Ikwerre people denied their Igbo identity to stay distinct from Igbo Nation after the Biafra war.

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Before the war, when you go to Port Harcourt, let me take Port Harcourt as a example.

[00:00:08]You have Omuokuru.

[00:00:10]Omuobasi.

[00:00:12]Omu, Omu, Omu, Omu.

[00:00:15]But, immediately after the war, they now change the name.

[00:00:21]From Omu to Rumuo.

[00:00:24]Because they were they they had issues >> [snorts] >> that they were unable to settle.

[00:00:31]During the war with the with the Igbos, they felt that they were cheated. In the course of the war.

[00:00:40]They now decided to make little amendment. But, from my own side, which is in Donny, we remain Igbo and we answer we bear the name.

[00:00:53]And when you come to our tradition, Ibianu and Donny. Inapiamamu.

[00:00:59]Kande.

[00:01:00]Anambra.

[00:01:02]Igbo.

[00:01:04]We have a masquerade.

[00:01:06]And and in our culture, the masquerade depicts our ancestral being. They use it to make laws in those days. And these are if you are not from Igbo land, how do you have that masquerade?

[00:01:28]Now, I I have two names.

[00:01:32]That are Igbo names. Ikechukwu.

[00:01:36]Afamefuna. Now, if you have that name.

[00:01:39]That traditional name. And you stand to say you are not an Igbo man. It tells you you are not telling yourself the truth.

[00:01:49]Now, when you go to Donny.

[00:01:51]Typical example. We have Peter Odili.

[00:01:54]He was the former governor of Rivers State.

[00:01:57]>> Okay.

[00:01:58]>> We have Chief Victor Ifeanyichukwu Inyele, I would delete, sorry.

[00:02:04]He He He is uh the owner of a barrel shipping line.

[00:02:09]So, we we we identify ourselves as Igbos.

[00:02:15]I stand to say I am an Igbo man.

[00:02:19]I'm an Igbo.

[00:02:21]>> Our elder there said that before the Biafra war, that Ikwerre communities are called Omokoro, Omomasi. But after the Biafra war, they changed their name from Omo to Romo.

[00:02:35]He said that they did it so that they will be distinct from Ndị Igbo after that war.

[00:02:43]Some Ikwerre people are saying that they did not change their name from Omo to Romo, that they have always pronounced it as Romo and not Omo.

[00:02:54]This document here showed that that Ikwerre community called Romomasi is originally called as Omomasi.

[00:03:04]Look at the document here.

[00:03:06]Address, Omomasi.

[00:03:09]Date of birth, 1954.

[00:03:13]Baptism date, 1963.

[00:03:16]Confirmation date, 1966.

[00:03:21]So, this shows that that community called Romomasi was previously called as Omomasi.

[00:03:28]The document is there to back it up.

[00:03:31]Another document here is called Omokoroshe.

[00:03:37]But today in Ikwerre land, Omokoroshe community is called as Romokoroshe.

[00:03:44]Yet, some Ikwerre people will tell you that there's nothing like Omokoroshe, that it's Romo, that since their history, they have been calling Omo as Romo.

[00:03:52]I once saw a document where an Ikwerre community is called as Romo before the Biafra war.

[00:04:00]I saw the document. It is called Romo, r o m o, and not Omo.

[00:04:07]Romo is the Ikwerre way of saying Omo.

[00:04:13]There are Igbo communities in that River State that call Omo as Omo.

[00:04:19]They don't start with Y, or they start with O.

[00:04:23]We Okrika people we say Omo.

[00:04:26]Ikwerre people say Romo.

[00:04:28]Some Igbo dialects say Omo.

[00:04:32]All are the same.

[00:04:34]He said that Ikwerre people felt that Igbo people cheated on them during the Biafra war. That was why they stopped using Omo and started using Romo.

[00:04:46]In that Biafra war, no one cheated each other in Igbo land.

[00:04:51]Some Ikwerre people are saying that Igbo people were killing them during the war.

[00:04:55]Igbo people were raping their women.

[00:04:57]They were doing this, they were doing that.

[00:05:00]No, that is not true.

[00:05:03]During the Biafra war, Nigerian army soldiers started dressing like Biafra soldiers.

[00:05:11]And they started raping women, trying to turn the people against Biafra soldiers.

[00:05:17]Not that Biafra soldiers are the ones raping women.

[00:05:21]All those things now are things where we say Nigerian army use take the fight Biafra soldiers. All those things now are things where they they do make people they talk say see waiting Biafra soldiers they do.

[00:05:33]So, now all those things they make Ikwerre people they feel say Igbo people cheat them during the war. No.

[00:05:39]Our brother said that he is from Ndoni in Rivers State.

[00:05:45]He said that they have Igbo masquerades and they bear Igbo names.

[00:05:50]The language of Ndoni is Ukwuani. The way we Ukwuani people speak in Delta State is the way Ndoni people speak because they trace their ancestry to Ukwuani land.

