Ogbuefi Sonya.
An arrangement is going on at the moment by The Igbo Youths UK to supply Maths textbooks to all the secondary schools in Igboland. Secondary schools in Ika are also candidates for this books.
What do you have to say?. You have ignored my questions a lot, but not this time.

Why are you giving this clown audience, thats the best present you can give a village jester or a fool.

@ezeagu.Your entire generations are fools and clowns little wonder u jump into chats dat has nothing 2 do wit u.Jst seeking audience idiot.@andre ive already told u that ive stoped comenting on the ika saga.If the ibo youths are giving textbooks 2 ika schools,dats very tutful of them.So i think dats all i can say.Tnks

sonya4all:

@ezeagu.Your entire generations are fools and clowns little wonder u jump into chats dat has nothing 2 do wit u.Jst seeking audience idiot.@andre ive already told u that ive stoped comenting on the ika saga.If the ibo youths are giving textbooks 2 ika schools,dats very tutful of them.So i think dats all i can say.Tnks

I don't blame you. Your mission has failed, bad blood. Look at how somebody will come and insult their whole ancestors then have mouth to insult another persons own. In fact, identity crisis is a terrible thing. Please bufu jémé Benin if you want.

i have seen people from Ika,umenede,Ndoki, Oshimili,Iseluku,Ahoada saying they are igbos.I see them as igbos.
Even the Binis, Eshan,Estako.Owan call the people of Ika igbo.

There is nothing anybody can do to change that.

lbotus:

i have seen people from Ika,umenede,Ndoki, Oshimili,Iseluku,Ahoada saying they are igbos.I see them as igbos.
Even the Binis, Eshan,Estako.Owan call the people of Ika igbo.

There is nothing anybody can do to change that.

Ndoki people disclaim Igbo? Since when?

@chinenyen.i think ndoki was mistaken for ndoni by the poster.

@ezeagu.If u are an ika then u you would understand the meaning od EWOBI.(useless person), I dnt knw why i keep coming back 2 this thread 2 see all these , Pschew.

lbotus:

i have seen people from Ika,umenede,Ndoni, Oshimili,Iseluku,Ahoada saying they are igbos.I see them as igbos.
Even the Binis, Eshan,Estako.Owan call the people of Ika igbo.

There is nothing anybody can do to change that.

There is no identity crisis in all the areas you mentioned except the first two and to a little extent the last one.

@IBOTUS: Thanks for coming here to clear the air. Your Edo people know that Ika people are Igbo people. Just a handful of them differ.

Oh okay. Abagworo and Andre, thanks for clarifying that for me.

@poster, mohadana,
R u from Igbanke? r u in Igbanke now?
If so please gist mua, hw is Igbanke? how is oga "Goddy costmetics", IGS,Enojie (the big/fat one, hope he's ok healthwise cos he's good) and Igbanke good people, hope everybody is ok.
Served there, Ake, yrs back n they were quite accomodating.

Fun.
I hope you learnt some cultural aspects of the Ndi Igbanke. such as the meanings of their common names: Okoro, Nkem, Chukuka, Ikenchuku, Nwachuku etc.
I hope you also learnt about their Ezeship system.

