Bonny is a town in the Nigerian Niger Delta. It is known for it’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal. But what many don’t know is that the most indigenes of that town are descendants of Igbos who would have been sold into slavery, had it not been for Olaudah Equiano’s campaign against the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The Igbos who settled in Bonny developed a new dialect called Bonny Igbo. In fact, the first bible ever published in Igbo was printed in the Bonny Igbo dialect.

Bonny is also famous for being the place where Jaja of Opobo, an Igbo slave from Amaigbo, in today’s Imo State, first rose to prominence. He later led is followers to form the neihbouring kingdom of Opobo.

One of the most famous Bonny families today is the Jumbo family, which is descended from Oko Jumbo, another enterprising Igboman who was Jaja’s strongest rival in Bonny.

© igbodefender.com 2011

Please,leave Bonny ppl alone. . . A lot of them have have came out and boldly denied any relation with the Igbos. I feel very very embarassed whenever these ppl denounce us and spit on the hand of brotherhood we extended to them. Leave them alone because they will not be denying their Igboness if they are trully Igbos.

The Igbos in Bonny and Opobo know the truth the same as the confused Ikwerre in Rivers State. But we all know post civil war politics has twisted Bonny and Opobo, and made them look far distant lands from the rest of the Igbo. We wont allow Nigerians tell our brothers who they are in Rivers state

Nwanne, I feel you on that one mana I ga eti-eti gbakwaa agbaa ?
Not worst part is the Ikwerre ppl who has done everything possible show that they arent Igbos but every research that has been carried out clearly shows they are Igboid people. But I believe the day will come when everybody will answer their fathers name. It shows me how weak some people can be!

None of these people listed are denying anything. Everyone's aware of what they are and the question of Ikwerre or Opobo being Igbo isn't even valid.

This issue is more complex than you make it appear. There are very Igbo-speaking no doubt, but that is not enough to say most of them are ethnic Igbos. There are so many people in Bonny and Opobo who are too mixed to lay a claim genetically to one ethnicity, either as Igbo or Ijaw. There are also some pure breeds among them, with no mixed blood.

I'll advise you leave this issue, except you have concrete proofs to show that they are Igbos.

Not this again.

@mbatuku
Do you have any concrete proof to show that Ngwa, wawa, Owerri and Onitsha people are Igbos? Btw, what is Igbo? What are the characteristics of being Igbo?

Whoever this "freed" is , I can assume he is a cultural and geographical illiterate and lives in a world of ignorance. Bonny is not Igbo. Bonny is just Igbo speaking like Opobo. They are too far away from Igboland to be called Igbo.

Maybe we should call Australians English. I also want to point out that I believe in Igbo origin of Bonny based on the name "Ubani" which is a deep Igbo name found all the way up to Bende. Also based on the account given by a lot of early writings on Bonny history about Alagbaranye from Igbo hinterland. The Jaja story is not an evidence as Bonny and Opobo had people before the coming of Jaja. Opobo had Ibibio/Efik.It stops at that.

I have an Opobo gf,Ngozi Amacherre and she hasn't stopped drumming it in my ears at every opportunity that she's not Igbo. . . And have no links whatsoever with Igbo.lol

afam4eva:

@mbatuku
Do you have any concrete proof to show that Ngwa, wawa, Owerri and Onitsha people are Igbos? Btw, what is Igbo? What are the characteristics of being Igbo?

Ngwa is not Igbo.#joking

What I'm saying is that obviously some may still be pure breed Igbos, some are in-between(and for political convenience have chosen not to identify with Igbo groups). You need extra work when dealing with them. That's were the concrete proofs come in. The Igbo groups you mentioned are not in contention, except Ngwa, Onitsha, and a few others.

ifyalways:

I have an Opobo gf,Ngozi Amacherre and she hasn't stopped drumming it in my ears at every opportunity that she's not Igbo. . . And have no links whatsoever with Igbo.lol

I want to beleive her surname is Amachree and not Amacherre. It's an Ijaw name. It's not uncommon for some Bonny/Opobo people to disclaim Igbo since some of them are mixed anyway.

