According to Igbodefender.com,the Aniomas are the Igbos whom the Yorubas say were pre-existing in Ile Ife when they first came there. The Aniomas are Igbos.

bbb

[quote
author=belltwelve]According to Igbodefender.com,the Aniomas are the
Igbos whom the Yorubas say were pre-existing in Ile Ife when they first
came there. The Aniomas are Igbos.[/quote] Does that make sense to you.

[quote author=AndreUweh post=5944078][/quote]agbotean i love ur package.dont border urself about all those greedy fellows who cannot stay in their territory. Im a
Ukwuani. I like people who defend their ethnic identity. Never give up on this issue. Igbos r confused

AndreUweh:
@Agbotaen: At the last Anioma cultural festival at Asaba last year (26/04/2010). The Delta state commisioner for culture-Richard Mofe-Damijo spoke extensively about Igbo Culture, the display of Igbo culture and he rounded up by praising the Igbo people. The Ika monarchs were there as well as other Delta Igbo Obis. No Ika Obi objected to his presentation and they all had handshakes with him. So why didn't the Ika monarchs say no that they are now a new ethnic group?.

my bro u too dey add sugar...lies

AndreUweh:


RMD: RICHARD MOFE-DAMIJO.

richard mofe damijo is a yoruba man not itsekiri because yoruba and itsekir are the same ethnic group. His names sounds so yorubaish...no doubt

victor1464:
richard mofe damijo is a yoruba man not itsekiri because yoruba and itsekir are the same ethnic group. His names sounds so yorubaish...no doubt

I...I...can't make sense of what you are trying to say here.


Based on the little sense I can make out if this warped comment, maybe you shouldn't complain at all when anyone says Ukwuani and Igbo are the same ethnic group, and that you are an Igbo man.

agbotaen:
i bet wiki peadia is where most igbo baby historians cull their history , while we ika people know who we are ,and we are ika ethnic group, if you igbos like keep writing rubbish on most web page ,but when the chips are down ika people will deny you , it happen in 1967 ,when we rejected going along with igbos ,and in 1930 our elders stopped the igbo day celebration from taking place in ika land. and you can even see how our monarchs distance themselves from ohaneze ndigbo or igbo ethnic meetings .the fact remains that no complete ika person of ika ethnic nationality will say he is igbo. we know our history and no amount of majority forceful propaganda will make us igbo, moreover we know igbos are masters of lies and propaganda just like they did during the civil war,as we have seen how they try to reverse ika history , names , and language and turn it to igbo,
the culture , language and traditions of ika people are distinct from that of igbos.
your people are without kings ,and if not for the europeans who created warrant chiefs in igboland that later became kings ,
i am proud of my traditions and i am ika , we have never claimed to be bini, but we acknowledge that most of our founding fathers by their names and tradition came from benin, we also acknowledge that some later founders and settlers in ika were igbos and they left a mark in the culture .but who are we today we are ikas,i have mixed with igbos a lot and this has made me realise the uniqueness and difference of being an ika person as our world view is different from theirs ,and i have also moved with benin people and learnt many things too .

Fallacious claims to say the least!
"...but we acknowledge that most of our founding fathers by their names and tradition came from benin, we also acknowledge that some later founders and settlers in ika were igbos and they left a mark in the culture"

Sorry but the above does not follow.
Most of your founding fathers came from Benin with their traditions and names...while Igbos later settled in Ika with your Benin founders
But the evidence on the ground points to the contrary my friend.
An uninformed reader might imagine that Benin is thousands of miles away from Ika land...hence the word "migrate" or "came from".
Benin is just a stone throw from Ika and literally borders Ika towns.
Benin cultures and traditions are too dominant to give way to migratory settlers...that's one.
Any casual study of your so-called bini kingship structures will bring to fore the fact these were borrowed cultures and not really native to the people...that's two.
Language is the primary identification of any ethnic group...if a language dies out...its primarly because the speakers either died out or were colonized by dominant groups over time. Ikas have been flourishing for a long time in their ancestral lands...infact Agbor prides herself on her wars with the benin empire. So clearly no external dominant culture was foisted on Ika. Even Issele-uku that was a vassal of benin retained her base language and traditions...so much so you can differentiate between the borrowed words and the base Igbo language.
So your origins cannot be benin...except you bring for conclusive proof, cos till next tomorrow Ika as a whole still speaks an Igbo dialect....that's three.
If you lots were confused by the autonomous and independent nature of the various Igbo clans across the Niger...and thus claim your uniqueness by pointing out that you practice kingship which the republican igbos abhor...it can still be proved to that your kingship is in the main borrowed from benin...with your "adas from benin", your "iyases" and the likes not being native to you.

Finally still on the language angle...be honest.
Why do you folks speak an Igbo dialect?
Why do you bear Igbo names and practise Igbo traditions?
Don't post borrowed Benin words cos there are clans in Igbo land like the ohafias and abribas who bear Efik/ibibio names and have acculturated both ways.
Also, I'm sure you know most igbo dialects are not completely mutually understandable to most speakers.
So your uniqueness is not in that aspect.
Ask yourself why Igbos from the east with no prior knowledge of Ikas and their "benin origins"...seem to "confuse" you for Igbos.
Be honest.

victor1464:
richard mofe damijo is a yoruba man not itsekiri because yoruba and itsekir are the same ethnic group. His names sounds so yorubaish...no doubt

@victor1464

Richard Evans Eyimofe Damijo is an Urhobo
frpm Udu in Delta State. His mother is however
am Itsekiri. A lot of Itsekiris have Urhobo ancestry because of intermarriages. In the past
many Urhobo settlements came under the
Itsekiri trading empire of Nana of Itsekiri
before 1900. Titles such as Olorogun or
Oloriogun(War Commander) in Yoruba are of
Itsekiri Origin - used in Urhoboland.

belltwelve:
According to Igbodefender.com,the Aniomas are the Igbos whom the Yorubas say were pre-existing in Ile Ife when they first came there. The Aniomas are Igbos.

There is NO such history among the Yoruba!
Such Websites like the one you quoted above
are very notorious for peddling false propaganda
about other people's histories.

One CRAZY and mentally unstable person
once wrote that the Ibos where the original
settlers in Abeokuta because Okwute means
rock in Ibo. No such history exists. This lunanic
also said the Egbas are Ibos. To my surprise
I observed that some gullible people abroad
and in Nigeria - even on Nairaland had copied
this piece of false information on their Websites
and blogs. Even the Igbo in Ijebu Igbo, Igbo Ora,
Igbomina, Igbobi, etc, has nothing to do
with the Ibos.