[00:06:03]Ndoni is originally pronounced as Ebe Ndani.

[00:06:09]Which means where I fell.

[00:06:12]Up till today, that is the same way we speak it in Ukwuani land.

[00:06:16]If person fall, we Ukwuani people will go talk say Ebe Ndani.

[00:06:20]Where did he fall?

[00:06:22]The person will say Ndani ne beni, which means this is where I fell.

[00:06:27]So, Ndoni is a corruption of Ndani.

[00:06:32]What we Ukwuani people speak is called Igbo, whether we like it or not.

[00:06:37]And that is because we Ukwuani people are not the only people that are speaking the kind of language that we speak.

[00:06:44]As far as when an Ukwuani person speak, someone from Ussukka hears and understand. As far as when we Ukwuani people speak, our Igbo brothers in the South East hears and understand. And when they speak, we Ukwuani people will hear and understand. Then, we Ukwuani people and them are one people. We are brothers. We are one family.

[00:07:03]You can't be speaking the same language with other group of people and be saying that you are not one with them. It's not possible.

[00:07:10]He said that in their culture that their masquerade is their ancestor tribe being.

[00:07:16]The masquerades in Ndoni are of Igbo origin.

[00:07:21]Which shows that Ndoni people are Igbo people.

[00:07:26]When we say masquerade, masquerade is part of the culture of Ndoni people.

[00:07:32]Your culture is your origin. Your culture is your ancestry. You did not start practicing this culture 50 years ago. That culture have always been part of your ancestors that was passed down to you.

[00:07:47]Culture is the way of life of a people.

[00:07:51]How can you now be denying your way of life? Your way of life is saying that you are an Igbo person. You are denying it saying that you are not an Igbo person. Yet, you are practicing that Igbo culture and tradition.

[00:08:03]Who are you deceiving? You are deceiving yourself.

[00:08:07]He said that if you are not of Igbo origin, why did you have Igbo masquerades in your community?

[00:08:14]How many Igbo communities are you seeing Yoruba masquerades?

[00:08:18]None. How many Igbo communities are you seeing Yoruba deities? None. That is because those Igbo communities are not Yoruba people.

[00:08:28]In Ndoni and in other parts of Ukwuani land, our culture and tradition is Igbo.

[00:08:36]We Ukwuani people, we observe the Igbo four market days.

[00:08:41]When we say Igbo four market days, people will be thinking that Igbo is only the five South East states.

[00:08:46]No.

[00:08:48]Ndiigbo are indigenous in 13 Nigerian states.

[00:08:53]And we Ukwuani people are part of those 13 Nigerian states that we were located in.

[00:09:00]We Ukwuani people are the indigenous Igbos in Delta state.

[00:09:04]Akaolye are from Ukwuani.

[00:09:07]If you ask Ukwuani people, "Where did you people brought this culture from?"

[00:09:10]They will not tell you that they brought it. They will tell you that that is part of their culture that their ancestors passed it down to them.

[00:09:18]Why will your ancestor pass down Igbo culture and tradition to you if you are not Igbo people?

[00:09:26]The four market days was passed down to your ancestors by their forefathers.

[00:09:31]Your ancestors did the same by passing it down to you. Why are you denying your Igbo identity saying that you are not an Igbo person, that you are not brothers and sisters with our Igbo brothers in the South East?

[00:09:44]The reason why so many Ukwuani people are saying that they are not Igbos is because their fathers told them that they are from Benin Kingdom.

[00:09:52]In Ukwuani land, our origin says that we are from Idu land. Fine, we know that is a fact.

[00:09:59]But we are not Benin people. We are the indigenous Igbo people in Idu land.

[00:10:07]That is why none of our ancestors that left Idu land to our present location is bearing a Benin name.

[00:10:14]Go all over Ukwuani land.

[00:10:17]Ask for the name of those ancestors that founded those communities. Na Igbo name they go dey call for you, not Benin names.

[00:10:23]When our ancestors left Idu kingdom to our present location, they came back with Igbo masquerades.

[00:10:31]They came back with Igbo cultures and traditions.

[00:10:35]Our food in Ukwuani land are Igbo foods.

[00:10:39]In Ukwuani land, we eat pounded yam.

[00:10:42]In Benin land, they also eat pounded yam. But that pounded yam where Benin Kingdom they eat today, na waiting they learn from Idu land. They learnt it from we Igbos.

[00:10:53]When Benin people were in Ile-Ife, na all those amala and the we do they dey chop for there.

[00:10:58]Not pounded yam.

[00:11:01]Yoruba food is not pounded yam but amala and the we do.

[00:11:05]In Ukwuani land, we observe the four market days.

[00:11:08]Our names are Igbo names.

[00:11:11]Our masquerades are Igbo masquerades.

[00:11:14]Our dance, our music are Igbo.

[00:11:18]Our dressing is Igbo.

