₦airaland Forum

[s][/s]shachris:


The oral history of the people regards the Ikelike people who migrated from Benin as the first settlers on the land which is today called Asaba. There was Ugboma often regarded as the second settler migrant from Achata in Awka District he settled in Obodo Achala still in existence today but due to ceaseless wars which took place many of these settlers resettled in Achala-Igbuzo, Okpanam and Kwala where they can still be found today. Ugboma was the second settler.



Anyanwu, the most important settler and a great builder of Asaba is recognized for making the city what it is today. He arrived from Obosi. His father was said to be one of the retreating members of Chime family escaping from the wrought of Oba of Benin. Anyanwu settled in a place close to Ugboma and bare a son named Odikpe the founder of today’s Idumu Odikpe in the town.

http://www.ibusa.net/asaba-delta%20state.htm[s][/s]

You are just are Loser!

modhream:
Why am I even wasting energy on this no-account son of the slime sef?

That shameless idiott is just an APC paid poster, the fool has moved from stalking Nnamdi Kanu to trying to create division amongst Igbos.

[s][/s]shachris:
For decades we, Anioma people, have been buffeted back
and forth by people attempting to impose a persona on
us. Some described us as being neither here nor there.
Others do not give us chance to define and describe who
we are as a people. We know exactly who we are. We have no
confusions about our geography and genealogy. We know that
identity is like gold. Just as the gold bar stands behind a currency
as a guarantee of its legal tender, so is identity to an individual
or a group. The analogy is only partial, of course, the price of gold
may rise or fall, but we tend to pride ourselves on the stability of
our identity. Anioma ethnic identity is a value we must guard. In
recent times we have contended with the intrusion into Anioma
world what we might call the concept of, albeit, reality of
Igbocentricism.

By Igbocentrism or Igbocentricity
we mean an existential point of
view that puts Igbo at the centre of
Igbo people's cosmology. Central
to Igbocentrism is the idea that
people believed or assumed to be
Igbo must acknowledge,
understand and love their
"Igboness" so as to understand
and deal with non-Igbo. It is a
conceptual approach to human
relations from the Igbo point of
view. It is an Igbo-centeredness of
interpretation of such relations
and quotidian realities. Because
the vast majority of Anioma people speak dialects derived from
the Igbo language, it is assumed that they are "Igbo." Anioma
history records individuals from diverse origins. There are in
Anioma the "Olukunmi" who speak a variant of Yoruba spoken
around Owo. Ebu people in Anioma speak Igala as their mother
tongue.

While language delimits cultural fields, it is not permanent
because people have mastered more than one language. Language
is one of many indices of a culture. Language is not enough to
define who a people are. Because Americans or Australians speak
English does not make them English. Because Mexicans, Cubans,
or Argentineans speak Spanish does not make them Spaniards.
The nationals of these countries will not introduce themselves as
"English" simply because they speak English nor as Spaniards
because they speak Spanish. Those of them who can trace their
origin to England or Spain know that over time they have formed
a new identity called "American," "Australian," "Mexican,"
"Cuban," or "Argentinean."

Anioma people recognize a geographical contiguity, a clearly
defined historicity and cultural commonality, that in their
consciousness they define as their collective identity. Our Anioma
ethnic identity derives from our common set of symbols and
cognition shared by our people: Aniocha, Ndokwa, Ika and
Oshimili share the same cultural space and delimited physical
geography. They dress and dance alike, and use the same musical
instruments. The systemic prolonged subordination and
marginalization has lead to the gradual radicalization of our
youth and elders, as exemplified by the formation of many
Anioma associations in Nigeria and abroad.
The Anioma are a Nigerian people in terms of their geographical
location and ancestral pedigree; in terms of the criteria and
categories that are applicable in defining other Nigerian groups,
and in terms of their cultural forms and institutions which they
have evolved for themselves and which are comparable to those
of other ethnic groups, with a specificity that is syncretic in its
manifestations.

