₦airaland Forum

Can we stop all this senseless quarreling and exchange of hateful words, and think of solutions to our problems? Let us invest our time in conversations that would improve our lives...Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba; we are all part of the human race. Putting one tribe down equates to putting the country down; and putting the human race down. "We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny... An inescapable network of mutuality... I can never be what I ought to be until you are allowed to be what you ought to be" (Martin Luther King Jr). My soul is saddened because of the hateful words I've read on this blog. No one is talking about righteousness, justice; but everyone wants peace and freedom. the truth of the matter is that there will be no peace in our lives, homes, nation and the world until there is Righteousness, equal rights and justice for all. "I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself." (Nelson Mandela). I just pray that God will open our eyes to see how great we can be only if we tear down the iron curtain of tribalism, racism;-which has created social segregation, economic discrimination and political subordination-and put on the fitting garment of nationalism and humanism; that would allow us to realize our economic, social and spiritual health. "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” (MLK). Abeg o, make we help our selve. God Bless Nigeria!

JuanDeDios:
Andy Showman.

Ola Johnson: Who remembers this reggae song?
Chase them oh Rasta chase them. Chase them away.
Answer:That song was actually sung by Maxwell Udoh

I've read all the comments made relating to this issue, and in the process I decided to reply Ikechukwu A. Ogu. Ikechukwu; as much as I disagree with your views on this matter, I cannot help but to admire your writing, as well as your in-dept knowledge of history as it relates to this issue. I also respect your ability respect the ideas and thoughts of others, and only hope that bloggers will follow suit. I want to first of all express the true fact that my objection to Ikwerre being Igbo has nothing to do with any personal hatred for the Igbos. As a matter of fact, over the years I've developed a special affinity for the Igbo people for their Heroism in standing up against the Nigeria government and all their cohorts (Britain) during the civil war. While I do not subscribe to Biafra; I cannot pretend not to see-in this present day-what Ojukwu saw 49 years ago that moved him into his crusade. let it be made clear that Isaac Adaka Boro saw the same thing and waged war, but was unsuccessful. If the Igbo's had treated the minority better prior to the war I believe that the story would have been different. While differences do exist between the Igbo's and the River state people (Ikwerre in particular), one can not object to the true fact that Gowon needs to be tried for war crimes following the genocide he attempted on the Igbo people- dropping bombs on innocent civilians as his military campaign progressed past river Niger into Onitsha. Presently in America, you can see Igbos', Yorubas and other tribes doing well in the country to the point that people from neighboring African countries are intimidated by us Nigerians.

I object to your statements because the Ikwerre people have their history, which has been passed down from generation-to-generation. The Ihuruoha (Ihuha) people must preserve their history else, it will be eroded by the mighty stream of Igbo influence. The Ikwerre group has been Identified in Nigeria as an independent ethnic group, and they have the constitutional right to be perceived as such; as a measure to preserve what is left of their true Identity and culture (if any).

I want to use this opportunity to respond to some of the issues you raised. In south America today, most people speak Spanish language-even though they are Hispanics. The fact that they speak this language doesn't mean that they are Spaniards. They are a people who were colonized by the Spanish. In the process of the colonization, they lost their native language and cultivated the culture of the colonial master. Part of that culture exists today in the state of Texas in USA. Cowboys are known to be Spaniards, but when you talk about cow-boys today everyone thinks about Texans. That a group of people speak a particular language doesn't imply that that's whom they are. History tells us that people have migrated from place to place-asserting or blending themselves with the new environment-either by their own desire, political benefits or pressure by rulers of their new found land.

