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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Culture / Who The Ijaws Really Are. (1509 Views)
Ijaws Are The Most Beautiful Tribe In Nigeria. (Photos). / Bad Blood Between Igbos And Ijaws In The Nigerdelta. / When Ijaws Speak, Igbos Should Know When To Respectfully Keep Quiet (2) (3) (4)
Who The Ijaws Really Are. by davidnazee: 9:54pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
Who the Ijaws Really are. By: Geneeral Efela The Izons mispronounced as the Ijaws are like kids that grew up in an area they never liked while growing up and when they grow to maturity, they cut off that part of their past/history they so much detest and begin from where they think describes the present statues they want to portray. If you see, they keep talking of their history from the 15th century as if their race was created in the 15th century, when you see the Benins talk of their history, they have documented evidence of their rulers as far back as the 40th BC as the Benins grew from Kingdom to Empire, it is common sense to note that they had subjects for all great civilizations always had subjects, Kemet, Rome, Persia, Greece, Britain and the Great Benin all had subjects and the Izons were subjects to the Benins all along till Ogiso Owodo in the 10th century freed the majority of them. After Ogiso Owodo freed slaves, they could not immediately live among the land owners in the RED EARTH Benin, yet they were free, instead they were allowed to build makeshift accommodations for themselves outside the kingdom, in this case the slaves were asked to go way outside to the very area that had no economic value then, the swamps and creeks. Modern day Izons have been able to trace their roots to the 15th century, they are quick to record the time they felt they began to organize but failed to dig deep into their ancient times forgetting that when there is no event, they can never be history, what Ijaws should know is that before they began the era of been load carriers, which was the golden age for them for the white men to mainland Benin, they were first subjects in the houses, farms and forests of the Nobles. The Role Benin Subjects played in empire Building Many have been asking why the Benin Kingdom come empire had lots of slaves, I liken that question or concern to what the future inhabitants on earth will ask 2000 years from now, we can be sure that they will ask why America and Russia had nuclear weapons; it was simply a show of power. So to answer that question, all super or regional powers in the mediaeval times had slaves as a show of strength; it was the life blood of expansion. Benin Kingdom come empire was able to attain and sustain that dominant position because it had a strength base of slaves under the command of the Oba through his commanders, Be it from North, East, South it West, the Oba could call to formations twenty thousand (20,000) soldiers in a day ready for battle, here the Ijaws played a significant role because after they have been confined to the swamps and ocean, they had to survive and in so doing, they mastered the act of the waters like fishing, ferry and others associated with the ocean, they began to ferry the Benin soldiers when they had the need to travel on water, this role the Benins cannot take away from them, they really served the Oba with fear and respect. The ancestors of the izons /Ijaws we have today played a very significant role during the empire expansion, they were the ferry men of the Oba and they were in later part of the 14th century the carriage men for the Oba when the Europeans began to hear about of influence in the west African sub region and decided to ally with the Benin empire. Been a regional powerhouses brings envy and the Benins were not insulated against this at all for the British in their diplomatic snitch style, began to sell to our territories covering the whole of the Bight of Benin, the doctrine of been free men if they assist them in bringing down the Benin Empire and like all humans that feel they are been treated less, the natural thing to do was to join forces with the white man whom the Ijaws saw as more powerful the Oba, then they betrayed Benin Kingdom, after centuries of trial, we all know what happened in 1897. Why are the Ijaws a Vexed People and tends to claim all areas that has water body? The Ijaws as a people are been hunted by their past, when they remember they were once subjects to the Benins, they are hurt deep down but it will be of importance for their self-esteem to understand that during the Middle Ages, the world had masters and slaves which by divine arrangements, they fell under the latter in that particular point in their history, there should be no shame in their past for it was the very way our creator designed it according to all holy books. To say the Ijaws are ashamed of their history is an understatement they are even bent on changing the narrative trying to claim they