About 15 years ago in my small corner I said that one way for Ohanaeze to get all Igbo together was to make an Anioma man or Rivers man President or Secretary-Gen of the body. Thank God they finally did.

The loss of the war made so many Igbo to deny they were Igbo so as not be persecuted. Some people added one or two letters to their names so as not to sound Igbo. In Rivers, communities like Umuola, Umuokwute etc were changed to Rumuola, Rumuokwute etc. When some people with Igbo names claim they are Igbo, they make themselves vulnerable, because when the time comes, other Nigerians will tell them who they really are. Asari Dokubo told Peter Odili in 2006 not to claim that he was a South-south person and run for president in the south-south name, that he should join his Igbo brothers. The truth is that try as hard as they want, Delta or Rivers Igbo will never be accepted by the Ijaws, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Edo etc as part of them. Who led the 1966 coup that led to a counter-coup and massacre of the Igbo? Nzeogwu (from Delta) and Ifeajuna (from Onitsha, who by the way sometimes claim they are not Igbo but Anioma). But when the Hausa began their senseless massacre, they did not bother who was from Mid-west or Rivers? No!

I am from Anambra. I grew up with an Abakaliki/Ezza boy called Jeje. Whenever his father talked to him, I never understood one word they said, and yet they are Igbo. Till today I understand what the Anioma people and Rivers people say more than what some parts of Ebonyi, Enugu and Abia speak, so why should Anioma or Rivers people be less Igbo?

Are Ojo, Ali etc Igbo names? You would say no. But what about Ojo Maduekwe? I have a friend from Nsukka area whose name is Ali. I have some friends from Cross-River/Akwa Ibom with clear Igbo names but they are not Igbo. Why? These people share borders with other ethnic groups and get influenced in terms of names, dressing, traditions etc. When you are driving from Ore to Benin, the last town in Ondo state is called Ohosu, while the first town you meet in Edo State is called Ofosu. Ohosu and Ofosu, do they sound similar? Why? Because they have been neighbours for centuries despite state creation.

To the typical Yoruba or Hausa man, anybody from South-South is even omo Ibo or Nyamiri. So for an Igbo-speaking person to deny his Igboness for whatever reason is dangerous.

In a tribalistic Nigeria, when an Anioma man or Ikwere man is attacked in Kano or Sokoto, don't expect the Urhobo, Ijaw or Benin to come to your aid. The people who will shout and defend you will still be the Igbo that you are wont to deny.

", the organization will never deny any Igbo man membership of Ohanaeze. The moves by some politicians to deny the Igbo origins of Professor Utomi is an act of desperation and mischief" Prof. Joe Irukwu, factional leader, Ohaneze Ndigbo.

When the Ibo Union (Ohan'eze) was formed in 1937, its major objective was to bring the native Igbo-speaking people of Nigeria together. To unite them and seal any social or cultural void, which may be detrimental to their interests in the then emerging politics of today's Nigeria. Dr. Denis Osadebay of Asaba with the backing of Dr. Azikiwe, took upon himself the rigours of forming the union. Asaba, on the west bank of the River Niger, having hosted the first and only international conference on Igbo language in 1904, was one of the quintessence of the Igbo, and in the vanguard of their politics,

In line with the vision of the original founding fathers, post civil war Ohan'eze Ndigbo, was statutorily structured to take care of the interests and the feelings of the native Igbo-speaking people, whose land was now decapitated by the civil war victors. It was within these context that the seven state chapters of Ohan'eze Ndigbo got bedrocked, hence the participation of Igbos from the South East and the SouthSouth zones in the Ohan'eze decision and policy making.

Igbo, as a language, has dialectical clusters that sometimes are mutually unintelligible to its speakers. This can be ascertained in the South East zone where someone from say Anambra state may have difficulties understanding fellow Igbos from Nnsuka, Abakaliki, Afikpo, Ohafia and some parts of Enugu state, while having a very smooth communication with Asaba, Igbuzo, Okpanam, Oko etc. natives in the South South zone of Delta state.

In a similar vein, an Etche person from Rivers state, may feel at home communicating with one from Ngwa in Abia state, than with a native Asaban in the south south zone from where the both hail from. It must be emphasized that this is not a sole Igbo problem. Dialectical variations do exist in what is known today as the Yoruba land, where the Ekitis, Ijebus, Aworis, Ondos, Ijesas interpret their Yoruba language in different dialectical forms, which are often difficult for some of their kinsmen from other groups to understand. I, as a native of Ukpo-Dunukofia, Anambra state will not fully understand the late Sir warrior singing in his native Owerri dialect. Therefore, with all these variables, who is more Igbo and who is less?

Going by the Sun newspaper report, one of the so called elders of Ohan'eze Ndigbo, a factional leader, Chief Hypolite Ogboko, has fallen short of what is demanded of an "elder". In his refute of a newspaper report which claimed that Dr. Pat Okedinachi Utomi's presidential bid has been endorsed by the pan Igbo group, he said, "Utomi represents the South-south in the geo-politics of Nigeria. Utomi can’t even speak Igbo very properly”.

