The people of rivers state are so blessed with various colorful tribes that you will be shocked that they even exist. These tribes most times are generally referred to as the Igbo tribes or Ijaw tribes and so on but the case is different when you read through this article because we took our time to make sure that we differentiate which is which make sure you learn something new today. So have a good read about this culture and tribes in rivers state making it one of the most colorful tribes in Nigeria.

Kula Tribe

The Kula people are found in Akuku Toru local government área of Rivers state. The kula people speak a language called kalabari. Not much is known about the history of this people. However, they share a lot with the Ijaw people.

The Kula people are predominantly farmers and fishermen. Also, Christianity, as well as their traditional religion, is practiced by this people. Kula men tie wrappers on singlet with hats to match while their women tie wrappers on blouses

Ikwerre Tribe

The ikwerre people are a tribe that occupies the present-day Port-Harcourt city. A lot of people consider this tribe to be an off-shoot of the Igbo tribe. Although a lot of Ikwerre indigenes do not consider themselves to be related to the Igbo tribe, they speak a language that is much related to the Igbo language.

Some historians have asserted that the Ikwerre people are not related to the Igbos but migrated from part of Benin.

Farming, fishing and hunting are the major occupations of this people. Also, Christianity is widely practiced.

[/b]Ibani Tribe[b]



The Ibani tribe is one of the tribes of the Ijaw nation. The Ibani people occupy Bonny Island and have always had interactions with Europeans for many years. The people of Bonny are traders and practice Christianity.

Alcohol is a generally accepted drink in this tribe. Also, the Ibani people feed on plantain and fish as a major meal and are mainly farmers and fishermen. Men from Ibani tie wrapper on singlets and put on hats while the women tie wrapper on a blouse.

Abua Tribe

The Abua people live about 10 miles from Port Harcourt. It is believed that the Abua people are the real owners of Port Harcourt. History has it that the Abua people are a sub-group of the Igbo tribe and migrated from the same place as the present day Efiks.

Present day members of the Abua tribe are Christians and engage in the production of palm oil. Men and women from Abua tie wrapper. While the men put on singlets to complete their dressing, the women put on blouses.

Boma Tribe

This tribe is one of the tribes of the Ijaw nation. There are thirteen settlements in this tribe. They are; Diebu, Ekowe, Emette, Eniwari, Fonibiri, Igbematoru, Ikianbiri, kainyanbiri, Ozezebiri, Peremabiri, Polobugo, and Opuama.

The people of the Boma tribe are fishermen and are known to feed on meals of fish and plantain. They are predominantly Christians and are known to dress like other tribes in the Ijaw nation.

Degema Tribe

The Degema tribe occupies Degema Island in Degema local government área in Rivers. There are about 10,000 members of this tribe. The degema people are predominantly Christians. As a result of the fact that they are surrounded by water, the Degema tribe practices fishing on a major scale.

Men and women from Degema are known to tie wrappers. While the men put on singlets, the women put on a blouse.

Nkoro Tribe

The Nkoro tribe is a very small tribe. It is a subtribe form the Ijaw nation. Areas occupied by the Nkoro tribe include Dema, Ayama, and Nkoro. The people of Nkoro speak an Ijaw dialect with some traces of Igbo. According to history, the Nkoro people migrated from Okirika town. The Nkoro people do not all speak the same language. A section of the Nkoro tribe speaks a language that is absolutely different from the rest of the tribe.

As a result of the geographical closeness of Nkoro and Ogoni, the Nkoro have been influenced culturally and have adopted some Ogoni cultures.

The Nkoro tribe is a predominantly Christian tribe and fishing is the main occupation of this tribe.

Ekpeye Tribe

The Ekpeye tribe is a tribe that occupies the Ahoada and Ogba-Egbema parts of Rivers state. They are very similar to the Igbos and speak a language that appears to share vocabulary with the Igbo language. The people of Ekpeye are predominantly Christians and have farming as their occupation.

Meals of fish and plantain are common sights in Ekpeye settlements. Men from this tribe tie wrapper on singlet while women tie wrapper on blouse

Opobo Tribe

Opobo is a tribe as well as a city in Rivers state. Four towns make up the Opobo tribe. They are; Queenstown, Epemlomma, Kalaibiama and opobo town. The existence of this tribe dates back to 1870.

The Opobo people are fishermen and farmers. They are predominantly Christians and dress like most other tribes in riverine areas.

