gidgiddy: Mbata and Wike are two Ikwerre men from the same LGA. One says he is Igbo, the other said he is not Igbo. Some Ikwerres says they are Igbo, others say they are not. I suspect that those who trace their ancestry to Bini are the ones who say they are not Igbo, who can blame them? They are Bini people, like Wike
The Igbo nation already has enough population, we don't necessarily need more
Indeed! But una de beg for this unity with Ikwerre people too much. Biafra de claim land all the way to the north.
Insightful. Love to see people abreast with history and truth!
One thing I've learnt over time is history can never be hidden. It always manifests itself in various ways, even through the behaviour of individuals and people. It should be perceived as motivation for improvement rather than a burden.
@NaMe4
I appreciate... Indeed what you posted in the bolded resonates deeply with me. We live in a world of cycles (business cycles, product cycles, lunar cycles, etc) and cycles can easily be predicted by studying patterns in world history. People have made millions from simply having a deep knowledge of what happened in the past decades either due to wars or due to stock market crashes.
DNA testing results from DNA testing companies such as 23andme and AncestryDNA have ALSO revealed a lot about the human past hence corroborating OR disputing some historical narratives and this segues right into what you posted here that "history ALWAYS manifests itself in various ways." Last but not least, you may wish to read my original post again (which I've just re-edited and corrected due to some annoying typographic errors I detected a few minutes ago).
So, Brazilians are Portuguese because they both speak Portugese? Mexicans are Spaniards because they both speak Spanish? Americans are British because they both speak English? Egyptians are Saudis because they both speak Arabic?
No body is forcing anybody. If Ikwerre man's language is same as that of an Owerri or Umuahia man but he claims not to be Igbo. The Owerri or Umuahia man will surely be confused but will only keep silent and walk away considering the Ikwerre man a fool.
Absolutely well said. The original folks who constitute the Ikwerres claim NOT to be Igbos, but it's a historical fact that during the slave trade, some Aros and their allies settled among the Ikwerres and Ijaws to facilitate that insidious trade in human slaves who the Aros brought from the interior Igbo areas. The folks who descend from the Aros know themselves but are in the minority. The Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide which was founded in 1963 (before the 2 years and 6 months Nigerian Civil War of July 1967 to January 1970) have since 1963 emphasized that they are distinct from the interior Igbos and also affirmed in the January 9 2025 Press Release video right BELOW that they NOT Igbos but of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality which is known to the Nigerian constitution.
TODAY AT OGBAKOR IKWERE PRESS CONFRENCE! IPOB IGBOS WILL LEARN IN THE HARD WAY
Did you know that Alex Otti, the current Abia State Governor is also of Aro descent whose ancestor migrated from Arochukwu in Abia State and settled in the Aba region in the 1800s? He actually said this himself in an interview he granted to Punch newspaper in the 2010s when he wanted to contest under a different political party. He went on to say that their was some resistance to his becoming a Governor then because he was of Aro descent. He further claimed that the Aros and Ibibio migrants of centuries back in the Aba axis constituted about 10% of the population while the Ngwas who migrated from Mbaise in Imo State were in the majority in the Ngwa/Aba area.
I remember that interview because of my gravitation towards advanced world history for decades now and I have a fascination with how the Aros evolved (from the original Ibibio settlement of 400 years ago) and went about organizing small colonies in areas outside their enclave while engaging in the notorious slave trade of majorly Igbos of the interior and more.
Oga, you are wrong. Absolutely wrong in your narrative. I'm not here to argue with you about ikwerre this or that....but to correct you. IGBOS are not forcing ikwerres to become Igbo, is just that they have something that belongs to the IGBOS that will alway make IGBOS come for them. The Land, language, cities and individual names ,customs and traditions. You claim to know history but you haven't read about the 1954 supreme court declaration of port Harcourt as Igbo land. During when the IGBOS and ijaws were tustling for the ownership of port Harcourt. By then ikwerres fully identified and aligned with the hinterland IGBOS. The ikwerres that are denying and touting IGBOS do not know the gravity of what they are doing.
They don't know they are currently at war with the IGBOS. In politics, issues that cannot be settle in a round table, will definitely be settled at the war front. Akalala their ancestor which they claimed that came from bini bears Igbo name. He was returning to Igbo land (presently ikwerre) from slavery which he was condemned to in bini. Port Harcourt is very important to the IGBOS. When the time comes those that do not identify with IGBOS will be send back to bini where they came from. If you are not Igbo, you are definitely a nuisances in Igbo land.
Do you want to tell me that those slave returnees that are currently lagosians but still bearing Portuguese and labanese names in Lagos are not Yoruba?
Or you want to tell me that Rumuokoro, Rumuola, Rumuji, isi-okpo, Rumuodomanya, elele nta, elele ugwu, Rumuigbo etc are bini names. For your information, cities name shows the kind of people that were there in the earliest time. Although most of these nam have been altered, But we still have their original name it in our achives. Obigbo is now oyigbo, the R have been added to Umu, and Obi-akpor has become Obio/akpor. I can go on and on....but for time sake. IGBOS knows where their boundary end. Go and ask an elderly okirika man, he will always tell you that ikwerres are IGBOS who came from south central part of Igbo many centuries ago, in search of farmland, and they eventually settled in their presents location.