were never subjects the Oba of Benin and even a step ahead thinking their minds that it would make headlines around the world if they began to say they are the owners of anywhere they migrate to, whether they will succeed is left for posterity but while on this their new imaginations and high, they should also know they were not the only people that were territories to a superpower, India, Canada, Germany and many more where territories too at a time in history but they have since moved on and built something for themselves, Germany today with all her powers has never told Rome that they are the owners of Rome or the Canadians and the Indians telling England that they own London. So, to answer that question with a single sentence, they are claiming all areas that is swamp and has water in the Bight of Benin because that was the area the Benins asked them to relocate to after they were freed by Ogiso Owodo, but they don’t understand is when the owner of a property ask you to move from one of his property to another, it does not mean he has given you the right to own that new placed he ordered you to move to. In the heads of the Izons, they were relegated to the worst part of the kingdom but when the Europeans began to visit Benin and they were the ones that had to carry the gifts brought to the Oba for the white men, they began to see usefulness in waste, they now say it that they too had economic use and so, they began to crave for freedom. The whip that broke the camel’s back was the coming of the British, they were the ones that poisoned the minds of all the subjects of the Oba that they too can be freemen, this is normal because all enslaved men will surely be free one day and here we are today. Advice to the Ijaws. If the Izons check out where they find themselves today, it is all around the Bight of Benin where they were asked to go stay after they were freed in the 10th century by Ogiso Owodo, let’s not forget the Oba had control over all lands and waters around the Bight of Benin, even though it has been balkanised into different states in modern day Nigeria, it is even lately the ruling houses in Lagos are telling their younger generation the truth that the Oba of Benin own Lagos, before now am sure the average young man in Lagos will fight anybody that told him that the Oba of Benin was the owner of Lagos because that young man never knew his past but now they know and gradually they will accept it. To the Ijaws, you were not the only ones in history that were subjects to a more powerful authority, but you are the very first that imagine calling your masters land your land. In all old maps of the world, none will you not find the Bight of Benin, the Bight of Benin would have simply called the Bight of Izon if the Izons were the rightful owners but it was called the Bight of Benin, it was called so because the world knew who owned the land and water bodies around the land, teach this to your unborn generation because a day will come when they will ask you how come you suddenly woke up in the 21st century and attempted to be ungrateful to those that accommodated you in real lands instead of the swamps that you were confined to at a time in your history. The mind of the people that are accommodating you now is that of freedom of humanity, they are seeing you as themselves so that is why they are allowing you farm and marry amongst them, stop trying to make them remember who you are otherwise you will be treated as such. Geneeral Efela, is a researcher and staff of the Airlords Institute, Benin City. He wrote this article from Benin City. 3 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by Nobody: 10:13pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
haha d op is high on Igbo weed all dis long Methuselah on top of ijaws matter ![]() ![]() 6 Likes 5 Shares
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Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by cyrilomoh: 10:18pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by Nobody: 10:46pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
Jesse01: Respect the great Benin Empire, the second greatest Empire after the Japanese empire 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by AdaFonju: 11:03pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
GodDeyCraze:Libyan empire, Italian empire, Netherland empire 1 Like |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by AdaFonju: 11:07pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
davidnazee: Instead of this Ijawphobic filled post you should be issuing threats the Libyan nation, after arab people have shown you pepper, you feel you can now talk in Nigeria 4 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by SicilianMafia: 11:21pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
