IGBO SCHOLAR DISGRACES
Femi Fani-Kayode •Demolishes claims on Igbo/Yoruba history with facts and figures



An Igbo scholar, Dr. Samuel Okafor, has made one-time Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, look so small and uneducated by using facts and figures to demolish the claims he made in the controversial August 8 article, “The Bitter Truth About The Igbo”, which set off a storm that almost threatened Igbo-Yoruba relations.

In the first part of an article entitled “The Lies of Femi Fani-Kayode”, Okafor, who has a First Class in History from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and then did a Ph.D in Nsukka on scholarship, dismissed Fani-Kayode as a “half-baked intellectual.” He then proceeded, point by point, to address what he termed “the most reckless amongst the tangle of reckless comments spewed by Femi, a character who with each punch of his keypad stresses his severely unwell conditions of logorrhoea, delusions of enlightenment, history and sociology – amongst others.”

Below are Okafor’s words:

FEMI AND HIS SEVERELY IGNORANT LIES:

•Femi Lies About the Yorubas Being Nigeria’s Earliest Graduates:

From his myopic bubble Femi FaniKayode claims the Yoruba were the first to acquire Western education; the first ever known record of a literate Nigerian in the English Language is the narrative of an Ibo slave who regained his freedom and documented his life history as a slave from the time he was 11 years old in present day Ibo land till the time when he gained his freedom in the middle of the 18 th century. He later married an English woman and had 3 children. He died in 1795.

Femi, a basic Google-research will do you good here; check out the name, Equanoh OLAODAH. Further Femi claims that the Yoruba were the first lawyers and doctors in Nigeria. This is again a big falsehood. The first Nigeria doctor was an Effik man Silas G. Dove who obtained a medical degree from France and returned to practise medicine in 1840 in Calabar. This fact can also be verified from historical medical records in Paris.

I would also ask that you google the name BLYDEN – Edward Wilmot BLYDEN – an educated son of free Ibo slaves who by the mid-19th century had acquired sound theological education. He was born in Saint Thomas in 1832. He is one of the founding missionaries that established the Archbishop Vining church in Ikeja. Before the next time you succumb to your long-running battle with logorrhoea, Femi please do some research.

What about the third president of a free Liberia – President J JRoyle – again, a man of Ibo descent. Please take some time to do some research so that we can discuss constructively. It is wrong to peddle lies to your people. It is academic fraud to knowingly misrepresent facts just to score cheap points with people who do not have the discipline to do research and accept anything you pour out simply because they say you are well educated. To again quote the great Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Joseph Stiglitz; Femi fits into the category of third rate students from first rate universities with an inflated sense of self-importance. Let’s go on!

Who was the first Nigerian Professor of Mathematics – an Ibo man – Professor Chike Obi – the man who solved Fermat’s Last Theorem. He was followed by another Ibo man, Professor James Ezeilo, Professor of Differentail Calculus and the founder of the Ezeilo Constant. Please do some research on this great Ibo man. He later became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka and one of the founders of the Nigerian Mathematical Centre. Who was Nigeria’s first Professor of Histroy – Professor Kenneth Dike who published the first account of trade in Nigeria in pre-colonial times. He was also the first African Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. Who was the first Professor of Microbiology – Professor Eni Njoku; he was also the first African Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos. Anatomy and Physiology – Professor Chike Edozien is an Asaba man and current Obi of Asaba. Who was the first Professor of Anatomy at the University College Ibadan? Who was the first Professor of Physics? Professor Okoye, who became a Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1960. He was followed by the likes of Professor Alexander Anumalu who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Physics three times for his research in Intermediate Quantum Physics. He was also a founding member of the Nigerian Mathematical Centre. Nuclear Physics and Chemistry – again another Ibo man – Professor Frank Ndili who gained a Ph.D in his early ’20s at Cambridge Univesity in Nuclear Physics and Chemistry in the early ’60s. This young Asaba man had made a First Class in Physics and Mathematics at the then University College Ibadan in the early ’50s. First Professor of Statistics – Professor Adichie who’s research on Non-Parametric Statistics led to new areas in statistical research. What about the first Nigerian Professor of Medicine – Professor Kodilinye – he was appointed a Professor of Medicine at the University of London in 1952. He later became the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria Nsukka after the war. What about Astronomy – again another Ibo man was the first Professor of Astronomy – please, look up Professor Ntukoju – he was the first to earn a double Ph.D in Astronomy and Mathematics.