there seems to be lots of anger from our igbo brothers when ikas say they are not igbo ,but it should not be so,many people do not understand ika history and culture and then people like equating language with the fact that may be those who speak same language should neccessarily come from the same place.if this were true then itsekiris will be yoruba , because their language is close to yoruba ,but it is mixed with benin,but we know itsekiris are a seperate tribe from yoruba AND BENIN ,but they trace their ancestory to benin and yoruba land,and the isokos should be uhrobos ,because their language is similar , but we know they are both seperate tribes,and benin and ishan should be same tribe ,because they speak almost same language and share almost same culture,but they are seperate ethnic groups.brazil speaks portuguese ,so they should be portuguese,and americans speak english ,so they should be english people.but we know language changes due to wars,migrations,trade and intermarriages e.t.c.
so that brings us to the questions , who are ikas , people have called them part of benin, then bendel igbo, delta igbo and so on ,but who do we say we are , we say we are ikas.
in 1936,when the british subjected agbor to benin warrant chiefs the binis told the british that they own agbor and that agbor people were binis , so what happened? our fore fathers reacted and told the british that they were ikas (eka) and they repelled the binis.
right now we also have igbos laying claims that ikas are igbos,but that had also been rebuffed by our people , for the fact that we are ikas and we have our socio-cultural organisation called ogua-ika,headed by chief fortune ebie.that is why no matter the threat, intimidation and cajoling the ikas will not be part of any other organisation apart from ika and anioma organisation,
in 1930,jacob egharevba the great bini historian in his book titled a short history of benin,he stated that the ekas migrated from benin in many waves and settled in agbor,owa, umunede and other ika towns , he also said the first obi of agbor was a benin prince and that most obis of ika land were benin prince and noble men.however he said that the early language of ikas was called bibi , which is close to benin language and later other people migrated from igbo land to join then and they the language started evolving .so he said ikas were benin descendants,we know that under oba ewuare and esigie ,benin descendants whether in benin city proper or outside of benin had the tribal marks called igu ,this mark was the same mark giving to the ancient ika people .
who are the ika people ,they are from towns that constitute the ika south and ika north in delta state and their brothers in edo state like the igbankes and others .
what unites the ikas we regard ourselves as ebons -family,the common thread of unity is the believe that we have that our core founders migrated from benin,and our common culture like the obiship(kingship)which is hereditory from father to son like the binis, the three system bini chiefthancy of hereditory, town and palace chiefs ,following obaseki,ologboshere,iyase,obawujie,obawuyi,esama,edaiken(crown prince),ihama,ihaza, obasogie, obakpolor,adolor,itsekure,e.t.c.
the crowning of the obi in the uselu like in benin , and folloing the same taboo and dances and festivals like , we perform the igue festival, the ague, ikaba,inneh, ogbanigue, ovia, olokun,and the udje following the binis, we also perform iwaji like the igbos,but our foremat is different and we perform the ikenga like the igbos too.
we believe in oselobue as supreme god and smaller deities such as ogun-iron god, olokun- god of the ocean ,ovia,uhunwudeen,ohinte,uwegbe,udele,ake,osun following the benin traditions, and we have ifejiokwu ,ikenga like the igbos too.
we believe in ehi as guardian spirit ,just like igbos believe in chi,we believe in the heavens called orimi,our ancestors also believed in calling a dead person to question the cause of death , this is still done in some parts of ika land till today.
our villages are structured in to segments just like in benin- the ebon(umu),idumu and ogbe system.
some people point to the fact that ikas bear igbo names , yes we do ,and we also bear benin names , infact all ika people have benin names as names of their fore fathers ,we bear names of igbos like ngozi, nduka, chibuzor,and anwuli ,and we also bear benin names like irabor, obaigbena, ovia, efeizomor, osagie etc.for example the owner of this day news paper is an ika man and his name is nduka-igbo,obaigbena-benin.
the owner of zenith bank is an ika man called jim - ovia-benin.
nduka irabor the former journalist and press secretary to aikhomu is an ika man
and steve omojafor the chairman of one of the biggest advert agencies in nigeria, omojafor is a benin name ,so we bear both igbo and benin names.
what language do ika people speak , we speak ika and some ika people in agbor speak a language called ozarra,an edoic language,while ika is an amalgamation of igbo,benin,ishan and indigenous language.so this seperates it from neither being igbo or benin languages , and i think the language it self reflect the migration mix that make up ikaland.
some things in ika FOLLOW IGBO LANGUAGE LIKE;
1. EKA- HAND
2. ONU-MOUTH
3.UKU -LEG
4. DAYS OF THE WEEK ,EKEN,AFOR,ORIE,
5.EYAN- EYES

WHILE OTHERS FOLLOW BENIN LINES LIKE;
1. UKPE- LIGHT
2.OFINGBO- PALMOIL
3.OKPOHO-WOMAN
4.ODEDE- OLD WOMAN
5.EDION- OLD MAN
6.OHAIME-CHIEF
7. OKPAN- PLATE
8.IKEKE- BICYCLE
9. BULUKUN-SKIRT
10.OGO-BOTTLE
11.ISEH -NAIL
12.OLODEN-NEEDLE
13.EGHO-MONEY
14-EFE-WEALTH
15. EZUZU-HAND FAN
16-IGBON- SLAVE
17.IYETOR-FOUNDATION
18. UGBE -FAMILY E.T.C.
19-KAKA-NOTHING