So oga, don't intrude into issues you know little or nothing about.
Oga, you are wrong. Absolutely wrong in your narrative. I'm not here to argue with you about ikwerre this or that....but to correct you. IGBOS are not forcing ikwerres to become Igbo, is just that they have something that belongs to the IGBOS that will alway make IGBOS come for them. The Land, language, cities and individual names ,customs and traditions. You claim that know history but you haven't read about the 1954 supreme court declaration of port Harcourt as Igbo land. During when the IGBOS and ijaws were tustling for the ownership of port Harcourt. By then ikwerres fully identified and aligned with the hinterland IGBOS. The ikwerres that are denying and touting IGBOS do not know the gravity of what they are doing. They don't know they are currently at war with the IGBOS. In politics, issues that cannot be settle in a round table, will definitely be settled at the war front. Akalala their ancestor which they claimed that came from bini bears Igbo name. He was returning to Igbo land (presently ikwerre) from slavery which he was condemned to in bini. Port Harcourt is very important to the IGBOS. When the time comes those that do not identify with IGBOS will be send back to bini where they came from. If you are not Igbo, you are definitely a nuisances in Igbo land.
Do you want to tell me that those slave returnees that are currently lagoscians but still bearing Portuguese and labanese names in Lagos are not Yoruba?
Or you want to tell me that Rumuokoro, RumuOla, Rumuji, isi-okpo, Rumuodomanya, elele nta, elele ugwu, Rumuigbo etc are bini names. For your information, cities name shows the kind of people that were there in the earliest time. Although most of these nam have been altered, But we still have it in our achives. IGBOS knows where their boundary end. Go and ask an elderly okirika man, he will always tell you that ikwerres are IGBOS who came from south central part of Igbo many centuries ago, in search of farmland, and they eventually settled in their presents location.
So oga, don't intrude into issues you know little or nothing about.
crazy way to think is to think anybody owes you anything in this world.... you are askin for endless fights....
we speakin english doesnt mean we have any claim to british.... they owe us but not this way....
Absolutely well said. The original folks who constitute the Ikwerres claim NOT to be Igbos, but it's a historical fact that during the slave trade, some Aros and their allies settled among the Ikwerres and Ijaws to facilitate that insidious trade in human slaves who the Aros brought from the interior Igbo areas. The folks who descend from the Aros know themselves but are in the minority. The Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide which was founded in 1963 (before the 2 years and 6 months Nigerian Civil War of July 1967 to January 1970) have since 1963 emphasized that they are distinct from the interior Igbos and also affirmed in the January 9 2025 Press Release video right BELOW that they NOT Igbos but of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality which is known to the Nigerian constitution.
TODAY AT OGBAKOR IKWERE PRESS CONFRENCE! IPOB IGBOS WILL LEARN IN THE HARD WAY
Did you know that Alex Otti, the current Abia State Governor is also of Aro descent whose ancestor migrated from Arochukwu in Abia State and settled in the Aba region in the 1800s? He actually said this himself in an interview he granted to Punch newspaper in the 2010s when he wanted to contest under a different political party. He went on to say that their was some resistance to his becoming a Governor then because he was of Aro descent. He further claimed that the Aros and Ibibio migrants of centuries back in the Aba axis constituted about 10% of the population while the Ngwas who migrated from Mbaise in Imo State were in the majority in the Ngwa/Aba area.
I remember that interview because of my gravitation towards advanced world history for decades now and I have a fascination with how the Aros evolved (from the original Ibibio settlement of 400 years ago) and went about organizing small colonies in areas outside their enclave while engaging in the notorious slave trade of majorly Igbos of the interior and more.
interesting stuff Chief. Very fascinating. What has been hidden in darkness surely is coming to light because of brilliant researchers like yourself, respect to you my kind Sir 🙌
Bede2u: The indigenous population of Brazil are less than 3%. The vast majority (97%) are of African or European decent. Majority of the European (White) Brazilians come from Portugal. Just as majority of Australians come from UK So what is the mother tongue of Ikwere people? I can tell you now that as an igbo man I can understand 'Ikwere' 100% I won't respond to you again because your arguments are childish and I don't have time for inconsequential talk with a toddler.
Toddler you say! When they're defeated by superior arguments, they resort to insults.
chucky101: So, Brazilians are Portuguese because they both speak Portugese? Mexicans are Spaniards because they both speak Spanish? Americans are British because they both speak English? Egyptians are Saudis because they both speak Arabic?
Tochitee: Two pains the ibos will continue to pass down from generations to generations! 1. Gowon with the help of awolowo stopping ojuku and his people from dominating the south south and snatching them from ibos domination of their oil! 2. Tinubu pummelling them with all the lies and propangandas against him in the latr election!
As long as it's Nigeria dominating their oil all is well abi🤔
You are not exactly right. A man who knows his ancestry is telling you that he is not Igbo and you are saying another thing. Wike's father is alive and knows where they came from. Rivers State is far from been homogeneous.
They are not Igbos, but they speak the same language, oga rest.