My problem now is, when is one Igbo?

afam4eva:


My problem now is, when is one Igbo?

When your origins are from Igboland.

mbatuku2:

When your origins are from Igboland.

Define Igboland.

This is getting interesting.

It's more complicated than that. But I only tried to simplify it.

Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, and some parts of neighbouring states where some Igbo groups migrated to.

ChinenyeN:

This is getting interesting.

Really, brother. lol.

I hope they leave our ngwaland alone. We are distinct enough.

mbatuku2:

It's more complicated than that. But I only tried to simplify it.

Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, and some parts of neighbouring states where some Igbo groups migrated to.

No, why is Abia and Ebonyi Igbo and not Bonny or Ikwerre or Ika?

We just use the word "Igbo" very loosely without understanding what it actually means.

afam4eva:

No, why is Abia and Ebonyi Igbo and not Bonny or Ikwerre or Ika?

We just use the word "Igbo" very loosely without understanding what it actually means.

The Bonny/Opobo story is completely different from the Ika/Ikwerre story. Treat them separately.

Abagworo:

Whoever this "freed" is , I can assume he is a cultural and geographical illiterate and lives in a world of ignorance. Bonny is not Igbo. Bonny is just Igbo speaking like Opobo. They are too far away from Igboland to be called Igbo.

Abagworo, I respect your views here a lot, but I dont think your words in bold above add up.

There are a few Igbos who live in faraway Lagos and Kano, are they no longer Igbos because they live far away from Igboland?

The obvious fact is not every in Bonny/Opobo is Igbo if we use the common yardstick of patrilineal genealogy in Africa.

mixed or not. Most of them speak igbo that means they are IGBO!

mbatuku2:

Really, brother. lol.

I hope they leave our ngwaland alone. We are distinct enough.

Mister, I dont know if you are joking or not; I wil love for the federal government to create some more ethnic groups,so that clans like Ngwa,Ika and any other group who as much as little ever denied being Igbo can have their own ethnic group. In doing this we might have trimmed down ourselves and arrive at conclusion at who and who is Igbo. Even if its only Anambra,Imo,Enuani,Enugu,Ebonyi and parts of Abia that stood up boldly and called themselves Igbos I will be more than proud to know that we have ppl who we didnt have to tell what makes them Igbos. Ezi oyi ka ajo nwanne.

NRI PRIEST:

Mister, I dont know if you are joking or not; I wil love for the federal government to create some more ethnic groups,so that clans like Ngwa,Ika and any other group who as much as little ever denied being Igbo can have their own ethnic group. In doing this we might have trimmed down ourselves and arrive at conclusion at who and who is Igbo. Even if its only Anambra,Imo,Enuani,Enugu,Ebonyi and parts of Abia that stood up boldly and called themselves Igbos I will be more than proud to know that we have ppl who we didnt have to tell what makes them Igbos. Ezi oyi ka ajo nwanne.

I have never seen any Ngwa who disclaims Igbo. Igbo denials is mostly in Ikwerre, Ika and Ukwuani. However, they are in the minority.

This Bonny issue has been discussed several times in nairaland.Shall we all agree that Bonny is a fusion of Igbo and Ijaw groups.

Andre Uweh:

I have never seen any Ngwa who disclaims Igbo.

There are.

Andre Uweh:

This Bonny issue has been discussed several times in nairaland.Shall we all agree that Bonny is a fusion of Igbo and Ijaw groups.

It's not possible that everyone is mixed.

Andre Uweh: This Bonny issue has been discussed several times in nairaland.Shall we all agree that Bonny is a fusion of Igbo and Ijaw groups.

Fusion?
What type of fusion was it, nuclear
When and HOW did the fusion occur?

I bet this guy would win a science noble price for deciphering the most complex "fusion theory" ever.

Igbo day-dreamers!

Just some thoughts that came up inside my head recently. I believe there's no question about the presence of slaves from Eboe country on the territories in the past..

(1) Where are the descendants of these one-time Igbo slaves in Bonny/Opobo today?

(2) Were there any conditions that prevented their reproducing of offsprings at any point in history?