[00:11:20]In Ukwuani land, we use ofor.

[00:11:23]Ofor is the mantle of leadership, control. Ofor is law in Ukwuani land. That is the same way it is in other parts of Igboland.

[00:11:36]How did Ofo enter Okwaneland?

[00:11:39]Which Okwane person will tell you the origin of Ofo?

[00:11:43]Ofo is as old as the existence of Ndi Igbo.

[00:11:48]When we say Ndi Igbo, we are including ourselves, we Okwane people.

[00:11:53]When you say Ndi Igbo, you are including every Bia speaking people worldwide.

[00:11:59]We Okwane people are Igbo people. Our culture and tradition is saying that we are Igbo people.

[00:12:05]That is why it's very bad to be denying our Igbo identity.

[00:12:10]You dey speak Okwane language or Igbo language, you dey talk say you no be Igbo person.

[00:12:14]Same with Ikwerre people. Ikwerre language is Igbo language. Their culture and tradition is Igbo.

[00:12:20]Yet, we see some Ikwerre people saying that they are not Igbo people, they are not Igbo people.

[00:12:25]Some will tell you that they trace their ancestry to Akalaka.

[00:12:28]That Akalaka is a Benin prince.

[00:12:32]In Benin history, there is no prince called Akalaka.

[00:12:37]So, when Ikwerre people say that they are descendants of a prince from Benin Kingdom called Akalaka, they are lying. They are deceiving themselves.

[00:12:46]He said that his Igbo names are Ikechukwu and Ikemefuna.

[00:12:51]Those names are Igbo names.

[00:12:54]You can't be bearing such names and be saying that you are not an Igbo person.

[00:12:58]He said that Peter Odili Odili is from Ndoni and that he is a proud Igbo man.

[00:13:07]Peter Odili was once the governor of Rivers State.

[00:13:12]>> [snorts] >> When you hear that name Odili, the first thing that will come to your mind is this is an Igbo name. This person is an Igbo person.

[00:13:20]Asari Dokubo said that Peter Odili, Rotimi Amaechi, and Nyesom Wike, that have ruled Rivers State as governors are Igbo people.

[00:13:33]A sorry to go about talking in a video and he mentioned the names of these people and said that they are Igbo people that Igbo people have produced three governors in Rivers State.

[00:13:44]That is what I said to go about saying in the video.

[00:13:48]If only people that I say they not be Igbo people that I say they be believe people, you get me? That I say they not be Igbo people that I say they be believe people, you get me? That I say they not be Igbo people that I say they be believe people and so on. They are just deceiving themselves because their history and origin is pointing to Igbo origin.

[00:14:05]Your culture and your tradition determines where you belong.

[00:14:11]Your language determines where you belong.

[00:14:15]Okwani people, Ikwerre people, Ekpeye people, Ogbia people, Andoni people, Opobo people, and Eleme people.

[00:14:22]Where their culture belongs is the Igbo stock.

[00:14:27]Where their language belongs is the Igbo stock.

[00:14:32]If you go to Okwani land and observe our culture and our tradition, the first thing that will come to your mind is these people are of the Igbo stock.

[00:14:41]If you go to Ikwerre land, the first thing that you will say is these people are of Igbo stock.

[00:14:47]You not going to fit observe Okwani culture that I say these people are Yoruba stock. You not be possible.

[00:14:52]You can never say that Okwani people are of Ijaw stock. You not be possible.

[00:14:58]You can never say that Okwani people are of Hausa and Fulani stock. You not be possible.

[00:15:04]If you go to Isoko land now, if you observe their culture and tradition, the first thing you will talk now is these people are of Yoruba stock.

[00:15:12]And that is because their culture and tradition, their language is of Yoruba stock.

[00:15:20]That is the same way it is to we Ogbaru people.

[00:15:24]That is the same way it is to Ukwuani people, Ohaji/Egbema people, Egbema people, Ndoni people, and so on. We are all Igbo people.

[00:15:32]Let's stop denying our Igbo identity because it will take us nowhere. Nobody dey grow for life by denying what he is.

[00:15:40]You are saying that you are not an Igbo person, yet other tribes and ethnic nationalities in Nigeria are calling you Igbo.

[00:15:48]If you no be Igbo person, nobody will call you Igbo.

[00:15:50]If you no be Yoruba person, nobody will call you Yoruba.

[00:15:53]If you no be Hausa person, nobody will call you Hausa. If you no be Ijaw person, nobody will call you Ijaw. If you no be Urhobo person, nobody will call you Urhobo.

[00:16:00]People call you what you are.

[00:16:03]We Ogbaru people are Igbo people.

[00:16:05]Ukwuani people are Igbo people. The indigenous Igbos in 13 Nigeria states are all Igbo people. Igbo bu ofu. Thank you so much, our elder from Ndoni.

[00:16:15]Remain blessed, my elder. Is she aware?