IN 1702, A FAMOUS DUTCH HISTORIAN VISITED BENIN CALLED NYANDEL ,HE LATER SETTLED IN AGBOR, THIS WAS WHAT HE LEFT IN HIS DIARY ,HE SAID WAVES OF FAMILIES MIGRATING FROM BENIN AND MOVING AND SETTLING INTO AGBOR AND OBIOR ,HE ALSO WROTE ABOUT THE WAR BETWEEN AGBOR AND BENIN THAT TIME AND HE SAID WHAT BROUGHT THE WAR TO AN END WAS THE BLOOD RELATIONSHIP THAT EXISTED BETWEEN THE AGBOR PEOPLE AND THE BINIS .EVEN RIGHT NOW THE DEIN OF AGBOR IS THE A BLOOD RELATION TO THE PRESENT OBA OF BENIN, AND AS SUCH IT IS A TABOO , FOR ANY MEMBER OF AGBOR ROYAL FAMILY TO MARRY ANYONE FROM THE BENIN ROYAL FAMILY.
HAVING SAID THIS THERE ARE EVIDENCE THAT THERE WERE LOTS OF MIGRATIONS FROM NRI AND OTHER IGBO PEOPLES INTO IKA LAND ,WHILE POINTING OUT THE THREAD OF MIGRATION FROM BENIN OR FROM IGBO LAND DOES NOT MAKE IKAS BINIS OR IGBOS,BUT WE ARE IKA PEOPLE.
UTE-OKPU WAS FOUNDED BY MIGRANTS FROM NRI AND BENIN,WHILE OWA TOO WAS FOUNDED BY MIGRANTS FROM IKOHA IN BENIN AND UTE PEOPLE VIA ODOGUN,WHO SOME HISTORIANS SAY CAME FROM NRI , WHILE OTHERS SAY HE WAS FROM BENIN.

I WANT TO SAY THAT IN DELTA NORTH THOSE COMMUNITY LIKE OGWASHI ,UBULU-UKU AND ASABA PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE IGBOS HAVE ALREADY JOINED OHANEZE NDIGBO AND OTHER IGBO GROUPS,BUT IKA PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE THEY ARE NOT IGBOS SHOULD BE LEFT ALONE,WE ARE NEITHER BINIS TOO,ALTHOUGH WE ACKNOWLEDGE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE BINI AND IGBO PEOPLE,BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WE ARE NOW IKAS.
SOME SAYINGS IN IKA LANGUAGE.( AGBOR,OWA AND ABAVO ,IKA DIALECT)
0
1. IHIAN HAIN IHIAN ME IHIAN- IT IS A PERSON THAT MAKES ANOTHER TO BECOME EVIL.
2. EBON IHIAN A RI ISI OGALABA,OGIEKA A RA UKUTUBHA- ONES BROTHER CANNOT BE AT THE HEAD OF TREE ,THEN ONE WILL EAT UNRIPE FRUIT.
3.IHIEN UYAGHAMI RO KE OKUNSE NO KPO ODEDE IKUN- IT IS A DISGRACEFUL THING FOR ONE TO ABUSE HIS MOTHER.
4' IKPOFIN ASUYA------------------------THE DUSTBIN DOES NOT REFUSE SUFFERING.
5.ONYEN DAN IZIGHE ,A RA ME OMIKEN---------HE WHO COMMITTS MURDER DOES NOT SHOW MERCY
6.YA WE NO GBAMA UKPEKPE,GHOGHOMA,AKPAMI OSELOBUE ,HUN OGI CHUNI WE UYA-------THEN THEY BEGAN PRAISING ,AND THANKING GOD FOR CHASING AWAY SUFFERRING FROM THEM
7.OJUWU WEHE UKPOKPO RI IMEN AGBONI - IT IS THE DEVIL THAT BROUGHT ALL TROUBLES IN THIS WORLD.
8.OHAI OHAI-UTORMI- KEWE KELE EDIOMA,DOMO KEWE EKELE OBI, IYARE KEWE EKELE OHAIME,----PROGRESS AND LONG LIFE IS THE GREETINGS FOR OLD MEN, DOMO IS GREETINGS FOR KINGS AND GODS PROTECTION IS FOR CHIEFS .
9. NWAEBIKIN UGBE A LA UGBE TOR------ THE CHILD THAT IS SUPPOSSED TO TAKE CARE OF THE FAMILY HAS LEFT THE FAMILY
10.OKPOHO MU UYADA GIE YIRI AGAN----- A WOMAN THAT HAS A BAD CHILD IS LIKE A BARREN WOMAN.
11. EJE AGBON YA E YE AGBON- IT IS A BAD FAMILY THAT PRODUCES A BAD PERSON
12.ELETU BAIN IMEN OGAH ,OJEN IJEN UFORI -------------THE RAT THAT IS CAPTURED IN A TRAP HAS GONE ON A FRUITLESS JOURNEY

