Ukwuani people are descendants of the indigenous Igbo people in Idu land — says Ukwuani historian.

Añadido: 2026-06-02

[00:00:02]Who called it?

[00:00:37]Okay.

[00:00:41]Okay.

[00:01:26]>> [snorts] >> You do what?

[00:01:41]But I I Where shall we go?

[00:01:59]Go.

[00:01:59]>> Johnny? Where would he go?

[00:02:03]After I marry him Johnny I got She said So So we do.

[00:02:19]Open the market in Delta.

[00:02:24]It we I thought we do.

[00:02:31]Maybe on a Yeah.

[00:02:34]You don't or or Saturday.

[00:02:36]>> a soaking and push your eye right through. Uh over I like to over.

[00:02:41]>> Okay. You know so >> So if you don't want to do quality >> Mhm.

[00:02:44]>> You couldn't do anything, man.

[00:02:46]I don't think you see where she You don't know. You have I don't know what you don't know. You don't know who you be be. They are swimming in that.

[00:02:56]Huh.

[00:02:58]I don't know where I say if you find her man you do.

[00:03:02]Oh.

[00:03:05]If you go to original name or I don't know what you say or what name.

[00:03:09]Original name. Quality corrupt name. Aha about original name. Uh Asaba corrupt name.

[00:03:15]Warri happen there original name. Sapele corrupt name. So if you don't give me that data Uh-huh.

[00:03:21]>> Mhm.

[00:03:22]>> What do you mean?

[00:03:26]I don't You do.

[00:03:32]And I say so what?

[00:03:35]I mean My I mean I don't >> [clears throat] >> I I don't I say so what do you do?

[00:03:48]>> I mean >> Mhm.

[00:03:55]Mhm.

[00:03:58]Okay.

[00:04:01]Okay.

[00:04:14]Mhm.

[00:04:15]Yes.

[00:04:17]Mhm.

[00:04:28]Yes.

[00:04:32]Uh-huh.

[00:04:39]Okay.

[00:04:41]So Mhm.

[00:05:09]Mhm.

[00:05:35]Mhm.

[00:05:40]>> Our brother from Ukwuani land said that Idu is the child of Igbo.

[00:05:46]That anyone that says Ukwuani is from Igbo did not lie.

[00:05:50]And that anyone that said that Ukwuani is from Idu did not lie.

[00:05:56]The reason why our brother said that is because so many Ukwuani people trace their ancestry to Idu land.

[00:06:04]Idu land is the present place that is being occupied by Benin Kingdom.

[00:06:10]Our brother is making our Ukwuani people to know that they are not Benin people.

[00:06:17]Igbo people are indigenous in Idu land.

[00:06:21]Igbo people are one of the first people in Idu land.

[00:06:25]And that is why you cannot tell the history of Idu without talking about Ndi Igbo.

[00:06:33]If you look at the population of Ndi Igbo that trace their ancestry to Idu land, it is more than the population of Esan people. It is more than the population of Ika Igbodo people. It is more than the population of Ijaw people.

[00:06:50]When we say Ijaw people, we are talking about the Ijaw people in Edo state, not the Ijaw people outside Edo state.

[00:06:58]If you look at the map of Ukwuani land, the map of Ika land, the map of Oshimili and Anioma, huge population of people there trace their ancestry to Idu land.

[00:07:09]The name of those ancestors that came from Idu Kingdom and settled in Ukwuani land, Oshimili, Anioma, and Ika land are not Benin people.

[00:07:20]They bear Igbo names.

[00:07:23]My community Ogume is called Ogumeidu.

[00:07:27]Our ancestors came from Idu land.

[00:07:30]All of them are bearing Igbo names. None of them is bearing a Benin name.

[00:07:35]The name of my own ancestor that left Idu land to our present location in Ogume is called Chime.

[00:07:43]So, when we tell you that Ndi So, when we say that Igbo are indigenous in Edo Kingdom, we are saying it because that is the fact.

[00:07:53]And our Okuan of Benin here understood it very clearly.

[00:07:57]He said that Edo came from Igbo.

[00:08:00]And that Oba and his children came from Yariba land and integrated with Edo people.

[00:08:09]He said that after Oba came from Ile-Ife, that Igbo people occupied some royal positions in Oba Palace.

[00:08:20]And that is a fact.

