both the Akarai and the Aboh are all Igbo clans.
Aboh has always been Igbo speakers, we know this from their name "Aboh-ji" meaning Yam basket, and the name of their founders, all were Igbo words, not one single Bini word.
Abiriba people also met Igbo speaking groups in their current location who they fought and displaced.
The land Aro ndi izuogu in Imo state is founded on belongs to a different Igbo group who the Aros fought and displaced.
Fights between Igbo clans for territories were norm in the past, what Happened in Aboh between Aboh people and Akarai people was simply a norm and not an exception.
It's not same thing with your Itsekiri or whatever.
There is no historical fact about claiming that a man named Essumai, whose son was named Ogwaezi, who gave his first son the name Ogwaezi, was anything else other than an Igbo speaking man and couldn't have come from any non Igbo speaking land! This is common sense. That history of Essumai being of Bini origin is a historical distortion because it fails the test of logic.
My bet is that Essumai was an Agbor man who fail out of power in Agbor and didn't want his new kingdom to be an appendage to Agbor, hence he spinned the Bini origin story.
It is akin to what Ikwerres who wanted to regain control of PH from their Igbo cousins did post 1970. They wanted to be free from Enugu control, hence why Elechi Amadi came up with the Bini origin story for Ikwerre. They were simply following a template Aboh had laid down.

History is science and subject to logic.
A man with Igbo sounding name, who gave his child an Igbo name and named his new town in Igbo, obviously spoke no other language but Igbo.
Unless they spoke and bore Igbo names and language in ancient Bini, Aboh founder didn't come from Bini. It's common sense.

My narration of Aboh displacement of the Akarais is not for the hype but for the purpose of making it undeniably clear that the
Abohs came from elsewhere to their present location.

Esumei Uku is said to have had 2 sons, Ogwezi and Ugbo. Ogwezi and three of his sons, Ojugbeli, Ozegbe and Ossai, constitute the ruling houses of Aboh. Ugbo, Ozegbe and Ossai are clearly Edoid. Another fact you habe to have in mind is the naming pattern in those days. Many people were known by nicknames then which stuck. Infact, Aboh has a unique culture of greeting people with a greeting name which is unique to each individual. Thos name eventually becomes more popular than the persons given name. It is possible that some of these Igbo names were given by the people living there who were clearly Igbo speakers.

Note also that Oputa Uku, the founder of Ozoro is said to be the brother of Esumei Uku. Going by your argument, are the Ozoro people Igbos?

Igboid:
Itsekiri has always been a separate entity from Yoruba.
Never in history were Itsekiri called Eastern Yoruba!
So you comparison between Aboh and Itsekiri is like comparing apples and oranges.
Infact, Aboh was perhaps the first place called Igbo by the colonial masters.
The colonials assumed Aboh to be the capital of Igboland and Eze Obi Ossai the then king of Aboh as the overall king Eboes.
Eze Obi Ossai claimed his people were Ibos and that Igboland extended further East of the Niger.
So your comparison of the issue between Igbo and Aboh with that of Itsekiri is false.
The right comparison would be that between "Okpe" and Urhobo!

There are no Bini led Party that established anything in Aboh. Those things are mere fables concocted by ancestors for whatever political expediency they were facing at that point in time.
None of Aboh founders had a Bini name. Essumai, Ogwaezi,Etim,Osu-mili, etc all are Igbo names, not one Aboh village bears Bini or any non Igbo name.

How exactly did Igboland benefit most from colonialisation?
You are ridiculous. We lost our population and had the British mess up our clans.

Aboh declined because they were hostile to the colonials, so the missionaries moved the capital to Asaba.
Yes Asaba is thriving from Delta State capital made possible by Maryam. But on the private sector, Asaba is benefitting hugely from the local Onitsha business community. Who are investing massively in Asaba, and this wouldn't have happened if Asagba of Asaba isn't totally Igbophilic and a champion of Pan Igbo Unity, unlike those on Aboh still Rolling in Bini origin fable tales.

