₦airaland Forum

EMEAGWALI REPLIES
Nwannem nwoke dalu:
Thank you for taking the time to visit my Web site and share your thoughts with me. I was out of town when your email arrived and it took me awhile to read my past email. Your write-up is thought provoking and I hope you don't mind my posting it on http://emeagwali.com.

Let's look at the timeline.

In the 1560s: Eze Chima and his descendants left Benin. As many as one in four Igbo-speaking people are the descendants of people that emigrated from Benin Kingdom.

In the 1560s: The Benin Kingdom produced its first powerful Oba, named Esigie. All Obas derived their wealth, power and mystique from slave trading.

In the 1560s: John Hawkins took the first African slaves from The Slave Coast to Haiti.

What was then called the Slave Coast was later renamed Benin Kingdom, Nigeria, Gold Coast and Ghana. The word "Onitsha" is a corruption of the word "Orisha." The religion Orisha is practiced among Yorubas and Haitians.

Just as we shortened the name "United States of America" to United States or America, similarly the name "Orisha Edo" was corrupted to "Onitsha Ado" and then shortened to "Onitsha." The proof is that the web site for Onitshans is not onitsha.com: it is onitshaado.com.

People did not travel far in the olden days. In fact, three of my four grandparents never travelled more than ten miles from the place they were born. Therefore, it is not possible for Eze Chima to travel 200 miles through the rain forest to Benin and then return homeward in his lifetime.
It will require an entire book to expound on the Onitsha-Igbo-Yoruba-Edo connection.

In the future, I will provide details that prove that as much as one in four Ndi Igbo were descendants of refugees that were fleeing slave raiders. Igbo elders have a saying that "when you see a lizard running in the daytime you know that something is after its life." The mass migration that forced Onitsha people to resettle in the east bank of the River Niger was a result of their flight from the Oba of Benin and his slave raiders.
Kene ezi na ulo gi,
Emeagwali

EMEAGWALI REPLIES

Nwannem nwoke, kedu ki imere:
The story of Eze Chima is widely known amongst River Igbos and Western Igbos. The reason the Eze Chima story has been passed on from one generation to the next is that we humans have an innate need to understand who we are, where we came from and how we arrived at our present location.

I do not believe that dozens of geographically separate communities, independently, created the Eze Chima story out of thin air. However, I agree with your argument that our memories fade with time and that in the telling and retelling of a story, details are obscured, lost and added. An anthropologist explained to me that in the telling and retelling of a story, the original story generally evolve into a "myth" that retains a "kernel of truth."

The "grain of truth" is that Eze Chima had a dispute with the Oba and, as a result, was forced into exile from the Benin Kingdom in the 1560s. The wide geographical spread of Eze Chima descendants is my basis for deducing that a mass migration took place.

I also noted that our historical timeline shows that the latter mass migration coincided with the Atlantic slave trade. Consequently, I deduced that the descendants of Eze Chima were refugees fleeing from the Oba of Benin and his slave raiders.

A war veteran knows that for every soldier killed in battle that at least one is wounded. Similary, for every slave captured, at least one escaped capture. Olaudah Equiano, the Igbo slave boy, also confirmed the latter in his famous autobiography. It is only plausible to infer that if there are 200 million descendants of slaves now living in the United States, Caribbean and Latin America that there could be as much as 100 million descendants of slave/refugees living in west Africa.

Linguistically and geographically, we have three types of Ndi Igbo: Heartland Igbos, Igbo Rivers and Western Igbos. I believe that the Igbos that live along the River Niger and in mid-western Nigeria (Anioma, Kwale, Ika and Ukwani) are descendants of refugees that fled the slave raiders of the Benin Kingdom.

I have observed that the vocabularies of River and Western Igbos contain numerous words from the Edo and Yoruba languages. This was the basis of my conclusion that as many as one in four Igbos might be related to the Edos and Yorubas? Even the cultures of River and Western Igbos are different from that of Heartland Igbos. For example, the old adage that Igbos have no king (Igbo enweghi eze) applies only to Heartland Igbos.