Ogoni Tribe

The Ogoni people are a major tribe in Rivers state. This tribe became popular after the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and his Kinsmen.

The people of Ogoni have lots of oil-related problems. Ranging from oil spillage to destroyed farmlands and fishing areas. Ogoni people number about 1.5 million and live in a 1,050 km square area that is known as Ogoni land. These people share the same customs with their neighbors and have fishing and farming.

Nkoroo Tribe

The people of Nkoroo should not be mistaken for the Nkoro people. These two tribes have similar names. However, they are very different people. The people of Nkoroo speak a language called Nkoroo and live in very close association with the Defaca people.

Fishing, as well as farming, are the two major occupations that are practiced by the predominantly Christian people of Nkoroo.

Eleme Tribe

The Eleme people live in Eleme local government area. This tribe is located about 20km from Port Harcourt. Eleme is surrounded by oyigbo and Obio agbor to the north, Ogu Bolo and Okrika to the south and Port Harcourt to the east.

Indigenes of Eleme are fishermen and traders. Christianity is the major religion of people of this tribe while a meal of fish and plantain is a common food eaten by the Eleme people.

Egeni Tribe

The Egeni people are found in Ahoada West local government area. They have a very close relationship with the Ijaw people and consider themselves to be related to the Ijaw people. However, their language bears no similarity with the ijaw language. They speak a language that is very similar to the language that is spoken by the Binis.

The Egeni people are fishermen and predominantly Christians. Like most other tribes in Rivers state, they feed on fish and plantain.

Etche Tribe

Etche doubles as a tribe and a local government area in Rivers state. The etche people speak a language that is believed to be a dialect of the Igbo language. The people of Etche have more in common with the Igbo tribe than they do with other tribes in rivers state.

The Etche people are farmers and also practice Christianity. Although they dress like the Igbos, they still eat food common to other rivers state tribes.

Ijaw Tribe

The Ijaw tribe is the biggest tribe in the riverine part of Nigeria. They are found at the coastline of Nigeria. These people are very influential and also have a violent history. The average Ijaw man is considered a good swimmer. This is because of their close proximity to water.

The Ijaw people are Christians and are majorly fishermen. They love alcohol and also a meal of fish and plantain. The dress style of this tribe includes wrappers and heavy cloaks with hats to match.

Even though these tribes share the same state, they have various cultures in respect to their dressings, cooking, religion etc. These tribes are what makes rivers state what it is today and the rich culture belongs to the various tribes found there. It is important one knows his/her tribe very well rather than just identifying with the state alone. Know the background of your culture because that is what makes your whole entity.

https://allnigeriainfo.ng/tribes-in-rivers/


PUBLISHED BY
onuohaadanma

All this tribe inside one state now tell me,


How do you expect such state to be peaceful

Tribalism and nepotism will be order of the day.

#DivideNigeria #DivideRivers state

It's enlightening, I actually thought it was only Ijaw and Ogoni that are the tribes in Rivers

Felyyaks:
It's enlightening, I actually thought it was only Ijaw and Ogoni that are the tribes in Rivers

there are many tribes in river state, i am not even sure op mentioned all sef..I think the people of Soku speaks slitly different from Abonima people who speaks Kalahari a language similar to ijaw

Eleme Tribe
The Eleme people live in Eleme local government area. This tribe is located about 20km from Port Harcourt. Eleme is surrounded by oyigbo and Obio agbor to the north, Ogu Bolo and Okrika to the south and Port Harcourt to the east.
Indigenes of Eleme are fishermen and traders. Christianity is the major religion of people of this tribe while a meal of fish and plantain is a common food eaten by the Eleme people.

Visited Onne before,the Elemes are a very nice people,They call God Obarry,I have a very good friend from that Area,okaseobarry

chiiraq802:
All this tribe inside one state now tell me,


How do you expect such state to be peaceful

Tribalism and nepotism will be order of the day.

#DivideNigeria #DivideRivers state

Do you have any idea how many tribes are in Taraba state? It's unbelievable.

I'm really glad I read this. We need more of such threads. Let's also know about the people of Bayelsa, Sokoto, Cross Rivers, Niger, Ondo etc.

Very interesting.

OP forgot to mention that Degema & Ekpeye are Edoid people.

Although Ekpeye language is more Igboid while Degema is clearly Edoid.