As far as I know, and I have spent decades reading about the history and cultures of several
Nigerian and Diasporian peoples because I hate
not knowing about other people's cultures, Aniomas come from multiple ancestries.

Infact, concrete research work on migratory
patterns in Anioma shows that out of the
slightly over 100 communities in Delta North,
only about 20% trace their origins to the
Ibo, East of River Niger. The rest have Igala, Edo,
Yoruba, Esan, some Nupe, Ijaw, etc. This is based
on a research from a University in Delta State.

Delta North communities know who they are
and were their original ancestors came from.
I am particularly thrilled by the great Igala people
and the presence of their descendants in
what is known as the Igala-associated
communities of Ebu, Okpanam, Asaba, and
even Illah, the hometown of Stephen Keshi,
Frank Olize, and Desmond Elliot's mum..

Some communities in Anioma still speak
their dialects of Edoid, Yoruboid, and Igalloid
forms of communication such as Ebu where Igalla is spoken, Igbodu where the Olukunmis
speak a dialect of Yoruba - the Olukunmis
share boundaries with the Esans of Edo
state and where the FIRST to settle in their land
after leaving Esanland, because they were
originally in Benin but left during the Ogiso era
according to their king Oloza Ayo Isinyemeze.


It was through acculturation or borrowing of
the cultures of their neighbors that made
some of these non-Ibo people to adopt
bilingualism for the purpose of trading..

If you go to Anambra North you will find
indigenous Igalas there. Igalas are originally
boat people so there were crossings from
the East of the Niger to the West of the Niger
River and they made landings in Asaba as well.


Ibos are not the only influences in Delta North
and the quest to make the whole of Anioma
into an Ibo State as being championed by some
people on some propaganda Websites will
NOT succeed because the GREAT people of
Anioma are a "Rainbow Nation" even though
central ibo (an artificial creation of the British
colonial era) is understood by them.

The Anioma peoples of Aniocha, Ika, Oshimili,
and Ndokwa have fascinated me for more than
20 years now with their exotic history. During
the Ekumeku War with the British, they
all came together and provided resistance
and War Commanders from the Olukunmi
community of Eko Efun(meaning white chalk)
otherwise known as Ukwunzu are noted in the
list of battle commanders from several
communities of Anioma, East and West of the
River Niger.

Oguta, Ogbaru, Onitsha, etc, are some of the
Anioma communites that were balkanised
by the British after they were defeated.

I think Anioma communities are ripe for a DNA
test to be carried out on the different clans and
quarters in every Delta North community. This
paternal and maternal DNA tests which have
been done on Lebanese people which
detected Phoenician ancestry in a lot of
Lebanese irrespective of religion, can be
financed by the cultural groups, and business
moguls such as the Agbor-born Jim Ovia,
Nduka Obaigbena, Tony Elumelu, and more,
to lay to rest the actual ancestries of the Anioma
communities instead of just relying on oral
traditions which can easily be manipulated.

Even DNA samples can be obtained from
Eze Chima and his descendants in Onitsha
and other Delta North locations to finally
know whether he was an Ibo who left Benin
or whether he was an Edo man who settled
in Onitsha Ado.

Mapletraks:


There is NO such history among the Yoruba!
Such Websites like the one you quoted above
are very notorious for peddling false propaganda
about other people's histories.

One CRAZY and mentally unstable person
once wrote that the Ibos where the original
settlers in Abeokuta because Okwute means
rock in Ibo. No such history exists. This lunanic
also said the Egbas are Ibos. To my surprise
I observed that some gullible people abroad
and in Nigeria - even on Nairaland had copied
this piece of false information on their Websites
and blogs. Even the Igbo in Ijebu Igbo, Igbo Ora,
Igbomina, Igbobi, etc, has nothing to do
with the Ibos.

I too find it to be the nonsensical imaginations of a few unlettered minds.
The late pseudo-historian...some Ibo lady...went as far as claiming Obatala is the father of the Igbo nation!
Was wondering if she meant Orisa Nla or the ancient ruler at Ife...
Dont remember informed Igbos correcting her fallacious statements.
I think in general Igbos seem to have this silly inferiority complex which they mask using load boasts
and chest beating(I said it).
Why attach other people's history to your own? People you have no oral history about...whom you never had
direct dealings with before precolonial times? Why can't you just be proud of whatever history you have?
I'm actually on a mission to cure the Igbos in Delta state of their "Bini origin" delusion because of this.
It find irritating.

Mapletraks:

As far as I know, and I have spent decades reading about the history and cultures of several
Nigerian and Diasporian peoples because I hate
not knowing about other people's cultures, Aniomas come from multiple ancestries.

Factual...they are a mixture of different peoples with diverse origins.
What is not completely clear is the what percentage came from where.

Mapletraks:

Infact, concrete research work on migratory
patterns in Anioma shows that out of the
slightly over 100 communities in Delta North,
only about 20% trace their origins to the
Ibo, East of River Niger. The rest have Igala, Edo,
Yoruba, Esan, some Nupe, Ijaw, etc. This is based
on a research from a University in Delta State.

I tag that research faulty until they can give conclusive answers to the question of why Igbo is the lingua franca of Delta North.
Infact going by their claims, Edo tongue should have been the lingua franca. They all should have been bearing Edo names
and practicing pure Bini traditions.
The Ebus and Olukumis are all fluent Igbo speakers...and THIS WAS NOT a recent phenomena.
Heck, even the Olukumis are complaining that their younger generation are loosing touch with their base Yoruba tongue!
The pervasive culture/tradition is Igbo with heavy borrowing from Bini.
There is no known history of forceful acculturation by the Igbos...the dominant power before the colonial era
was Bini...culturally and politically. Therefore Igbo tongue and customs COULD NOT HAVE BEEN FORCED on the whole
of Delta North. The peoples who acculturated and took up Igbo language and customs...were clearly the migrants
in the midst of AN IGBO MAJORITY.
This Igbo majority maintained their identity FIERCELY in the typical clannish manner
reminiscent of the Igbos, even the Igbanke in that are situated very close to Bini city and a bit isolated
from their Anioma kins retained their Igbo tongue and ways.
So that 20% is either concocted, not well researched or the product of FALLACIOUS CLAIMS to non-existent ancestries
peddled by folks suffering from inferiority complex in Delta North.

Mapletraks:

Delta North communities know who they are
and were their original ancestors came from.
I am particularly thrilled by the great Igala people
and the presence of their descendants in
what is known as the Igala-associated
communities of Ebu, Okpanam, Asaba, and
even Illah, the hometown of Stephen Keshi,
Frank Olize, and Desmond Elliot's mum..