As an aside, Eze Chima is at the apex of my family genealogical tree. I first learned that I am a descendant of Eze Chima, in 1970, when my uncle contested (and lost) to become the next Obi of Onitsha. My uncle was required to recite the names of his great-great-great … grand-fathers and prove that he is a descendant of Eze Chima.
Udo di ri gi,
Emeagwali

Obdk:
everybody come from benin. but benin no get population.....

Obdk:
everybody come from benin. but benin no get population.....

Daalu nwa Dei,

Godwin Ifeayinachukwu Kwushue

Our main problems in Africa today are traceable to the effects and affects of the imposed alien culture on Africans. These alien religions, culture, and norms were imposed on Africans without considering the African psycho-cultural dynamics. Our ways of life were discredited and abandoned. Our sacred ancestral rites (still are)were derogatory addressed and referred to as "fetish” and "paganism". Terms which reflect the user's ignorance of the African sacred approach to the divine? Ironically, I am yet to hear or read these terms in use on Hinduism, Shintoism and many other ancient religions. Shintoism is mostly practiced in Japan and China, it has the same African approach to God, ancestral, nature and Gods. There are more than 400 Gods in Shintoism. You always see the Japanese rushing to their temples to pray to his ancestors during his lunchtime in Manhattan. He would proudly display his ancestral shrine in his house and his shops, the Chinese rice vending stores display theirs a lot. They were defeated and disgraced during the second world war, but they never abandoned their ancestors and their Gods. The African Gods and the Chinese/Japanese Gods and concepts are very similar. The concept of "Chi" in Zen Shintoic Buddhism practiced in China and Japan is the same as that of the Igbos. Binis and Yorubas call it "Ori." One would not be surprised about this when one realized that the Asians were the last group of people that left Africa (See "African Genesis" by Robert Ardrey, published by Dell Publishing Co. Inc)( See also "Shintoism: The Blood of My People" by Nagasaki Jean, published by Harding Co. See also the "The Meaning of Evolution", by George Gaylord, see also the "Roots and Concept of Tai Chi" by Janet Cohen, Published by Deninigs Inc.

Many Gods also exist in Hinduism. A God is assigned to all aspect and stages of life and existence(See, "Bhagavad-Gita" by Swami Prabhupada, also see” Gandhi" an autobiography, published by the Beacon Press.)They practice vegetarianism because they believe that all animals are manifestations of the divine. Their Sacred myths, which were later put into writing, were created to guide them about their Gods, headed by Brahma(The Creator), Shiva(the destroyer) and Vishnu(the preserver). I am yet to see any Hindu or Japanese, as educated and advanced in Euro centric accomplishments as they are, referring to their rituals, belief in presence of spirits or divine in animals as fetish, paganism, or superstitious. The British did everything possible to convert them but they kept to their religion and their ancestors. They observe their festivals and customs with great pride. They all live together and proclaim their culture everywhere with pride. He explains his culture as it is and will never try to dilute or tailor them to suit any body, audience or expectations.

Nevertheless, ask an African who has had a little exposure to westernization about his ancestral ways of life. With tears in his eyes, he would apologize for his ancestors' "ignorance" and "uncivilized status". He would employ the little knowledge that he's had of Euro centric education and values to explain his ancestral ways of life, culture and religion, he would jump to trace his ancestry to the "holiest" place of the colonial master's religion and then would demonstrate his "enlightenment" by doing everything to reinterpret his culture to accord with "modern decency" and alien values. (see "Who Betrayed the African Cause" by John Henrik Clarke, published by the African World Press. See also "From the Nile Valley to the new World" and "The New Dimensions in African History" by Drs. Ben Jochanan and John Henrik Clarke, published by Africa World Press, Inc.) Also, see "The Lamentations of Oba Ovonramwhen" by Igiosa Inueben, published by Ovie Edo printing press Benin. See also "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" by Walter Rodney, republished by Nadad house, in 1996.

Africans embraced these religions without realizing that some of the doctrines that these religions brought were meant to further the economically oriented political ambition of the colonial master. These religions came with their own disguised ancestral worship and refocused our spiritual bases to areas that were out of Africa, this was in accordance to a basic psychological tenet, which advocated, "a void cannot be left unfilled." See” Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth and Later Centuries" by Ramsay McMullen. See also "Religion and Misapplication of Psychology, by H.G.J. Beck, 1971.