[00:08:22]Eze-Chima was a member of Benin royal palace, not as a Benin person, but an Igbo person.

[00:08:31]Eze-Emu, the founder of Ubuluku and other Ubuluku communities all over Igboland, was a chief in Oba of Benin Palace. He is not a Benin man, but an Igbo man.

[00:08:44]There are so many of them, but Eze-Emu and Eze-Chima are the most popular Igbo people that are part of the Oba of Benin cabinet of chiefs.

[00:08:56]So, our brother is right.

[00:08:58]Our brother said that the white people >> [snorts] >> came to Edo land and the Oba of Benin accepted them.

[00:09:06]And that after some time, the white people caused an issue between the Oba of Benin and Edo people.

[00:09:15]The issue caused by the white people led to a war between the Oba of Benin and Edo people.

[00:09:22]That war led the indigenous Igbo people in Edo Kingdom out from that land.

[00:09:29]So many of those Igbo people entered Ukwuani land. So many entered Ika land.

[00:09:33]So many entered Ushimiri and Anioma land.

[00:09:36]So many of them went as far Ndoni people.

[00:09:40]Some of them went as far as Imo State.

[00:09:43]They are known as Oguta people.

[00:09:46]Oba in River State are Igbo people.

[00:09:51]They left from Abon in Igala land to their present location.

[00:09:56]Part of Ikwerre are from Igala land.

[00:09:59]They trace their ancestry to Akalaka.

[00:10:02]The Igbo man that left from Abon to their present location.

[00:10:06]Ekpeye people, the same thing.

[00:10:08]So, if you look at the population of those Igbos that trace their ancestry to Igboland, they are so much in number.

[00:10:19]They have the biggest population of indigenous people that live in Igboland.

[00:10:26]Even before the white people came to Igboland and started trading with the Oba of Benin, the Oba of Benin have been maltreating other tribes and ethnic nationalities in Igboland.

[00:10:40]The Oba of Benin have been using these people for slavery and sacrifice before the white people came.

[00:10:45]Because when the white people came, they said that Benin is the land of blood, like waiting their meat.

[00:10:54]They said that the Oba of Benin is using the inhabitants for slavery and sacrifice.

[00:11:01]When the Portuguese came, they started giving the Oba of Benin guns that he would be using to be invading the neighboring communities, capturing people, and selling them into slavery.

[00:11:14]The Oba of Benin started using those weapons and started terrorizing other tribes and ethnic nationalities in Igboland and in outside Igboland.

[00:11:25]Our brother said that that war between the Oba of Benin and Igbo people is what they call Aga Idu no ba.

[00:11:34]We Igbos, we always talk of Aga Idu no ba.

[00:11:38]That is that war between the Oba of Benin and Idu people.

[00:11:43]That war led so many Anioma people out from Idu land to our present location.

[00:11:50]Anioma brothers will tell you that their ancestors came from Benin. Their ancestors are not Benin people, but indigenous Igbo people in Idu land.

[00:12:01]And that is why if you ask Anioma people, "What is the name of that their Benin father?" they will start calling for you Ize-Iyamu.

[00:12:09]If you ask them, "Is Ize-Iyamu a Benin name?" they will say no. So, why are you now claiming that you are a Benin person, whereas your ancestor is not a Benin man, but an Igbo man?

[00:12:20]Our brother said that his own community that they trace their ancestry to Idu land. Say that that Aga Idu no ba na push them away from that place to their present location.

[00:12:32]Our brother said that the original name of that land called Edo is Idu, but that it was corrupted to Edo.

[00:12:39]Let me correct our brother here.

[00:12:43]Idu is not Edo.

[00:12:46]Idu is the name of that land.

[00:12:49]There was a slave serving the Oba of Benin called Oba Ewuare.

[00:12:55]That slave sacrificed his life to protect that Oba Ewuare. The name of that slave is Edo.

[00:13:05]Something led to one another, and that young man, Edo, was killed.

[00:13:11]And after that, Oba Ewuare now said that the name of that their land called Benin is now Edo.

[00:13:21]He named Benin Kingdom Edo in order to honor that young man called Edo, who sacrificed his life to save the Oba of Benin.

[00:13:34]And that name Edo is what Benin Kingdom used to name Edo states.