Some communities in Anioma still speak
their dialects of Edoid, Yoruboid, and Igalloid
forms of communication such as Ebu where Igalla is spoken, Igbodu where the Olukunmis
speak a dialect of Yoruba - the Olukunmis
share boundaries with the Esans of Edo
state and where the FIRST to settle in their land
after leaving Esanland, because they were
originally in Benin but left during the Ogiso era
according to their king Oloza Ayo Isinyemeze.


It was through acculturation or borrowing of
the cultures of their neighbors that made
some of these non-Ibo people to adopt
bilingualism for the purpose of trading..

The question you are either avoiding or are not informed enough to ask is...why did they overwhelmingly borrow Igbo?
Why not Edo? Atleast the ones known to be Edo migrants in Nigeria...Afemai, Esan...all speak Edo tongues.
With the claims and counter-claims to Bini ancestry in Delta North...what are they still doing with Igbo?
The ones known to be migrants from other areas...the Ebus and Olukumis...retain their native tongues till today.
They are the ones who have acculturated...and they are in the minority.
The majority have no known native tongue to retain...sure words were borrowed from Bini and all that...
But the native tongue remains 95% Igbo. I'm sure you know that.
It was not the Igbos who adopted Igalla, it was not the Igbos who adopted Olukumi Yoruba,
it was not the Igbos who adopted the Bini tongue of the Bini migrants...
The migrants overwhelmingly adopted the language and customs of THEIR HOSTS.
If a people adopt another language for the purpose of trading...it can only mean a few things...
(1) They are strangers and migrants in the land they adopted a new language for trading
(2) The natives whose language was adopted for trading ARE THE MAJORITY and ARE NOT THE SAME people
as the minority who adopted their language for trading
(3) To lump the people whose language was adopted for trading with the OTHER PEOPLE who adopted
their language for trading...as ONE PEOPLE...or declare them to HAVE THE SAME ANCESTRY...is a historical fallacy.
And that is where I owe you a correction.
Quit with the historical revisionism. Tell your fathers and grand fathers to be proud of who they are.
Posterity will judge them unkindly if they leave a legacy of lies and historical untruths.

Mapletraks:

If you go to Anambra North you will find
indigenous Igalas there. Igalas are originally
boat people so there were crossings from
the East of the Niger to the West of the Niger
River and they made landings in Asaba as well.


Ibos are not the only influences in Delta North
and the quest to make the whole of Anioma
into an Ibo State as being championed by some
people on some propaganda Websites will
NOT succeed because the GREAT people of
Anioma are a "Rainbow Nation" even though
central ibo (an artificial creation of the British
colonial era) is understood by them.

Ofcourse they are not the only influences in Delta North.
But again I ask...what is the dominant language and culture in Delta North?

Mapletraks:


The Anioma peoples of Aniocha, Ika, Oshimili,
and Ndokwa have fascinated me for more than
20 years now with their exotic history. During
the Ekumeku War with the British, they
all came together and provided resistance
and War Commanders from the Olukunmi
community of Eko Efun(meaning white chalk)
otherwise known as Ukwunzu are noted in the
list of battle commanders from several
communities of Anioma, East and West of the
River Niger.

Oguta, Ogbaru, Onitsha, etc, are some of the
Anioma communites that were balkanised
by the British after they were defeated.

I think Anioma communities are ripe for a DNA
test to be carried out on the different clans and
quarters in every Delta North community. This
paternal and maternal DNA tests which have
been done on Lebanese people which
detected Phoenician ancestry in a lot of
Lebanese irrespective of religion, can be
financed by the cultural groups, and business
moguls such as the Agbor-born Jim Ovia,
Nduka Obaigbena, Tony Elumelu, and more,
to lay to rest the actual ancestries of the Anioma
communities instead of just relying on oral
traditions which can easily be manipulated.

Even DNA samples can be obtained from
Eze Chima and his descendants in Onitsha
and other Delta North locations to finally
know whether he was an Ibo who left Benin
or whether he was an Edo man who settled
in Onitsha Ado.

You ended up not making any point. All the above is well known.
I believe it will be in your best interest to go back home to you father and elders and ask them deep questions.
When the fathers lie about the boundaries on lands they own...their children will suffer the consequences of incursion into
the lands of their neighbours.
It appears the elders of Anioma are infested with a serious malady of inferiority complex.
Do the Binis of yesterday and today not call you lots "ovwie Igbo"?
The Binis call you "ovwie Igbo"...you turn around and call the SE Igbos "onye Igbo"?
What's that?
Who introduced Igbo into their midst?
Have the Binis ever acknowledged the mythical ancestry you lots attribute to them?
What's up with the whole Bini fascination?
Are those borrowed Bini customs of Igue, Iyase...native to you?
How come you lots speak Igbo, bear Igbo names and practice Igbo customs?
Are you aware of how similar Agbor spoken Igbo is to Owerri dialect?
Do the indigenes of Owa know how many Umu-Owas there are in Imo state?
How many Onichas do you think there are across the 5 eastern states?
Whether or not they practice monarchy or have Bini-style political systems DOES NOT NEGATE the fact
that you are all still Igbo speaking people...and whatever Bini style culture you have WAS BORROWED.
Don't accept conjectures or superiority claims over the Igbos across the Niger.
A superior people/civilization do not adopt the language and customs of inferior people.
Its the other way round. Demand honest answers and quit making yourselves look silly before other people.
As a student of history....I find it pathetic.

ChinenyeN:
Haha. . Nri child. You're the only one here shouting. Calm down and stop stressing yourself. My identity is Ngwa. Yours is "Igbo". It's all good. No need to lose your voice over it.

Anyway, the Ika can go if they want.

How old are you

christopher123:
How old are you

Tonychristopher, is this you?

why asking ..people keep asking this question? Ngwa man

ChinenyeN:


Tonychristopher, is this you?

tonychristopher:
why asking ..people keep asking this question? Ngwa man

You didn't answer the question. Are you and christopher123 different individuals or the same individual just with multiple NL handles? There's nothing wrong with that. NL bots have done their fair share of unnecessary banning, causing people to create alternate user ID's. It's not unusual.

ChinenyeN:


You didn't answer the question. Are you and christopher123 different individuals or the same individual just with multiple NL handles? There's nothing wrong with that. NL bots have done their fair share of unnecessary banning, causing people to create alternate user ID's. It's not unusual.

any historian,writer etc who get his/her major facts 4rm wikipedia or any other irrelevant source without consultation is a baby writer,journalist,etc

ezeagu:

Moon light stories indeed. It seems that everybody around the Igbo has some origin theory out of Bini, as if the Edo empire is even a fraction of the age of the Igbo civilization. From Ijaw to Kalabari all the way to Ikwerre and then all the way to Ika, there are people saying they originate from one city, and somehow their origins have miraculously kept void of Igbo orgin despite them being at least 20 times larger and older than Bini city, and Igbo influence is said to have come "later", how ridiculous.

