Please forgive the formatting, I am on mobile.

These series of articles would go to reveal that delta state is a couldron of cultures and nativity.


Delta state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of 25 Local
Government areas (LGAs) and like every other state, she is represented in the
Nigerian Senate by three senators. Delta state is thus carved up into three
senatorial districts…Delta Central, Delta South and Delta North ( Aniomaland ).
Delta Central comprises eight LGAs and is inhabited by the Urhobos while
Delta South also comprises eight LGAs and is home to the ethnic Ijaw, Isoko
and Itsekiri while Delta North is home to the Ika, Enuani, Ukwuani sub-groups
who are spread across nine LGAs.
The principal towns of Delta North are Agbor, Asaba (the Delta state
capital),Ogwashi-Uku, Issele-Uku, Ibusa, Ubulu-Uku, Obiaruku,Kwale, Ashaka,
among others. Her peoples are predominantly farmers, fisherfolk,
businessmen, academics, bureaucrats and members of the defence and
security forces. It is on record that at the dawn of Nigerian independence on
1 October 1960, nine(9) of the fifty-eight(58) indigenous commissioned
officers of the Nigerian Army were from Delta North alone. Most famous of
these was Major Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu who led the first military coup
d’etat in Nigeria in 1966.
As of April 2010, the Chief of Defence Staff of the Nigerian Armed Forces and
the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service both hail from
Aniocha North LGA of the said Delta North.
It is also on record that the Ekumeku peasant rebellion against white
domination (akin to the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya) mounted by the people
of Delta North under Agbogidi Oligbo, the Issele Uku monarch and against the
British colonialists ensured that Aniomaland was arguably the last part of
Nigeria to be completely subjugated by the British colonialists! The Ekumeku
War spanned the period between 1898 and 1929. Even the Sokoto empire fell
in 1903,the defiant people of Delta North were still at the barricades.
Today,the predominant spoken language in the area is a hybridized dialect of
Igbo but the people somehow do not refer to themselves Igbo for the simple
fact that over eighty-five percent (85%) of Anioma people are said to have
emigrated from Bini empire during the 14th and 15th century reigns of Obas
(Kings) Ozolua, Ewuare and Esigie of the Benin Empire which lies immediately
to the west of Aniomaland . The festivals, language, kingship systems of the
people of Delta North appear to bear testimony to this fact even to this day.
Possibly, they may have lost their mastery of Edo language on account of
long separation from the Benin Empire and became subsumed in the
dominant Igbo culture as a result of the fact of greater proximity to Igboland.
But Delta North also has, albeit unbelievably, an indigenous and living
community of Yoruba and Igala speakers.
Aniocha North Local Government Area is the smallest, most northerly and
most rural in the Delta state. It consists of 16 communities grouped into the
three clans of Ezechima, Odiani and Idumuje.
Odiani clan comprises 8 communities which are said to have historically
migrated emigrated from the Akoko area of Yorubaland during the wars which
raged in that part of pre-colonial Africa during the 18th century. When they
arrived at their present place of domicile in the Far North of present-day
Delta state, the Edo(Benin) emigres and Ibos from the east of the Niger river
had been on ground for a minimum of three centuries. Unable to
communicate with the hostile people all around them,they courtesied all and
sundry who they came into contact with “Olukumi” ,a word in the Akoko
dialect of Yoruba language which means “my friend”.
To this day,the variant of Yoruba language spoken by my people is called
Olukumi by neighbouring communities. Further east at Ebu,a migrant
community of Igalas who came from central Nigeria in search of prime fishing
grounds had developed and to this day,the people of Ebu still speak Igala
language.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/sun/index.php/features/2357-a-yoruba-enclave-
in-the-heart-of-igboland-story-of-ugbodu-others-in-delta-state