The Igbos did not venture out of their homeland for commerce before colonialism. The colonials decision to venture into the hinterland and create trade posts in the Igbo hinterland changed the orientation and destiny of the Igbos.
Many people like the OP erroneously believe that the Igbos have always been business savvy. It isn't true. As a matter of fact, the Igbos were not known to leave their homeland for the purpose of trade as we know today.

The activities of the colonials changed the trade dynamics and opened a window for the Igbos which culminated in the present Igbo characteristic of business astuteness. It gave rise to great Igbk business men for the first time in recorded history. People like the Igalas, the Abohs and the Ijaws were the big players before colonialism

Igboid:
Itsekiri has always been a separate entity from Yoruba.
Never in history were Itsekiri called Eastern Yoruba!
So you comparison between Aboh and Itsekiri is like comparing apples and oranges.
Infact, Aboh was perhaps the first place called Igbo by the colonial masters.
The colonials assumed Aboh to be the capital of Igboland and Eze Obi Ossai the then king of Aboh as the overall king Eboes.
Eze Obi Ossai claimed his people were Ibos and that Igboland extended further East of the Niger.
So your comparison of the issue between Igbo and Aboh with that of Itsekiri is false.
The right comparison would be that between "Okpe" and Urhobo!

There are no Bini led Party that established anything in Aboh. Those things are mere fables concocted by ancestors for whatever political expediency they were facing at that point in time.
None of Aboh founders had a Bini name. Essumai, Ogwaezi,Etim,Osu-mili, etc all are Igbo names, not one Aboh village bears Bini or any non Igbo name.

How exactly did Igboland benefit most from colonialisation?
You are ridiculous. We lost our population and had the British mess up our clans.

Aboh declined because they were hostile to the colonials, so the missionaries moved the capital to Asaba.
Yes Asaba is thriving from Delta State capital made possible by Maryam. But on the private sector, Asaba is benefitting hugely from the local Onitsha business community. Who are investing massively in Asaba, and this wouldn't have happened if Asagba of Asaba isn't totally Igbophilic and a champion of Pan Igbo Unity, unlike those on Aboh still Rolling in Bini origin fable tales.

First of all, I believe you know that the people of Aboh acknowledge that they are not the original settlers of the town known as Aboh today. The people displaced by the Abohs, the Akarais are also known. It is therefore a historical fact that the ruling aristocracy of Aboh came from somewhere else. Our contention now is where? The people that remember accurately that they came from elsewhere and also have a correct memory of those they displaced, should also know from where they came.

The Itsekiri story mirrors that of Aboh in that they were both port towns, mixed communities, decentralized communities that later adopted a central rule.

Making any town capital of a state will sure boost the private sector there. Asaba has not even lived up to it's full potential as a state capital of one of the richest state in Nigeria

Igboid:
The Binis are a mixture of Igbo, Ijaw, Yoruba, Portuguese and Esans.
The Ijaws are a mixture of Edo, Igbo, Ibibio and Izon.
The Isoko are a blend of Igbo, Ijaw and Urhobo

So Binis are no longer Bini because they had admixtures in them, and the Ijaws are no longer Ijaw Ijaws and Isoko are no longer Isokos.
Or does this mixture thing only work for Igbo speaking groups outside SE?
Is there any group in this world that didn't accomodated and assimilate non indigenous migrants?

Aboh Igbo denial has not helped them.
Instead it has made them backwards, while ASABA has taken their place in terms of leading place in Western Igbo land where Igbos from SE happily invest in.
Whatever non Igbo admixture in Aboh is not even up to 1% of their population, which is why their culture, language, names and traditional religion are Igbo rooted.

However, each to his own.