COMING TO IKA LANGUAGE, OUR LANGUAGE IS FAST BEING ERODED AS MANY WORDS ARE BEING REPLACED VERY FAST AND THAT IS WHY THE IKA GROUP ST UP A COMMITTE ON IKA LANGUAGE TO HALT IT .EXAMPLES , OGIUWU OR OJUWU WAS WHAT IKAS CALLED DEVIL,BUT NOW IT IS CALLED EKWENSU IN CHURCHES,IKAS ALSO GIVE THEIR CHILDREN NAMES THAT ARE NOT IKA NAMES FOR EXAMPLE ANWULI -MEANS HAPINESS,BUT IN ORIGINAL IKA IT IS OGHOGHO ,WHILE EBERE IS MERCY , BUT IN IKA IT IS OMIKEN.NEDDLE IS OLODEN ,BUT SOME IKAS NOW CALL IT NTUTU,PLATE IS CALLED OKPAN,BUT SOME IKAS NOW CALL IT AFERE,A CHAIR WAS CALLED AGAH,BUT NOW THEY SAY OCHO,NAMES LIKE CHINEDU ARE NOT IKA NAMES,AS IKAS DO NOT BELIEVE IN CHI ,BUT IN EHI, SO IT SHOULD BE EHIEDU OR EHIABOR,GOD IS GUIDING ME.SO IT IS GOOD FOR ONE TO KNOW HIS OR HER HISTORY,I HAVE MET MANY PEOPLE WHO DONT KNOW THEIR HISTORY.

WE ARE IKAS AND WE DO NOT WISH TO BE CAST IN A MODE THAT IS NOT OURS,AND WE DO NOT WISH TO BE ANY OTHER THING APART FROM IKA,BUT WE STILL RECOGNISE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH BINIS AND IGBOS,BUT THAT DOES NOT MAKE US EITHER OF THE TWO GROUPS.AND WE ARE PROUD OF OUR ANCESTORY.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR PEOPLE SAY THE ARE IKAS,SO OCCASSIONALLY IF WE HAVE IKAS THAT FELL THEY ARE IGBOS OR BINIS , THEY SHOULD GO AND JOIN EITHER THE IGBO GROUP OR BINI GROUPS , BUT ALL OUR KINGS AND NOBLE MEN AND CITIZENS BELIEVE THAT WE ARE IKA .

You're right. You are Ika, just as I am Ngwa.

You can be Ika as well as Igbo. The likes of Onwujiegwu and other professors of over 20 years research on Delta Igbo people concluded that Ika people are Igbo people.
I do agree about Bini arrivals and influence on Ika people, but before then the natives were Igbo and still. There is no particular group that is Igbo. The Igbo people are Southern Nigerian grpups who speak closely-related DIALECTS such as Ika, Nkwerre, Igberre, Ikwerre, Aro, Ngwa, Isinweke, Afikpo, Nsukka, Awka, etc.
There is no need to have a Rivers state system of every village is an ethnic nationality. That should not be tolerated in Ikaland and entire Delta Igbo region.

Akparachichi shi na odu avom ngala.

Akparachichi is a bit unique. It depends on what is means, then we'll have 2 translations.

Akparachichi shi na odu avom ngala = Akparachichi si na ino ani (ino odu) abom ngala = Akparachichi said that sitting down gave me laziness.

or

Akparachichi no ani (no odu) abom ngala = Akparachichi is sitting down but accuses me of laziness

006:

Akparachichi is a bit unique. It depends on what is means, then we'll have 2 translations.

Akparachichi shi na odu avom ngala = Akparachichi si na ino ani (ino odu) abom ngala = Akparachichi said that sitting down gave me laziness.

or

Akparachichi no ani (no odu) abom ngala = Akparachichi is sitting down but accuses me of laziness

In Isinweke, Akparachichi is goose pimples. It is called Akpara-oyi in standard Igbo.
Odu means buttocks. Ukwu or ike in standard igbo.
Ngala is right here or Ebea in central igbo.
It means that I am having goose pimples right here. Just an expression of shock.