Oga, you are wrong. Absolutely wrong in your narrative. I'm not here to argue with you about ikwerre this or that....but to correct you. IGBOS are not forcing ikwerres to become Igbo, is just that they have something that belongs to the IGBOS that will alway make IGBOS come for them. The Land, language, cities and individual names ,customs and traditions. You claim to know history but you haven't read about the 1954 supreme court declaration of port Harcourt as Igbo land. During when the IGBOS and ijaws were tustling for the ownership of port Harcourt. By then ikwerres fully identified and aligned with the hinterland IGBOS. The ikwerres that are denying and touting IGBOS do not know the gravity of what they are doing.
They don't know they are currently at war with the IGBOS. In politics, issues that cannot be settle in a round table, will definitely be settled at the war front. Akalala their ancestor which they claimed that came from bini bears Igbo name. He was returning to Igbo land (presently ikwerre) from slavery which he was condemned to in bini. Port Harcourt is very important to the IGBOS. When the time comes those that do not identify with IGBOS will be send back to bini where they came from. If you are not Igbo, you are definitely a nuisances in Igbo land.
Do you want to tell me that those slave returnees that are currently lagosians but still bearing Portuguese and labanese names in Lagos are not Yoruba?
Or you want to tell me that Rumuokoro, Rumuola, Rumuji, isi-okpo, Rumuodomanya, elele nta, elele ugwu, Rumuigbo etc are bini names. For your information, cities name shows the kind of people that were there in the earliest time. Although most of these nam have been altered, But we still have their original name it in our achives. Obigbo is now oyigbo, the R have been added to Umu, and Obi-akpor has become Obio/akpor. I can go on and on....but for time sake. IGBOS knows where their boundary end. Go and ask an elderly okirika man, he will always tell you that ikwerres are IGBOS who came from south central part of Igbo many centuries ago, in search of farmland, and they eventually settled in their presents location.
So oga, don't intrude into issues you know little or nothing about.
Oga, you are wrong. Absolutely wrong in your narrative. I'm not here to argue with you about ikwerre this or that....but to correct you. IGBOS are not forcing ikwerres to become Igbo, is just that they have something that belongs to the IGBOS that will alway make IGBOS come for them. The Land, language, cities and individual names ,customs and traditions.
You claim to know history but you haven't read about the 1954 supreme court declaration of port Harcourt as Igbo land. During when the IGBOS and ijaws were tustling for the ownership of port Harcourt. By then ikwerres fully identified and aligned with the hinterland IGBOS. The ikwerres that are denying and touting IGBOS do not know the gravity of what they are doing.
They don't know they are currently at war with the IGBOS. In politics, issues that cannot be settle in a round table, will definitely be settled at the war front. Akalala their ancestor which they claimed that came from bini bears Igbo name. He was returning to Igbo land (presently ikwerre) from slavery which he was condemned to in bini. Port Harcourt is very important to the IGBOS. When the time comes those that do not identify with IGBOS will be send back to bini where they came from. If you are not Igbo, you are definitely a nuisances in Igbo land.
Do you want to tell me that those slave returnees that are currently lagosians but still bearing Portuguese and labanese names in Lagos are not Yoruba?
Or you want to tell me that Rumuokoro, Rumuola, Rumuji, isi-okpo, Rumuodomanya, elele nta, elele ugwu, Rumuigbo etc are bini names. For your information, cities name shows the kind of people that were there in the earliest time. Although most of these nam have been altered, But we still have their original name it in our achives. Obigbo is now oyigbo, the R have been added to Umu, and Obi-akpor has become Obio/akpor. I can go on and on....but for time sake.
IGBOS knows where their boundary end. Go and ask an elderly okirika man, he will always tell you that ikwerres are IGBOS who came from south central part of Igbo many centuries ago, in search of farmland, and they eventually settled in their presents location
So oga, don't intrude into issues you know little or nothing about.
I will deal with some specifics here and give succinct keypoints with CLEAR videos and Weblinks as evidence. I CLEARLY stated in an earlier thread post on the page before this one that both Ebiras and Akoko Edos (Akoko Edos are ancestrally largely related to the Ebiras of Kogi State) of Northern Edo State share common land boundaries with the indigenous Okun-Yorubas of Kogi State and Akokoland in Ondo State. These ethnic groups speak Yoruba language and some bear Yoruba names due to acculturation and intermarriages with the Yorubas who are more than 60 million people worldwide, BUT you will NEVER find Yorubas claiming them in bogus expansionism because the Ebiras and Akoko Edo have their own distinct languages and cultures! There are many cases of ACCULTURATIONS around the North and South of Nigeria and the world.