His Gods were taking away and Saints who were canonized for their services to alien populations in Europe were introduced as one of the vehicles to God. Some of these saints died in furtherance of such devotions to their holy duty. Some of these saints predated the advent of Christianity in Europe, but they were still made saints because of their services to their villages and towns. (See "Lives of the Popes" and "Catholicism" by Richard McBrien, both published by Harper Collins. Also, see "The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church" First Edition London, published by the Oxford University Press. See also "The Making of Saints" by Brezzi Paolo, Newman Press, 1999).

To uplift any African to sainthood would be contrary to the directives that the colonial masters, church and other colonial agents were given before embarking to colonize Africa. They were instructed to focus on areas that would not inspire the rise of a "black messiah, religious deity or hero" whether dead or alive. They were specifically instructed to destroy concepts "like worshipping ancestral warriors" in order to discourage revolutions as we had with "the Zulus". See "A Study of Colonial Impact in Selected Primitive Societies(Thesis, Oxford University unpublished,1972). See also "The Rebirth of African Civilization" by Dr. Chancellor Williams, published by U.B. and U.S. Communications Inc. It was Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, (my mother and Zik shared the same grandparents in Umudei, Mba family) that gave me this book, apart from so many other books, during my LL. B. Thesis On Pre-Colonial Laws and Customs in Onitsha, 14 years ago. I shall come to this in subsequent paragraphs.) "The Rebirth of African Civilization" Op.Cit. was dedicated to Zik and Kwame Nkrumah by the author. Zik and Kwame Nkrumah (Osagyefo) were the greatest men amongst us that Mother Africa produced. See also "The Mis-Education of the Primitive Peoples" by Hambly, Wilfred, published by Macmillan, 1926).

We now pray to Saints in Portugal, Rome, and Spain who spent most of their lives serving their people. Nothing is wrong with that! My own ancestors died serving their communities. Why would I be discouraged from ascribing sanctification to them? Do we have two criteria for this, one for Africans and one for Europeans? I do not discourage people that visit sacred places, I just do not want them to advocate that I should abandon my own. What could be holier than my honoring Princess Ojedi Dei, a woman who willingly gave up her life so that the village that gave birth to the women who gave birth to my father, my great grandfather, my children, and me could live? Without Ojedi's sacrifice of her life, Umudei might have been wiped off, many years ago. Her father Dei, left Umudei after this sacrifice, because he could not stand living around her only daughter's grave. Ojedi was a very wealthy woman (Nne na ama Odu! Nwe eze bu Okike), the only daughter of a Prince, who willingly sacrificed her life so that her people would continue to live. She wiped the tears from her brothers' faces, danced to her grave, and was buried alive. What other proof of love for one's people was more than this. Without this woman not almost all the great men that Onitsha prides herself with would have been born. Yet, I should not honor her because she did not do it in the "name of Christ"? On the other hand, maybe I should hide a representation of her image on decent grounds. However, I could hang your pictures of your saints even though the saints lived when pictures were not yet invented. Something is wrong with this picture. Did Christ teach this or was this taught by people who tried to "misinterpret Christ's teachings thousands of years after His departure to suit their purpose? In the name of the Bible and deliberate misinterpretation of some of its contents, slavery, Inquisitions, Holocaust and other vices against humanity were perpetrated. I have Uncles and Aunts who were stopped from receiving communion in the catholic church. Their sins were allowing their children to marry non-Catholics (Protestants). Were they not created by the same Olisaebuluwa? Why would our people import and practice the hostility of the Irish-Catholics and British-Protestants into Onitsha? (See "Deceptions and Myths of the Bible" by Lloyd Graham, published by Citadel Press Book, 1995. See the Text of Pope's Apology to the Primitive People of the World, Published by New York Times, in July of 1999. See "Our Black Seminarians and Black Clergy Without a Black Theology" by Dr. Ben Jochanan, published by Alkebulan Books. See” The Scramble for Africa: Causes and Dimensions of the Empire. Boston” by Raymond Betts. See also "Civilizations or Barbarism" by Cheikh Anta Diop, Published WestPoint, 1986. I had read the original publication of this book, which was written in French, at Zik's Onuiyi library.