Located at the crossroads of diverse influences, Anioma has
developed a syncretic culture rich in varied contributions, and
we rightly can talk of an identity that is uniquely Anioma not
replicable anywhere in Nigeria. Through culture contact or
cultural cross-pollination, borrowing from contiguous neighbours,
Anioma displays cultural syncretism in the real sense of the
word. History notes that Anioma people trace their origins to
Edo, Igala, Yoruba and Igbo. Ibusa (Igbo Uzo) and one part of
Ogwashiuku trace their ancestry to Igbo. All other Anioma people
trace their origins in entirety to Edo, Igala and Yoruba. From
none other than Chief Dennis Osadebay, comes an uncontested
account of the origin of 'Ahaba'. Eri, son of Achado, a king of
Igala founded the towns of Aguleri, Umuleri, Igbariam and Nteje.
If logic is any guide here, Eri we might reason would found a
community with the people he knew, namely, Igala. Nnebisi the
founder of 'Ahaba' was from Nteje founded by Eri the prince
from Igala. Nnebisi married an Igala woman he had won as a
prize from the Igala fishermen and traders who frequented
'Ahaba'. This is the verifiable story of the origin of 'Ahaba' (now
Asaba).

Osadebay said that another migrant came from Benin and settled
in 'Ahaba,' "and so the present natives of Asaba are descendants
of Igala in the north, Benin in the west, and Ibo in the
east" (Osadebay, Building a Nation, Macmillan, Nigeria Ltd, 1978
p.2). With this from Chief Osadebay, which to our best research
has never been denied nor contradicted, we argue that Asaba
people are the least Igbo among the very few segments of Anioma
that claim Igbo ancestry.

With such a background, one would have thought that the identity
of Anioma people would never be a matter of debate nor an issue
that might unsettle the tranquility of informed mind. Yet,
writings about Anioma people are replete with misconceptions,
distortions, selectivity, inaccuracies and just blatant falsehood.
Even some Anioma writers peddle stories diffracted into multiple
and apocryphal histories that present every Anioma person
originating from Nri in Igboland. May we remind the few of Igbo
ancestry how much distance the passage of time and the
vicissitudes of history have placed between them and their
origin? Similarly, we would remind one or two traditional leaders
who argue for extension of Igbo hegemony to Anioma, that they
are bartering their honour and royalty for vacuous glory in
Igboland, and that they do not represent Anioma people.
This muddle as to the definition of an Anioma is not intrinsic to
the Anioma identity, but rather a problem fused into the tinted
lenses of Igbocentrism through which the Anioma people have
erroneously been viewed over the ages. The kinds of questions
posed, presuppositions made, set of axioms posited, and the very
methodological approaches adopted in many publications betray
Igbo bias and oftentimes arrogance of Igbocentricity. The
cumulative result of this imposed paradigm has been a people
dispossessed of their identity, their history, and, to a great extent,
their political and economic rights.

Any Anioma person who feels inadequate unless called "Anioma-
Igbo," has serious identity problem. Osadebay and his group
coined and christened us with the name "Anioma." They were
satisfied with what it meant and what it represented for our
people. The Igbocentric conception of Anioma people as "our kith
and kin across the Niger" is a fallacy of baseless proportion. Thus,
Igbocentrism has not only set the terms of the debate on Anioma
identity, it has consumed our intellectual autonomy to
counterpoise it with Aniomacentric methodology. This
capitulation to Igbocentric paradigm of identity is part of a wider
syndrome of intellectual dependency precipitated by homegrown
colonialism.
We may ask, where was this "kith and kin across the Niger"
platitude
when our forbears fought the Ekumeku wars of 1883 to 1914,
which pitted them against the British through the instrumentality
of the Royal Niger Company to dominate trade, culture, social
and political lives of our people;
when the Second Division of the Nigerian Army commanded by
Murtala Mohammed marched into Anioma areas in pursuit of the
fleeing 'Biafran Expeditionary Force' and massacred our people
at Asaba and Isheagu with such macabre ruthlessness and
vapidity;
when in 1970 several high ranking Anioma military officers were
detained for months (one of them for years) in Port Harcourt
prison after Biafra surrendered on January 12, 1970, even though
as these officers put it to the writer in their letter to him dated
June 7, 1970, to seek help from Governor Ogbemudia, wrote,
"...that all other officers of former Eastern Region origin (Ibos,
Efiks, Ijaws etc) have been released..." and
when in 1996 our people were assured of support from Ndi Igbo
during our quest for Anioma state?