[00:13:40]>> [snorts] >> So, the name Idu have been in existence before the issue of this slave called Edo.

[00:13:49]This event took place around the 1400 AD.

[00:13:55]During the time of Oba Ewuare the first.

[00:14:00]Benin people will tell we Ukwuani people, "You Ukwuani people are not Igbo people. You are Edo people."

[00:14:05]That name Edo is the name of a slave.

[00:14:10]If you say that we Ukwuani people are Edo people, you are automatically calling we Ukwuani people slaves because that name Edo is the name of a slave.

[00:14:20]Why do you think that Esan people are rejecting that name Edo?

[00:14:24]They know that they are in a state called Edo state, but if you refer to them as Edo people, say they be Benin people, they go tell you say, "Stop calling them Edo people, that they are Esan people because that name Edo is the name of a slave that saved the Oba of Benin."

[00:14:40]This thing that I said now is in Benin history. Now, Benin history I take the teach about Benin history.

[00:14:47]So, Idu and Edo are two different words.

[00:14:51]It's not a corruption.

[00:14:53]The interviewer asked our Ukwuani brother, "Why is it that Idu language is different from Igbo language?"

[00:15:02]Our brother now answered him and told him that in Ukwuani language, osai is another word for chi.

[00:15:12]He told him that in the South East also, another word for chi is osai.

[00:15:19]He then told him that what Benin people call the supreme being is [clears throat] Osan.

[00:15:26]We Igbos, we say Olisebuluwa.

[00:15:30]Benin Kingdom say Osanobua.

[00:15:34]Osanobua is a corruption of Olisebuluwa.

[00:15:39]If you look deep into the meaning of Benin words, you will see where those words came from.

[00:15:47]Benin Kingdom is a mixture of different people.

[00:15:51]Ndi Igbo are indigenous in Edo Kingdom.

[00:15:53]Esan people are there.

[00:15:55]Urobo and Isoko people are there. Igbodo and Ikale people are there. Ijaw people are there.

[00:16:02]Yoruba people also came from Ile-Ife and invaded that land.

[00:16:07]They came together and formed a language called Benin.

[00:16:12]What Benin Kingdom call corn is oka.

[00:16:16]The same thing that we Igbo people call corn.

[00:16:19]What Benin people call civet, which we Igbo people call edia abani, Benin people call it edia abani also.

[00:16:27]What we Ukwuani people call light is oke. What Benin people call light is ukwe.

[00:16:33]What we Igbo people call servant is odibo. What Benin Kingdom call servant is odibo.

[00:16:41]What we Igbo people call mirror is ugagwe. What Benin Kingdom call mirror is ugagwe.

[00:16:48]What we Igbo people call fowl is okuko.

[00:16:50]What Benin Kingdom call fowl is okuko.

[00:16:54]Benin Kingdom used the Igbo four market days.

[00:16:58]Benin Kingdom used eke, which they call as eken.

[00:17:04]They used orie.

[00:17:06]They used okwo.

[00:17:09]They also used afor.

[00:17:11]In Igbo, we say eke, orie, afor, nkwo.

[00:17:15]But in Benin Kingdom, use eken orie okwa and aho.

[00:17:22]All those things are the Iboness that are found in Benin language today.

[00:17:28]What Benin Kingdom call boss is apati.

[00:17:32]The same word that we use in Iboland.

[00:17:36]What Benin Kingdom call quarters is obe.

[00:17:40]The same way we Igbos call quarters obe in Iboland.

[00:17:44]What we Igbo people call money is ego.

[00:17:47]What Benin people call money is ego.

[00:17:51]What we Igbos call river is oshimiri.

[00:17:55]What Benin Kingdom call it is ohimwin.

[00:17:59]What we Igbos call lion is odum. What Benin Kingdom call lion is oduma.

[00:18:04]We Igbos call farm ubi. Benin Kingdom calls farm obi.

[00:18:10]We Igbos call dog nkita.

[00:18:13]Benin Kingdom calls dog ekita.

[00:18:16]We Igbos call gun osisi or oshishi.

[00:18:20]Benin Kingdom call gun osisi.

[00:18:24]We Igbos call skirt mbenuku. Benin Kingdom call skirt ebuluku.

[00:18:31]There are so many words out there that we use in Iboland and Benin Kingdom also use those same word.

