₦airaland Forum

I think the writer has asked a very valid question, one that many are not able to answer. I am from Onicha-Ugbo and I can identify with his questions. Our elders do not like to be called igbo and have taught us the same. the story is that we are descendants of the Bini kingdom. you can see many aspects of the Bini kingdom in our culture, food and language. Contrary to what someone had said earlier here, we do not dress like the Igbos. rather our cultural dressing, our cultural administrative practices (by this i mean rulership) tends more towards the Bini way of life. Infact I see more similarities between our culture and that of the Bini Kingdom than I see of the Igbo culture. I figure the similarities seen in the language are probably from cross cultural interraction with the igbos across the Niger. Infact, in the whole ika ibo area, the more you move towards the river Niger, the more you see of the Igbo culture and language and vice versa on the Bini end. i guess its pretty complicated and with our penchant for not preserving history in Nigeria, a lot of it is being lost. I am priviledged to know a little because my dad made it his business to force me to know. I know its all complicated. Suffice it to say that we are all Nigerians. its okay to know your roots and your ancestry, but thats about it. when push comes to shove, we are all the same in the eyes of God. Therefore, i do not think we should preoccupy ourselves so much with who is igbo or yoruba or hausa or not. these differences have divided us for a long time and they exist only in our minds. lets tear down the walss of division people and work together to build a great Nigeria.