[s] AdaFonju:[/s] Until you take an ignorant man through a preliminary knowledge he will continue to bask in the solitude of his foolishness and ignorance, that is the case of the ijaw and their falsified historical gibberish, I will like to quickly answer some of the delusional fact about a one paged history of the ijaw people, first and foremost this people are not recognized anywhere in the world but the little known about them is thuggery, land evaders, kidnapping, bunkering, arm robbery etc. God gave one of their Son the opportunity to rectify their waywardness but he became even the worst and most corrupt president in the history of Nigeria instead of sending this hooligans back to primary school or at best secondary school he was empowering them through ammunitions, well for the purpose of this article let me answer some of your allegations. First the ijaws have been unable to tell us where exactly their origin is, they are liken to the biblical Cain who was the first known fugitive. They went further to say they are about 15 millions in number, don’t forget that in early 60s it was on record that they were the fifth most populated minorities in the then Old eastern region how then in less than 60 years they are now the most populated tribe in Niger Delta for clarity lets fragmentize so the world can know that this people are born liars In the last presidential election, Bayelsa their sole state could not produce up to 500, 000 votes, they are less than 5, 000 ijaws in Edo which can be visibly proved during the September 28th gubernatorial election, they are less than 50, 000 in Ondo States while in Delta State the Urhobos are about 1.5million in population as the most populated tribe in Delta it therefore means the Ijaw are less than 1million, then in River State predominately dominated by Ikwerres I put it to you that they are not up to 100, 000 Ijaws living there, with all this analysis the Ijaw population in Nigeria is between 1-1.5million, propaganda cannot get you people anywhere but facts[/b] The article further wrote that Ijaw earliest ancestors dropped from the sky, another fairytale that even the Yorubas have since dissociated from their Story about Oduduwa fallen from the Sky I wonder why a tribe in which over 90% of their entire populace are stark illiterate. Let’s go further please. They further quote Dr. J U Egharevba of Benins migrating from Sudan to Ile-Ife gibberish talk, but what they never knew was that part of J U Egharevba book on Short History of Benin has been long faulted by Egharevba himself and other Benin historians, the Benins never left Benin it is our Aboriginal land. So you see your argument on us meeting ferryman no longer hold water. Let’s go further. The writer eventually said the Portuguese possibly had a relationship with the ijaws before the Benin, another lie from pit of hell the Portuguese were at that time the greatest navigators they understood and heard that there was a kingdom richly blessed with pepper, coral beads, palm oil etc. They came solely for business not to interact with slaves of a well-known empire, what could you have offered the Portuguese for those years you had an interaction with them before they met with Benin people? Are there evidence in Portuguese archive that they met with Ijaw first before the Benin¬¬? In the name of trying to give a meaning to your aboriginal myopic identity don’t go changing history. All the dealings the Benins had with the Portuguese are well documented in their archives as well as the Benin having embassy in Portugal and our princes they all have advance education as early as 14th century, which make the Benin people the first educated people in a geographical location now called Nigeria, to further prove our relationship with the Portuguese Oba Esigie was the first Man in Nigeria to speak a foreign language (Portuguese) even our princes were being trained in Portuguese language, Again Holy Aruosa was built in 15th century as one of the oldest church in Nigeria if not the Oldest. I could go on and on. What are your evidence Izon people that you had relationship with the Portuguese? The author foolishly wrote that the Oba of Benin is for the Binis not ijaws, it shows how myopic and less read the writer could be, Is the queen of England does she only preside over England or the entire British kingdom that houses three other countries in which her Buckingham palace sits at England? I’m sure coming from a slave tribe like Ijaw where there has never been any Royalty except the sham you guys call gbaramatu Kingdom that was established few years ago by a state government, can it be compared to other kingdoms that were under the province of great Benin Empire. Well Oba of Benin reside in Benin where is kingdom stretched almost the entire present South-South region and beyond, again Ijaws where never added because they are selectively inconsequential people who always did what was ask of them and the Oba saw no reason to vet his authority on people who are naturally obedient. So there was no need to establish a dukedom amongst the Ijaw you can see why you guys lack a royal blood unlike other tribes in