Wow


God bless that state

[quote author=BabaOwen post=94682179]The people of rivers state are so blessed with various colorful tribes that you will be shocked that they even exist. These tribes most times are generally referred to as the Igbo tribes or Ijaw tribes and so on but the case is different when you read through this article because we took our time to make sure that we differentiate which is which make sure you learn something new today. So have a good read about this culture and tribes in rivers state making it one of the most colorful tribes in Nigeria.

Kula Tribe

The Kula people are found in Akuku Toru local government área of Rivers state. The kula people speak a language called kalabari. Not much is known about the history of this people. However, they share a lot with the Ijaw people.

The Kula people are predominantly farmers and fishermen. Also, Christianity, as well as their traditional religion, is practiced by this people. Kula men tie wrappers on singlet with hats to match while their women tie wrappers on blouses

Ikwerre Tribe

The ikwerre people are a tribe that occupies the present-day Port-Harcourt city. A lot of people consider this tribe to be an off-shoot of the Igbo tribe. Although a lot of Ikwerre indigenes do not consider themselves to be related to the Igbo tribe, they speak a language that is much related to the Igbo language.

Some historians have asserted that the Ikwerre people are not related to the Igbos but migrated from part of Benin.

Farming, fishing and hunting are the major occupations of this people. Also, Christianity is widely practiced.

[/b]Ibani Tribe[b]



The Ibani tribe is one of the tribes of the Ijaw nation. The Ibani people occupy Bonny Island and have always had interactions with Europeans for many years. The people of Bonny are traders and practice Christianity.

Alcohol is a generally accepted drink in this tribe. Also, the Ibani people feed on plantain and fish as a major meal and are mainly farmers and fishermen. Men from Ibani tie wrapper on singlets and put on hats while the women tie wrapper on a blouse.

Abua Tribe

The Abua people live about 10 miles from Port Harcourt. It is believed that the Abua people are the real owners of Port Harcourt. History has it that the Abua people are a sub-group of the Igbo tribe and migrated from the same place as the present day Efiks.

Present day members of the Abua tribe are Christians and engage in the production of palm oil. Men and women from Abua tie wrapper. While the men put on singlets to complete their dressing, the women put on blouses.

Boma Tribe

This tribe is one of the tribes of the Ijaw nation. There are thirteen settlements in this tribe. They are; Diebu, Ekowe, Emette, Eniwari, Fonibiri, Igbematoru, Ikianbiri, kainyanbiri, Ozezebiri, Peremabiri, Polobugo, and Opuama.

The people of the Boma tribe are fishermen and are known to feed on meals of fish and plantain. They are predominantly Christians and are known to dress like other tribes in the Ijaw nation.

Degema Tribe

The Degema tribe occupies Degema Island in Degema local government área in Rivers. There are about 10,000 members of this tribe. The degema people are predominantly Christians. As a result of the fact that they are surrounded by water, the Degema tribe practices fishing on a major scale.

Men and women from Degema are known to tie wrappers. While the men put on singlets, the women put on a blouse.

Nkoro Tribe

The Nkoro tribe is a very small tribe. It is a subtribe form the Ijaw nation. Areas occupied by the Nkoro tribe include Dema, Ayama, and Nkoro. The people of Nkoro speak an Ijaw dialect with some traces of Igbo. According to history, the Nkoro people migrated from Okirika town. The Nkoro people do not all speak the same language. A section of the Nkoro tribe speaks a language that is absolutely different from the rest of the tribe.

As a result of the geographical closeness of Nkoro and Ogoni, the Nkoro have been influenced culturally and have adopted some Ogoni cultures.

The Nkoro tribe is a predominantly Christian tribe and fishing is the main occupation of this tribe.

Ekpeye Tribe

The Ekpeye tribe is a tribe that occupies the Ahoada and Ogba-Egbema parts of Rivers state. They are very similar to the Igbos and speak a language that appears to share vocabulary with the Igbo language. The people of Ekpeye are predominantly Christians and have farming as their occupation.

Meals of fish and plantain are common sights in Ekpeye settlements. Men from this tribe tie wrapper on singlet while women tie wrapper on blouse

@op kula is a kalabari community. Kalabari,okrika,opobo, Ibani,Engenni,Nkoro, et al are Ijaw subgroups. So you should not place Ijaw tribe in a different section. You forgot to add Okrika and Ndoki in your list.

Is Opobo not Ibani? Why was it listed as a separate 'tribe'?

AreaFada2:
Very interesting.

OP forget to mention that Degema & Ekpeye are Edoid people.

Although Ekpeye language is more Igboid while Degema is clearly Edoid.