The Itsekiris bear Yoruba names and if you are not told would assume them to be Yoruba. Infact, it was recently I discovered that Bola Tinubu's wife, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu is Itsekiri. Most people do not know that the singer, Omawunmi is Itsekiri and many struggled to understand how popular Big Brother Naija contestant, Omatshola isn't Yoruba. Despite the language similarity, no Itsekiri man will tell you that he is Yoruba. And it's true, they are not Yorubas.
Like the people of Aboh, the Itsekiri people are of diverse origin, the earliest settlers from Ijebu while later settlers came from Igala, Bini, Aboh(yes, same Aboh. Note that there are also Itsekiri settlers in Aboh). The Bini party led by a Bini prince would later establish a monarchy. You notice the similarity in the founding of Aboh already?
The Itsekiri area is a port region hence witnessed a lot of immigration at those times when they were not yet a kingdom. Such places later organize themselves under a ruler(kingdom) with diverse people. It is impossible at that time to identify themselves as being people of the initial settlers(in the case of Itsekiri, the Yorubas, and in the case of Aboh, the Igbos) because of the diversity of the people, in which case the later immigrants would be more than the original settlers and the culture an admix.
Like I said, I know why it's difficult to understand
PS: Asaba is thriving because of the prowess of a certain Maryam, wife of the dictator, IBB that made it capital of Delta State. Aboh declined because of the colonial interference in the trade system of the lower Niger. As I have said before in other threads, the Igbos are perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of colonialism in Africa

RedboneSmith:
The thing is, if you knew what my whole perspective is on the Benin origin theory, you will not be gbamming me oh.

lol. Tell me your perspective let's see if I'd ungbam you

RedboneSmith:
I've never bought into this 'homecoming'/'back-migration' theory. It seems just like an attempt to get around the 'Benin origin' theory.

Eze Chima was not an Aro or an Nri priest who lived in Benin and then 'back-migrated'. That's an invention of contemporary times.

gbam

I keep using Aboh because they are the most rich in history in that area

Igboid:
There are no such "irrefutable" evidence of anyone migrating from Bini to Aboh.
What we have are unsubstantiated oral histories.
The Igbo area on both sides of the River Niger was always more populated than Edo areas even up to today.
Population movement is usually from area of high population to area of lesser population.
The chances of a Bini speaking people migrating to a highly populated Western Igbo lands is very minimal.
Look at the name of Aboh founder, Essumai, his son was Ogwaezi, and all villages in Aboh bear Igbo names for ancestors and all prefixed with the usual "Umu" naming pattern of the Igbos.
Aboh founder migrating from Bini is not same as being of Bini ethnicity.
Aboh founder was probably an Ika man who lived close to Ika-Bini border.

The Igbo speaking area west of the Niger is not more populated than the Bini area sir. Besides, migration can occur from less populated to more populated areas due to other causes one of which is political turmoil.
One thing you Igbos fail to understand is that there was no Igbo ethnic identity in the olden times as it is today and people tended to migrate to areas where other languages are spoken. They assimilate the language and culture of the people in those areas.
Those areas along the banks of the Niger are inhomogeneous but it seems obvious that the original settlers were Igbo speakers. The migration from the interior areas West of the Niger and from other areas into the Western banks changed the ethnic configuration of those places.
Using Aboh as an example, they met the Akarai aboriginals, lived with them for a while and eventually displaced most of them. Also, Aboh today is a very mixed community with people of Essumeis lineage, Isoko, Igala, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Ndoni, South Eastern origin etc. It is therefore impossible to view them as Igbos, neither are they Binis. If the Abohs accept an Igbo identity, they lose their history and defile their heritage
I understand why it is difficult for you to understand these things though

Igboid:
You are contradicting yourself. Lol!

Firstly you claimed Igbos didn't exploit the Niger and couldn't have known about the history of Western Igbos.
Then you claimed Igbos started affecting Western Igbos and made them Igbo speaking.
How exactly could Igbos have exerted this influence without exploiting the Niger?