So regrettable as the statement, It again, underlines the need why Ohaneze Ndigbo should be apolitical. The likes of Ogboko and their unguarded utterances would continue to weaken the basis of Igbo-speaking people's unity in the geo-politics of Nigeria. The spirit of "Mgboko Igbo", which was started by Dr. Alex Ekwueme in the 1990's runs contrary to this development. Ohaneze Ndigbo is not a political party, and does not serve the interests of the Igbos of the South East alone.

Further more, Ogboko's statement contradicted that of Ohaneze's for the 2007 elections, which stated that It would favour presidential candidates from the South-East and the South south, non-Igbos included. Now, what an irony for one of Its "elders", Ogboko, to turn around and say that, "Utomi represents the south south, "? The Utomi In question, is a fellow Igbo and the deputy president of Aka Ikenga for that matter.

"Infantile politics", as some people are wont to call the modern day Igbo method of pressing for their needs in the labyrinth called Nigeria. Or else, can someone explain when "properly" spoken Igbo, became a prerequisite for Ohaneze's endorsement of Igbo pres. candidates? Even at that, I have heard the opportunity to listen to Prof. Utomi, an old student of CKC Onitsha speak Igbo. It is something he does well, perhaps not with Ogboko's Enugu/Nnsuka dialect. Dr Utomi, a proud Igboman is from Igbuzo, a town noted for her strong Umu-Nri origins.


I should say that this sort of development account for some of the reasons why western Igbos in particular, pay skeletal attention to the pan Igbo group. What is the essence of their belonging to an organization that has consistently not taken care of their interests? For the east to embrace the west-Igbo in a politics of expediency was not only wrong but wicked. They reserve the birth right to take advantage of the existence of Ohan'eze, even as they are constantly reminded by other non-Igbo groups in the South south of their roots. The Rivers state governor was one most recent example.


It is very vital that Ohan'eze Ndigbo continue to maintain a non-aligned posture with regard to matters concerning the Igbos of the two zones. In a country where numerical strength determines who gets what, balancing the interests of the Igbos of the two zones should be Ohan'eze's watchwords. The administration headed by Joe Irukwu's faction is not far from what Ohaneze exco should look and act like. Chief Isaac Mahonwu, an Ikwerre, as the deputy chairman and Col. Achuzia as the secretary general. What do we have now?

Men and Brethren,
No one has the authority to claim he is more igbo than others. This action is cheap politics played by a few miscrants, naive politicians and short sighted people who only seek their own, not the common good of the Igbos. Am from Aro, we play ekpe which is literally an efik/ibibio tradition. My fore parent migrated to rivers state. But when my dad became of age he went back to atani, arochukwu and built a house. That is my home town.

Simply because my for parents settled in rivers state didn't make me non -igbo, though the Aros share cultural values with efiks or ibibio will not make them efik or ibibio. They are aros and "oki-igbos" indeed.

In the university, I sheared rooms with guys from anioma and I understood their igbo more than I understand abiriba or ohafia--- towns that were in the same local government with arochukwu over a decade ago. Igbos everywhere should no longer disassociate themselves from Igbo, they should gravitate together and form one strong nation. Think about what igbo could do when united. think about how we have arisen to the position we have today although constantly repressed through hostile government policies

The article below extracted from wikki are tells some of the things we have achieved even at such terrible period

Military
At the beginning of the war Biafra had 3,000 troops, but at the end of the war the troops totaled 30,000.[20] There was no official support for the Biafran army by another nation throughout the war. The Biafrans had at the beginning two B-25 Mitchells, one B-26 Invader (piloted by Polish pilot Jan Zumbach, known also as John Brown), converted DC-3 and one Dove. Because of the lack of official support, the Biafrans manufactured their weapons locally. In 1968 the Swedish pilot Carl Gustaf von Rosen suggested the MiniCOIN project to General Ojukwu. By the spring of 1969, Biafra had built five MFI-9Bs in Gabon, calling them "Biafra Babies". They were coloured green, were able to carry six 68 mm anti-armour rockets and had simple sights. The six airplanes were flown by three Swedish pilots and three Biafran pilots. Other Europeans served in the Biafran cause, German born Rolf Steiner was a Lt. Colonel assigned to the 4th Commando Brigade and Welshman Taffy Williams served as a Major until the very end of the conflict.[21]

view this link;


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ReFoFp0Gs



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ReFoFp0Gs


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3ReFoFp0Gs

Igbo, as a language, has dialectical clusters that sometimes are mutually unintelligible to its speakers. This can be ascertained in the South East zone where someone from say Anambra state may have difficulties understanding fellow Igbos from Nnsuka, Abakaliki, Afikpo, Abirriba/Ohafia and some parts of Enugu state, while having a very smooth communication with Asaba, Igbuzo, Okpanam, Oko etc. natives in the South South zone of Delta state.

i am very much waiting for them to bring us such a president. but i wonder who he should be.

Most of the leaders that come from South-south are Igbo, no matter how they deny their Igbotisticalities.

So I agree with Igbo here.