First off, I lived in Port Harcourt and worked with a major multinational oil and gas company back in the 1990s right into the 2000s. So, I'm well-informed about the historical geopolitical dynamics of Port Harcourt and Rivers State. My first contact with Ikwerre folks was back in the 1980s with 2 buddies of mine who are individually prominent or well-known today from a very prominent Ikwerre family in PH. ALL the Ikwerre folks that I knew in PH told me they are NOT Igbos and I did ask how they came to bear Igboid names and some similarities in culture. Acculturation was the reason given
An Ikwerre friend of mine who's based in Lagos (He's now in his early 70s) told me just over a decade ago that he is Ikwerre NOT Igbo, though he's married to a woman from Imo. He told me how Nigerian Federal troops liberated Ikwerres from the repression of secessionist rebels because he was right in Port Harcourt region as of May 1968 when the city was liberated. On the other hand, a young man I knew in PH back then in the late 1990s who wasn't even from Rivers State but originally from Imo State got so impulsively irritated and volatile while angrily insisting that Ikwerres are "Igbos."Even after I left Port Harcourt and Rivers State down the road, I never forgot Rivers State and the intelligent, beautiful Ikwerre, Okrika, and Ogoni friends and other who left positive imprints on my mind. So, contrary to that last paragraph you IGNORANTLY posted, I very well have a RIGHT to "INTRUDE" into the issues and history of the Ikwerre people. YOU DON'T tell me what to get involved with or NOT! Right from 1981 till date, I've had a vast body of knowledge of advanced Nigerian history with massive collections of rare historical and archival materials in my home library and some of them are rare history books purchased in England (including old colonial records published before 1900)
Historically, as far back as 1956, the Ikwerres along with other ethnic minorities were part of the "Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers Movement" (OR COR Movement) demanding for a separation from alleged Igbo domination in the Old Eastern Region. The Southern Cameroonians NEVER hid the fact that they left the Old Eastern Region for Cameroon in 1963 because of perceived Igbo domination of other groups. As of 1963, the Ikwerres FINALLY established a new umbrella socio-cultural group named "Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide" with E. J. A Oriji as the pioneer Chairman and CLEARLY emphasized that they are NOT Igbos but of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality.This was way back in 1963 before the exactly 30 months Nigerian Civil War ever started in July 1967 to January 1970. (This wasn't a case of "denial" after the Civil War ended as alleged by highly ill-educated young groups of ipob Igbo members online and offline). It happened in 1963 right BEFORE the Nigerian Civil War. As of today, the Nigerian constitution recognizes the Ikwerre ethnic nationality as a distinct group in Rivers State.
In the 2016 NL thread BELOW that was created by an Ikwerre NL member, he detailed out exerpts from a biography book about Captain Elechi Amadi, a Nigerian Civil War veteran who served in Nigerian Army's 3rd Marine Commando Division:
As of the commencement of the construction of modern Port Harcourt, it was located at Rebisi, but expanded to incorporate neighboring villages, which include those from Ogoni and Okrika villages. Lord Frederick Lugard founded Port Harcourt originally at the Ikwerre and Ijaw settlement areas previously called Rebisi. (Years later this place became the epicenter of clashes over land ownership and court cases). Umuahia and Enugu were also founded by Lord Lugard around the same time frame as Port Harcourt.
There's NO doubt, people such as Azuta Mbata and the lawyer Uche Okwukwu (who I see from his recent video interviews to be an irredentist based on some of his highly volatile or incendiary comments) align with an "Igbo" identity. I have it on record from direct Ikwerre sources that some of those who claim to be Igbo in Ikwerreland are either of Aro settler descent or have Igbo mothers which are responsible for them identifying as Igbos. The core OGBAKOR IKWERE Worldwide STRONGLY affirmed in the Press Conference video of January 9, 2025 that Ikwerres are officially and legally recognized as a distinct ethnic nationality and any attempt to violently undo that status quo by especially the ipob Igbo with the relentless expansionist agenda against the Ikwerres in PH and environs, and the Benin-Edos, the Esan-Edos, the Ijaws, etc, will be met with very severe consequences.We've seen some viral videos of highly irresponsible young ipob Igbo members openly threatening to include OR annex the homelands of the Ikwerres, Benin-Edos, Isan-Edos, Ijaw communities, parts of Igalaland, etc, into the rest of Igbo land claiming those land as Igboland. These have led to a strong backlash of videos from angry male and female Edos from Benin, Esan, and Ijaws vowing to deal with Igbos in retaliation for the relentless unprovoked aggressions and toxic hate speech henceforth. All these have definitely been triggered by the hate videos created and uploaded online by highly irresponsible Igbo ipob aggressors. Those who FAIL to learn from verifiable history will learn the very hard way. Period.
[b]I DON’T HAVE ISSUES WITH IGBOS, I’M AN UNREPENTANT IKWERRE MAN
Last but not least, NO single Yoruba returnees and their descendants (from Brazil, Cuba, Sierra Leone, etc) to Eko Island (Lagos Island) OR Abeokuta from the mid to late-1800s bears a "Lebanese" name (sic) like you incorrectly stated in your post. What they have are Spanish surnames for returnees from Cuba, Portuguese-Brazilian surnames, British surnames for Yoruba returnees from the United States (such as the Vaughan and Jackson families) and Sierra Leone, the former British Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, etc.
As part of a wave of African nationalism, some Yoruba returnees from Brazil and elsewhere dropped their foreign names (such as the famous Prince of the Egba-Yoruba Royal family lineage of Abeokuta, Sir. Adeyemo Alakija, who founded Daily Times newspaper and he was the FIRST Nigerian to become a Queen's Counsel (QC) who dropped his old names after returning from his law studies in London to Nigeria in the 1910s. His former Brazilian name was Placido Adeyemo Asumpcao). Sir. Adeyemo Alakija is the direct patriarch of the lawyer, Modupe Alakija (the spouse of the Ikorodu, Lagos indigene and business mogul, Mrs. Folorunso Alakija).