Secondly you claim the Bini cock and bull stories are plausible, then you supported your ridiculous claims by claiming that Bini met some people on the ground when they arrived, but you dubiously kept mute on the identity and language of the people Binis could have met on ground upon arrival, because doing so kills you earlier blunder of Igbos not crossing over the Niger in Ancient days.�

Anyways, since you claimed that only Anioma Indigenes can accurately tell their stories.
Well maybe you need to listen to Agbor documented Oral story by Chief E.A Iduwe that unequivocally stated that Ika has nothing whatsoever to do in common with Bini, and specifically said that Ikas are Igbos.
Maybe you should listen to oral history of Ogwashi-uku that states that the founders came from Nri, also Akwukwu Igbo, Ute-Okpu, parts of Owa, all of which claim Nri migration.
So what does this say about your ridiculous claims of Igbos not having a say around the Niger in antiquity?
Lol! You Bini expansionists are ridiculous.

I think you are mistaking exploiting a river to mean the same thing as crossing a river. What I wrote in my earlier post is that the precolonial Igbos were not long distant traders as they are today as they couldn't have done long distant trade without exploiting/exploring the Niger which the Igbos didn't do, fact! Can you tell me one great Igbo trader of precolonial times? This doesn't mean that the Igbos didn't cross the Niger. As a matter of fact, that the Igbos lived on both sides of the Niger is a fact but historical evidence categorically prove that the Igbos didn't explore the River for commerce. The Akarais that were displaced by the Aboh migrants were most likely of Igbo stock.

There are irrefutable evidences that the people of Aboh came from Benin area and settled in an Igbo territory where they eventually conquered the aborigines and took over political leadership. This migration was a wave that must have occurred during the height of the reign of the Bini empire. As it is impossible to know the exact extent of the empire at that time, it may not be possible to know from where exactly these Benin migrants came from. But suffice to say that almost the entire region of what is today's Delta state including the Itsekiri, Urhobo and Isoko areas were part of the Benin empire.

GeorgesDiary:
THE IGBOS FROM BENIN

Igbos are naturally prone to migrations.

Pre-colonial times, several Igbos migrated to Benin (known as Idu in Igbo communities). There isn't much-written documentation on this as the people of that era mostly used oral documentation.

The Igbos migrated in very large numbers to Benin and even played special roles in the Benin empire. Chima, a popular Aro Priest who had influence was among these migrants. It is also believed that the Igbos influenced a few aspects of Benin including the names of its days, Aho, Eken, Orrie and Okuo. The Igbo calendar has four days which are "Eke, Orie, Afor, Nkwo".

Each Igbo community has a day assigned to open its market and to date, it's still in use. Being great traders, the Igbos might have used their trading prowess to influence the Benin Calendar. One might argue that it's the other way round but these names are so deeply entrenched in the Igbo culture. From ancient times, Igbos have had names like "Mgbe-Eke, Mgbe-Orie, Mgbe-Afor, Mgbe-Nkwo" for females and "Oke-Eke, Oke-Afor, Oke-Orie, Oke-Nkwo" for males. There are also names like "Nwa-Eke, Nwa-Afor, Nwa-Orie, and Nwa-Nkwo" of which "nwa" means "child". So, Nwankwo means "Child of Nkwo".

The events of Igbo influence in Benin may have taken place a very long time ago, so long that details might have been lost in the abyss of oral traditions. For example, a radiocarbon dating placed at the Igbo-Ukwu site placed it to 850 AD and some materials recovered from the sites had evidence of a trading system extending to Egypt. Igbo-Ukwu culture was the earliest-known example of bronze casting in the region and the craftsmen worked centuries before those who made Ife bronze. Benin would later learn the art of bronze making from Ife. It is believed by historians that Ife bronze originates from Igbo-Ukwu.

There seem to be very deep untold stories that are lost in Igbo history. The democratic nature of Igbos seems to have had an origin and a purpose too. It is said that "Igbos don't have kings" but on the contrary, research had shown that Igbos didn't only have kingdoms, they also had trades stretching to as far as Egypt! Along the line, something might have happened but we do not know because the details seem lost.