Let’s go to the Social Sciences – Demography and statistical research into population studies – again another Ibo man – Professor Okonjo who set up the first Centre for Population Research in Ibadan in the early ’60s. A double Ph.D in Mathematics and Economics. Philosophy – Professor G D Okafor, who became a Professor of Philosophy at the Amherst College USA in 1953. Economics – Dr. Pius Okigbo who became a visiting scholar and Professor of Economics at the University of London in 1954. He is also the first Nigerian Ph.D in Economics. Theology and theological research – Professor Njoku who became the first Nigerian to earn a Ph.D in Theology from Queens University Belfast in Ireland. He was appointed a Professor of Theology at the University College Zambia in 1952.

I am still conducting research in areas such as Geography where it seems a Yoruba man, Professor Mabogunje, was the first Professor. I also am conducting research into who was the first Nigerian Professor of English, Theatre Arts, Languages, Business and Education, Law and Engineering, Computer Technology, etc. Nigerians need to be told the truth and not let the lies that Femi Fani-Kayode has been selling to some ignorant Yoruba who feel that to be the first to see the white man and interact with him means that you are way ahead of other groups. The Ibo as The great Achebe said had within a span of 40 years bridged the gap and even surpassed the Yoruba in education by the ’60s. Many a Yoruba people perpetually indulge in self-deceit: that they were the first to go to school; to be exposed to Western education; that they are academically ahead of other Nigerian cultures of peoples. Another ignorant lie.

As far back as 1495 the Benin Empire maintained a diplomatic presence in Portugal. This strategic relationship did not just stop at a mere mission but extended to areas such as education. Scores of young Benin men were sent out to Portugal to study and lots of them came back with advanced degrees in Medicine, Law and Portuguese Language, to name a few.

Indeed, some went with their Yoruba and Ibo slaves who served the sons of the Benin nobility while they studied in Portugal. These are facts that can be verified by the logs kept by ship owners in Portugal from 1494 to 1830. It is kept at the Portuguese Museum of Geographic History in Lisbon.

Why then would several Yoruba people peddle all these falsehoods to show that they are ahead educationally in Nigeria? The true facts from the Federal Office of Statistics on education tell otherwise, showing that 3 Ibo states for the past 12 years have constantly had the largest number of graduates in the country, producing more graduates than Ondo, Osun, Ekiti and Oyo states. These eastern states are Imo, Anambra and Abia. Yet he calls Ibos traders. Indeed, the Igbos dominate because excellence dominates mediocrity – truth.

Let me enlighten this falsehood’s mouthpiece even further: before the civil war Ibos controlled and dominated all institutions in the formal sector in Nigeria from the universities to the police to the military to politics:

•The first Black Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan was an Ibo man

•The first Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos was an Ibo man

•The first Nigerian Rector of the then Yaba College of Technology was also an Ibo man

•The police was run by an Ibo IG

•The military as a professional institution was also run by elite-ilk Ibos.

Facts can never be hidden. To be first does not mean you would win the race; let us open up all our institutions and may the best man win. Let us not depend on handouts or privileges but on heard work. Let us compete and give the best positions to our brightest – be it Ibo, Yourba or Fulani, and then we shall see who is the most successful Nigerian.

I find it difficult not to respond to some of these long-held lies that are constantly being peddled by Yorubas. One is that the Yoruba have the largest number of professors in the country. I would again ask that we stick to facts and statistical records. The Nigerian Universities Commission has a record of the state with the largest number of professors on their records and as at 2010 that state is Imo State followed by Ondo State and then Anambra State; the next state is Ekiti and then Delta before Kwara State. I am sure you Yorubas are surprised. When you sit in the South-West do not think others are sleeping but I wish to address another historical fact and that is who were the first Nigerians to receive Western education. It is important that these issues be examined in their historical context and evidence through research be presented for all to examine.