https://www.nairaland.com/2278577/facts-yoruba-enclave-heart-aniocha

A Yoruba enclave in the heart of Igboland • Story of Ugbodu, others in Delta State
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE Sunday, 24 October 2010
Written by Banji Aluko
Deep in the heart of the Igbo-speaking people in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State are Ugbodu and three other communities where Oluku mi, a derivative of Yoruba language, is the language of the people. BANJI ALUKO, who visited the communities, examines how close Oluku mi actually is to the Yoruba language and traces how the people came about the language.
HELLO, this writer said, while knocking at the door, and a young lady, emerging from the building, replied, ta ni yen? When the writer heard the reply, he taught it was a mere coincidence or that his ears were deceiving him. Of course, he had every reason to be surprised since he was not anywhere near the Yoruba enclave where such a reply can only be anticipated. After all, he was more than 100 kilometres away from the nearest Yoruba community; he was in Ugbodu, a town in Aniocha North Local government Area of Delta State.
While trying to decipher why the lady gave such a reply, what further followed put the writer in a more confused position. A girl of about five appeared and said, “mo fe ra biscuit.” Perhaps, the people are part of the Yoruba community living in the town, the writer guessed as he tried to find out from the lady.
“Are you a Yoruba woman; what is the meaning of ta ni yen?” The writer asked the questions at once. Reluctantly, she answered, “I am not Yoruba o, I am just speaking my language.” Apparently, she was not unaware of the similarity between her language and Yoruba language. The lady refused to entertain any further question about her language and asked him to go to the king’s palace or to the elders if he wanted to know more about the language.
At the palace, the elders still would not talk about the similarity between their language and Yoruba. They asked the writer to wait for the arrival of the king, who they said can only speak on the people, their language and their history.
The period of waiting for the king afforded one time to listen to the conversation and the discovery was nonetheless remarkable. Following closely the conversation between some elderly men and with a deep knowledge of Yoruba, one could establish a nexus between their speech and actions. In fact, some words and expressions could be understood.
Following their conversation with rapt attention, expressions such as Gbemu wa—bring palm wine, me wa nani—I didn’t come yesterday, me ri e—I didn’t see you, mu beer oka wa—bring one beer etc could be heard, albeit with an intonation slightly different from that of the Yorubas.
Seeing the desire of this writer to follow their talk, one man finally volunteered to explain the similarity between their language and Yoruba. “I believe you are a Yoruba man,” he said. He continued: “We are Oluku mi speakers but we speak a language that is very similar to Yoruba.” This he demonstrated by pointing out some words and expressions in their language (Oluku mi) which denote the same meanings as Yoruba.
He gave some examples such as ita—pepper, ogede lila—plantain, ogede keke—banana; ku wu se—what are you doing; ule house; osa – market; oma—child; o dowuo—see you tomorrow, e bo—welcome. After explaining some similarities between the languages, he still refused to talk about how the people of Ugbodu, in the middle of other Igbo speaking neighbours, came about Oluku mi. Like others, he maintained that only the traditional ruler of the town can speak about how Oluku mi became their language.
But after waiting endlessly for the king, his brother, Prince Adebowale Ochei, who later arrived the scene, volunteered to speak on behalf of the king, H.R.M. Ayo Isinyemeze, the Oloza (Obi) of Ugbodu. According to him, history gave it that the Ugbodu Oluku mi speaking people migrated from Owo/Akure axis in the present Ondo State between 9th and 11th century AD to settle down in Benin during the reign of King Ogiso of Benin.
He continued: “At this period in the history of the Benin Kingdom, the most neglected of the wife of the Ogiso gave birth to the heir apparent to the throne. After the woman gave birth to the child, a male, the nobles consulted the oracle and said that the oracle told them that the child should be killed for peace to reign in Benin Kingdom. At the end, the child was not killed as it was said that the child was too handsome to be killed, so a fowl was killed in his place.”
According to Ochei, this was the reason the Ugbodu people left Benin. “They felt that if a crown prince could be ordered for execution just like that, they could do worse things to strangers in their midst. As a result, they left Benin and came to Ewohimi, an Ishan speaking community in Edo State. Due to intra-tribal wars, they later left the place to settle down here in Ugbodu which is a shortened form of Ugbodumila, which means bush saved me in English Language.”
He further pointed out differences between Oluku mi and Yoruba. He said one notable difference is the changing of letter “j” in Yoruba words to “s” in Oluku mi as seen in words like oloja or oja which are rendered as olosa or osa and joko as soko.