Regardless, Isinweke people are Igbo people not an ethnic nationality. Ika people, hope you all understand .

many people write what they do not understand,no amount of intimidation or cajoling will make a proper ika man become igbo or join an igbo ethnic organisation,if you like continue to hypotise on why ikas should agree that they are igbos,ikas are not ogwashi uku or ubuluku people or asaba people.the fact is that we the ikas have spoken and we are very proud of our ancestory and we know those that are not ikas.some people say that igbos came to ika first and that later binis came ,my question is do you know the history of any ika town ? and what are your historical proofs ?when and how did the binis take over ? do you know any person who can trace his history to the past in ika ?
i am from owa-oyibu the headquarters of owa kingdom,and we have 12 villages that make up owa-oyibu,out of which 6 are royal quarters,and we also have 7 other owa towns too in delta and some in edo state.i am from idumuezomor ,one of the royal quarters ,by history passed from father to son,we are children of obi igbegidi ,the second obi of owa,and my family in particular have produced high chiefs for owa ,so we have family history and records.from owa records the first people to migrate to owa ,settled in a place called owa-ofien ,they came from ikoha in ovia local govt. of benin at around the 7th century ,and by the time odogun -the first king of owa came from ute,adagba was the odionwere of owa-ofien .
the next community that migrated to owa was owa-ekei people from igun quarters in benin and the name of their leader was ugbasogun,the arrived by 8th century.
the next were the various people from benin and ishan in owa -oyibu ,then around the 12th to early 13th century odogun came from ute,after having returned from benin wars,and his father ijue died and his junior brother okpu was crowned king,so on his return he had to move away until he got to owa,and with the help of his soldiers and slaves from ute and benin ,he conquered the various communties he met on arrival in owa and established owa kingdom.history told us that odogun was a general in benin army,but from oral sources we found out that ute at the time of odogun had migrations from nri area and benin,so it was already a mixed community,be fore they came to owa.
some sources or version of owa and ute history says odogun and his father came from nri ,while another version says he came from edo ,so that means we have dual mode of migration,and the names of odoguns brother that came with him to owa were ezomor,ogbeje,igbegidi and their fathers name was ijue ,upon close scrutiny we found that the names were all benin names ,
we also found out that the oba of benin sent people to seek the assistance of ijue the obi of ute-okpu ,so if the oba did not have relationship with ute people why did he send for them?we also found out that there is a law that states that in the event of a war ,all first male child of benin or their descendants must go to the war ,so odogun first child of ijue went .
it is a taboo for ute-okpu,ute-ogbeje and owa people to eat monkey ,because our ancestors said that monkey assisted us when ijue left benin kingdom and ran to ute,so the oba sent soldiers to chase them and as they almost got to where the ijue people were monkeys created another track that looks like human leg tracks so the soldiers mistaked them and went elsewhere that was how ijue and his people got saved,ute-okpu history refered to ijue as a prominent chief in benin,while ute-ogbeje history says ijue was a prince of benin,
my family are descendants of owa kings ,infact the second obi of owa,called igbegidi,and omigie and agbontaen family of the idumuezomor royal quarters,i can tell you our family history in the last 700 years,so please i challenge any body to give me historical proof , using any ika family and tracing their history to support the view that people of ika origin that descended from benin just came of recent?
i have said it that there is no ika man that can trace his history to 300 years in ika that does not have a benin name.
we have done proper research on our history and we found that the benin elements of our culture are the most ancient,while the igbo element occurred recently .but however we are ikas and we do not wish to be bini or igbo,we are just ika.proffessor owunjeogwu is an igbuzo man ,their ancestors migrated mainly from nri and you can see that igbuzor does not have an obi ,so he is not an ika man ,his writings are igbocentric,when the people of bendel east district were agitating for creation of anioma state,he wrote a book on anioma history saying that all aniomA people migrated from the east,so all the ikas and many ukwali people refused to join the movement and even wrote a rejoinder against his book and told him point blank that not all anioma PEOPLE ARE IGBOS .