Anioma state was not created instead Ebonyi was, thanks to the
last minute turn around and support from Ndi Igbo. This
experience was articulated by Professor Ijomah during the
Congress of Izu-Anioma held at the POCO Plaza, Ogwashiuku,
March 3rd, 1998, when he said, "... it was agreed during the last
state creation exercise that Anioma State should be created. When
the stakes were down, the Ibos across the Niger abandoned the
Anioma quest at the last hour and supported the creation of
Ebonyi State which was not seriously being canvassed before
then, causing Anioma to lose." (The ANIOMA, Vol. 10, No 1, May,
1999, p. 11). Anioma people should not be hoodwinked by Ndi
Igbo. Recently, Igbos have renewed their gimmickry of support
for the creation of Anioma state. All they want is their grandiose
illusion of 'Greater Igbo' comprising Anioma and some parts of
Rivers State. Only Anioma can provide us an essential part of our
historical consciousness, and an index to the universal psychic
character of our identity. Only Anioma can communicate a sense
of history to us.

Anioma culture sustains the vocabulary of moral prescriptions
and a repertoire of covenant with visible and invisible entities.
There are areas designated as secular and sacred; some creatures
are deemed sacred and should not be killed nor be eaten; some
vegetation considered sacred should not be eaten as vegetables.
Anioma culture sees unity and sanctity in nature. Philosophically,
it fuses cosmology and cosmogony. It shapes our experiencing
and perceiving. It teaches us the canons of relevance and
evidence. We come to ourselves through our choice of our
archetypes. We have maintained cool-headedness in the face of
provocation from Igbos who call us 'Hausa Igbo', Ika-Igbo and
now Anioma-Igbo. Such appellations are as insulting and
denigrating as they are meaningless and nonsensical.
We reject attempts to Igbonize Anioma. We do not inhabit the
same historical and cultural space with Igbos. When ethnicity
becomes subject to the elaborations of cultural identity politics, it
often develops into a focus of symbolic contestation. Those
wanting Anioma to become "Anioma-Igbo" undermine the efforts
of our founding fathers who christened us "ANIOMA." Osadebay
puts everything in perspective when he stated, "Strictly speaking,
Ibo is a linguistic group or a language, not a tribe, as all Ibo-
speaking people do not claim origin from any common
ancestor" (Osadebay op. cit. 1978, p.14).

Reckless utterances and writings coming from some Igbo people,
through Ohaneze Ndigbo and their internet forum intellectuals,
that the creation of Anioma state would increase Igbo states,
damage Anioma cause. The quest for the creation of Anioma state
preceded the creation of the 36 Nigerian states.
Identity is built on choices and commitments. By committing
ourselves to Anioma causes our real selves develop. An obstacle to
achieving identity is the temptation to avoid choices and
postpone decisions. Let us proclaim Anioma by the Enu Ani
language that we speak; by the Ika language that we speak; by the
Ndokwa language that we speak; by the Olukunmi language that
we speak and by the Igala language that we speak.
We should intensify our efforts on the creation of Anioma state
where our people will be central characters rather than simple bit
players, where the importance of our history lies in its
significance for us rather than for others. We do not want to be a
pawn simply to checkmate the contending and competing
interests of other nationalities in the larger Nigerian collectivity.
Our journey involves more than navigating the geography of
political boundaries. It is a continuous mapping and remapping
of the geography of our culture and identity. We no longer wish
to be objects in the history of others rather we wish to be subjects
of our own history. Our Anioma ethnic identity is cultural self-
definition and philosophical affirmation of our self-
determination as a people who see themselves at the crossroads
of contemporary Nigeria. It is a refusal to accept the
transposition of other people's interpretive categories on Anioma.
We bear the name of Anioma with exalted pride, dignity and
fidelity. We cherish our distinct identity and unique culture. So,
efforts to fit Anioma into the constructs and schemata of Igbo
provenance are futile.



Kunirum Osia is the former Founding National President of
Anioma Association, USA, Inc.

http://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2009/may/111.html[s][/s]

This APC paid Idiott can't stop posting rubbish.