I have continued my research for as the great sociologist and father of modern sociology – Emile Durkheim – put it, the definition of a situation is real in its consequence . What this simply means is that one must never allow a perceived falsehood to become one’s reality and by extension individuals who accept a defined position act as though the situation is real and apply themselves in that narrowly defined perspective.

Why is this important to state it is because for long the Yoruba have peddled lies that have almost become accepted as the truth by other Nigerians but it is important that we lay down the facts for others to examine and come to their own conclusion for facts are facts. Let’s go back to education. Historically, Western education resulted as a product of indigenous ethnic groups interacting with the whites through trade. The dominant groups sold slaves, ivory gold and a host of other products to their European counterparts in exchange for finished goods – wine, tobacco, mirrors, etc.

The Bini who were the dominant military force from the 15th to the 19th century raided and sold other ethnicities to the Europeans. Top on the list of those they sold were the Yoruba, Ibo and Igala. Various other ethnicities suffered as a result of the Bini military expansion. And the Benin Kingdom stretched from present-day Benin up to what is now geographically referred to as Republic of Togo. Indeed, the influence of the Benin Empire extended to the banks of the river Niger to present-day Onistha. There are huge Yoruba settlements in the Anioma part of Delta State who fled Yoruba land as a result of these attacks and constant raids. Yes, there are Yoruba people who are currently living with Ibos in the Ibo-speaking part of Delta and they are full citizens of the place no one refers to them as strangers and there is no talk about the Ibos being the host community like we hear from the Governor of Lagos State. But let me return to research. Slaves were moved from the hinterland to the coast and many were sold through Eko to the New World. These slaves were the first to encounter the Europeans and by extension their way of life – this included education in a Western sense. The Bini King had taken pains to establish a diplomatic presence in Portugal and the relationship developed into areas that extended beyond trade in the late 15th century and lasted well into the early 19th century. Scores of young Bpni youth were sent to Portugal and studied there, coming back with advanced degrees in various disciplines. The next set of people to receive Western education were the slaves themselves. Some of them managed to buy their freedom and develop themselves further.

For the Ibo it does not matter who your father is; the question is: Who are you? Who was Obasanjo’s father? Was he the most educated Nigerian? I am sure the answer is no. Yet this Great Nigeria led this nation two times as a military Head of State and as a civilian President. What about GEJ? Who was his own father? Was he the first Nigerian to go to London? The answer is no. In fact, he had no shoes, yet he is fully in charge. So it does not matter if your father was the first Lawyer or first Doctor in Nigeria but rather what matters is what an individual does with the talents the Almighty has given to him. Let us open up Nigeria for competition. That is the solution to our problems. Those who want privileges keep reminding us that their fathers were the first to go to school in London. Every generation produces its own leaders and champions. Like Dangote who is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria today and the richest man in Africa. Was his father the first to go to study in London? Yet he is the master of people whose parents gave them the best. My brothers, the answer to the Nigerian problem is that we should establish a merit-driven society.

http://www.osundefender.com/igbo-scholar-disgraces-femi-fani-kayode-demolishes-claims-on-igboyoruba-history-with-facts-and-figures/

Hmmm...

The Bini who were the dominant military force from the 15th to the 19th century raided and sold other ethnicities to the Europeans. Top on the list of those they sold were the Yoruba, Ibo and Igala. Various other ethnicities suffered as a result of the Bini military expansion.And the Benin Kingdom stretched from present-day Benin up to what is now geographically referred to as Republic of Togo. Indeed, the influence of the Benin Empire extended to the banks of the river Niger to present-day Onistha. There are huge Yoruba settlements in the Anioma part of Delta State who fled Yoruba land as a result of these attacks and constant raids. Yes, there are Yoruba people who are currently living with Ibos in the Ibo-speaking part of Delta and they are full citizens of the place no one refers to them as strangers and there is no talk about the Ibos being the host community like we hear from the Governor of Lagos State. But let me return to research. Slaves were moved from the hinterland to the coast and many were sold through Eko to the New World. These slaves were the first to encounter the Europeans and by extension their way of life – this included education in a Western sense. The Bini King had taken pains to establish a diplomatic presence in Portugal and the relationship developed into areas that extended beyond trade in the late 15th century and lasted well into the early 19th century. Scores of young Bpni youth were sent to Portugal and studied there, coming back with advanced degrees in various disciplines. The next set of people to receive Western education were the slaves themselves. Some of them managed to buy their freedom and develop themselves further.