WHY has it become very important to annex ika land into igbo hood ? many communities who believe they are igbo are already in igbo ethnic meetings ,the asabas and their kings,ogwashi and her people ,igbuzor and her people like the great professor pat.utormi,and others,so why have the ika kings like obis of owa,umunede,mbiri,ute-ogbeje,ute-okpu,idumuesah,igbodo,abavo,akumazi and the revered dein of agbor and ika promient men like nduka irabor,ifeanyi okowa,nduka obaigbena,professor osabohien,steve omojafor,jim ovia,professor edobor gbenoba not join igbo meetings the reason is simple ,this people believe they are ikas and not igbo.and we have gone forward to institute our ethnic socio-cultural group called the ogua ika ,headed by chief fortune ebie- the first president of the nigeria institute of surveyors.this group speaks for majority of ikas in nigeria.we are proud of the royal blood in ika people,and our culture is very unique ,we are the land where the east mets the west,in 1952,when the great german ,african anthropologist and historian ulli-bierer visited nigeria,he wrote in his journal that agbor is a very ancient city that has great culture and tradition,but it is often by passed by people because of its nearness to the great benin,and then others that want to catch ferries to onitsha,he also talked about agbor culture having elements of benin and some igbo culture.
even professor pepper clark -the great nigerian writer of ijaw origin in the 1960,s published a poem about the agbor dancers .
ika kingdom and in fact the agbor kingdom is the envy of many kingdoms in anioma and even in nigeria,many kings want their kings to be like dein of agbor ,this ancient kingdom ,that created a record in the world when her king was crowned at 2 and half years old.and made the guiness book of world record .
dein of agbor was confered with the highest royal awards in belgium by the king of belgium,and the titled was meant for only kings that were from 45 years of age ,so because of the dein kiagborekuzi of agbor ,who was in his early 30,the age limit was waved for the first time in belgian history .
the federal govt of nigeria ,made the dein of agbor the pro-chancelor of university of ilorin,thus making him the youngest pro-chancelor in africa.
what else shall we recount is it how the position of the obi of agbor was well revered in the old western nigeria and mid-western nigeria and old bendel state.the fact is that ikas have come of age and we are no apendage to any group,those who think otherwise are joking,last year nduka obaigbena THE OWNER of this day news paper ,was granted an interview by new york times when they refered to him as the duke of journalism in nigeria,they wrote that obaigbena is from an ethnic group in nigeria called ika,that is re-aserting his ethnic identity.many nigerians always use word like hausa-fulani to describe a person ,and that is wrong and it is often out of ignorance, you are either fulani or hausa,and this two tribes are different although they have similarities.
ika-igbo,what does it mean ? you are either ika or igbo,both are two different things and people should know,we know how is an ika person and what makes a person ika.if you are not from our royal line then you are not ika period.right now we have secured air time for ika language programms on delta radio,we have commissioned researchers and writers to publish things on our history and culture,we hold annual and periodic lectures .we have a leadership structure for ika land and we have our national hall in agbor.i once saw the map of biafra made by massob and i saw agbor and ika areas as part of biafra,i just laughed and asked my friend who had the map ,if agbor people were consulted ? and if they have asked the people for their opinion and i told him , that was highly provocative ,and the agbor union in lagos later wrote a disclaimer as to the fact that agbor was not part of the proposed biafra on the map.that is how we stay in a corner in our rooms and write about other peoples history without consulting them and seeking their opinion.
finally let me say that the vast majority of ika people have the firm believe that they are not igbos or benin ,but that they are ikas,they do not want to be tagged what they are not.and whatever any body says will not move the majority of our people to join igbo meetings.
?\
.