Going back to Ojedi, I would suggest that any Onitsha person that had interest in Onitsha should obtain a tape titled "Ndunata Ojedi" produced by Chuka Nwammuo Okechukwu. This tape was made when the Umudei clan "brought Ojedi back home". Princess Ojedi was asked to come back to Umudei from Oguta, where her father Dei was buried many centuries ago, as I had written in the past. This tape was a historical masterpiece, I however objected to the video taping of the Ojedi rituals being performed by the Presiding Diokpa, Akunwata Ojiba. In this tape, many great Onitsha men were interviewed, men like. Akunwata Ojiba, the Diokpa of Umudei(One of the most powerful Diokpa stools in Onitsha), Chinyelugo Zoro Odita, Okunwa Nwammuo Okechukwu, son of Ogene Okechukwu, grand son of Orakwue Owelle and nephew of Abutu Ike Akatakwuani. Akunnia Okocha was also interviewed in this tape. Many other prominent Onitsha men were interviewed in this tape. I politely refused making copies of this tape to many friends who saw it, because it was meant to raise funds that would go to Umudei children. Again, I recommend this tape to any Onitsha man, it is still being sold in Onitsha. Apart from my friendship with many Oguta indigenes and the writings of my mother’s uncle, Mba Owelle (Eze Otu), Osuma Ibisi’s accounts, and many other sources, I had relied on this tape in my conclusion about the Dei and Oguta connection. I also witnessed the reception given to the Obi of Oguta in 1981. I was with my adopted Godfather, the late Ogbuefi Akunne Okagbue, who then taught Geography then at C.K.C. Onitsha. Present at the palace then was my classmate and the Obi of Oguta's nephew, Nwanne Oputa-Dei, now a Professor of History.

I am not writing my history as a pretentious African trying to live up to any pseudo-Euro centric expectations. I am writing as an African, who approaches the unknown from my ancestral spectacles. I know who my Ancestors were and what they contributed in making the world what it is today. My ancestral perspective was strictly holistic and sacred. They placed love, sacrifice and service above everything. He saw the world as a multidimensional expression of oneness. He approached and defined this oneness with anthropomorphic expressions. They knew that men and women could be deified upon death, so they did their best to attain this status. He knew that he did not have to "convert" "force" or "persuade" his neighbor to worship his own Gods, because he understood that his neighbor was only using a different expression for the same essence. He did not have confusing and MIS-spiritual doctrines like being sinners just by being in the world and children being born out of sins. To him the children were sacred and friend of the Gods.(See "A Friend of the Gods" by Odu Isaac A. Mbanefo, published in 1990 by Etukokwu Publishers). See "Black History, A Reappraisal" by Melvin Drimmer, published by Douy Anchor books. See also, "The African Origins of Civilizations: Myth or Reality, by Cheikh Anta Diop, published by West Port.

See also "Africa: Mother of Western Civilization" by Dr. Ben Yosef Jochanan, published by Alkebulan Books.
The African saw the presence of God in everything animate or inanimate, and approached God and the unknown from many perspectives( I try to avoid words like” Polytheistic and Pantheistic".) Employment of many of these European terms in defining African concepts should restricted, because it makes the reader to see or focus and interpret such concepts from Euro centric angles, consciously or unconsciously. Many of the African concepts like "Religion" "Dibia","Agbalanze" and many others should not be defined or equated to alien or westernized terms or concepts. This is because they do not exist in the West. There is no African word for religion, because to the African, life is all about being spiritual and not religious. RELIGION IS A WAY TO SPIRITUALITY AND NOT THE OPPOSITE. ALL DAYS WERE HOLY TO HIM. TIME AND SPACE WERE SACRED TO HIM, BECAUSE THEY BELONGED TO THE GODS, HE THEREFORE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO MASTER THEM(I will address our traditional time and space in my next writing).See "In Search of My African Identity" by John Henrik Clarke, published by Alkebulan Books,1989.