[00:18:39]This is proof that Benin Kingdom is a mixture of so many word. If you look into Benin language today, there are so many Esan words there. There are so many Urhobo and Isoko words there. There are so many Ijaw words there. There are so many Ikwerre and Igbudu words there.

[00:18:54]These people did not borrow from Benin Kingdom, but it's Benin Kingdom that borrowed from them because when the Oba of Benin came from Ile-Ife, their language is Yoruba.

[00:19:03]200 years ago in Benin Kingdom, their royal palace still speaks Yoruba language.

[00:19:10]You never tell whether they still do speak Yoruba for Benin palace.

[00:19:13]Up till today, Benin people are still bearing Yoruba names. Names like Adesua, all those names now are Yoruba names.

[00:19:21]Benin royal titles are all Yoruba royal titles.

[00:19:25]Titles like Iyase, it's a Yoruba title.

[00:19:29]It's called Iyashere.

[00:19:32]But, Benin people call it Iyase.

[00:19:35]Benin people came with Yoruba deities from Ile-Ife. Deities like Shango, Orunmila, Eshu, Obatala, Oduduwa, Ogun, and so on. You can't find those deities in Anioma land.

[00:19:48]In the communities of those Ukwuani people, Ika, Oshimili, Ndokwa people that trace their ancestry to Idu land, you cannot find those Yoruba deities there.

[00:19:58]You can't find those deities in Esan land. You can't find it in Urhobo Isoko land. You can't find it in Ijaw land.

[00:20:06]But, so many of those people will tell you that they trace their ancestry to Idu land. How come are those deities not in their new place of settlement? That is to tell you that they are not one people with Benin people. Benin people are Yoruba people from Ile-Ife.

[00:20:22]You see? So, our Ukwuani brother is correct in his historical analysis.

[00:20:30]That is to tell you that we Ukwuani people are Igbo people because if you look at Ukwuani dialect very well, our words and language is Igbo.

[00:20:40]Did Igbo people colonize Ukwuani people to stop speaking Benin language? No.

[00:20:46]The language that we Ukwuani people have been speaking in Idu land since we settled in that place is the same language that we are speaking in our present location.

[00:20:56]Our Ukwuani brother said that the reason why he is saying all those history is for we Ukwuani people to know where we belong.

[00:21:03]He said that he wants Ukwuani people to know their history, their identity, and their origin.

[00:21:09]We Okuani people, we are Igbo people.

[00:21:12]We are one people with our Igbo brothers in the Southeast. That is what our Okuani brother is saying here in that video.

[00:21:20]Tell Okuani people to tell you the name of their Benin ancestor that came from Benin Kingdom and founded their community. They will start to dimension Igbo name for you.

[00:21:29]Some of them will tell you that the name of their ancestor is Ezemu.

[00:21:33]Is Ezemu a Benin name?

[00:21:36]There is no Benin prince in history called Ezemu.

[00:21:40]There is no Benin history that recorded that there is a Benin person called Ezedi, Ifeloji, Abuwaka, Odigmegwu, Uzoka.

[00:21:55]All these names are Igbo names. These names that I just mentioned now are names of ancestors that founded my community, Ogume.

[00:22:05]The name of my own ancestor is Chimere.

[00:22:08]No Benin person can interpret the meaning of these names that I just mentioned.

[00:22:13]And that is because all these names are not Benin names.

[00:22:18]All these ancestors ran away from Idu Kingdom to our present location.

[00:22:23]We Okuani people, we are Igbo people. We are not Benin people. Let's stop denying our Igbo identity.

[00:22:30]No Igbo speaking region is the owner of that name, Igbo. Every Bia speaking people are called Igbo. Igbo means ancient, Ndebo, Ndibo.

[00:22:41]When we say that we are Igbo people, we are saying that we are one people with every Bia speaking people worldwide.

[00:22:47]That is where we belong. We still remain Okuani people.

[00:22:52]Nsukka people are Igbo people. They are Nsukka people.

[00:22:56]Afikpo people are Igbo people. They remain Afikpo people. Same way we Okuani people are Igbo people. We remain one people.

[00:23:05]May Chukwu bless our brother from Ukwuani land for explaining this history for our Ukwuani people to understand.

[00:23:12]Igbo bu ofu.

[00:23:13]Isi ewu ole?