Back to our Benin story.

At some point, it seemed that these migrants were becoming very influential. It was feared that they would take over the Benin Empire and war broke out between the migrants and the Benin kingdom. This is what is known as "Agha Idu n'Oba" in Igbo folk tales. Details of this war also seem lost and much of it has become a folk tale. However, the oral history of Igbo communities like Onitsha agrees that they left Benin following a very violent attack.

The trans-migration was more like a homecoming as the Igbos faced East to start returning home where their safety can be guaranteed. This trans-migration according to the oral history of many communities in the Western Igbo areas is said to have been led by Eze-Chima.

Eze-Chima is believed to be one of the most popular leaders of this return migration which led to the founding of the formal establishment of several western Igbo towns.

Who is Eze-Chima?

Eze-Chima was an Aro native doctor/Herbalist who left for Benin. Some oral tradition also believes that Eze-Chima was rather a Nri priest. When he got to Benin and reported himself to the Oba of Benin as the custom demanded, the Oba welcomed him but also became impressed with his mystic skills which led to making Eze-Chima a chief in Benin. Hence why he was called "Eze" amongst his people.

In some accounts, during the reign of Oba Ewuare, he had famous heroes and magicians in Benin. In Jacob U. Egharevba's account, there were Igbo migrants too who were forbidden by the Oba to practice cannibalism but were rather placed in charge of two of the royal gods. This was before Oba Ozolua's emergence after the death of his father and brothers.

Egharevba writes that Eze-Chima led the resistance against Oba Ozolua who was the Oba of Benin between 1483-1514. Oba Ozolua was known for expanding the Kingdom through warfare and contact with foreigners. He was the youngest son of Ewuare. His elder brother was killed on the day of coronation while his other brother ruled for seven years.

David Van Nyendael, a Dutch merchant who lived in Benin as a trader in the 15th century wrote "The ruin of the town and the surrounding land was occasioned by the King causing two kings of the street (Rios de Aro) to be killed… After this barbarity, the king found also a third man that stood in his way, who being much beloved, was timely warned of that prince’s intention, and accordingly took flight, accompanied by three-fourth of the inhabitants of the town…"

This indicates that there was indeed a war of kings in Benin between the King and "kings"; possibly the Ezes. "Rios de Aro" means "King or leaders of Aro". Some Portuguese documents have also indicated that Igbos had significant influence in Benin courts. It was possible that indeed, Igbos were becoming a threat to the throne.

The respected historian, Jacob U. Egharevba also wrote that the warrior King, Oba Ozolua fought against Origbo, a chief at Ejide in Siluko District where he subdued Origbo and seized his treasures. Origbo was possibly one of the Ezes like Chima.

Mr Wellington Igunbor, a Benin historian who was also related to the Benin chieftaincy families wrote that "The settlement of Eze Chima in Old Benin was established in the area through which Siluko Street runs in present-day Benin City. As Eze Chima’s influence increased so did the population of his settlements expanded. So influential was Eze Chima and so completely absorbed in the society was he and his clan that
there was hardly a thing he and his people could not do on the basis of equality with Benin indigenes."

Mr Wellington's account explains why the Igbo migrants had possibly become a threat to the Benin throne. To date, Igbos have been known to migrate, expand, adapt to their new environment and even become leaders in such communities and towns. Little wonder an Igbo man was once a President of Liberia.

U. B. Okpevra, from Department of History and International Studies, Delta State University, Abraka Nigeria, in his article published in 2015 titled "IS OZORO AND UZERE CLANS' TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN EDOID OR IGBOID?" argued that Oba Eze-Oti (Ezoti) who was shot with a poisoned arrow on the day of his coronation in 1473 was Igbo.

It could be that Eze-Oti's mother was Igbo, he was adopted or there could be other unsaid truths about his personality. The name "Eze-Oti" has no meaning in the Bini language. He reigned for only 14 days and died from injuries sustained on his coronation day. His only son Owere was also murdered. Owere also seems to be an Igbo name.