In all my writings, Africa and history are my guides. I have not mastered all these but I am still searching. I only use Onitsha as my focus because it happened that she just happened to be the vehicle through which Olisaebuluwa chose in His/Her infinite mercy to manifest my existence. I do not endorse the superiority of any African family, town, culture or tribe over another. This goes against the African spiritual concept, unfortunately, forgotten during years of the British divide and rule policy. Most of the West African and Eastern tribes passed through Egypt. The Yorubas, Igbos, Ijaws, Efiks, Fantes, Twi, Nagos and so many others, belong to the Kwa Language speaking group. In this group the dominant usages of "Ka", Kh" and "Kw" indicate common linguistic source in Egypt(See "Ancient Egypt and Modern Linguistics, by Robert Fisch, published by African World Press.) Then language was only seen as a means of expression and each borrowed each other's language in their expressions in Egypt. Difference of the languages did not matter to our ancestors. They were Gods and knew what life was. Professor Enyi. Nina Mba and I compared many notes on Igbo and Hebrew etymology. I shall address these in my next writing. Professor Mba was an Australian Jew and descended from a very long line of Australian Rabbis. She taught African history and participated in all the traditional ceremonies of her husband's village, Umudei. She also believed that Onitsha was a land of the Gods.

Onitsha is made of two words from a language spoken in Ancient Egypt, then called "Kmt" or "Kemet". Please note that the vowels were sacred to ancient Egypt and they never wrote it down. It was only chanted. Onitsha people still chant this in the Ozo sacred chant; O O O O O OOOOOO(Notice that the O would then be dragged after the fifth O.)The key here is the significance of five in our traditional numerology. "On" sometimes written as "AN" with a dot on top of A, pronounced (as Aw). The other word is "Sha", "Sa" or "Saa". "SA" also means Son or God of Knowledge. "Sha" means to cut of we still say "shapu ya isi" meaning cut away his/her head. "Saa" means to protect or "a shepherd ", one of the titles of Osiris. "Shaa" means to begin. Like I had written, "On" was a sacred place in Egypt where the priest "Onowu" crowned the Pharaoh. A crocodile guided the sacred fountain of "On." The Yoruba word for crocodile is Oni and is used interchangeably in addressing the Ooni of Ife. See "Egyptian Hieroglyphics" by Stephane Rossini, published by Dover Inc. See also "A Hieroglyphic Vocabulary" by E.A. Wallis Budge, especially pages 321, 322, 323, 392, 394,.See"Lettre a M. Dacier relative a L'alphabet des hieroglyphs phonetiques, by Champollion Jean Francois. See also " A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian" by Faulkner, R.O. published by Oxford.

Another important book was written by a Yoruba man, Dr. Olumide Lucas, it is titled, "The Religion of the Yorubas in relation to Ancient Egypt" published by Athelia press inc, in 1948 and later republished in 1996. See pages 27 and compare with my previous writing on Onowu and Ooni of Ife. Apart from tracing some Yoruba words to Egypt, the author traced many Bini and Igbo words to Egypt. See Pages 386, 387, 388, on the appendix of this book.