It is self evident that our ancestors did not document thing on paper, but by telling moon-light stories to the younger generation. As a kid, I asked my father and uncle if Ikwerre was Igbo. If the history they told me stated that this tribe was Igbo, I wouldn't have had a problem accepting it. But the same story that Dibia has told in this forum was what was told to me years ago. So I plead with everyone who disagrees with him to know that he didn't cook-up this story. This is what our elders actually told us about our history, and we are going by that. you made a statement that there's no document showing that the Igbo's colonized Ikwerres'. However; the story according to our fathers is that the Igbo's where very influential and usually had people in place of authority. They cultivated their position as a tool to nab the resources in Ikwerre land, and the indigenous people had no say for the fear of their lives, possible slavery or jail term. This lead to the Ikwerre's accepting more of the Igbo names as a means of retaining what belonged to them. I want to also note that over the years there's been inter-marriage between the Igbo's and the Ikwerre's, and since the Ibo people are very influential and larger in number than the Ikwerre's, this has also impacted the language of Ikwerre people. Igbo's were so influential in River State that the entire state conducted trade, church services and meetings with Igbo language. Towns and Villages were replaced with Igbo names to signify their presence and ownership. Igbo language was the English of the day. Again; Ihuruoha who is the ancestor of Ikwerre people was not born in Benin land. The only child of Akalaka who was born in Benin land was Ekpeye. Ogba is as a result of a marriage for acceptance in Agbo; and I believe that this inter-marriage between Akalaka and an Ndoni woman reflects in Ogba's name. Ihuruoha was born by Akalaka's first wife in Ndoni area, by this time, Akalaka and his family were already speaking the language of the land where they found themselves. Technically, the only son of Akalaka who probably spoke Benin language would be the first son Ekpeye. It should also be noted that as Akalaka's sons grew, they married women who were not from Benin, but from the strange land where they found themselves (Igbo's, Ijaws and Igbo slaves who escaped slavery etc). As they moved southwards (Epkeye, Ihuruoha, Etche, Ogba) they encountered more Igbo's (Aru people) who were known for trading. This increased inter-marriage and mingling, and by this time, the descendants of Akalaka-who knew little or nothing about there language and culture-must have assimilated into the culture of their present. The Ijaws also have a history that the ikwerre's are a combination of Ijaw and Igbo. While this is a hypothesis, It's true that part of the people of obigbo, and those who are at the boundary between Rivers State and Abia are Ijaws who migrated to the area and cultivated the culture and language of the Igbo people. I also noticed that you referenced Elechi Amadi's admission that the idea that Ikwerre's are Igbo's is a point of view held by some Ikwerre's. The writer of "The Concubine" is someone that I admire so much. I believe he's one of the great minds of Ikwerre and nigeria at large; and I don not object to the true fact that his views are held in high esteem. But let's get something straight here. The Aru's leaved among the Ikwerre people for years. They were very wealthy and Influential in Ikwerre land and they owned lots of properties. However, after the civil war ended in 1970, Captain Elechi Amadi mobilized troops to case the Aru people away from Ikwerre land. If he believed that Ikwerre's are Igbo's, then why case away your own brother? Till this present day, we the Ikwerre people know those Aru people who never left. They exist in Elele, Iguruta etc. The truth of the matter is that, even the village where Elechi Amadi hales from is deemed Igbo. The name of the village up till this day is mbodo; which in Igbo language is mba-odo (foriegn people). they are the only village in Aluu whose name does not start with Omu; and in the old days, they were usually called upon last to make any form donations or partake in any form of activity in the town. the reason for this last-child recognition is based on the fact that they are regarded as foreigners. So I will disregard his comments as it pertains to this issue since they are not factual, but could be linked to his own roots. Now; I will not dismiss the fact that Ikwerre's have cultivated this tribal balance to their own advantage in time of need. In those days, they were know to call upon the Igbo's to come to their rescue whenever they were involved in tribal wars with neighboring tribes such as kalabari, Ijaw and Okrika; tribes that had been better armed by the white man for warfare. But when the civil war commenced; the Ikwerre people saw it as an opportunity to escape the brutal feet of oppression that has captivated them for centuries. They opened their borders to the Nigerian army, and denounced any link with the Igbo's after the war. This gave rise to a nick-name for Ikwerre people, and up till today some Igbo's call Ikwerre people "Sabo"; meaning saboteurs. This post war hatred has lingered for decades, and the Ikwerre people who were once known to marry Igbo's to gain recognition and acceptance now cautioning their off springs to avoid inter-marriage with the Igbo's. I'm glad that the youths of the 21st century are ignoring these status-quo as they pursue marriage and happiness. The truth of the matter is that Ikwerre history will never be complete without the mention of the Igbo's who seem to have been sown into the fabric of Ikwerre people. If you go to the market places in Port harcourt, the Igbo are largely the traders and Igbo language is still used in buying and selling to some degree.

I commend everyone who have invested their time to contribute to this topic and encourage everyone not to be biased, but to contribute to this conversation as I believe it makes us better. It reveals our history from different perspective . at the end, it shows that we are one people; bounded by relative cultures that define who we are. When people ask me where I'm from in the US I usually tell them that I'm an African. for me, it doesn't matter if I find myself in Mali, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana or any other African country. What matters to me is that I find myself in Africa, and that the struggle is one. that's why I'm not gonna give it up; not until Africa and Africans are free. However; I will encourage everyone to be civil as Ikechukwu and a hand-full of us has been in expressing our beliefs as it relates to the topic, because we are all Nigerians at the end of the day; that's the name of the nation that I've chosen to belong to, and if need be, I'm willing to die for one-Nigeria. Importantly; we all belong to the magnificent race called the human-race. let us endevour to maintain it as such and not make it a rat-race. Long live the federal republic of Nigeria; long live humanity; ONE LOVE!