All of these are indications of what would have caused the return migration of the Igbos who had lived, grown and invested in the Benin Kingdom. They might have left Benin as a result of violence against them. All of these things were happening between the 15th to 16th centuries.

Olaudah Equiano the popular Igbo slave turned writer whose life is being studied all over the world wrote in his memoir that he was born in 1745 to an Igbo family in the ancient Kingdom of Benin.

Although it couldn't have been possible that his community would be under the Benin Kingdom at that time, the Benin Kingdom might have been very popular amongst them. We must remember that Equiano was kidnapped and sold as a very small child, so his understanding could have been very limited.

Onitsha, a town in Anambra was founded by such return migration and to date, there are very few elements in Onitsha who would rather argue that they come from Benin as their original home even though the perception is almost lost amongst them.

Other towns founded by UmuEzechima (Children of King Chima) included Ozoro, Isele-Uku, Onicha-Olona, Onicha-Ugbo, Onicha-Mili (Present day Onitsha), etc. There was also a possibility that some initial migrants has previously settled before getting to Benin. Borrowing a leaf from Benin, these communities had monarchs unlike their other counterparts across Niger.

From Agbor down to Onitsha, there are many Igbo communities known today as "Umu Ezechima" but this may not mean that Ezechima single-handedly founded these towns, some of these towns already had indigenous people and in some cases indigenous Igbos living in them before the arrival of Ezechima and his people.

It is as a result of this return migration that several Western Igbo communities including Onitsha, across Niger, claim Benin origin. This is because the communities were founded or discovered as they were leaving Benin. When the culture of these Igbos is observed, they do not have a lot of things in common with Benin culture, they rather share similar cultural and religious traits with their kin Eastwards.

How could a people originate from Benin and yet there isn't any tangible trace of Benin in their names, languages and culture? This becomes even funnier with the claims looking childish when studying the culture of Ikwerre people in River State Nigeria.

Yes, there could be Benin influence here and there as a result of migration to Benin and return migration eastwards but there has largely remained a jealously guarded Igbo tradition amongst the Igbos in Benin. Even amongst the Igbanke people of Edo State, there are also communities of Igbo origin who mixed with other migrants from Benin.

Isn't it funny that Igbo communities close to Benin to this date still speak Igbo and practice Igbo culture and yet people would claim they are only so because of Igbo influence? One would wonder, why didn't this Igbo influence reach Ibibio? Why didn't it reach Urohobo? Why aren't these people answering Igbo names, eating Igbo foods or practising Igbo culture?

I am not a historian and may have missed a thing or two but I hope that this article adds to the conversation around the identity of several Western Igbo communities who are often said to originate from Benin with no atom of Benin found in them. Yes, they were indeed from Benin, but they weren't of Benin.

(c) 2022 | Onyedikachukwu George Nnadozie

Nice compilation but a lot of holes to pick from this write up.
First, I have read this account of Igbos migrating to Benin and back to Igboland due to persecution in Benin. I find no historical backing to the claim and fancy it to be an attempt to conjure up a narrative to suit apreconceived position

The fact of Igbos being great long distant traders only began during colonialism. The Igbos did not really exploit the Niger which was the principal trade route in precolonial times. The major long distance traders at that time were the Igalas, the Ijaws and the Abohs. That is why there are people of Igala ancestry scattered in Southern communities close to the Niger to this day. One mistake we make is assume that the Igbos have been the way they are now from earlier times. The Igbos were mostly restricted to their homeland and were not long distance traders

The only people that will give a correct narrative of the origin of the Western Igbo speakers are the people themselves since there is no written historical document from those times. Oral history of the people say they have Benin origin and that is very believable. What is possible is that these Benin migrants conquered the people they met in these places and became the ruling class there(read on the case of the Abohs and Akarais). The culture, especially language of these people became Igboid over time because of the strong influence around them