Niger-Delta. Other tribes have moved from violence into education, which is one of the powerful instruments possessed by the modern Igbos who have bridged the education gap which is richly possessed by the yorubas, today in Niger Delta Edo comfortably sits at the top of the educational chain, in the past five years they have consistently maintained the second best position only bested by Anambra in the entire Nigeria in WAEC and NECO examinations, of the 20 best secondary schools in Nigeria in year 2016 they were 6 Edo Schools in which Top 5 we had 2, Anambra 2 and Imo 1. In the past Decade. University of Benin has maintained Top 5 in which in that period they have been the best university in Nigeria on 3 occasions. We arguably have the best polytechnic in Nigeria (Auchi Poly) and one of the best State University, which is remarkably known to produce the best Lawyers in the continent (Ambrose Alli University). I can go on and on, it only shows how we have improved educationally in the past two decades unlike our Niger Delta Ijaw who continue to think that the best way to be known is through all negative means, Bayelsa is the worst State Educationally and their expansionist agenda can never come to fruition now that we have realized who they really are. You have sounded the war drum I hope when the giants arose you people won’t beg for leniency. There is a Benin parable that says Ama vbe nor ovbokhan ghe wa ko valo valo ikhurion oya mu ne gbe (nobody warns a child not to have a sledged teeth but it gives he or she ugliness). I know you have one or two grievances to table after reading this brief article go ahead fishermen I am here to answer your questions, Oba Gha To kpere Uyi Edo Ghiwi. To be continued… |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by SicilianMafia: 11:25pm On Dec 19, 2017 |
davidnazee: Excellent write up from an intellectual from the Edo Race such a pity some illiterates from the smallest tiniest state in niaja can't keep up !! ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by Nobody: 5:57am On Dec 20, 2017 |
GodDeyCraze:respect which empire? is it d ones dat dey export gals 4 postitution to Italy ,Spain and Libya ![]() 7 Likes 5 Shares |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by Nobody: 6:02am On Dec 20, 2017 |
AdaFonju:u dey mind dem, d greatest empire indeed ![]() 6 Likes 4 Shares |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by AdaFonju: 6:42am On Dec 20, 2017 |
Jesse01:Empire of sefiereapu 2 Likes 2 Shares |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by SicilianMafia: 10:08am On Dec 20, 2017 |
[s] Jesse01:[/s] Close that watery hole and kiss The Truth ![]() ![]() ![]() Ijaws are the Smallest Minorities in Nigeria !! Until you take an ignorant man through a preliminary knowledge he will continue to bask in the solitude of his foolishness and ignorance, that is the case of the ijaw and their falsified historical gibberish, I will like to quickly answer some of the delusional fact about a one paged history of the ijaw people, first and foremost this people are not recognized anywhere in the world but the little known about them is thuggery, land evaders, kidnapping, bunkering, arm robbery etc. God gave one of their Son the opportunity to rectify their waywardness but he became even the worst and most corrupt president in the history of Nigeria instead of sending this hooligans back to primary school or at best secondary school he was empowering them through ammunitions, well for the purpose of this article let me answer some of your allegations. First the ijaws have been unable to tell us where exactly their origin is, they are liken to the biblical Cain who was the first known fugitive. They went further to say they are about 15 millions in number, don’t forget that in early 60s it was on record that they were the fifth most populated minorities in the then Old eastern region how then in less than 60 years they are now the most populated tribe in Niger Delta for clarity lets fragmentize so the world can know that this people are born liars In the last presidential election, Bayelsa their sole state could not produce up to 500, 000 votes, they are less than 5, 000 ijaws in Edo which can be visibly proved during the September 28th gubernatorial election, they are less than 50, 000 in Ondo States while in Delta State the Urhobos are about 1.5million in population as the most populated tribe in Delta it therefore means the Ijaw are less than 1million, then in River State predominately dominated by Ikwerres I put it to you that they are not up to 100, 000 Ijaws living there, with all this analysis the Ijaw population in Nigeria is between 1-1.5million, propaganda cannot get you people anywhere but facts[/b] The article further wrote that Ijaw earliest ancestors dropped from the sky, another fairytale that even the Yorubas have since dissociated from their Story about Oduduwa fallen from the Sky I wonder why a tribe in which over 90% of their entire populace