With the movement of the people was the consequent change in their language as shown in their names. According to records compiled by Prince Humphrey Ojeabu Ochei, the immediate Olihen of Ugbodu, the first six Olozas bore Yoruba names namely Adeola, Aderemi, Ariyo, Odofin, Adetunji and Oyetunde. These early kings bore typical Yoruba names years and decades after the establishment of the Ugbodu Kingdom.
As the people gradually lost contact with their kinsmen back home, they began to gravitate towards the Benin and Edo communities. The resulting acculturative process gradually led to the adoption of Edo names among the people. Hence names such as Ogbomon, Ozolua, Izebuwa, Ogbelaka, Izedonwen, Osakpolor, Esigie Igbinadolor, Osaloua, Osamewamen and Ebor emerged as Olozas.
Since Ugbodu is surrounded by the Igbo-speaking Aniomas, it did not take much time before the Igbo Language started to interfere greatly on the people’s language. Accordingly, Igbo influence steadily and progressively made what has now become permanent inroad and considerable impact on the socio-cultural life as well as linguistic orientation of the Ugbodu people. With this, the Edo influence began to wane, resulting in the adoption of Igbo names in preference to Edo names. Thus from the middle of the 19th century, the general shift was from Edo to Igbo names. This can be seen in the names of Olozas, who ruled between the middle of the 19th century and late 20th century such as Dike, Ochei, Ezenweani and Isinyemeze.
Investigations conducted revealed that Ugbodu is not the only community where Oluku mi is spoken in Aniocha North Local Government as the language is also spoken in Ukwu-Nzu (Eko Efun), Ubulubu and Ogodo.
At Ukwu-Nzu, only few kilometres away from Ugbodu, the language is not also different. Although, the people are less emphatic about their history, nonetheless, the similarity between their language and Yoruba is evident in their names and greetings. “Oju e ma won ke,” meaning your face is scarce in Yoruba, was what a man said to his friend he accosted on the road. When Sunday Tribune approached the man, who gave his name as Ayo Oke, he shed light on his language and provided more examples between Oluku mi and Yoruba Language.
He said that “instead of saying e kaabo, we say e bo, meaning welcome and wa ni we yi, meaning come here;” He also gave example of words which virtually have the same meanings as the Yoruba language. Some of these include obe—stew; oni—today; ola— tomorrow; otunla—next tomorrow etc.
Another elder in the town, who spoke with Sunday Tribune, said that the name of Ukwu-Nzu before the Igbo Language “infiltrated” their language was Eko Efun (efun means chalk in Yoruba Language). He also attributed the efun in the name of their town to the rich prescence of white chalk in the town which he said the community was richly blessed with.
Presently, the biggest challenge for the people of Ugbodu and other Oluku mi-speaking communities is how to protect their language and culture in general. According to a native of Ugbodu, “the elders are more connected to the original Olukumi language than the youth. In fact, we have lost the real Oluku mi and what we have now is an Oluku mi that has been greatly altered by Igbo language. Most of the people who can really speak the language right now are the elders. Ordinarily, the real Oluku mi is like the Yoruba that is spoken in Owo in Ondo State. Someone from that place is expected to understand the language perfectly but right now someone from Owo might not be able to understand more than 50 per cent of our language. This language may die if care is not taken,” he said. Another factor that also contributed to the decline of Olukumi, according to findings, is that there was a time in the past when an understanding of the Edo or Igbo language, was considered as a status symbol. According to an elder in the town, “An Oluku mi who spoke the two languages then was considered superior to others because it meant that he had travelled wide. This was the inferiority complex our people unwittingly created for themselves which we are trying to correct now.”
In protecting their language which is gradually being threatened, a revival process has been started. Part of this is that some of them now choose to give their children Oluku mi names and to sing and say prayers in Oluku mi. In some cases, some radical reformers and revivalists changed the names given to them by their parents from Igbo to Olukumi. The climax of the restoration process of their linguistic ethos and identity was the christening of the incumbent Oloza with an Olukumi name, Ayo.
Reacting to efforts aimed at protecting Oluku mi, Prince Adebowale said, “I am an Oluku mi man and I am proud of my language. I am not happy that Igbo language is interfering with our language. We are trying our best to correct the situation and part of that is what my brother (the Oloza) is doing by organising an Oluku mi reciting competition. We want to know the people who can speak the real Oluku mi without mixing it with Igbo or English.” As laudable as the task of protecting Oluku mi by the people of Ugbodu(mila) is, only time will tell how far they can go.