Caseless: Indeed! But una de beg for this unity with Ikwerre people too much. Biafra de claim land all the way to the north.
First nothing concerns Biafra in this discussion. We are not begging for Ikwere unity but Igbo unity. There are many Igbo of Ikwere stock there must be respected. Those Ikwere is Ikwere must be respected. But making noise to undermine those who recognise their Igbo heritage will not be tolerated.
I will deal with some specifics here and give succinct keypoints with CLEAR videos and Weblinks as evidence. I CLEARLY stated in an earlier thread post on the page before this one that both Ebiras and Akoko Edos (Akoko Edos are ancestrally largely related to the Ebiras of Kogi State) of Northern Edo State share common land boundaries with the indigenous Okun-Yorubas of Kogi State and Akokoland in Ondo State. These ethnic groups speak Yoruba language and some bear Yoruba names due to acculturation and intermarriages with the Yorubas who are more than 60 million people worldwide, BUT you will NEVER find Yorubas claiming them in bogus expansionism because the Ebiras and Akoko Edo have their own distinct languages and cultures! There are many cases of ACCULTURATIONS around the North and South of Nigeria and the world.
First off, I lived in Port Harcourt and worked with a major multinational oil and gas company back in the 1990s right into the 2000s. So, I'm well-informed about the historical geopolitical dynamics of Port Harcourt and Rivers State. My first contact with Ikwerre folks was back in the 1980s with 2 buddies of mine who are individually prominent or well-known today from a very prominent Ikwerre family in PH. ALL the Ikwerre folks that I knew in PH told me they are NOT Igbos and I did ask how they came to bear Igboid names and some similarities in culture. Acculturation was the reason given
An Ikwerre friend of mine who's based in Lagos (He's now in his early 70s) told me just over a decade ago that he is Ikwerre NOT Igbo, though he's married to a woman from Imo. He told me how Nigerian Federal troops liberated Ikwerres from the repression of secessionist rebels because he was right in Port Harcourt region as of May 1968 when the city was liberated. On the other hand, a young man I knew in PH back then in the late 1990s who wasn't even from Rivers State but originally from Imo State got so impulsively irritated and volatile while angrily insisting that Ikwerres are "Igbos."Even after I left Port Harcourt and Rivers State down the road, I never forgot Rivers State and the intelligent, beautiful Ikwerre, Okrika, and Ogoni friends and other who left positive imprints on my mind. So, contrary to that last paragraph you IGNORANTLY posted, I very well have a RIGHT to "INTRUDE" into the issues and history of the Ikwerre people. YOU DON'T tell me what to get involved with or NOT! Right from 1981 till date, I've had a vast body of knowledge of advanced Nigerian history with massive collections of rare historical and archival materials in my home library and some of them are rare history books purchased in England (including old colonial records published before 1900)
Historically, [b]as far back as 1956, the Ikwerres along with other ethnic minorities were part of the "Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers Movement" (OR COR Movement) demanding for a separation from alleged Igbo domination in the Old Eastern Region. The Southern Cameroonians NEVER hid the fact that they left the Old Eastern Region for Cameroon in 1963 because of perceived Igbo domination of other groups. As of 1963, the Ikwerres FINALLY established a new umbrella socio-cultural group named "Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide" with E. J. A Oriji as the pioneer Chairman and CLEARLY emphasized that they are NOT Igbos but of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality. This was way back in 1963 before the exactly 30 months Nigerian Civil War ever started in July 1967 to January 1970. (This wasn't a case of "denial" after the Civil War ended as alleged by highly ill-educated young groups of ipob Igbo members online and offline). It happened in 1963 right BEFORE the Nigerian Civil War. As of today, the Nigerian constitution recognizes the Ikwerre ethnic nationality as a distinct group[/b] in Rivers State.
In the 2016 NL thread BELOW that was created by an Ikwerre NL member, he detailed out exerpts from a biography book about Captain Elechi Amadi, a Nigerian Civil War veteran who served in Nigerian Army's 3rd Marine Commando Division:
As of the commencement of the construction of modern Port Harcourt, it was located at Rebisi, but expanded to incorporate neighboring villages, which include those from Ogoni and Okrika villages. Lord Frederick Lugard founded Port Harcourt originally at the Ikwerre and Ijaw settlement areas previously called Rebisi. (Years later this place became the epicenter of clashes over land ownership and court cases). Umuahia and Enugu were also founded by Lord Lugard around the same time frame as Port Harcourt.
There's NO doubt, people such as Azuta Mbata and the lawyer Uche Okwukwu (who I see from his recent video interviews to be an irredentist based on some of his highly volatile or incendiary comments) align with an "Igbo" identity. I have it on record from direct Ikwerre sources that some of those who claim to be Igbo in Ikwerreland are either of Aro settler descent or have Igbo mothers which are responsible for them identifying as Igbos. The core OGBAKOR IKWERE Worldwide STRONGLY affirmed in the Press Conference video of January 9, 2025 that Ikwerres are officially and legally recognized as a distinct ethnic nationality and any attempt to violently undo that status quo by especially the ipob Igbo with the relentless expansionist agenda against the Ikwerres in PH and environs, and the Benin-Edos, the Esan-Edos, the Ijaws, etc, will be met with very severe consequences.We've seen some viral videos of highly irresponsible young ipob Igbo members openly threatening to include OR annex the homelands of the Ikwerres, Benin-Edos, Isan-Edos, Ijaw communities, parts of Igalaland, etc, into the rest of Igbo land claiming those land as Igboland. These have led to a strong backlash of videos from angry male and female Edos from Benin, Esan, and Ijaws vowing to deal with Igbos in retaliation for the relentless unprovoked aggressions and toxic hate speech henceforth. All these have definitely been triggered by the hate videos created and uploaded online by highly irresponsible Igbo ipob aggressors. Those who FAIL to learn from verifiable history will learn the very hard way. Period.