There is nothing Edoid, not even one, about Ekpeye.
Other than the irrational Bini migration stories, Ekpeye is Igboid.

Perhaps you meant to say the Engenni, who occupy Ahoada West LGA with Ekpeye people.
Because we all know the Engenni( Burna boy is from this ethnic group) are Edoid language speakers and have history of migration from Bini.

Igboid:


There is nothing Edoid, not even one, about Ekpeye.
Other than the irrational Bini migration stories, Ekpeye is Igboid.

Perhaps you meant to say the Engenni, who occupy Ahoada West LGA with Ekpeye people.
Because we all know the Engenni( Burna boy is from this ethnic group) are Edoid language speakers and have history of migration from Bini.

Do not mistake language with language in all cases. When American early leaders held a vote to choose official language for USA, English won by a single vote over German.

I guess you are unaware of it. Imagine if German language narrowly won. We would today see Americans as predominantly German. Cultural affinity with Germany might have kept USA out of WW2 and the world might be a different place today.

AreaFada2:

Do not mistake language with language in all cases. When American early leaders held a vote to choose official language for USA, English won by a single vote over German.

I guess you are unaware of it. Imagine if German language narrowly won. We would today see Americans as predominantly German. Cultural affinity with Germany might have kept USA out of WW2 and the world might be a different place today.

What are you talking about? Why are you Bini people this dubious.
USA is a land of migrants that was once under British colonialism.
How can you compare it to aboriginal community in Nigeria like Ekpeye?

SMH!

What is wrong with you guys?

Igboid:


What are you talking about? Why are you Bini people this dubious.
USA is a land of migrants that was once under British colonialism.
How can you compare it to aboriginal community in Nigeria like Ekpeye?

SMH!

What is wrong with you guys?

And who told you every land does not have migrants? Can you imagine the number of Igbo that moved to Abuja and Lagos since the last 25 years? Nationwide really. So much that they have an Ezeigbo in every village in Nigeria now.

Other tribes, including Benin, have a long history of migration.

I posted a video of Igede people in Benue seeking their roots. Your pants will soon be tearing for that one too. Because I have often heard Igbo people saying that Benue people are all Igbo.

Igboid:


What are you talking about? Why are you Bini people this dubious.
USA is a land of migrants that was once under British colonialism.
How can you compare it to aboriginal community in Nigeria like Ekpeye?

SMH!

What is wrong with you guys?

You present day Igbos are very funny, so Ekpeye are now also returnee Igbos from Benin like you spin the Onitsha people's history.

You forget that the Igbos as we know them today, didn't exist in the 1400s to 1500s when these people were said to have migrated from Benin.

The word Igbo didn't even exit in the late 1700s, otherwise Oluadah Equiano would of mentioned it in his book.

samuk:


You present day Igbos are very funny, so Ekpeye are now also returnee Igbos from Benin like you spin the Onitsha people's history.

You forget that the Igbos as we know them today, didn't exist in the 1400s to 1500s when these people were said to have migrated from Benin.

The word Igbo didn't even exit in the late 1700s, otherwise Oluadah Equiano would of mentioned it in his book.

Many young ones brought up on opium of Biafra defeat and anger against other tribes for not supporting expansionist and imperial leaning Biafra only spew hate, arrogance and discord. If not because Igbo have little land (about size of Bendel), little food and little resources and need other parts of Nigeria to survive and do business, this funny lot of them would have done worse than Boko Haram.

I admire Igbo for their industry, but a sizeable chunk of them are very arrogant and dismissive of others, whom they rely on for their business patronage and survival.
That is the sad truth.
.
Luckily many of them realize their interdependence on others and are level headed.

Igboid has a point.

Calling Ekpeye Edoid is as irrational as calling the Isoko clan of Igbide Igboid. Or the Delta town of Oko Yoruboid.

Scholars use terms like Edoid, Yoruboid, Igboid in a linguistic sense.

Using Edoid for a group whose connection to Benin is oral tradition and not linguistics is not scholarly. No scholar who knows what he's doing will use a term that is linguistic in that sense.

Ekpeye is Igboid.

Igboid:


There is nothing Edoid, not even one, about Ekpeye.
Other than the irrational Bini migration stories, Ekpeye is Igboid.

Perhaps you meant to say the Engenni, who occupy Ahoada West LGA with Ekpeye people.
Because we all know the Engenni( Burna boy is from this ethnic group) are Edoid language speakers and have history of migration from Bini.