God bless this Igbo historian Dr. Samuel Okafor for telling the truth about Benin Empire.

Hope now IPOB touts can now agree that Onitsha was part of Benin empire at some point in history. I have been attack in d past on nairaland by IPOB tout for saying d truth about d history of Great Benin Empire.

As far back as 1495 the Benin Empire maintained a diplomatic presence in Portugal. This strategic relationship did not just stop at a mere mission but extended to areas such as education. Scores of young Benin men were sent out to Portugal to study and lots of them came back with advanced degrees in Medicine, Law and Portuguese Language, to name a few.

Again Dr Samuel Okafor thank you d truth . the Binis got education b4 Yorubas and Igbos.

It is on record that long before the coming of the white man to the present day Nigeria, A certain Obama of Benin was in Europe learning European languages

OP add the link to ur post. Below is d link:


http://www.osundefender.com/igbo-scholar-disgraces-femi-fani-kayode-demolishes-claims-on-igboyoruba-history-with-facts-and-figures/

Lalasticlala please do the needful. We need facts to circulate. Not lies and deception.

OK

I guess some people don't know the difference between A kingdom and and an Empire.

Nigeria was part of the British empire, does it now make us British?

That Bini stretched her land grabbing expansionism and imperialistic influence over Western Igboland is a known historical fact, but that doesn't mean that Western Igboland was Biniland, just as Nigeria being part of British empire didn't mean Nigeria is now part of Britain.

dEastActivist:
Igboid please come o and please bring your thread link o..

Another lie is that Yoruba and ijaws population are second and fourth respectively.
While facts and history has shown that Igbo's are second largest ethnic group while ijaws are tenth, Yoruba fourth

https://www.nairaland.com/3400415/1931-population-figures-nigerian-ethnic

You mean the above.

dEastActivist:


Yes oo.
Nice one bruv.
As this will come handy for those who might doubt my original comment.

You should join proudly Anioma proudly Igbo facebook page. Where the foremost Igbo historian of our time, Osita Mordi resides. That's where I learnt most of the things I know about Ndiigbo from.

Fani is establishing fact, That scholar is just fabricating propaganda.

dEastActivist:
Igboid please come o and please bring your thread link o..

Another lie is that Yoruba and ijaws population are second and fourth respectively.
While facts and history has shown that Igbo's are second largest ethnic group while ijaws are tenth, Yoruba fourth

Una can laugh person oo

When we were growing up they used to tell us that education is the key to success, now we have that key only to find out that
the government has changed the lock

Igboid:


You should join proudly Anioma proudly Igbo facebook page. Where the foremost Igbo historian of our time, Osita Mordi resides. That's where I learnt most of the things I know about Ndiigbo from.

Can I pm you, so you give me the link...?

dEastActivist:


Can I pm you, so you give me the link...?

I don't have access to the email address I used to open this account.

You can just go to Facebook and go to the search box and type in "Proudly Anioma proudly Igbo". Facebook will take you to the page immediately. It's a closed group, so you have to apply to join. If you have an Igbo name, I'm sure your request will be easily granted.

prela:
When we were growing up they used to tell us that education is the key to success, now we have that key only to find out that
the government has changed the lock

dEastActivist:


Am on it.
More respect to you bro.
Will hope to see you there and thank God is a closed group we can't afford miscreants. That was my initial fear ...

I can't easily forget that article titled " The bitter truth about the Igbo" by Fani-Kayode.