are stark illiterate. Let’s go further please. They further quote Dr. J U Egharevba of Benins migrating from Sudan to Ile-Ife gibberish talk, but what they never knew was that part of J U Egharevba book on Short History of Benin has been long faulted by Egharevba himself and other Benin historians, the Benins never left Benin it is our Aboriginal land. So you see your argument on us meeting ferryman no longer hold water. Let’s go further. The writer eventually said the Portuguese possibly had a relationship with the ijaws before the Benin, another lie from pit of hell the Portuguese were at that time the greatest navigators they understood and heard that there was a kingdom richly blessed with pepper, coral beads, palm oil etc. They came solely for business not to interact with slaves of a well-known empire, what could you have offered the Portuguese for those years you had an interaction with them before they met with Benin people? Are there evidence in Portuguese archive that they met with Ijaw first before the Benin¬¬? In the name of trying to give a meaning to your aboriginal myopic identity don’t go changing history. All the dealings the Benins had with the Portuguese are well documented in their archives as well as the Benin having embassy in Portugal and our princes they all have advance education as early as 14th century, which make the Benin people the first educated people in a geographical location now called Nigeria, to further prove our relationship with the Portuguese Oba Esigie was the first Man in Nigeria to speak a foreign language (Portuguese) even our princes were being trained in Portuguese language, Again Holy Aruosa was built in 15th century as one of the oldest church in Nigeria if not the Oldest. I could go on and on. What are your evidence Izon people that you had relationship with the Portuguese? The author foolishly wrote that the Oba of Benin is for the Binis not ijaws, it shows how myopic and less read the writer could be, Is the queen of England does she only preside over England or the entire British kingdom that houses three other countries in which her Buckingham palace sits at England? I’m sure coming from a slave tribe like Ijaw where there has never been any Royalty except the sham you guys call gbaramatu Kingdom that was established few years ago by a state government, can it be compared to other kingdoms that were under the province of great Benin Empire. Well Oba of Benin reside in Benin where is kingdom stretched almost the entire present South-South region and beyond, again Ijaws where never added because they are selectively inconsequential people who always did what was ask of them and the Oba saw no reason to vet his authority on people who are naturally obedient. So there was no need to establish a dukedom amongst the Ijaw you can see why you guys lack a royal blood unlike other tribes in Niger-Delta. Other tribes have moved from violence into education, which is one of the powerful instruments possessed by the modern Igbos who have bridged the education gap which is richly possessed by the yorubas, today in Niger Delta Edo comfortably sits at the top of the educational chain, in the past five years they have consistently maintained the second best position only bested by Anambra in the entire Nigeria in WAEC and NECO examinations, of the 20 best secondary schools in Nigeria in year 2016 they were 6 Edo Schools in which Top 5 we had 2, Anambra 2 and Imo 1. In the past Decade. University of Benin has maintained Top 5 in which in that period they have been the best university in Nigeria on 3 occasions. We arguably have the best polytechnic in Nigeria (Auchi Poly) and one of the best State University, which is remarkably known to produce the best Lawyers in the continent (Ambrose Alli University). I can go on and on, it only shows how we have improved educationally in the past two decades unlike our Niger Delta Ijaw who continue to think that the best way to be known is through all negative means, Bayelsa is the worst State Educationally and their expansionist agenda can never come to fruition now that we have realized who they really are. You have sounded the war drum I hope when the giants arose you people won’t beg for leniency. There is a Benin parable that says Ama vbe nor ovbokhan ghe wa ko valo valo ikhurion oya mu ne gbe (nobody warns a child not to have a sledged teeth but it gives he or she ugliness). I know you have one or two grievances to table after reading this brief article go ahead fishermen I am here to answer your questions, Oba Gha To kpere Uyi Edo Ghiwi. To be continued… https://www.nairaland.com/4226496/ijaws-smallest-minorities-south-facts |
Re: Who The Ijaws Really Are. by AdaFonju: 3:09pm On Dec 20, 2017 |
Some people go soon run mad because of Izon otu, imagine creating multiple accounts and quoting yourself... Oh lord let them continue to mention Ijaw until it becomes the only word they know
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