30th July, 2020
Press Statement
BRACED Union Counters Amaechi's Claim That Ikwerres Are Igbos
The BRACED Union, an umbrella group of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta States of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria has countered the claim recently made by the Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi that the people of Ikwerre in Rivers State are Igbos by origin.
The group in a statement endorsed by its National President, High Chief Monday Wehere is in sharp disagreement with such assumption by Amaechi, admonishing him not to bring the people of South-South into the unfavourable Nigerian political climate for personal interest.
The statement said that Amaechi in the first instance has no locus standing to speak on behalf of the Ikwerre people or the South-South region. The group believes that Amaechi has not attained that status of a rallying figure no matter the level he has climbed to in politics.
According to the statement, "History has it that in the early nineties, the white man was looking for labourers and so they approached the Ikwerres and their surrounding neighbours of Kalabari, Okrika and Eleme who flatly refused them for labour. The white man therefore, penetrated the Igbo hinterlands and recruited very willing labourers. And that was the beginning of the Igbo man's adventure in Ikwerre land. However, the administrative arrangements of the white man wrongly posited the Ikwerre and other peoples of Southern Nigeria into the Eastern region, largely dominated by the Igbos.
"So to now claim that the Ikwerres are Igbos because of communal proximity and mix-up is an aberration. As an Ikwerre man, that statement was least expected from Rotimi Amaechi who should know better where the Ikwerre man stands in terms of origin and root. But in case he doesn't know or pretends not to know, he should consult history gurus from Ikwerre rather than throwing up political tantrums to score a cheap one", the statement read in parts.
In addition, the group insisted that as the mouthpiece of the South-South people in terms of advocacy for cultural renaissance, progressive reorientation, building of capacity for inter-BRACED States economic growth and development, it would continue to speak for and protect the interest of the people of the BRACED States.
"We cannot be hoodwinked by political gimmicks. We know who we are, and we are resolute in achieving our own identity independently", the statement further averred.
Comr. Dcn. Patrick Ochei,
Director of Media, BU.

Well, BRACED is right because Amaechi is on a self deceit and can only deceive those willing to be swayed.

We have established without doubt here that ikwerres are bini migrants and not igbos...


it is only foolish remnants trained and recruited by Nnamdi kanu that goes about pushing a propaganda that Ikwerres are Igbos whereas they are not...

Repeating same phrase over and over again makes the whole thing stale when we knows the truth. Ikwerre is an ethnic group on its own.

How can someone be telling you that he is an ethnic nationality and you that is not from there is telling him that he is igbo. Is that not the height of stupidity and foolishness.....


Excerpts

“ And that was the beginning of the Igbo man's adventure in Ikwerre land. However, the administrative arrangements of the white man wrongly posited the Ikwerre in Nigeria into the Eastern region , largely dominated by the Igbos .”

Mtchwwwwww

DNA test says otherwise.

We Ikwerre are not Ibo.


We are south south.














We are Yorubas.

The Claim And Counter Claim Of Origin. I Came To Learn.

We ikwerre have half Bini half Yoruba ancestry, we borrowed Igbo language for awhile, we will return it after we learn our Bini/Yoruba language

Igbos' fixing Afonja since 19760.

Very soon you people will start seeing Igbo giants again in your dreams.

vanunu:
DNA test says otherwise.

Bros overlook you don forget say na naija you dey where they call white black?I just pray this shit does not affect them later,the day Igbos turn their backs against binikwerre people In rivers state that day they are done for..its that time Igbos start voting ogoni and images in Rivers state.

You have lots of Germans, Spanish, British, African Americans etc who have been in America from anywhere between 400 - 700 years yet these people know their history.

They know from whence they came. Their culture, language, traditions may have been completely eroded but they still know and can trace the origin of their ancestors.

This is the same with the ikwerres. You can't say "oh they have a similar culture and language to the igbos and hence must be igbos".... that is a primitive way of reasoning.

What matters and will always matter is where the ikwerres migrated from. If they migrated from the Bini kingdom like they say then they are rightly descendants of the Binis.

It is foolish to think you can know more about a people than the people themselves.

However, i think what can finally lay this issue to rest is an ancestry DNA test but even at that the igbos will say the test has been compromised by igbo haters that is if the test results show that the ikwerres are Binis by extension.

Never mind the occasion...

Some talent sha, this agbalagba will give a lot of Nigerian musicians a run for their money..

His flow is somewhat seamless...

Very correct

Glimpses from Afar
Hermann Koler: Bonny and Igboland in 1840

Of all these, Ibo is the language which is most widely spoken. This is not only because Iboland, through its position at the sources of the Delta, has a natural link with all the coastal tribes in its lower part. It is also due to its power, its extensive area, its richness in products, and the fact that it has developed industries to a greater extent than the people living on the coast. It is also due to the trade of its people which extends from the sea coast to the far interior, and to their warlike nature, which makes a significant impact on their neighbours. This meant that their language, too, won a certain supremacy among the neighbouring tribes, and the knowledge of it has spread generally.

Most of these people who were not born in Bonny are either slaves from Iboland, or, were, at least, brought here by the Ibos from the interior. This partly explains the general knowledge of Ibo in Bonny.