It's quite interesting how the igbos fight a lot to find kinsmen from across the globe...how well they do in maintaining such kinship is a talk for another day.

The Ikas are a nation of mixed origins. You can hardly tie them to a single ethinicity but the largest could very well be the Igbos because of the Ute and Owa populations, however, being colonial states of the Bini Empire for so many years has left the royalty more of the Bini blood than Ibo. Agbor before the igbo settlements began to grow had already become an established kingdom with known dynasties dating farther than the Obas. The Dein of Agbor is of the Ogiso's royal blood - the worshiped kings of Idu (Bini in Ika language) before the ascent of the Obas.

The Ika people has nationalities from Nri, Ndi-oru (Ukwani), Aniocha, Idu, Ishan and Yoruba.

Agha Idu (Ika word for the great Bini Civil war that preceded the fall of the great empire) explains in better details the constitution of the area known today as Delta North (or Ndi Anioma). The great pursuit against the Eze Nri (though folklore's description of this great siege would make him more of an Nri High Priest in the service of the Oba than a King) scattered the Bini princes across the area with the highest ranking of them settling in Onitsha and Okpanam (I know most Igbos would argue strongly against the Obi of Onitsha being of Bini heritage, but that's a talk for another day, a quick clarification would be his possession of an Oben le Ogwugwu - the Oba's traditional staff office presented to his "delegated" rulers. The Onitsha ruler also goes with the title Obi and dresses in same manner as those of kings enthroned by the empire). Agha Idu also throws open the fact that these satellite states existed before the arrival of the princes and thus their rulership of the people can only best be described as a "colonization". From Alifekede to Uzo-igbon (later renamed Ahaba (english - Asaba)) and just across Omihin (River Niger) reigned the Oba through the Obis until the fall of the great empire, whence most of these satellite colonies became independent - though till Oba Akenzua's reign most have remained distantly loyal to the Bini throne in matters of traditional rites.


Call them Binis, call them Igbos, the Ikas has long evolved from being one of the Bini strongest colony to become a great nation and people that has flourished independent of their migrant origins to develop a truly strong economy, language, culture and a rare nation of many kingdoms: Ute, Owa, Agbor, Umunede, Mbiri, Igbanke, Akumazi, Igbodo, Otolokpo and Obior

PabloAfricanus:



I tag that research faulty until they can give conclusive answers to the question of why Igbo is the lingua franca of Delta North.
Infact going by their claims, Edo tongue should have been the lingua franca. They all should have been bearing Edo names
and practicing pure Bini traditions.
The Ebus and Olukumis are all fluent Igbo speakers...and THIS WAS NOT a recent phenomena.
Heck, even the Olukumis are complaining that their younger generation are loosing touch with their base Yoruba tongue!
The pervasive culture/tradition is Igbo with heavy borrowing from Bini.

See my earlier response for a clearer understanding of the Ika origins. About Ibo been the lingua franca, it is evident to every Ika born who grew up in Ika land in the before the 80's that Ika language had dua words for most items such as Okpan and Afere for plate, Isere and Ejshi/ Ezi for frontage, etc.

Of a truth, there existed communities with strong Igbo languages prior to the arrival of the missionaries, these communities such as Ute and Owa would boast of more modern ibo settlers than the predominantly Bini communities like Agbor. However, the strongest impact of the igbo language on the Ika language came from the highly successful missionary work in the area propagated mainly by Catechists and Reverend Fathers of Igbo origin. The converts were taught to read and write the igbo language as both the Catholic and Anglican churches were conducted in the Igbo language.

No matter how fiercely you try to cure a people of YOUR OWN perceived misconception of whom they are, you cannot change that because deep down in their history they know very well who their mother is.

The issue of Ikas bearing Ibo names has always been the strongest contention for Ibos to insist Ikas are actually Ibos, but that is quite insufficient as most Nigerians of today bear english, scottish, greek and hebrew names without arguably being hebrews. But their choice of name as in the case of the Ika has largely being influenced by religion, social relationships and language dynamism.

I watched with pity, Chinyere of Project Fame (I think that was season 6) as she battled to explain to Uncle Ben at emotions-edge how she's not ibo and how difficult it was for her to understand the meanings of the words in the ibo song she was meant to perform and ultimately interpret. It would only take an Ika man to understand her perils, Uncle Ben was aghast in unbelief! Truth is most Ikas make good effort to learn, understand and speak the ibo language because, socioculturally speaking, Ibo is the best cultural sublimation for the people on the national scale, but that must not be taken as the clause to declare their inability to define nor tell their own origin. They know who they are...quit defining them!


As for me, haven traveled the length and breadth of the Igbo nation and seeing haven known that the ibos themselves bear no similar origin, some in as far away Ebem, Ohafia claim Bini origin whereas a majority of them speak the dual languages of Efik/Ibiobio and the Ibo language, it is evident to me that the Ibo nation is not one borne out of the ideology of a common origin but a people of common socio-economic experience dwelling in the area defined as the East, Southern of Nigeria with a near common language that can be understood by almost 85% of the people dwelling in the region. As thus, I would, irrespective of the reservations of the very Ika, Anocha, Oshimili and Ndukwa people regard them as Ibos...this not because I know better who they are by origin than they know but because of my known ideology of what is called Ibo.

dcngr:

See my earlier response for a clearer understanding of the Ika origins. About Ibo been the lingua franca, it is evident to every Ika born who grew up in Ika land in the before the 80's that Ika language had dua words for most items such as Okpan and Afere for plate, Isere and Ejshi/ Ezi for frontage, etc.

Nice response!
Still...may I venture to point out how you swerved clear of the real issues to be discussed?
You see...a noticeable trait among Africans is the glorification of the absurd.
Add to that a tenacious hold on unreality...things that hold no meaning save to them that hold on to it.
I find out these two traits are very common among Aniomas/Ikas...no insult intended.
I am writing based on the assumption that you grew up in Nigeria and are quite familiar with "tribalism" and other ethnocentric realities
of Nigeria as it is.