Onitsha could possibly mean a people that left "On", or children of "On" or those that were given the responsibility to protect the purpose of "On" or it could be people who cut away from "On", i.e. kewapu from 'On." I subscribe to the last view. The closest research I have made is traceable to a time when Imhotep(On Imhotep), a powerful priest of On(Onowu)had prophesied about a future invasion and destruction of "On" and had suggested a south ward movement and relocation of the City of "On" by a "river". See " The Book of The Beginnings" Vols.1 and Vols.2 by Dr. Gerald Massey, published by Williams and Norgate, London. See also "Egypt, Light of The World" by Gerald Massey. See also, "Recasting Ancient Egypt in the African Context" by Clinton Crawford,, published by Africa World Press, 1996. This book needs to be read by every Onitsha man that has interest in making connections with our Egyptian ancestry. Professor Okey Emeagwali gave me this book when we discussed the Egyptian(African) origin of time and space. See also "Egyptian Kingdoms" by Rosalie David, published by E.Phaidon press, 1975. See also "The History of the Ancient Benin Empire" by Chief Oronsayae, the Osayuwa of Benin, published by Jeromeliaho, 1995. This book traces the Benin ancestry to Egypt. It discusses the events that led to the emigration of the Binis and many other African tribes and families out of Egypt, attributing them to series of military invasions on Egypt. See also "Benin Studies" by Bradbury, Oxford University Press, 1973. See also "the Benin Kingdom and the Edo Speaking People of Southern, Nigeria, by Bradbury, published by International African Institute, 1957)
Onitsha is the reestablishment of the ancient city of "On" in prophecy in compliance with the ancient city of On. There were many attempts by the Benin priests to establish the city of On and Onitsha was its ultimate realization. Could the roles that the word "On" play in our cultural nomenclature be a coincidence. Also, note that places like Nri, were attempts to reestablish other religious centers that were in ancient Egypt. In Egypt, you had many different schools and belief systems all focusing on different aspects of the divine, like Re, Ra(Memphis), Ptah , Khunnum, Osa(Osiris), Amon(From On). In addition, why did our ancestors refer to Onitsha as "Ebo itenani?, even though we had never been strictly nine clans. Note that Ebo is a Benin name. The Binis went to form the Igala Royal families that took this name to Igala. Ebo family of Isiokwe retains their ancestral Benin names. (See "The Igala/Benin Ancestral Connection, by Prince Okawlobia Utubu, published by Ibadan Printing Press, 1989, also see, "A Short History of Benin City," by Jacob Egharevba Jacob, published by Ibadan University Press, 1968) The nine clans were reflective of the Ennead, the nine Gods of ancient city of On. Onowu Anatogu called Nine "ogugu akwa akwulu (a number that cannot be moved or removed). The nine Gods called Enneads protected the ancient city of On. It was the number of the Ennead(nine) that influenced the division of On into nine quarters(See "The Gods of the Egyptians" by E.A. Willis Budge(Op.Cit.) See also "Introduction to African Civilizations" by John Jackson, published by Citadel Press. See also "Recasting Ancient Egypt in The African Context" Ib.Id. The haphazard and inconsistent arrangement of these names by most Onitsha elders indicated that the source of the nine clans was not in the names that they gave as the clans that made the Ebo itenani.( see The "Ground work of Onitsha History", by S.I. Bosah.

Let us now review, the presence of many "On's" in our many Onitsha traditional institutions. The first Benin prince to establish Onitsha after Benin exodus was called" Olona", meaning he who worships "On". We have "On owu/On uiyi", "On ya", "On oli", "On ika", and "On wolu" as names that belong to Ndichie. We also see the names of many ancient families in Onitsha starting with "On" examples are Umu "Onumonu" in Isiokwe, Umu "Onira" in Iyiawu, Umu "Onaje" in Ubene Clan, Umu"Oniah" and so many others. All with "ON's" Could it be a coincidence? See "Nomenclatures, Phonology and Ancestral Links" by Watkins Ira, published by Heinemann, 1975. See also " Signs of the Primordial Men" by A . Churchward, published by Dell Pub. 1968. See also "Voices of the Ancestors" by Parrinder, Heiniman Pub. 1972. I shall expand on this in future writings.
Many years ago, we were required to write thesis for our law degrees on any area of law. I had before then, been gathering many materials on Onitsha pre-colonial history, because of my interest in our ancestral ways of life. I therefore chose to write on Onitsha Pre-colonial Traditional Institutions and the separation of powers. I went to Professor K. Igweike, a Professor of Law and an Onitsha man from Umuaroli and told him about my plans and he discouraged me and rejected my choice. This was a fair judgment on his part because it was never taught in school. He wanted me to write on International laws and conflicts. I tried with other lecturers and all refused except for a visiting Professor from the University of West Indies, Professor Irwin Gun, who decided to approve my paper. I focused on Onitsha traditional institutions and focused on Obi's powers, the Ndichie, the Agbalanze, Agbala na Iregwu, Ogbo na Achi Onitsha and other traditional checks and balances. This research took to Benin, Obamkpa and Obior. Thanks to Ezennia Ben Anyaeji, I interviewed one of his In-laws in Benin, The Ezomo of Benin. I had a private interview with the Obi of Onitsha, thanks to my Godfather, Akukalia Mike Ibekwe, who had suggested that I wore white to the interview. I found Obi Okagbue to be a very intelligent man. He gave me many insights on many of our traditions, "like his fathers told him". I also interviewed many Ndichie and 32 other elders in Onitsha, including Nnanyelugo Obinwe, Ojinnaka Gbasiuzo all sons of previous Onowus of Onitsha. I would discuss their roles in future publications. See "The Administration of Laws, Checks and Balances in an Onitsha Pre-Colonial Society" written by Onyebuchi Amene, University of Jos, Nigeria, 1989.
From,
Onyebuchi.