Been one of the derogatory historical article written in recent past that arose ethnic outcry and bitterness. unfortunately the author of that controversial article has become the toasted bride of same people who have call for his head simply because of their sheared hatred for the present administration...smh!

tuale4u:


God bless this Igbo historian Dr. Samuel Okafor for telling the truth about Benin Empire.

Hope now IPOB touts can now agree that Onitsha was part of Benin empire at some point in history. I have been attack in d past on nairaland by IPOB tout for saying d truth about d history of Great Benin Empire.




Again Dr Samuel Okafor thank you d truth . the Binis got education b4 Yorubas and Igbos.

.

Learn to read and understand instead of twisting meanings to suit your own argument. The writer said onitsha felt the "influence" of the Benin Empire he did not say it was under the Benin Empire. He said the Benin Empire "began" from Benin and stretched all the way to present day Togo.

Great history

While it is good to always know the facts, I'm not looking to score any points with this because being educated is for one's personal benefit.

Being the first or last makes no difference as long as kmowledge is gained.

a

..

I don't know him but he just ballistic with facts(if they are true). plus he made a big points.
researching about him now too

For the Ibo it does not matter who your father is; the question is: Who are you? Who was Obasanjo’s father? Was he the most educated Nigerian? I am sure the answer is no. Yet this Great Nigeria led this nation two times as a military Head of State and as a civilian President. What about GEJ? Who was his own father? Was he the first Nigerian to go to London? The answer is no. In fact, he had no shoes, yet he is fully in charge. So it does not matter if your father was the first Lawyer or first Doctor in Nigeria but rather what matters is what an individual does with the talents the Almighty has given to him. Let us open up Nigeria for competition. That is the solution to our problems. Those who want privileges keep reminding us that their fathers were the first to go to school in London. Every generation produces its own leaders and champions. Like Dangote who is the biggest employer of labour in Nigeria today and the richest man in Africa. Was his father the first to go to study in London? Yet he is the master of people whose parents gave them the best.
My brothers, the answer to the Nigerian problem is that we should establish a merit-driven society

And the pseudo scholar had to wait for Fani-Kayode to be behind bars before he could find his own voice? Yeah right! It's when you know you are lying your witness is in a faraway place. He needs to wait, Ffk will soon be out. Inferiority complex is indeed a terrible thing. Facts will remain facts. You can't say you were at any point in time great if you couldn't even conquer the village around you and leave your mark, instead you have other people's mark in every aspect of your lives. This junk historian needs to go back and learn that the conqueror is the one whose language, names and way of worship go beyond their physical boundaries. And the only tribe meeting that in the entire south is Yoruba.

The man is incredibly sound and his account seems devoid of bias. Oh, and the various epithets he used to describe Fani Kayode are every inch apt.

The Igbos are truly great and successful people who have made a habit of dominating whatever area they find themselves in. The Obi of Onitsha is one such intelligent men that I have always respected amongst a host of brilliant minds from East of the Niger.

I just sometimes wonder who raised the cretins that flood nairaland with stupid comments.

As for the historical facts presented, na learn we dey. But I'll take his account over Fani's, considering he backed them up with established facts that some people on here corroborate, while there are some I relate with myself.

That was how they packaged a quarter of a century old lie that they are the most educated people in Nigeria when statistics upon statistics show Igbos lead by very high margin, and after Igbo are non Igbo Deltans and followed by Edo. This has been the yr after yr pattern in the last decade or so, yet these pathological liars keep peddling the mendacity they are the most educated. I served in Ondo state and I crisscrossed all SW states during my service, I was shocked to know and see that nearly 25% of older yorubaas cannot speak average English on conversation level. But come to SE and SS...nearly every old person you meet, even in their 90s, speaks at least average English.

tuale4u:


God bless this Igbo historian Dr. Samuel Okafor for telling the truth about Benin Empire.

Hope now IPOB touts can now agree that Onitsha was part of Benin empire at some point in history. I have been attack in d past on nairaland by IPOB tout for saying d truth about d history of Great Benin Empire.




Again Dr Samuel Okafor thank you d truth . the Binis got education b4 Yorubas and Igbos.

U don't need to call them touts to make your valid points.