First off, I want to congratulate you on the recognition that the term "Igbo" is a collective word for a people who share the "traditions", "cultures", "beliefs" AND language(no matter how diverse) called Igbo. Informed Nigerians can differentiate by ear the difference between a statement made in Yoruba, Annang or say Igalla. You will agree with me that languages also have clusters and these are easily distinguished from each other.
So there are not supposed to be ANY surprises or denials when an Igbo speaker hears some from say Owa or Agbor speak...or is there?
What I find fascinating about the Ikas/Aniomas is the stiff insistence that what they speak as a language has no link or relationship with Igbo.
Lets look at the facts on the ground.

dcngr:

Of a truth, there existed communities with strong Igbo languages prior to the arrival of the missionaries, these communities such as Ute and Owa would boast of more modern ibo settlers than the predominantly Bini communities like Agbor. However, the strongest impact of the igbo language on the Ika language came from the highly successful missionary work in the area propagated mainly by Catechists and Reverend Fathers of Igbo origin. The converts were taught to read and write the igbo language as both the Catholic and Anglican churches were conducted in the Igbo language.

For your information, the Igbos of the hinterland were envangelized by the Igbo speaking peoples closer to the shores. Recorded history attests to the fact that the Opobos and the Onitshas dialect was used by the early missionaries in preaching to all the Igbo communities they encountered. Most of the time, the other communities had a hard time understanding these strange dialects, as they were not familiar with them.
So what do you say to a man from say Owerri having to read a bible not written in his dialect, using words and phrases entirely foreign to his spoken dialect? Preached to by missionaries from communities he probably never heard of? Would you call that Igbo to Igbo evangelism or what?
The key point there is that there was a MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING of the base language...they did not have to learn what the words "Chukwu" and the rest meant. They just had to adjust to the new dialect, and that has been a standard in Christian missionary efforts wordwide.
So your point up there does not really follow, because the early and later missionaries must have identified and grouped whatever language was spoken in Ika among the Igboid groups...for them to even consider using the "Igbo" language (never mind which dialect) for evangelism.
The question is why Igbo? Why not Edo or Afenmai? You know since according to you guys...Ikas are proud Bini colonies and are of "royal Ogiso blood"?
Sit back for a minute and think about the implications of what you wrote. Are you implying that the missionaries back then were so mischievous and partisan...that they completely overlooked the fact that Ikas were speaking their Bini language(or offshoot of their Bini language)...that they had to choose a FOREIGN IGBO language to evangelise to Ikas? Missionaries looking for converts missing the ONE THING that they cannot afford to get wrong while evangelizing to new communities...the language?

dcngr:

The issue of Ikas bearing Ibo names has always been the strongest contention for Ibos to insist Ikas are actually Ibos, but that is quite insufficient as most Nigerians of today bear english, scottish, greek and hebrew names without arguably being hebrews. But their choice of name as in the case of the Ika has largely being influenced by religion, social relationships and language dynamism.

I watched with pity, Chinyere of Project Fame (I think that was season 6) as she battled to explain to Uncle Ben at emotions-edge how she's not ibo and how difficult it was for her to understand the meanings of the words in the ibo song she was meant to perform and ultimately interpret. It would only take an Ika man to understand her perils, Uncle Ben was aghast in unbelief! Truth is most Ikas make good effort to learn, understand and speak the ibo language because, socioculturally speaking, Ibo is the best cultural sublimation for the people on the national scale, but that must not be taken as the clause to declare their inability to define nor tell their own origin. They know who they are...quit defining them!

Lol...same old worn out story. You see I have Bini friends too and I can not remember Bobby, Osahon and others having family members bearing names like Chinyere, Nwachukwu, Emefiele, Amaka! The whole world knows those are EXCLUSIVELY names borne by Igbos.
Why would a people who supposedly have zero links and relations to Igbos...bear Igbo names?
Who taught them what the names mean in the first place?
Have you forgotten that African names ALL have meanings and are given based on the beliefs and aspirations of the parents?
That a people from a "Bini colony" and "of royal Ogiso blood"(according to you)....would forget about names like Osagie,Irinmwiagbon,Ikponwosa etc,and bear plain old Igbo names...is just plain fantastic! Don't you think so?
For your information, lots of kids from the SE who grew up outside Igbo communities do not SPEAK,READ or WRITE Igbo.
Same goes for a lot of Edo, Igalla, Efik and Urhobos kids I knew who grew up in Lagos and other cities.
Take a random sampling of Igbo kids in say Lagos or Jos...and ask them for the meaning of most popular Igbo songs.
Let me know if they are able to give you the meaning.
The point you deliberately or unknowing disregarded is...what language is the name Chinyere Akueh?
Does the name "Chinyere Akueh" have any meaning in Bini, Igalla, Yoruba, Itshekiri or Urhobo?
Or maybe...just maybe...Chinyere Akueh is an Igbo name?
Your watching Chinyere in pity is the same way lots of Igbos and non-Igbos watch the sad play of inferiority complex displayed by folks from Ika
when they start their "Igbo denials" comedy. You clearly observed yourself that Uncle Ben was aghast in unbelief!
I was aghast too in unbelief when I first heard my friends from Agbor speak their language and I thought they were from Owerri!
You avoided the final question...why were they mistaken for Igbos?
That a person bearing a hard core Igbo name, speaking an obviously Igbo dialect...would go to such lengths to disassociate both his name, language and origin from the ONLY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD who bear such names and speak such a language!
Not just that...but the promotion of an entirely unprovable historical fallacy, that a people who come from a Bini city that is just a stone throw to them...speak an Igbo dialect and bear Igbo names?
Why did her supposedly Bini parents not give her proper Bini names like Esomo, Ifueko,Iziegbe and Adesuwa?
Care to answer?

dcngr:

No matter how fiercely you try to cure a people of YOUR OWN perceived misconception of whom they are, you cannot change that because deep down in their history they know very well who their mother is.

Sorry bro, I have no misconceptions...I am only reporting what I and every other person out there can see.
What if I told you I'm a Nupe man who grew up in the SE and Lagos? Would that make any difference in my arguments?
You see, a man with oil stains on his shirt can lie all he wants...but every one around him who knows an oil stain can easily point out to him that what he has on his shirt is an oil stain.
Why are you folks so pissed when your spoken language, names and traditions is identified with Igbo?
Are you implying that people are so ignorant they cannot tell the difference between people from a "Bini colony" and "of royal Ogiso blood"...from
people from Igbo hinterlands who have no kingship and are generally uncultured, greedy and uncivilized?
That their ears are deceiving them when they hear you Ikas speak your Bini language?
Or that Nigerians do not know the difference between the "core Igbo" Chinyere and the "Ika" Chinyere?
Never mind that the Ikas say they have "ehi" and not "chi", never mind that the written record of Ika elders and chiefs by the colonial missionaries and traders exist telling their histories.
The only stake I have in this story....is HISTORICAL ACCURACY. I am a student of history...and I know the claims and counter claims by the Ikas will haunt them in the coming years. I do not mean that in a derogatory sense...just pointing out the dividends of identity crises left unresolved.
Ever wondered what the Binis actually think the Ikas and their claims to Bini origins?

dcngr:

As for me, haven traveled the length and breadth of the Igbo nation and seeing haven known that the ibos themselves bear no similar origin, some in as far away Ebem, Ohafia claim Bini origin whereas a majority of them speak the dual languages of Efik/Ibiobio and the Ibo language, it is evident to me that the Ibo nation is not one borne out of the ideology of a common origin but a people of common socio-economic experience dwelling in the area defined as the East, Southern of Nigeria with a near common language that can be understood by almost 85% of the people dwelling in the region. As thus, I would, irrespective of the reservations of the very Ika, Anocha, Oshimili and Ndukwa people regard them as Ibos...this not because I know better who they are by origin than they know but because of my known ideology of what is called Ibo.