[s][/s]jaymichael:
You are so pained that you are not conscious of reality. Pally Iriase was a member of the 7th Assembly, reelected for the 8th Assembly. This makes him a ranking lawmaker.
www.championnews.com.ng/tag/hon-pally-iriase/

APC decides to make Iriase deputy whip, if you don't like it, you can take a rope and hang yourself.[s][/s]

This useless thing, the only pained modafuckaz on this thread are you hateful Yolobas that invaded this thread crying and whining all over the place cos this man from the North spoke the Truth.

You slimy, Treacherous Yoloba scums started spewing una usual lie that SE do not have any APC members at NASS, meanwhile the 2 APC lawmakers from Imo were deliberately left out at NASS leadership. You Yolobas are really the problem with Nigeria!

[s][/s]jaymichael:
Shun hate cos it will only lead you to display crass ignorance. Honourable Pally Iriase is a second timer in the house of reps. therefore he is a ranking lawmaker and that makes him qualify to hold the position of Deputy Whip. The APC did not make the house rules.
WHO ARE THE APC RANKING LAWMAKERS FROM THE SE? I ASK. Your people voted the MINORITY party, you shouldn't expect PRINCIPAL POSITIONS in the MAJORITY party. [s][/s]

Just Shut it you are just a fu.king Liar, that Edo Lawmaker is a first time Lawmaker not a second timer like you claim. APC has two Lawmakers from Imo, Hon Chukwukere is one of the APC SE lawmakers, So quit spewing rubbish this bigot.

[s][/s]jaymichael:
Do not display your crass ignorance on a public forum like this.those two HOR members from Imo state are not ranking members, in this regard, the house rules exclude them from contesting for the post of principal officers. first time lawmakers cannot contest for the post of principal officers.
There are rules to follow my dear, the House of Assembly is not your village age grade meeting.[s][/s]

See how you are contradicting yourself, the APC Edo state house of rep member that got a position at NASS was he not a first time lawmaker? APC is a party filled with hateful bigots.

agarawu23:
yes! na Aba

That's a huge lie!

Ojiofor:
yoruba people think they are smart while others are fools.
Take national Assembly for example,they excluded the few law makers elected under apc platform from SE from any leadership positions.They would have been saying by now that a SE would have been speaker if only they elected even one person under apc.
Bunch of hypocrites.

That's exactly my point so don't mind those shameless Yoloba liars, same way that Bigoted party excluded those SE APC house of rep members in their power sharing, would have been same way they would have excluded Ngige from any leadership position if he was Elected under that hateful and embittered party.

Ojiofor:
Stop your childish and yoruba propaganda.Show us any documents or link where apc zoned senate president to SE before the election.shameless liars.

Don't mind those shameless Liars from APC trying to justify the actions of their hateful and Bigoted Party, even Ngige wouldn't have gotten SP or DSP if he had won.

[s][/s]jaymichael:
Nobody shut out the SE, they shut themselves out. The house rules says PRINCIPAL OFFICERS must be a RANKING lawmaker.
Now, who are the ranking APC lawmakers from the SE? not even ONE. In the Senate, not even a senator.
Appointing them Principal officers will make the APC go against the house rules.
They have minority posts, and in the broader definition of house leadership, they are also house leaders.
The reason why the SE was "shut out" is the same reason why the likes of Ngige were voted out while the likes of Oduah were voted in.[s][/s]

See how these Yoloba bigots are just spewing rubbish. What happened to two APC house of rep members from Imo state that APC deliberately left out in their power sharing at NASS?

How many times will these APC clowns recycle these stale news

fulanimafia:
Did you see SE / Ibo in my post? Open your eyes.

He's Igbo from SS but the Daura du.llard is yet to appoint any SE igbo.

ayindejimmy:
But the East doesn't have any Representative from APC in the House now?
Or someone from PDP should have been nominated?
There is always another 4 years now

Imo state has Two APC reps that APC deliberately left out in their power sharing.

fulanimafia:
All of a sudden biafrans are denying their brethren...

They can wail on, they will only continue to reveal to the SS what a scam Biafra is.