They call Iboland Igbinni. It lies at the sources of the Delta, and is full of great forests and mighty trees. It is very rich in natural products--maize, rice, yams, oil palms, dyewoods, cotton, horses and elephants. The numerous inhabitants are industrious, and make cotton cloth (egrabetta), [Italicised African words in this extract are not Igbo but Igbani] iron knives, daggers, spears and musical instruments. At the same time they are warlike, wild, and rapacious, and some of them are cannibals. Therefore they have to put up with being spoken of, by the Bonny people, as they would speak of sharks, lboman wawa too much, "Ibo people are very wicked" . . .

Extracts from Hermann Koler, Einige Notizen uber Bonny (Gottingen, 1840), translated by Uche Peter Isichei in Elizabeth Isichei (ed.), Igbo Worlds (Philadelphia, 1978), 14-17.

Stop overestimating your importance.
You need ikwerres, they don't need you.

Ikwerres have the wealthiest LGA in Nigeria as a whole.

bigpriik:


Bros overlook you don forget say na naija you dey where they call white black?I just pray this shit does not affect them later,the day Igbos turn their backs against binikwerre people In rivers state that day they are done for..its that time Igbos start voting ogoni and images in Rivers state.

I don't know why we Igbos even bother about this ppl.ppl claiming they are from Bini but relinquished everything that could tell they are of Bini ancestry , will they not deny you in a critical situation?
For me I see it as irrelevant in our fight for development and in the scheme of things.

Nothing like Se SS. It's Se alone and Ikwerre isn't one of us!
Onye obula za aha nna ya biko.

The new mantra should be "Igbos care less about Ikwerre ppl"

This Patrick Ochei with his own history of how Igbo over run ikweres, conqued them and impose Igbo language and Igbo cultures to them is Amazing even make them to answer Igbo name "Ikweres " .Even though I don't care if they ikweres are interested to be called Igbos or not but this man is certainly not ok with his senses.

vanunu:
DNA test says otherwise.

Which DNA test?

vanunu:
DNA test says otherwise.

The DNA long said Bini as their origin...
They are partially Yorubas also.

Proved.

Azikwe has ancestors from Benin, Bianca family can traced their origin to Benin, so the story isn't far fetched. Igbos should study themselves why other tribes never want to associate with them.

MinorityOpinion:
Very correct




Extracts from Hermann Koler, Einige Notizen uber Bonny (Gottingen, 1840), translated by Uche Peter Isichei in Elizabeth Isichei (ed.), Igbo Worlds (Philadelphia, 1978), 14-17.

Bony people are not Ikweres people they are mainly bayelsa, thought you claim to come from river state.

Who cares.

dignity33:
Bony people are not Ikweres people they are mainly bayelsa, thought you claim to come from river state.

My point is about the south south people perception of igbos, how igbos language and culture dominated the south south.

The umbrella that condemned you, is bayelsa not there?
.

The BRACED Union, an umbrella group of Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta

people should learn to diferenciate Bony kingdoms from Ikweres. They are not the same, they don't speak the same language. The other might trace their ancestorial to bini while the ikweres trace their ancestorial to Igbo. Those who keep on contradicting themselves should continue is non of my business.

MinorityOpinion:
Azikwe has ancestors from Benin, Bianca family can traced their origin to Benin, so the story isn't far fetched. Igbos should study themselves why other tribes never want to associate with them.

Like Yoruba people?

dignity33:
Bony people are not Ikweres people they are mainly bayelsa, thought you claim to come from river state.

When did metaphysical come from Rivers state?


Hearing that for the first time today..

dignity33:
[s]people should learn to diferenciate Bony kingdoms from Ikweres. They are not the same, they don't speak the same language. The other might trace their ancestorial to bini while the ikweres trace their ancestorial to Igbo. Those who keep on contradicting themselves should continue is non of my business.[/s]

Ikwerres trace their origin. Stop contradiction yourself.

MinorityOpinion:


My point is about the south south people perception of igbos, how igbos language and culture dominated the south south.

The umbrella that condemned you, is bayelsa not there?
.

Who is the Umbrella, fake unrecognised person parading himself as a group. Is he better than Amaechi or Okowa. If he originated from a tribe of bini, then he should talk about his own tribe not ikweres.

Im horrny as ffuck

Parisian:
You have lots of Germans, Spanish, British, African Americans etc who have been in America from anywhere between 400 - 700 years yet these people know their history.

They know from whence they came. Their culture, language, traditions may have been completely but eroded still know and can trace the origin of their ancestors.

This is the same with the ikwerres. You can't say "oh they have a similar culture and language to the igbos and hence must be igbos".... that is a primitive way of reasoning.

What matters and will always matter is where the ikwerres migrated from. If they migrated from the Bini kingdom like they say then they are rightly descendants of the Binis.

It is foolish to think you can know more about a people than the people themselves.

However, i think what can finally lay this issue to rest is an ancestry DNA but even at that the igbos will say the test has been compromised by igbo haters that is if the test out to show that the ikwerres are Binis by extension.

I don't know why some natives other than Igbos and Ikwerre will continue to stoke the fire of division between these two groups.
There are some people in IMO state who migrated from Ile Ife in Osun state...they were formerly Yorubas....but after decades of sojourn in Igboland,they have taken up the identity of Igbo's.They have accepted to being Igbos.
My take is...what do the majority of the Ikwerres chose for themselves?
If they chose Igbo,then they are Igbos.

MelesZenawi:



Ikwerres trace their origin. Stop contradiction yourself.

stop your nonsense believe.

BRACE is an Afonja group