I put it to you the the communities appear to be more diverse than you probably know.
What you also forgot to mention...is the HUGE AMOUNT of COMMON things that the communities you cited share.
And in case you did not notice the COMMON things are shared by atleast 80% of those communities.
But still...why is that when the Igbos from the SE move out across the Niger and meet people SHARING COMMON NAMES, TRADITIONS, BELIEFS, AND LANGUAGE with them...they meet with stiff "reservations" and "denials"?
Have you ever heard about the Igbos mistaking Edos in Bini city or the Ilajes in Ondo for Igbos?
Why the Aniomas and Ikas?

igbanke are Igbo their original name is Igbo akiri and they speak and bear Igbo

end of discussion

dcngr:


It's quite interesting how the igbos fight a lot to find kinsmen from across the globe...how well they do in maintaining such kinship is a talk for another day.

The Ikas are a nation of mixed origins. You can hardly tie them to a single ethinicity but the largest could very well be the Igbos because of the Ute and Owa populations, however, being colonial states of the Bini Empire for so many years has left the royalty more of the Bini blood than Ibo. Agbor before the igbo settlements began to grow had already become an established kingdom with known dynasties dating farther than the Obas. The Dein of Agbor is of the Ogiso's royal blood - the worshiped kings of Idu (Bini in Ika language) before the ascent of the Obas.

The Ika people has nationalities from Nri, Ndi-oru (Ukwani), Aniocha, Idu, Ishan and Yoruba.

Agha Idu (Ika word for the great Bini Civil war that preceded the fall of the great empire) explains in better details the constitution of the area known today as Delta North (or Ndi Anioma). The great pursuit against the Eze Nri (though folklore's description of this great siege would make him more of an Nri High Priest in the service of the Oba than a King) scattered the Bini princes across the area with the highest ranking of them settling in Onitsha and Okpanam (I know most Igbos would argue strongly against the Obi of Onitsha being of Bini heritage, but that's a talk for another day, a quick clarification would be his possession of an Oben le Ogwugwu - the Oba's traditional staff office presented to his "delegated" rulers. The Onitsha ruler also goes with the title Obi and dresses in same manner as those of kings enthroned by the empire). Agha Idu also throws open the fact that these satellite states existed before the arrival of the princes and thus their rulership of the people can only best be described as a "colonization". From Alifekede to Uzo-igbon (later renamed Ahaba (english - Asaba)) and just across Omihin (River Niger) reigned the Oba through the Obis until the fall of the great empire, whence most of these satellite colonies became independent - though till Oba Akenzua's reign most have remained distantly loyal to the Bini throne in matters of traditional rites.


Call them Binis, call them Igbos, the Ikas has long evolved from being one of the Bini strongest colony to become a great nation and people that has flourished independent of their migrant origins to develop a truly strong economy, language, culture and a rare nation of many kingdoms: Ute, Owa, Agbor, Umunede, Mbiri, Igbanke, Akumazi, Igbodo, Otolokpo and Obior

I still find out again and again that most Ika folks are NOT EVEN AWARE that the names they bear, the language they speak and the traditions they practice is Igbo through and through. They seem GENUINELY IGNORANT of what the Igbo language and traditions is.
From the spoken dialects, four market days, deities and religion, traditions to things as simple as names!
Let me prove it to you.

dcngr:

Agha Idu (Ika word for the great Bini Civil war that preceded the fall of the great empire) explains in better details the constitution of the area known today as Delta North (or Ndi Anioma).

As an Igbo speaker, I know "agha" is an Igbo word and "Agha Idu" is just the way the phrase "Bini war" would be spoken in any Igbo dialect.
You are not even aware that what you call an Ika word is actually a 100% Igbo word.
Alifekede...Ala/Ani Ifekede
Ndi Anioma...not even ovwie" Anioma as it should have been if your claims to Bini origin are correct.
Anioma...not even "agbon" something..as it should have been if your claims to Bini origin are correct.
I could go on...names of peoples, places, towns, villages all across Ika that have no meaning in Bini...but almost exclusively are Igbo names.
How and why? Care to answer?

dcngr:

The great pursuit against the Eze Nri (though folklore's description of this great siege would make him more of an Nri High Priest in the service of the Oba than a King) scattered the Bini princes across the area with the highest ranking of them settling in Onitsha and Okpanam (I know most Igbos would argue strongly against the Obi of Onitsha being of Bini heritage, but that's a talk for another day, a quick clarification would be his possession of an Oben le Ogwugwu - the Oba's traditional staff office presented to his "delegated" rulers. The Onitsha ruler also goes with the title Obi and dresses in same manner as those of kings enthroned by the empire).

What has always been known is that the Eze Chima story is the story of an Igbo man who lived in Bini and worked as either a medicine man or priest. And he probably came from Nri, as the traditions of the towns attributed to him and his descendants appear to suggest.
How he transformed into a Bini prince and his name changed from Eze Chima to Ikhime...is just as you have noted a talk for another day.
On the allusion to "Bini princes" founding Onitsha...don't you think you are repeating the same old fallacious testimony all over again?
Anioma folks across the Niger include Onitsha, Oguta and others. From time immemorial...till today they have never spoken Bini or had any memorable Bini tradition distinct from their surrounding Igbo communities...save for the kingship structure.
If you must insist that what is obviously a borrowed Bini tradition of "iyases","iyaseres" and the rest...make them Binis, them also permit me
to bring in the history of how Nri stood in relation to ancient Bini. Are you aware of the history of Idu monarchs being crowned by Nri?
Or of the interaction between Idu and Nri?
You see...if I were a Bini man...I would caution you Ikas to quit making Bini appear to be so weak and easily dominated by a supposedly "inferior culture". The greatness of Bini as an empire was in its dominant culture, political and social structures, monarchy and military.
The Bini empire never gave in to any neighbouring people. The most that happened was acculturation, ditto the Ekitis of Ado Ekiti, Ondos, Ekos of Lagos etc.
But here you are spinning fantastic tales of non existent "Bini princes" whose existence have never been attested to nor verified by any known Bini
historian.
That a dominant Bini culture would give way to a non-expansionist,non-militaristic, decentralized, republic, agrarian, and less socially developed Igbo culture is just fantastic! Dont you think so?