Engenni is Ijaw, they had settlers who escaped war in ancient Benin kingdom. It doesn't mean Engenni was founded by bini migrants.

RedboneSmith:
Igboid has a point.

Calling Ekpeye Edoid is as irrational as calling the Isoko clan of Igbide Igboid. Or the Delta town of Oko Yoruboid.

Scholars use terms like Edoid, Yoruboid, Igboid in a linguistic sense.

Using Edoid for a group whose connection to Benin is oral tradition and not linguistics is not scholarly. No scholar who knows what he's doing will use a term that is linguistic in that sense.

Ekpeye is Igboid.

Igboid and Yoruboid are all new terminology linguistically speaking. The people grouped together under a political umbrella called Yoruba are actually of different tribes and languages. Yoruba is a recent name for group of different tribes that speak the Oyo dialect.

Similarly America people of today are people of different European tribes, English, French, German, Greek etc that speak the English language.

The Igbo experiment was also supposed to bring together different tribes and make them speak a common central Igbo language but the civil war dealt a very serious blow to the Igbo project. If the Igbos had worn the war or if the war was avoided, perhaps the Igbo project would have extended behold the present landlocked south east which is about the same size of Edo and Delta.

The people themselves are those that should determine if they want to be Igboid or not. Very few in the south south region see themselves as Igboid. The Americans (new people formed from different tribes) see themselves as Americans because they are comfortable with it, it wasn't foisted on them.

As for now, those that are comfortable to be regarded as Yoruba are found in the south west of Nigeria and the Igbos are confined to the South east, the south south should be left out of the Igbo Biafra project. The people of south south are not comfortable with the Igbo project.

AreaFada2:

And who told you every land does not have migrants? Can you imagine the number of Igbo that moved to Abuja and Lagos since the last 25 years? Nationwide really. So much that they have an Ezeigbo in every village in Nigeria now.

Other tribes, including Benin, have a long history of migration.

I posted a video of Igede people in Benue seeking their roots. Your pants will soon be tearing for that one too. Because I have often heard Igbo people saying that Benue people are all Igbo.

Are the indigenes of Abuja speaking Igbo?

Ekpeye has no history of Migrants from Igbo land in their territory.
They claim they speak Igboid language because of interactions with Igbos. Funny enough, Igbos (SE) share no direct boundary with Ekpeye,so the interactions angle is stupid as even Igbo neighbours in Akwaibom and Cross River, including Ogonis, are not Igboid speaking.

Benin was the Abuja of ancient Southern Nigeria. A multicultural area where Edoid(Bini,Esan,Urhobo, Isoko,etc), Yoruboid(Usen, etc), Igboid (Igbanke, Ika) and Ijaws( the Olodiama kingdom) cohabited under an Ife ruler ship, the Oba of Benin, who usurped the Edoid kings, the Ogiemiens.

When Benin had upheavals, some non Edoid people from there went back to their homeland.
That's the story of Benin. That's why you have obvious Ijaw speaking people like Nembe claiming Origin from Benin. The Benin they are referring to is the multiethnic Benin empire and not the mushroom Bini minority tribe.

You have Yoruba, Ijaw, Igbo, groups with history of migration from Benin. They were Benin citizens but not Bini (Edo) people.

samuk:


You present day Igbos are very funny, so Ekpeye are now also returnee Igbos from Benin like you spin the Onitsha people's history.

You forget that the Igbos as we know them today, didn't exist in the 1400s to 1500s when these people were said to have migrated from Benin.

The word Igbo didn't even exit in the late 1700s, otherwise Oluadah Equiano would of mentioned it in his book.

Igbos didn't exist as a political grouping. But it existed as a language group.
The ancestors of Igboid people in Benin were Igbo speaking even when in Benin. That's why they were all bearing Igbo names like Ezechima, Akalaka, even while in Benin.

Even today, there is no language called Igbo language in Igbo land.
An Owerre man speaks Owerre language, an Idemili man speaks Idemil language, an Ndoki man speaks Ndoki language.
But we all know we understand each other and hence the concept of Igbo being a root for all our individual languages.
In this sense, an Owerre man speaking Owerre language is speaking Igbo, likewise an Ezza man speaking Ezza language.
Igbo is a summation of all dialects within our dialetical cluster that are mutually intelligible to each other as we move along geo-cultural zone of Igbo people.
This is why despite being neighbours to Bini for centuries, an Igbanke man will never understand a Bini man, but will understand an Igbo man in far away IMO state at first hearing.
This is how you know that Igbo as a political grouping though a modern creation, is built on ancient relationship and connection between groups classified as such.

samuk:


Igboid and Yoruboid are all new terminology linguistically speaking. The people grouped together under a political umbrella called Yoruba are actually of different tribes and languages. Yoruba is a recent name for group of different tribes that speak the Oyo dialect.