Why do you keep grouping all the Igbo people as one? As if they all speak the same and have the same culture? Are you unfamiliar with how heterogeneous they are? And how mutually unintelligible their respective speech forms are? If I wrote pure, unadulterated Ngwa, you, and all other Igbo here on NL would be at a loss as to what I'm saying. It's even worse when spoken. Ngwa classifies as its own language (like many, if not ALL other Igbo lects).

You're talking about Ika people adopting "Igbo" words and expressions, while abandoning their own Ika, as if it is only happening to you. The same has been going on with the Ngwa. Ngwa is also being seriously eroded (no joke. I'm for real). Everytime I attend my people's Amaala meetings, I hear less and less Ngwa, and more and more "Igbo", that it saddens me. The're saying things like "efere" (plate), "eg(h)o" (money), "ofe" (soup), "ihe" (thing), etc. instead of the proper Ngwa terms. They're saying things like "ana m abia" (I'm coming) or "o na-eme" ([s]he is doing) or "ayi ga-ahu", etc. instead of the proper Ngwa expressions. Ngwa lexical characteristics are increasingly being abandoned for "Igbo" ones.

So get it correct, the "Igbo" are NOT one people. We are NOT synonymous with each other. The term "Igbo" is simply a social term for the characterization of different people (related and unrelated), on a linguistic basis (i.e. The speech forms generally sound "Igbo", and people are trying to turn it into a political-cultural expression. There is no such thing as "Igbo blood", and the "Igbo" are NOT an ethnic group. The sooner people learn this, the better. So you can stay Ika, but don't group all other "Igbo" as one, as if only Ika can lay claims to distinction.

@chinenyeN.dont let agbotaen draw you into unnecessary arguments.are you aware that ikas argue amongst themselves about being igbo.this phrase is ngwa ''ma la nye nwem vu ezi enyi''.''me and my lord are friendly''.this is owerri ''uyo oma bu he n'eji amasim.''i like good home''this is item.''ahiam ya ahio''.''i can see it''.this diversity is good and should make us wax stronger.

well i will like to ask those who hold the igbocentric view that ikas are igbo,these questions ,
1. why are there no ika monarch attending any igbo ethnic meetings?
from dein of agbor to obis of owa,umunede,abavo,otolokpo,mbiri,akumazi,igbodo,ute-ogbeje,ute-okpu,idumuesah,and their brothers,the enogies of oligie,ota and igbanke areas ?
2. why has the ika interllectuals and political leaders not joined any igbo ethnic meetings ,i mean the likes of jim ovia,nduka irabor,nduka obaigbena,primate nicolas okoh,ifeanyi okowa,godson echegile,chief omorodion,chief uzum,major generals usiade,aigbogun,osokogun,iruh,col-ebie, commodor acha, chief steve omojafor, proffs pat-okoh, igbogbor,fidelis ozorbah gbenobah,martins aguevedo,igbon,okeninkpe,chief iwerebon,mr ibude, martins okonta, CHIEF OGBOI ,chief fortune ebie,proff osabohien,dr okungbowa,dr.okoruwa,dr,martins imade,chief patrick osagie and others ,why are they not part of ohaneze meetings like proff.pat utomi of igbuzor?

some people wrote that mr.jim ovia received an award from aka-ikenga as the banker of the year,do you know jim ovia also received awards from many yoruba organisations as the best banker ? he was even inducted as a member of lagos state university governing board by the lagos state governor fashola , but does that make him a yoruba man ? the answer is capital no.mr jim ovia is a member of ogua and onu ika ,that is what he belongs to as an ika man.ikas do not operate a system where every body is king or because you have money you will disobey your king.so mr .jim ovia cannot join any igbo meeting since the dein of agbor is not a member ,period.
and nduka irabor ,or obaigbena,or ifeanyi okowa,or major generals usiade,iruh,and osokogu or ambassador echegile cannot join ohaneze ,because the obi of owa,dr.emmanuel efeizomor is not a member of ohaneze or any igbo ethnic meeting , but a member of ika group.

let me even ask ,what do ikas stand to gain or loose if they agree to join igbo ethnic meetings ?
we have nothing to gain,because i do not see how they can help my being ika,so having carefully studied the situation,the vast majority of our people have decided to have nothing to do with any igbo ethnic organisation as we believe we are ika and not igbo,infact our cultures have developed along seperate lines.so let it remain like that.
no amount of intimidation by using population or subtle threat or cajoling or castigation will make the vast majority of our people join say they are igbo or join igbo group.we can relate as friends and as a people who had been relating via migration and trade,but to say we should join your organisation is an abormination.which will never occur,like i have said many times even if ika language evolves from what it is now and becomes like arochuku or owerri dialect, ikas will still not join igbo,because no amount of english spoken by an american will ever make him an english man.
let igbo people leave ika people alone ,let them make do with ogwashi uku,ubulu-uku,asaba and all other communities who belong to their ethnic meetings,as for the vast majority of ikas and our leaders of thought we are ika and nothing can change that.but like they say in every 12,there must be judas,so if we find some ikas who believe they are igbos and that they want to join ohaneze or any igbo ethnic meeting , our ika national leader chief fortune ebie and all our monarchs have said they are free to go and join period and they should not disturb those who want to remain ika for life.