The question you and all Igbo denying Ikas never address is...these Igbo-dialect speaking peoples from Ika/Anioma...who are they?
Since its clear that they had dealings with the Bini empire, being just a stone throw to Bini city...and DESPITE the closeness, the obvious borrowed socio-cultural practices, borrowed names and all...RETAINED THEIR IGBO NAMES AND DIALECT.
What's up with that?

PabloAfricanus:


I still find out again and again that most Ika folks are NOT EVEN AWARE that the names they bear, the language they speak and the traditions they practice is Igbo through and through. They seem GENUINELY IGNORANT of what the Igbo language and traditions is.
From the spoken dialects, four market days, deities and religion, traditions to things as simple as names!
Let me prove it to you.

As an Igbo speaker, I know "agha" is an Igbo word and "Agha Idu" is just the way the phrase "Bini war" would be spoken in any Igbo dialect.
You are not even aware that what you call an Ika word is actually a 100% Igbo word.
Alifekede...Ala/Ani Ifekede
Ndi Anioma...not even ovwie" Anioma as it should have been if your claims to Bini origin are correct.
Anioma...not even "agbon" something..as it should have been if your claims to Bini origin are correct.
I could go on...names of peoples, places, towns, villages all across Ika that have no meaning in Bini...but almost exclusively are Igbo names.
How and why? Care to answer?


What has always been known is that the Eze Chima story is the story of an Igbo man who lived in Bini and worked as either a medicine man or priest. And he probably came from Nri, as the traditions of the towns attributed to him and his descendants appear to suggest.
How he transformed into a Bini prince and his name changed from Eze Chima to Ikhime...is just as you have noted a talk for another day.
On the allusion to "Bini princes" founding Onitsha...don't you think you are repeating the same old fallacious testimony all over again?
Anioma folks across the Niger include Onitsha, Oguta and others. From time immemorial...till today they have never spoken Bini or had any memorable Bini tradition distinct from their surrounding Igbo communities...save for the kingship structure.
If you must insist that what is obviously a borrowed Bini tradition of "iyases","iyaseres" and the rest...make them Binis, them also permit me
to bring in the history of how Nri stood in relation to ancient Bini. Are you aware of the history of Idu monarchs being crowned by Nri?
Or of the interaction between Idu and Nri?
You see...if I were a Bini man...I would caution you Ikas to quit making Bini appear to be so weak and easily dominated by a supposedly "inferior culture". The greatness of Bini as an empire was in its dominant culture, political and social structures, monarchy and military.
The Bini empire never gave in to any neighbouring people. The most that happened was acculturation, ditto the Ekitis of Ado Ekiti, Ondos, Ekos of Lagos etc.
But here you are spinning fantastic tales of non existent "Bini princes" whose existence have never been attested to nor verified by any known Bini
historian.
That a dominant Bini culture would give way to a non-expansionist,non-militaristic, decentralized, republic, agrarian, and less socially developed Igbo culture is just fantastic! Dont you think so?

The question you and all Igbo denying Ikas never address is...these Igbo-dialect speaking peoples from Ika/Anioma...who are they?
Since its clear that they had dealings with the Bini empire, being just a stone throw to Bini city...and DESPITE the closeness, the obvious borrowed socio-cultural practices, borrowed names and all...RETAINED THEIR IGBO NAMES AND DIALECT.
What's up with that?

I duff my hat for u

be well



intelligence

Wulfruna:


I...I...can't make sense of what you are trying to say here.


Based on the little sense I can make out if this warped comment, maybe you shouldn't complain at all when anyone says Ukwuani and Igbo are the same ethnic group, and that you are an Igbo man.

nice analogy

but know that we had sons of felons that migrated to Igbo speaking countries from edo and we understand their positions ..these sons of migrants have been igbonized but they are not Igbo maybe the term fake Igbo is apt for them

we still have pure bloods in ika and ukwuani and I have seen many

I've read most comment for and against here, I'm quite impressed, the argument of the IKA and IGBOS - BINI is quite interesting, I'm a bini by tribe and I'm proud of my heritage, I studied in delta state precisely Asaba and when I here Anioma speak I called them igbos and I was seriously corrected that they are ibo not igbos and on my visit tto Abavo in anioma I observe that the settings of their village is very similar to that of the bini unlike asaba and some street and traditional artifact were same as bini I was force to ask questions and I was told that they migrated from bini, so while still in asaba a particular community I can't remember which one in particular was doing their festival and the king was giving the history of his people and how they were under the control from the bini empire and that they gain their independence from the bini kingdom about 150 years ago, my take is this, no matter were you come from civilization has gotten to the point were you can choice your own heritage an igbo man born in benin grow up in benin schooled in benin married in benin is more of a benin man than an igbo man, until we put tribe behind us we can never grow as a people, that is why africa has been backward, all culture are beautiful, all tribes are great, itis like you want to argue the origin of the binis and the yoruba you will argue and won't find the end, but the binis and yoruba has accepted their peculiarity and move on, I was also shock when I discovered that there were othe minority tribes which are still in some of the 5 eastern state my advice to igbo is this you people are too dominating, you just want to have control of everything no wonder the igbos are never united, you need to respect and recognize other minority tribe in your state rather than overshadowing all of them summarizing them to be all igbos in edo state for example every tribe is accord is respect no matter are few the people are, but in eastern state all minority tribes are overshadowed, as a people we must unite.

PabloAfricanus:

Are you aware of the history of Idu monarchs being crowned by Nri?

Benin monarchs were crowned by the Oliha of Benin historically.

The only stake I have in this story....is HISTORICAL ACCURACY. I am a student of history...and I know the claims and counter claims by the Ikas will haunt them in the coming years. I do not mean that in a derogatory sense...just pointing out the dividends of identity crises left unresolved.
Ever wondered what the Binis actually think the Ikas and their claims to Bini origins?