[b]I DON’T HAVE ISSUES WITH IGBOS, I’M AN UNREPENTANT IKWERRE MAN
Last but not least, NO single Yoruba returnees and their descendants (from Brazil, Cuba, Sierra Leone, etc) to Eko Island (Lagos Island) OR Abeokuta from the mid to late-1800s bears a "Lebanese" name (sic) like you incorrectly stated in your post. What they have are Spanish surnames for returnees from Cuba, Portuguese-Brazilian surnames, British surnames for Yoruba returnees from the United States (such as the Vaughan and Jackson families) and Sierra Leone, the former British Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, etc.
As part of a wave of African nationalism, some Yoruba returnees from Brazil and elsewhere dropped their foreign names (such as the famous Prince of the Egba-Yoruba Royal family lineage of Abeokuta, Sir. Adeyemo Alakija, who founded Daily Times newspaper and he was the FIRST Nigerian to become a Queen's Counsel (QC) who dropped his old names after returning from his law studies in London to Nigeria in the 1910s. His former Brazilian name was Placido Adeyemo Asumpcao). Sir. Adeyemo Alakija is the direct patriarch of the lawyer, Modupe Alakija (the spouse of the Ikorodu, Lagos indigene and business mogul, Mrs. Folorunso Alakija).[/b]
@ Konquest
I do wonder what you benefits from this rift. You didn't say anything about the community names I mentioned in my earlier post. The establishment of ogbakor ikwerre in 1963 was not to identify as a distinct ethnic group as you claim, rather it was for political mobilization. There was similar groups like that among various Igbo subgroup. Like the orlu progressive union.
Elechi Amadi that you mentioned, registered in the Nigerian army as Igbo man. He only started fabricating lies when he saw that IGBOS were no longer in advantageous position in Nigeria after the civil war. I lived in ikwerre land for decades and I can tell you emphatically that there is no doubt that some individual might have migrated from bini centuries ago. Those set of individuals are at the minority. They eventually rose among the elites in new rivers state after the war, and generalized that all ikwerres are not Igbo. I really don't blame them for their misguided attitude because during the war, the Nigerian grand design was to wipe out the entire Igbo race. So it was logical and justifiable to deny being Igbo at that time.
for your information, Elechi Amadi hails from a village called mbodo, which means 'foreigners' in Igbo language.in the olden days, that village was often segregated among the near by community. they were always the last to participatew in community rites. What do you expect from someone from that community? Aro that you mentioned. Do you know the history of Aro in lkwerre land? Do you know that Aros were in that land before the arrived of the so called akalala from bini?
IGBOS do not really need ikwerres for anything provided they let go of what belongs to the IGBOS that they have. If you are in Lagos or southwest, you should know better that an average Igbo man don't give a dime about ikwerre being Igbo or not. Just as I said before, anyone who is not Igbo is definitely a nuisance. Port Harcourt is to IGBOS what Lagos is to Yorubas. I know many ikwerres that proudly identify as Igbo. This is a photo of an ikwerre chief back then in the early 1900s. Before independence.
Bede2u: if you know of a local government in this our one Nigeria that speaks your language 100% and follows your customary practices but says they have 'nothing' to do with you, won't you find it strange? That's what's happening here bro, nothing to do with oil or Biafra. I never hear say Enugu man steal Imo state oil. Even Ebonyi that accepts being Igbo said they are not part of Biafra. Ikwere can be Igbo and still refuse to be part of Biafra or share their oil with SE. We have more oil in SE than ALL ikwere local government areas combined, not to even talk about gas.
: for the record ikweres no get oil for river state. They are parasite in River state, they have the biggest land. Simply put they're what Northern Nigeria is to Southern Nigeria. They contribute nothing to River state just using their numbers to oppress other minorities in the State. And this number is aided because of other Igbos speaking ppl
I do wonder what you benefits from this rift. You didn't say anything about the community names I mentioned in my earlier post. The establishment of ogbakor ikwerre in 1963 was not to identify as a distinct ethnic group as you claim, rather it was for political mobilization. There was similar groups like that among various Igbo subgroup. Like the orlu progressive union.
Elechi Amadi that you mentioned, registered in the Nigerian army as Igbo man. He only started fabricating lies when he saw that IGBOS were no longer in advantageous position in Nigeria after the civil war.
