<quote>

Negro_ntns:
"Nri is the connecting dot that ties all together for the Igbo iDentity, right?"

ChinenyeN:

---- No. It is not. Linguistics is.</quote>

ChinenyeN is a respected and authoritative contributor of Igbo history and culture in NL. The Igbo ethnic group is a loose and fluidly connected clans and towns. Some of the Igbo cities claim Nri ancestry while others claim Aro. Their commonality is not ancestral and therefore something else in the culture provides a common bond.

The conversation I quote above is in reference and it is quite clear here that Igbo language is the dot that connects and the defining criteria for who is and who is not Igbo.

There are indeed settlements on the outlying areas of Igboland which by proximity the Igbos have attempted to claim as a member of their ethnic group and thus expand its territorial frontier Westward. These outlying groups have resisted the kidnap push and the land grab plot by the Igbos.

Case in point, there are few settlements in North Aniocha local Govt whose language is Lukumi and they originated from Akure/Owo area of Yorubaland. Accurate findings from investigation and research on ground have indeed proven them to be a Yoruba people speaking Yoruba language and the rightful settlers of the North Aniocha land.

Here is a caption from one of the reports

"Investigations conducted revealed that Ugbodu is not the only community where Oluku mi is spoken in Aniocha North Local Government as the language is also spoken in Ukwu-Nzu (Eko Efun), Ubulubu and Ogodo"

The people, their children and the rulers of Ugbodu and all these other settlements have indicated and identified themselves Yoruba. There should be no contention since this declaration is self-expressed by the people themselves.

Therefore, in the agitation for the creation of Anioma state, of which Aniocha is a principal, Yoruba has a vested interest to be involved and participate in the drafts and procedures leading to the reality of an Anioma State for our children and the children of Igbo who will co-locate with them.