Let them wail.

When Sunday Oliseh publicly denied been Igbo, many Yolobas applauded him on that thread and kept making jest of SE Igbos that SS igbos are denying them. Even so many Yolobas are still the people saying he ain't Igbo that the Daura dull.ard is yet to appoint any SEasterner so quit spewing trash.

kraftykc:
Niggah ain't Igbo either brah. They (his people) categorically state they are not Igbo.

Also my point is that sentiments aside when Igbos ask for inclusion in government they are kinda backed by the Constitution which advises on inclusive government to all indigenous nations. The Constitution also recognizes States as well as geopolitical zones... So....

There are so many delta Igbos on nairaland who are proudly Igbos and have never denied their Igboness. just cos very few of them especially from Ika also deny been Igbo doesn't mean they all deny been Igbo. Don't fall for those Yoloba agent of division all over nairaland, you guys ought to be smarter than that!

kraftykc:
Niggah ain't from the East. So.... Nope, we ain't gonna hear nothing

He doesn't have to be SE igbo, He's still Igbo from SS, so what's your point

coolitempa:
Anioma is not ibo........according to their oba,......https://www.nairaland.com/2500244/what-buhari-should-tompolo-asari#36582103....iboes remain marginalised and so shall it be...... ........do ur worst..

One of the monarch that have carried himself with admirable gait and candor in Naija delta, nay Nigeria and world is his
HRM Benjamin Ikenchukwu Keagborekuzi Dein of Agbor Kingdom, an IGBO town in Delta North
https://www.nairaland.com/2500244/what-buhari-should-tompolo-asari#36582103

This Shameless Yoloba ijjiot so how is he not Igbo

I know those shameless NDLEA or whatever, will come up with some sort of fake story to try justifying the killings that took place at Abia state.

AshiwajuFoward:
Lol. Look, I've told you already that you will wail till you die. Our Cocoa, whether you believe it or not, earns more forex for the FG than anything that comes out of that erosion-ridden region of yours. It's obvious you are a buffon for trying to belittle Consat. Do you know how much DSTV is worth? $66billion usd in market capitalization -- it has made its parent company, Naspers, the LARGEST company in Africa. That is the sort of competition Consat is taking on and competing against. Consat is owned by a SWesterner. How many Igbos own anything that comes close to Consat? Wey your kinsmen equivalent? We practically dominate the media sector and I know that's part of your headache. Oando and Globacom (which has expanded into Benin and Ghana -- and even Togo is begging it to extend its service into that country) have created more quality high-paying jobs than anything you all can boast of. Our Chicken Republic wey you wan use style belittle has more brand recognition than any rival you all can present, and even sef e don expand reach your SE. See levels? Look, I'm going to bed. Keep hating and wailing, while we keep counting money.

It's official, you have ran out lies and what to post to be repeating this same Cocoa line, I provided a thread that busted these your Cocoa lies showing that South West Cocoa contributes absolutely nothing to Nigeria's economy.

I know you are desperately trying so hard to market an irrelevant thief.nubu Consat that most people barely know about, if not that I saw a thread where his wife distributed it's decoder I wouldn't have known about such rubbish, so why compare an irrelevant Consat or whatever to DSTV?

You mean your brown envelope Ibadan-Lagos axis media dominate Nigeria? Your media are just unreliable always know for propagating lies and Falsehood, I know so many Nigerians who ain't gullible barely believe anything from your brown envelope South West media, so which media do SW dominate?

Shame on you, you are bragging over a mere fast food eatery as Yorubas achievement same fast food that is found all over SE, remove Lagos from South West the other South West states are hugely backward and underdeveloped.

AshiwajuFoward:
LOL. You are a wailer but your wailing hasn't even started yet. And you and your cohorts will wail till you die. Every problem in your life is caused by a Yorubaman. If I "cooked up" figures with the help of the FG and Government official sources, you sef why not cookup yours? Any right thinking person can easily detect that you are one of Kanu's brainwashed zombies. Guess what though, Yorubas don't give a fvck about what you think about us. While you keep wailing and hating us, we keep building and expanding our Globacom, Consats, MainOne, Proforce, Cocoa, GTBank, Oando, Honeywell, Elephant Group, Chicken Republic, Elizade, e.t.c.