there are the Olukumi(Yoruba descendants) in Aniocha North LGA as distinct from the Igala descendants of Ebu in Oshimili North LGA.

Annie, Idumuogo is part of Odiani clan. So are Ugbodu, Ukwunzu, Ubulubu, Ugboba, Anioma and Ogodo. Olukumi is most intensively spoken at Ugbodu and Ukwunzu. It is also spoken at Ubulubu. Many a first-time visitor to Aniocha North LGA gets surprised to learn that the Yoruboid folk encountered, Olukumi speakers all, beginning from the LG headquarters that is Issele Uku where many of them are domiciled, are actually indigenous to the local government rather than being members of a settler community from Western Nigeria.

Lol...so we gather own Delta state too. And yiboooes go dey shout upandan

Yoruba people during what they are known for ... ==propaganda

Lemon12:
Yoruba people during what they are known for ... ==propaganda

can you deny/refute any of the claims made on the post? Specific examples were cited. can you refute them?

BTW, I'm not yoruba.

shachris02:

can you deny/refute any of the claims made on the post? Specific examples were cited. can you refute them?
BTW, I'm not yoruba.

Refute ur personal claim that has no reliable source ?

A UN supervised referendum will sort the wheat from the chaff. Thereafter, everybody will answer their fathers' name.
After all everyone is entitled to freedom of speech and freedom of association.

Lemon12:

Refute ur personal claim that has no reliable source ?

Are there olukumi speakers in Delta state, Yes or No?

Lemon12:


Refute ur personal claim that has no reliable source ?

I was about asking the same question lwkm o

U twisted the facts as an Ewedu eater u are .... Dodge to acknowledge that aniomaland is an Indigeneous Igbo community

Wtf are u saying !!!? An Indigeneous Yoruba community in an Igbo village ?

shachris02:


Are there olukumi speakers in Delta state, Yes or No?

where is ur source young man ?

Lemon12:
U twisted the facts as an Ewedu eater u are .... Dodge to acknowledge that aniomaland is an Indigeneous Igbo community

Wtf are u saying !!!? An Indigeneous Yoruba community in an Igbo village ?

Anioma land is not indigenous to the igbos alone. There are Yoruba-olukumi speaking tribes of anioma that are indigenous as well.

Are you going to forcibly grab their lands?

Rose2014:


I was about asking the same question lwkm o

that's their way

An Ewedu eater is bound to be stupiid

Lemon12:
U twisted the facts as an Ewedu eater u are .... Dodge to acknowledge that aniomaland is an Indigeneous Igbo community

Wtf are u saying !!!? An Indigeneous Yoruba community in an Igbo village ?

My grandma told me there is an Igbo tribe in Jigawa. It's called Igweko community and they speak Igbo. They even celebrate new yam festival









Nobody has the monopoly of lying

Rose2014:



There is an Igbo tribe in Jigawa

do they olukumis exist in Anoima, Yes or No?

shachris02:


Anioma land is not indigenous to the igbos alone. There are Yoruba-olukumi speaking tribes of anioma that are indigenous as well.

Are you going to forcibly grab their lands?

where are they naa?

Am in Asaba now .... Where can I see ur so called Yoruba-oloriburuku speaking tribe ?

shachris02:


Anioma land is not indigenous to the igbos alone. There are Yoruba-olukumi speaking tribes of anioma that are indigenous as well.

Are you going to forcibly grab their lands?

Take that up with buhari

Olukunmi's re descendant of oduduwa they re also indegene of Delta state...which means we yorubas ,igbos and hausa's own delta state joooR

Rose2014:




My grandma told me there is an Igbo tribe in Jigawa. It's called Igweko community and they speak Igbo. They even celebrate new yam festival









Nobody has the monopoly of lying

Same here...my grandmother said that as far back as 1809,there were already Igbos in zamfara

What exactly is in Anioma land that Intruders don't want Us to stay in our Ancestral land and Rest?

Must watch video of a Nigerian Fulani Lawmaker claiming that the crude oil in Bayelsa belongs to Jigawa


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6GGPu286U

Many of you zombie Buharists had to wait for Buhari to affirm that there are indigenous Igbos in the SS before believed and agreed. We will have to wait for an Eastern president to affirm that there are hausas and yorubas in the SS before believing it too.

Lemon12:
where are they naa?

Am in Asaba now .... Where can I see ur so called Yoruba-oloriburuku speaking tribe ?

1) Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor - CAN president

2) Omawunmi Magbele - Musician

3) Oritsefemi Ekele - Musician

4) Temisan Okonmi - OAP

All these people are natives of Warri in Delta state

cheruv:

Same here...my grandmother said that as far back as 1809,there were already Igbos in zamfara

Oh really? I just called my grandpa and he confirmed that Kebbi guys originally migrated from Anambra that's why they usually have letter A in their names

GstringAngela:
1) Pastor Ayodele Oritsejafor - CAN president

2) Omawunmi Magbele - Musician

3) Oritsefemi Ekele - Musician

4) Temisan Okonmi - OAP

All these people are natives of Warri in Delta state

These are Itsekiris and NOT Yorubas..
Itsekiris are a tribe on their own.

Ugomba:
What exactly is in Anioma land that Intruders don't want Us to stay in our Ancestral land and Rest?

Its bkos you people are still part of Delta... Creation of Anioma state will settle all these rubbish once and for all