Source:

Obdk:
everybody come from benin. but benin no get population.....

Oga080666419419:
To Be sincere am tired over the development,
Look at Benin I trekked and covered in one day from Uniben to New Benin to GRA to Giwa Amu to Sapele Road, to Ekosodin to BPDA that ended at Airport, Sapele and 2nd East.

The tallest building is high Court and most of their buildings are downs bungalows and one storey buildings, you rarely see two story in Benin yet they claim to beget the whole Bantu tribes.

This guys are becoming irritating

cstr1000:
You still did not answer my question.
From this story, Eze chima was just an immigrant. We already had igbos living in Onitsha long before he came because he couldn't have fathered every onitsha-igbo indigene especially from an ethnic group that is an ancient and historically mysterious as the igbo.
Christopher Columbus did not found america either. They already had native americans.

Sanchez01:
Not that Benin had the population. Bini was one of the ancient dynasties that was civilised enough to expand her territories without hassles. The empire was so powerful that it was believed that Bini took a lot of neighbouring territories and sold their people into slave trade.

Oga080666419419:
To Be sincere am tired over the development,
Look at Benin I trekked and covered in one day from Uniben to New Benin to GRA to Giwa Amu to Sapele Road, to Ekosodin to BPDA that ended at Airport, Sapele and 2nd East.

The tallest building is high Court and most of their buildings are downs bungalows and one storey buildings, you rarely see two story in Benin yet they claim to beget the whole Bantu tribes.

This guys are becoming irritating

cstr1000:
You still did not answer my question.
From this story, Eze chima was just an immigrant. We already had igbos living in Onitsha long before he came because he couldn't have fathered every onitsha-igbo indigene especially from an ethnic group that is an ancient and historically mysterious as the igbo.
Christopher Columbus did not found america either. They already had native americans.

Oga080666419419:
To Be sincere am tired over the development,
Look at Benin I trekked and covered in one day from Uniben to New Benin to GRA to Giwa Amu to Sapele Road, to Ekosodin to BPDA that ended at Airport, Sapele and 2nd East.

The tallest building is high Court and most of their buildings are downs bungalows and one storey buildings, you rarely see two story in Benin yet they claim to beget the whole Bantu tribes.

This guys are becoming irritating

Ngokafor:
Has that stopped Lagos from being a no-man's land??..i think not..lol

zenmaster:
The OP does not realize the import of the logic he/she is spinning.

If Onitsha belongs to the Bini, then the case can be pushed that Bini land is part of Igbo 'diaspora'

Obdk:
small benin wil fight all d way to onitsha cross river Niger to conquer residents...


abeg tell us another story....

they claim Onitsha monarch dress like benin monarch.. but they wont tell u its the same whites who buy slaves from them supply the wears. they will likely be similar...
u can't rule out culture sharing...

non of our ancient Nnewi story mentioned benin kingdom. dont forget Nnewi is 20 mins from Onitsha...

Onitsha, capital of Igbo Kingdom
The immigrant settlers from Benin were said to have been helped by the Igalas to cross the river to settle in Onitsha in the 16th century, which was originally called Ado N’Idu. It soon became the capital of an Igbo Kingdom. In 1857, British traders in palm oil established a permanent station in the city, and Christian missionaries soon followed, headed by Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther (a Yoruba) and Reverend John Taylor (an Igbo).
In 1884, Onitsha became part of a British protectorate. The British colonial government and Christian missionaries penetrated most of Igboland to set up their administration, schools and churches through the river port at Onitsha.