Abagworo, yeah. That's what I'm getting at. Agbotaen seems to not know who the Igbo are, and seems to believe that the only Ika can lay claims to distinction. He seems to not understand the nature of Igbo identity, and that's what I'm trying to get across to him. 

Agbotaen, you're just plain wrong on this: "Igbo ethnic meetings/organizations". If you did not know before, such a thing does not happen. Each group attends their own people's meetings, and conventions. Each culture zone in Igbo, and its respective cultures, have developed along separate lines. Ika is not special in that respect. Identifying with Igbo is just that; identifying with Igbo. It does not make you any more or less Ika. You remain Ika for life, just as I myself remain Ngwa for life. No amount of Igbo identification changes my "Ngwa-ness". No amount of Igbo identification changes and Owere individual's "Owere-ness'. No amount of Igbo identification changes an Aro person's "Aro-ness", or an Ndoni person's "Ndoni-ness". Owere forever remains Owere. Ngwa forever remains Ngwa. Arochukwu forever remains Arochukwu, and the list goes on. You identifying with Igbo does not kill your "Ika-ness".

^^^

Don't mind agbotaen, arguing with him is not advisable for your health, else be ready to read repetitive prose he has been posting on every site.

No Igbo tribe/group speak 100% central Igbo, but fortunately, I grew up where central Igbo is spoken so I can communicate with everyone. As far as I am concerned, any tribe that speak 70% or more is Igbo. Izzi group speak 70 - 80% Igbo, yet they are Igbos. Igbo was never homogenous (and not all were descendants of Eri) and apart from western Igbos that had influences from Bini, it was only the Aro group that had a King (I may be wrong).

One is entitled to call oneself anything but can't force the world to change how ethnicity or ethnic groups are classified - the world won't deviate from the norms just because of you.

Even Ika neighbours, Bini, call them Igbo. They belong to Anioma which invariably a member of Ohaneze.

So agbotaen, you can go on and on, call yourself anything, but no rational man would deviate from what ethnicity is. So you'll always be called Igbo or to respect your special identity, Ika-Igbo, never Ika-Bini nor just Ika because Ika can never be classified as an ethnic group.

_{Within yourselves, you can call yourself Ika just like Aros, Ngwas, Nsukas, Izzis etc do. No difference.}

It is only those Ikas who have never left the shores of Nigeria claim that non-Ikas can join Igbo organisations. I belong to a famous Igbo organisation in the UK and it has many Ikas as members for example the Etuhus. One of them plays for Nigeria.

006, to be honest, Eka, like other "Igbo" cultures, does classify as their own ethnicity.

@abotean,am very very happy that i have another ika in the house 2 tell these block headed fools that we are not igbo,pls dnt waste ur precious time arguing with them,cos ive tried but no way,but one thing is that no matter what they say,ali lka remains ika,we are undivided,@the bas.Ta.Rd. That said ika is not an ethnic group i suggest u go an check the ethnic groups in nigeria,even though,eventualy ika joins ohaneze ndi oshi,i will NEVER BE part of it,i just wonder what u guy wish 2 gain by alaigning ika with igbos.Mtcheeeew!@aboteam pls leav this thread,thers a thread specialy made for the ikas,pls locate it,lets discus how 2 move ika 2 a greater height.Cheers

Nonsense. Of course Eka is not "Igbo". "Igbo" is an ethnicity, and ALL "Igbo" people share the same progenitor and have the same undivided culture. Even, moreover, "Igbo" language is different from Eka language. They don't even sound the same. Normal "Igbo" cannot understand Eka. Eka people don't even have any relationship with the "Igbo" across the river, in the first place. Although, Eka culture is corrupted with elements of "Igbo" culture, but that's just because the "Igbo" farmers infiltrated Eka land and brought their dominating farm culture into the already well established Eka kingdom. We maintain though that the Eka are not "Igbo". Eka has nothing to do with "Igbo". There is nothing like Eka-"Igbo". Just a bunch of nonsense farmers trying to claim a whole small kingdom.

"Igbo" people should leave ali Eka alone. We can lay claims to distinction. Ali Eka is a kingdom, and you mere farmers, with no king, cannot claim it.