Similarly America people of today are people of different European tribes, English, French, German, Greek etc that speak the English language.

The Igbo experiment was also supposed to bring together different tribes and make them speak a common central Igbo language but the civil war dealt a very serious blow to the Igbo project. If the Igbos have worn the war or if the war was avoided, perhaps the Igbo project would have extended behold the present landlocked south east which is about the same size of Edo and Delta.

The people themselves are those that should determine if they want to be Igboid or not. Very few in the south south region see themselves as Igboid. The Americans (new people formed from different tribes) see themselves as Americans because they are comfortable with it, it wasn't foisted on them.

As for now, those that are comfortable to be regarded as Yoruba are found in the south west of Nigeria and the Igbos are confined to the South east, the south south should be left out of the Igbo Biafra project. The people of south south are not comfortable with the Igbo project.

There is no people called South South.

The Igbo people in South South ,the Enuani(Asaba) , Egbema and the ASA and Ndoki in Oyigbo, are all proud of their Igbo ethnicity and have never for once told you or anyone that they are not interested in the Igbo project.

The Benin empire is a failed project built on forceful subjugation and conquest. It was destroyed within 24 hours by the British.
It is dead and will never rise again because the non Bini tribes in the empire would naturally gravitate to their original kinship.

Bini tribe should focus more on trying to wrestle your lost kingdom from the Yoruba Oba sitting there and less on Igboids of SS .

Help the Ogiemien to win back your throne from the Ife king ruling you.
South South or whatsoever is an artificial nomenclature not even recognized by the Nigerian constitution.
If you think you can ride on it and rebuild you lost empire of blood and gore, you had better think again.

Meanwhile, enjoy Ndudi Elumelu, the brother to UBA boss,representing Oshimili North and South Constituency in Delta state, taking pride in his Igbo identity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnBI39ODTJY

Move on nwa Bini.

Igboid:


Are the indigenes of Abuja speaking Igbo?

Ekpeye has no history of Migrants from Igbo land in their territory.
They claim they speak Igboid language because of interactions with Igbos. Funny enough, Igbos (SE) share no direct boundary with Ekpeye,so the interactions angle is stupid as even Igbo neighbours in Akwaibom and Cross River, including Ogonis, are not Igboid speaking.

Benin was the Abuja of ancient Southern Nigeria. A multicultural area where Edoid(Bini,Esan,Urhobo, Isoko,etc), Yoruboid(Usen, etc),[b] Igboid (Igbanke, Ika) and Ijaws( the Olodiama kingdom) cohabited under an Ife ruler ship, the Oba of Benin, who usurped the Edoid kings, the Ogiem[/b]iens.

When Benin had upheavals, some non Edoid people from there went back to their homeland.
That's the story of Benin. That's why you have obvious Ijaw speaking people like Nembe claiming Origin from Benin. The Benin they are referring to is the multiethnic Benin empire and not the mushroom Bini minority tribe.

You have Yoruba, Ijaw, Igbo, groups with history of migration from Benin. They were Benin citizens but not Bini (Edo) people.

So you still do not realise the political nature of Oduduwa and Oranmiyan story?

Evian and his later Ogiamen people were administrators in the inter-regnum. They were never recognised as kings. By that time, Benin had a dynasty of over 1100 years which was impossible to usurp. Only the Uzama (4 and later 5 original Igodomigodo elders) could crown a king and they didn't accept Evian descendants as kings, since Evian was never king.

Empires are by nature multi-ethnic, otherwise it won't be an empire. By 1897, Benin lost the empire, having already lost Lagos in early 1860s.

Benin has 7 local governments today. But how many kings in Nigeria rule over a bigger Kingdom in Nigeria without any other Obas, Igwes, Obis or Emirs within it? kano might have come close but it has been split now. Every area in Lagos has an Oba. Ibadan has more kings now than people.

Only dukes and chiefs exist in Benin Kingdom. Only one Oba.

AreaFada2:

So you still do not realise the political nature of Oduduwa and Oranmiyan story?