I lived in ikwerre land for decades and I can tell you emphatically that there is no doubt that some individual might have migrated from bini centuries ago. Those set of individuals are at the minority. They eventually rose among the elites in new rivers state after the war, and generalized that all ikwerres are not Igbo. I really don't blame them for their misguided attitude because during the war, the Nigerian grand design was to wipe out the entire Igbo race. So it was logical and justifiable to deny being Igbo at that time.
for your information, Elechi Amadi hails from a village called mbodo, which means 'foreigners' in Igbo language.in the olden days, that village was often segregated among the near by community. they were always the last to participatew in community rites. What do you expect from someone from that community?
Aro that you mentioned. Do you know the history of Aro in lkwerre land? Do you know that Aros were in that land before the arrived of the so called akalala from bini?
IGBOS do not really need ikwerres for anything provided they let go of what belongs to the IGBOS that they have.
If you are in Lagos or southwest, you should know better that an average Igbo man don't give a dime about ikwerre being Igbo or not. Just as I said before, anyone who is not Igbo is definitely a nuisance.
Port Harcourt is to IGBOS what Lagos is to Yorubas. I know many ikwerres that proudly identify as Igbo.
This is a photo of an ikwerre chief back then in the early 1900s. Before independence.
If you had read my post that you quoted properly, you would have seen where I clearly stated that I lived in PH back in the 1990s to the 2000s and also worked with a major multinational oil and gas company in Port Harcourt right in Ikwerreland. I'm currently a Diasporan of Nigerian descent but I fly into Nigeria from time to time. I clearly stated that I asked most of my Ikwerre friends who are highly educated folks who occupy top positions in the society (from very influential and prominent families) about the Igboid names and similarities in the names of places (Rumuokoro, Rumuola, etc) and more, so, I didn't have to repeat all that because they are obvious.
So, based of off the archival materials available to me, I've been aware for many years now that some of the British colonial records grouped or classified Ikwerres as "Ibos." So, the picture you attached here of the alleged Ikwerre man isn't strange to me. The difference folks now called Ibo that the British colonialists grouped as one entity after 1900 NEVER referred to themselves COLLECTIVELY as Ibos before 1900! It was the British that created the concept of an Ibo ethnic group and "central Ibo language" (distinct from sublanguages) was also created from this same colonial plan.Prior to that, every group identified with the names of their independent subgroups (such as Mbaise, Ngwa, Aro, Abam, Ohafia, Oka, Owere, etc), with some of them being hostile to one another. The etymology of the name Ibo (Igbo) is actually derived from an "impolite" OR "derogatory" term that the ethnic neighbors surrounding the peoples living East of the River Niger location refered to the peoples living there. The word Ibo (Igbo) is derived from the ethnic Igala word "Onigbo" referred to the primitive people lived in the bush, who ate human beings (ate human beings for food) and were captured by the Igalas as slaves to be sold to Aboh in Delta State. The Binis and other Edos also used the derogatory term "Igbon" meaning "slave" to refer to people East of Niger. The folks of Asaba and Onitsha also used the term "Onye Igbo" to refer to those living East of Onitsha. There are screenshots of well-researched books by Nigerian and international authors that clearly talk about this fact of history.
However, from 1963 when Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide was formed, what currently subsists as of 2025 is that as the APEX body of all genuine Ikwerre sons and daughters worldwide consisting of the membership of all major Ikwerre traditional rulers from the 7 Ikwerre kingdoms, the stand of that sociocultural association is that they are NOT Ibos! All the traditional rulers of Ikwerre communities as can be seen in the video right BELOW emphatically endorsed the actions so far carried out by Ogbakor Ikwerre. Furthermore Azuta Mata has been excommunicated from his community for identifying with the Ibo Ohaneze organization and further punitive measures against him and his family members have been set in motion.
AZUTA MBATA STRIPPED OFF IKWERRE TRADITIONAL TITTLES FOR ACCEPTING OHANEZE NDIIGBO OFFICE
Unless Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide's leadership and the Ikwerre traditional rulers who are also members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide come out today to say that they are Ibos, Ikwerres will remain members of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality to me and other decerning people who know how the interior Ibos flooded right into especially PH and started trying to dominate the Ikwerres. My Ikwerres friends and associates over the years told me how the Ibos from other places came to lord it over them right from the Colonial times till during the Nigerian Civil War with the subsequent liberation of Port Harcourt in May 1968 and other surrounding Ikwerre communities from the secessionist rebels by gallant troops of the 3rd Marine Commando Division led by the then General Officer Commanding (GOC), Col. Benjamin Adekunle. It was they who released Elechi Amadi from prison detention of the secessionist because Elechi Amadi refused to fight on the side of the rebel secessionists!
Last but not least, I will find out more about the history and name of Mgbodo Village in Aluu, Ikwerre LGA, where the academic, author, and retired Nigerian Civil War veteran, Captain Elechi Amadi was born in 1934 to know if indeed they were called "foreigners" and "ostracized" as outcasts (more like what core Igbos still do to the "Osu" people in their midst till today) because I know people who are connected to the Elechi Amadi family.
If you had read my post that you quoted properly, you would have seen where I clearly stated that I lived in PH back in the 1990s to the 2000s and also worked with a major multinational oil and gas company in Port Harcourt right in Ikwerreland. I'm currently a Diasporan of Nigerian descent but I fly into Nigeria from time to time. I clearly stated that I asked my most of my Ikwerre friends who are highly educated from very influential and prominent families about the similarities in the names of places (Rumuokoro, Rumuola, etc) and more, so, I didn't have to repeat all that.