I just hit a nerve with that post, that post is just the plain truth and Yolobas just hates the truth, that is the reason Nnamdi Kanu is every Yoloba man's nightmare cos he stands and represents the truth.

I can't be bothered a bit about a tribe of traitors, Backstabbers, Envious, Lazy treacherous people. What can Yolobas build or manage successfully? Absolutely nothing
Which Cocoa again are you talking about? Even thief.nubu Consat and Oando are all Yolobas achievement even fast food eatery are all Yolobas achievement. This ni.gga is just dumb.

AshiwajuFoward:
LOL. SW giving una bad-belle lot headache since donkey years . Imo and Abia Oil is tantamount to a drop in the bucket to the center -- it's so small that Ondo, and even Oyo (a non-oil producing state) receive more allocation than Imo not to talk of Abia. The real grouse you all have is in the fact that we get more allocation than you all -- obviously coz we contribute way more. Lagos, Ogun and Oyo still collect more IGR than any other SE state except for Enugu. We have more industries than any other region, our sea and airports contribute more than all your states combined to the federal coffers. Lagos alone contributes more than 2 trillion to the FG (though it unfairly receives 96billion in return). In short, as a stand-alone country we have all it takes to be the dominant country in West Africa . Our region also makes the largest non-oil contribution to the FG. Lagos economy alone, according to Ambode, is worth $131billion dollars -- more than over 40 countries in Africa. What the heck, that flyoroba guy thrashed you all on that thread you referenced. You don't have to believe our Cocoa export value coz you are a nobody in the overall scheme of things. As long as the FG knows and captures our contribution, that's all good . I'm still yet to see any data of your contribution though, besides Abia and Imo Oil, which isn't even worth bragging about.

Since your lies of generating billions of naira from Cocoa export was busted, you now moved to Lagos is worth $131b, it might just be one of una numerous lies again, those IGR South West parades are all cooked up figures cos even recently one of your Yoruba brother challenged Osun state about its IGR stating that the recent IGR is a huge lie that Osun state never generated that amount, so how can we believe any of those IGR lies you lots are known for peddling.

Yolobas frustrated the development of other region with their usual media lies and propaganda, imagine head offices of all oil Companies that are all meant to be in Niger delta are all in Lagos.

Yolobas out of Envy used their media to attack Stella Oduah for upgrading Enugu international airport and many Yolobas have recently been calling for its closure saying Nigeria does not need to have many exits.

Yolobas have even laid down pipeline from Naija delta to Lagos claiming Lagos has oil while that is a huge lie, as for the crude oil in Ondo it belongs to Ijaw people, there is no Crude oil in South West. Whereas the oil in Imo, Abia and Anambra will sustain the SE region well, whereas SE has never depended on oil to develop, SE developed it's region by itself while South West parasites depends on FG for virtually everything.

The only thing in Lagos is the Seaport and Airport, cos the only functioning port in that zoo is Lagos Seaport, that is the reason Nigeria needs to practice true federalism, so all region can go develop by itself and that was SE stand in Una last confab while SW stood for nothing cos they have been the benefactors of fake one Nigeria.

Yolobas are really the problem with Nigeria.

AshiwajuFoward:
Story for the gods. Una no dey collect allocation? Abi you think it is money from Aba and Onitsha that your governors use to execute projects and pay salaries? What did you contribute to get that much money from FG? No be Oil money? We (SW) are already contributing billions from Cocoa exports, what are you all contributing? Na una be the real proper leaches. TELL US WHAT SE IS CONTRIBUTING TO THE CENTER? ?

Imo and Abia are among oil producing states that contributes hugely to your zoo economy. When you talk about allocation, how much allocation do SE receive from your zoo government? cos SE collects very low allocation, they still raise IGR that is used in running their various states.

South West contributing billions of naira from Cocoa export is a huge lie that was busted on this thread. You lots are just Lazy parasites, only good in cooking up fake facts and figures to deceive gullible Nigerians.
https://www.nairaland.com/2496058/debunking-latest-lie-nigeria-did