I doubt anyone could find out what all modern Bini people today think about the Ika claims of Bini origins, but some Bini people in the past did seem to think they were of Bini origin (just letting you know since you're interested in accuracy and are a student of history).

spartacus11:
I've read most comment for and against here, I'm quite impressed, the argument of the IKA and IGBOS - BINI is quite interesting, I'm a bini by tribe and I'm proud of my heritage, I studied in delta state precisely Asaba and when I here Anioma speak I called them igbos and I was seriously corrected that they are ibo not igbos and on my visit tto Abavo in anioma I observe that the settings of their village is very similar to that of the bini unlike asaba and some street and traditional artifact were same as bini I was force to ask questions and I was told that they migrated from bini, so while still in asaba a particular community I can't remember which one in particular was doing their festival and the king was giving the history of his people and how they were under the control from the bini empire and that they gain their independence from the bini kingdom about 150 years ago, my take is this, no matter were you come from civilization has gotten to the point were you can choice your own heritage an igbo man born in benin grow up in benin schooled in benin married in benin is more of a benin man than an igbo man, until we put tribe behind us we can never grow as a people, that is why africa has been backward, all culture are beautiful, all tribes are great, itis like you want to argue the origin of the binis and the yoruba you will argue and won't find the end, but the binis and yoruba has accepted their peculiarity and move on, I was also shock when I discovered that there were othe minority tribes which are still in some of the 5 eastern state my advice to igbo is this you people are too dominating, you just want to have control of everything no wonder the igbos are never united, you need to respect and recognize other minority tribe in your state rather than overshadowing all of them summarizing them to be all igbos in edo state for example every tribe is accord is respect no matter are few the people are, but in eastern state all minority tribes are overshadowed, as a people we must unite.

having edo dominance and coming from edo is not same tell me in history were Igbo dominated other region ...Igbo would have dominated edo easily but Igbo let them be

the only time Igbo dominated edo was when they took over Benin and edo environs during Biafra war becuase the edo killed the anioma Igbo and then oba alliegned with enemy forces telling them that anything after abudu downwards they should kill

then Igbo capture edo in less than 24 hours during the Midwest invasion ..the oba surrendered ...its edo caused it

that aside

is it not edo that changed Igbo akiri to igbanke
is it not edo that forces them to learn Benin


well your correct.. maybe they are not pure igbo most of them but they are ibo (fake Igbo)

tonychristopher:


having edo dominance and coming from edo is not same tell me in history were Igbo dominated other region ...Igbo would have dominated edo easily but Igbo let them be

the only time Igbo dominated edo was when they took over Benin and edo environs during Biafra war becuase the edo killed the anioma Igbo and then oba alliegned with enemy forces telling them that anything after abudu downwards they should kill

then Igbo capture edo in less than 24 hours during the Midwest invasion ..the oba surrendered ...its edo caused it

that aside

is it not edo that changed Igbo akiri to igbanke
is it not edo that forces them to learn Benin


well your correct.. maybe they are not pure igbo most of them but they are ibo (fake Igbo)

war has never benefited any one you said biafra capture benin under 24 hours, y won't u capture when no military force was on ground to defend the land, I think it was clear that not even biafra or Nigeria can force the bini kingdom to pledge allegiance to them, when the biafra war broke not a single nigeria army was on ground to protect the land that lead to the people declaring their own independence, ojukwu had military because it was a war he planed for the by taking control of the nigeria eastern military formation since he was the governor of the eastern state, biafra army only used. The benin land as a point of blockage, have u ever wondered why we are the HEARTBEAT of the Nation, as much as I knew both the Nigeria army and the biafra military had their formation on ground in benin I still know a few place till date were both army camped, if indeed the biafra capture benin has u try to paint it why was it that edo state was never added to the old biafra map and why is it not still added to the new and updated biafra map of today, I think igbo has never told history the way it was, if indeed benin was captured why was it that in the 3 years biafra republic was existing why didn't the binis used biafra pounds instead they were using the naira, to end I will like to state that the presence of biafra army in benin is just a military formation to make sure Nigeria army could no advance above the benin boarder it was just like a blockade, and in return the biafra army never attacked the benin people neither did the nigeria army, that's whytoday we are the heartbeat and not a single region can claim ownership of the bini territory, so binis will always seek peace on both biafra and nigeria because we are brothers to both part to the east to the west and to the north central

spartacus11:
war has never benefited any one you said biafra capture benin under 24 hours, y won't u capture when no military force was on ground to defend the land, I think it was clear that not even biafra or Nigeria can force the bini kingdom to pledge allegiance to them, when the biafra war broke not a single nigeria army was on ground to protect the land that lead to the people declaring their own independence, ojukwu had military because it was a war he planed for the by taking control of the nigeria eastern military formation since he was the governor of the eastern state, biafra army only used. The benin land as a point of blockage, have u ever wondered why we are the HEARTBEAT of the Nation, as much as I knew both the Nigeria army and the biafra military had their formation on ground in benin I still know a few place till date were both army camped, if indeed the biafra capture benin has u try to paint it why was it that edo state was never added to the old biafra map and why is it not still added to the new and updated biafra map of today, I think igbo has never told history the way it was, if indeed benin was captured why was it that in the 3 years biafra republic was existing why didn't the binis used biafra pounds instead they were using the naira, to end I will like to state that the presence of biafra army in benin is just a military formation to make sure Nigeria army could no advance above the benin boarder it was just like a blockade, and in return the biafra army never attacked the benin people neither did the nigeria army, that's whytoday we are the heartbeat and not a single region can claim ownership of the bini territory, so binis will always seek peace on both biafra and nigeria because we are brothers to both part to the east to the west and to the north central

maybe Google mid west invasion

edo was just a buffer not part of the grand command

tonychristopher:


maybe Google mid west invasion

edo was just a buffer not part of the grand command

my brother I have read about the invasion and body could write anything, today america has military command in some country, through there they are able to wage war on their enemy, don't think if u hear that america bombed militant in iraq don't think the fighter jet came from U.S.A, they always have military command in countries closer to were there are fight, it was same the biafra did, so tagging it an invasion is the wrong word, you can postu goggle findings here let people judge if that is how invasion look like

tonychristopher:


maybe Google mid west invasion

edo was just a buffer not part of the grand command

if it was really an invasion we benins could have been great enemy with the igbos today, biafra didn't hurt us neither did we deny them any form of cooperation because we recognize the fact that if biafra succeeded we will still be neighbors with them.

spartacus11:
if it was really an invasion we benins could have been great enemy with the igbos today, biafra didn't hurt us neither did we deny them any form of cooperation because we recognize the fact that if biafra succeeded we will still be neighbors with them.

I don't know who is messing with your brain by telling you that

pls son I will advise you do research the role Benin played , how the killed the delta Igbo in ugbowo and uselu

ask how the oba told Nigerian army that anything after abudu they should pillage

they have taken sides by their actions and utterances so biafran descended on them heavily

but mind you I am no pyromaniac or war monger just lecturing history