So, I've been aware for many years now based of off the archival materials available to me that some of the British colonial records grouped or classified Ikwerres as "Ibos." So, the picture you attached of the alleged Ikwerre man isn't strange to me. The difference folks that the British grouped as one entity after 1900 NEVER referred to themselves Collectively as Ibos before 1900! It was the British that created the concept of an Ibo ethnic group and central Ibo also evolved from this same colonial plan. Prior to that, every group identified with the names of their independent subgroups (such as Mbaise, Ngwa, Aro, Abam, Ohafia, Oka, Owere, etc), with some them being hostile to one another. The etymology of the name Ibo (Igbo) is actually an "impolite" OR "derogatory" name that the ethnic neighbors surrounding the current East of the River Niger location refered to the peoples living there. The word is derived from the igala word "Onigbo" which means the primitive people lived in the bush and were captured as slaves to be sold to Aboh in Delta State. The Binis and other Edos also used the derogatory term "Igbon" meaning "slave" to refer to people East of Niger. The folks of Asaba and Onitsha also used the term "Onye Igbo" to refer to There are screenshots of well-researched books by Nigerian and international authors that clearly talk about this.
However, from 1963 when Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide was formed, what currently subsists as of 2025 is that as the APEX body of all genuine Ikwerre sons and daughters worldwide consisting of the membership of all Ikwerre traditional rulers, the stand of that sociocultural association is that they are NOT Ibos! All the traditional rulers of Ikwerre communities emphatically endorse the actions so far carried out by Ogbakor Ikwerre. Furthermore Azuta Mata has been excommunicated from his community for identifying with the Ibo Ohaneze organization and further punitive measures against him and his family members have been set in motion.
Unless Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide's leadership and the Ikwerre traditional rulers who are also members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Worldwide come out today to say that they are Ibos, Ikwerres will remain members of the Ikwerre ethnic nationality to me and other decerning people who know how the interior Ibos flooded right into especially PH and started trying to dominate the Ikwerres. My Ikwerres friends and associates over the years told me how the Ibos from other places came to lord it over them right from the Colonial times till during the Nigerian Civil War with the subsequent liberation of Port Harcourt in May 1968 and other surrounding Ikwerre communities from the secessionist rebels by gallant troops of the 3rd Marine Commando Division led by the then General Officer Commanding (GOC), Col. Benjamin Adekunle. It was they who released Elechi Amadi from prison detention of the secessionist because Elechi Amadi refused to fight on the side of the rebel secessionists!
Last but not least, I will find out more about the history and name of the hometown of the retired Nigerian Civil War veteran, Captain Elechi Amadi's to know if indeed they were called "foreigners" and "ostracized" (more like what Igbos still do to the Osus in their midst till today) because I know people who are connected to the Elechi Amadi family.
It will be nice if you do not base your argument on third party sources. Whose options are definitely subjective and lack substancial and emperical evidence.
The president of ohanaeze was keenly contested by about 6 ikwerre sons. And Mbata happen to be the one that was chosen.
The question line is.....DOES THE SO CALLED OGBAKOR IKWERRE HAVE SUCH POWERS TO BAN MBATA FROM ASSOCIATING WITH HIS KINSMEN ? DOES THE ASSOCIATION HAVE THE POWER TO WITHDRAW ALL HIS CHIEFTENCY TITLE? it seem you are not aware of one of the fundamental human rights which is also enshrined in the Nigerian constitution. i.e freedom of association. To me that statement and the activities of ogbakor ikwerre is sponsored by detractors like wike. MBATA was congratulated by various ikwerre sons and daughters. Even the president him self and the state governor congratulated him. Hon. Chijioke the chairman of his local government (obiakpor) was the one who led the Rivers state delegation to Enugu where he was elected. You shouldn't use a statement made by few privileged people to generalize.
This ikwerre matter is been overflogged. I really don't see the sense in it. Ikwerre we are talking about only made up of 3 and half local governments. with a population of roughly 2M. i.e Emuoha, obiakpor, ikwerre and half of port Harcourt. (southern PH is inhabited by the ijaws. Other Igbo subgroups such as the etche, ndokis, ndoni, egbema, and ahoada in Rivers state, dosenot have crisis identity. Excluding the ikwerres and ogbas. Ogbakor ikwerre is just a locust that think himself as a bird. But oneday it will realize that it is not a bird, and that it can never be a bird. Maybe it will eventually realize that when it has be eaten by the bird.
You are a learned and enlightened person. You should have a critical mindset. You shouldn't believe everything you hear or read from books written by authors that write about things they know little or nothing about. How can you believe that the word Igbo originated from the igala word onigbo. You are talking as if the igala nation that was eastablished in the 13th century precede The nri kingdom (Igbo) that was established in the 9th century. Ask Google the oldest tribe in Nigeria and you will see the answer. If you are a good student of history, you should know that igala itself was an offspring of the Igbo tribe.
How is VAT contribution same as oil deposit and quantity of BPD each state produces? once again, you have proven those that always say Awolowo's free education is a scam to be right.
? DOES THE ASSOCIATION HAVE THE POWER TO WITHDRAW ALL HIS CHIEFTENCY TITLE