Evian and his later Ogiamen people were administrators in the inter-regnum. They were never recognised as kings. By that time, Benin had a dynasty of over 1100 years which was impossible to usurp. Only the Uzama (4 and later 5 original Igodomigodo elders) could crown a king and they didn't accept Evian descendants as kings, since Evian was never king.

Empires are by nature multi-ethnic, otherwise it won't be an empire. By 1897, Benin lost the empire, having already lost Lagos in early 1860s.

Benin has 7 local governments today. But how many kings in Nigeria rule over a bigger Kingdom in Nigeria without any other Obas, Igwes, Obis or Emirs within it? kano might have come close but it has been split now. Every area in Lagos has an Oba. Ibadan has more kings now than people.

Only dukes and chiefs exist in Benin Kingdom. Only one Oba.

Bini is small nah.
Just one senatorial zone, and a population of at most 3Million.

Its a well known fact that Oba Benin is a Yoruba usurper in Bini land.
In this sense, Oba Lagos though a Benin is actually a Yoruba by ethnicity.
Benin was not same as Bini.
Benin was a nationality while Bini was the ethinic group on whose land the empire capital was built on.
The Ogiemien are descendants of original Bini tribes who were ruling over themselves before Benin was established.

Igboid:


Bini is small nah.
Just one senatorial zone, and a population of at most 3Million.

Its a well known fact that Oba Benin is a Yoruba usurper in Bini land.
In this sense, Oba Lagos though a Benin is actually a Yoruba by ethnicity.
Benin was not same as Bini.
Benin was a nationality while Bini was the ethinic group on whose land the empire capital was built on.
The Ogiemien are descendants of original Bini tribes who were ruling over themselves before Benin was established.

You nor even know how to properly talk lie. Learn under Lai Mohammed before you practice in public.

AreaFada2:


You nor even know how to properly talk lie. Learn under Lai Mohammed before you practice in public.

Benin was like Roman empire. It was never an ethnicity. It was a nationality.
Bini was just one of the many ethnic groups in Benin and on whose land the capital city was built.
For example, Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, but he was Jewish by ethnicity.

The distinction line between Benin as a nationality made up Bini, Ijaw, Igbo, Yoruba components, and Bini as just a small ethnic group on his land Benin was built on, has been blurred by you Bini revisionists in your land grab and have subsequently made migration stories of Igbo, Yoruba , Ijaw, etc speaking groups in Igbo land (Enuani), Yorubaland(Owo, Oba Lagos), Ijaw(Nembe) appear irrational when it is actually rational once one separate Benin from Bini and establish the existence of Igboid, Ijawoid and Yoruboid people as integral components of Benin empire.

And that it is from these components that reverse migration back to their aboriginal lands happened on a latter date when Benin was no longer safe for them.

Boma tribe is not in Rivers State.
It is actually Bomo tribe.They are in Bayelsa State.

AreaFada2:
Very interesting.

OP forget to mention that Degema & Ekpeye are Edoid people.

Although Ekpeye language is more Igboid while Degema is clearly Edoid.

Ekpeye is Edoid.... Really ?

[quote author=Igboid post=94877541]

Benin was like Roman empire. It was never an ethnicity. It was a nationality.
Bini was just one of the many ethnic groups in Benin and on whose land the capital city was built.
For example, Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, but he was Jewish by ethnicity.

The distinction line between Benin as a nationality made up Bini, Ijaw, Igbo, Yoruba components, and Bini as just a small ethnic group on his land Benin was built on, has been blurred by you Bini revisionists in your land grab and have subsequently made migration stories of Igbo, Yoruba , Ijaw, etc speaking groups in Igbo land (Enuani), Yorubaland(Owo, Oba Lagos), Ijaw(Nembe) appear irrational when it is actually rational once one separate Benin from Bini and establish the existence of Igboid, Ijawoid and Yoruboid people as integral components of Benin empire.

And that it is from these components that reverse migration back to their aboriginal lands happened on a latter date when Benin was no longer safe for them.





Pazi Nwanne, Onye Nkuzi. Continue to school them well..

Igboid:


Benin was like Roman empire. It was never an ethnicity. It was a nationality.
Bini was just one of the many ethnic groups in Benin and on whose land the capital city was built.
For example, Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen, but he was Jewish by ethnicity.