Historically, Onitsha became an important trading port for the Royal Niger Company in the mid-1850s. Following the abolition of slavery, trade in palm kernels and other cash crops boomed around this river port. Immigrants from the hinterland were drawn to the emerging boom town as did the British traders who settled there and coordinated the palm oil and cash crops trade.

Colonial relics and post-colonial architectural wonders
Areas bordering Old Market, New Market Roads, Upper Market Road, Modebe Avenue, Iboku, Old Cemetry, Old Hospital, Mbanugo St, Emejulu St, Obi Street, Benjamin St, Court, Enugu Road, Awka Road, Egerton, etc are known as Whitemen Quarters, so-called because the white colonial masters who first settled in Onitsha, used to live here. And, even till today, the white colonial style of buildings such as you see at Yaba, Ebute Metta and Central Lagos, can be seen existing, side by side, with the new, on these streets.

But much more modern exotic architectural wonders exist in places like the G.R.A and “33” Housing Estates. Sunday Sun understands that SCityGate Real Estate Ltd, located on Mike Ilodibe Crescent and which specializes in building ultra-modern architectural structures, makes such building wonders happen for interested clients. In 1965, a bridge was built across the Niger River to replace the ferry crossing. Today, plans are said to be underway to build the Second Niger Bridge.

Onitsha is made up of three groups of people, Ukpabi reveals. The first is the Edos, the Ezechima’s team. The second, Igalas. They were the people that were fishing at the Niger by the time Onitsha people came to settle there. The third, the Igbos who are very close to the Niger and had integrated with them. These three groups make up what is today known as Onitsha.”

“Their tradition is blended with the three peoples, first the Edos, second the Igalas”, Ukpabi says. “In fact, in the past, there were some villages in Onitsha that spoke Igala. And they are made up of two villages. They are still in Onitsha. Onitsha is made up of nine villages. Two out of the nine are purely the Igalas: Ogbodu and Obigboru. So, that is how Onitsha people came to be.

“The ones with Edo influence are the monarchy itself. That’s the Eze Chima, that is the ruling villages. They are four in number. Umueze Aroli, Okebunabu (which include Umudei and Ogbabu) and Olosi. The present Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Achebe is the 21st Obi of Onitsha.”
Inter-marriages, says Ukpabi, have long existed between the Igalas and the Edos. “The people our ancestors met fishing at the bank of the River Niger were purely Igallas. They were following the Niger all the way from their place to Onitsha. So, they don’t normally come to the upper land. They remain there. They have their buildings in their canoes. So, we attracted them into coming to the hinterland. We started intermarrying with them. One of the outstanding monarchs of Onitsha, Obi Eze Aroli, the mother, Enubi, is from Igala.”

Sanchez01:
Are you just being funny or something? Did you say 'small Benin' just so you could exalt the then Onitsha

We are talking about an event that dates back to the 16th century and the then Bini kingdom was far ahead, civilization-wise. It is no brainer how they conquered territories easily.

Besides, you don't view history over walking or driving distance. The question you should have asked is; which is older between Onitsha and Nnewi? That way, it would be easier to figure or note when each came into existence and how it did. Nnewi's history might not have the record of Onitsha probably because the 16th century birthing of Onitsha far precedes the existence of Nnewi.

About the crossing of the river... Well, I think the piece below suffices.


http://ihuanedo.ning.com/group/healtheducation/forum/topics/yoruba-igbo-benin-historical-conection

zenmaster:
The OP does not realize the import of the logic he/she is spinning.

If Onitsha belongs to the Bini, then the case can be pushed that Bini land is part of Igbo 'diaspora'

ModsWillKillNL:
The last LG elections have shown us that the aberration won't happen again.

2019 will soon be here.

zenmaster:
What is an aberration?

ModsWillKillNL:
Flatiyeasterners getting elected in Lagos!