The distinction line between Benin as a nationality made up Bini, Ijaw, Igbo, Yoruba components, and Bini as just a small ethnic group on his land Benin was built on, has been blurred by you Bini revisionists in your land grab and have subsequently made migration stories of Igbo, Yoruba , Ijaw, etc speaking groups in Igbo land (Enuani), Yorubaland(Owo, Oba Lagos), Ijaw(Nembe) appear irrational when it is actually rational once one separate Benin from Bini and establish the existence of Igboid, Ijawoid and Yoruboid people as integral components of Benin empire.

And that it is from these components that reverse migration back to their aboriginal lands happened on a latter date when Benin was no longer safe for them.

There is clear distinction between story telling and history. In story telling, you are not required to provide any evidence, but for history, some level of evidence is required for any serious minded person to take you serious.

What evidence do you have to back up your claim that these various tribes that claim Benin ancestry reversed migrated out of Benin and they were not original inhabitants and indigines who mixed and acquired new culture and languages as they left Benin for whatever reasons. You have no evidence other than the idea appeal to you and makes you feel good. Neither you or I was there when these migrations took place and with nothing written or documented, we should allow the people themselves to tell their history.

Benin history acknowledges those that came from far and near to help build the empire, the Obaseki family is one of such families. Unless the people and tribes across Nigeria that claim Benin ancestry themselves say they reverse migrated out of Benin, it's not in your place to force such story on them.

In Africa, we generally agree that our monarchs are the custodians of the history of their various tribes and people. So the monarchs are in better positions to state were their people come from, if the Obi of Onitsha says his people reverse migrated from Benin (not that I have heard him say so), we should respect his version of his people's history because people have the right to determine who they are or wish to be.

Such respect must also be extended to other monarchs such as the Benin monarch and his version of the Benin/Ife connection that says that Oduduwa was a Benin prince and the son of the last Ogiso of the first Benin monarchical dynasty. The Benin version of Oduduwa says, he was a Benin prince that was banished and took with him to Ife, Benin civilisation.

The Yoruba version of Oduduwa says he came from Mecca in Saudi Arabia just the way some Igbos believe they are Jews.

Benin is the only place in Nigeria that links histories of various people of the south and north of this country, it's the most important ancient city that most monarchs traces their history to.

Those monarchs such as the Oba of Lagos, Olu of Warri, Obi of iselu-uku etc that claims Benin ancestry and not the revisionist reverse migration story you are telling must be allowed to tell their history in peace.

Unfortunately for most of you guys, Benin history is too well established and too well documented by the various Europeans that visited for over 600 years for it to be replaced with your wishful thinking and revisionist story telling. Your story telling can only make you and others like you feel a bit better but will not change Benin history.

Those that believe that they reverse migrated back home, good for them, but those such as the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria, the Owelle of Onitsha and Zik of Africa that believe that their ancestors were of the Benin royal household should also be respected, even your leader, Nnamdi Kanu's Jewish ancestry claim should also be respected.

On a final note, the Europeans who documented Benin history as independent eyewitnesses wrote nothing about the Benin/Ife connection for the first 400 years of documenting Benin history.

In contemporary Nigeria the Benin/Ife connection history or story is of mutual political benefit to both the Oba of Benin and all the Yoruba Obas that cherished such a connection.

Today, Benin history is tied to the west, east, south and northern Nigeria. Even you have to concede that there was once a Benin empire. Some of your likes can't even swallow this basic fact of history.

I have said this before, and I will keep saying it. Not every community that claims Benin origin today was making that claim 70 years ago or more. People don't understand that oral tradition is for ever changing in response to the changing political atmosphere.

Benin people on this forum never get tired of quoting Zik's autobiography (written in the 1970s) where he talks about his link to Eze Chima and Eze Chima's blood relationship to the Benin Royal House. I have shown several times that this same Zik wrote a paper about Onitsha in the 1930s (40 years earlier) where he said that Chima came from a kindgom which was a neighboring kingdom to Benin, and not from Benin itself. Of course, I was ignored on the occasions where I raised this point, and Benin people have continued to quote Zik's latter autobiography, as if it was the Holy Scriptures.

As with Onitsha as with Ekpeye. The earlier collected traditions of the Ekpeye people did not reference Benin as a point of origin. I won't say further, but will rather share a screenshot from a book on the peoples of Rivers State written and edited by scholars of Rivers State. Note what one of the writers of the book has to say about what an Ogba historian wrote about Akalaka, the reputed ancestor of the Ekpeye and the Ogba (called Kraka by the Ogba people) in the 1940s or so.