History – Igbo Defender

Port Harcourt, Bonny, Onne Ports At Stake If Igbos Chose Biafra Referendum

If you read between the lines of what the Northern youths, some of their elders have been saying, you will notice that their grand design is to isolate the South East Igbos from the South South Igbos and cut a South East independent Biafra off from access to the sea, then impose crippling export duties, trade, travel and emigration restrictions on it. In their recent letter to Acting President Osinbajo, the youths stated,

“The Igbo from all over the country and in the Diaspora should be advised to converge in their region in the South-East – notice they did not add South South where Igbo Land has Asaba, as well as the ports of Port Harcourt (Igwe Ocha), Onne, and Bonny (Igwe Ngaa) – for a plebiscite to be organized and conducted by the United Nations and other regional bodies for them to categorically to decide between remaining part of Nigeria or having their separate country. That government should at the end of the plebiscite implement whatever is agreed and resolved in order to finally put this matter to rest.

“Lastly, we pray His Excellency to study the references forwarded with this letter dispassionately and decide who is more in the wrong between those who openly pledge allegiance to a country other than Nigeria backing it up with persistent threats of war and those of us whose allegiance remains with the Nigerian state but simply urge that the secessionists be allowed to actualize their dream peacefully throw universally entrenched democratic options”.
You hav

Unfavourable Customs Union
If the South East allows itself to be deceived, the trade marginalization that they will impose will be worse than any marginalization of Igbo traders currently, because such a landlocked new country carved out from only South East will depend on Nigeria for every item they import or export. If the economy of such new country is growing, some people can just sit down in Abuja and decide to impose punishing tariffs on certain goods, making your goods too expensive in the international market, sabotaging all your efforts.
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Our Reply To Macof On Our Obatala Towns Post On Nairaland

Macof has made the following comment on Nairaland in our post on Obatala towns of Igbo Land and Yoruba Land: While it’s true that Yoruba and Igbo share common origin, that history is not what you are posting here

Yoruba and Igbo connection goes way back, older than the events of the Obatala and oduduwa period.
Every town descendants of Obatala founded are on record, even more clarity exists in this case than that of towns founded by descendants of Oduduwa.

This is the reply we will give him:

What will you say about the town of Oguta in Imo State that has an Owu Festival like other Owu towns in today’s Yoruba Land, aongst other similar features like the Osere and Iyasare titles (Ugbo Ilaje people call their own Yasara). The Oguta even believe that they came from somewhere West of the Niger.

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Igbo Defender’s Epic Reply To Question Doubting Ife’s Igbo Aborigin Story

The questioner had asked; ‘ What Ife Priesthood is synonymous with Igbo?’

Igbodefender replied: Good question, Sir. Take the then Igbo Kings of Ife, the Obatala for instance. One of their titles was Obi Osere Igbo. Now, let us analyse the title Obi Osere Igbo. The Obi part of the title is undeniably an Igbo royal title, as in Obi of Onitsha, Obi of Otolo, Nnewi, etc., etc., etc.

The Osere part of the title has a deep priestly significance in Igbo Land. For example, in the Igbo kingdom of Ogwuta in Imo State, their priests have inherited the title Osere. In Ogwuta, the Osere is the Chief Priest of the Owu Institution. (Does the word Owu ring a bell?. Don’t say no o.)

Okay, let’s continue with our analysis of the Oba Igbo’s title, Obi Osere Igbo.

The last part of the title Igbo is self explanatory. If one should translate that Obatala title from Igbo to English, it would simply mean Priest King of the Igbo. Mind you, ancient Igbo Kings like the King of Nri, were the aboriginal Igbo of Ife originated according to History of the Igbo World by Prince Charles Offokaja were and are priest kings.

Even Catherine Acholonu, whom you despise, told us of a trip she took to Cuba, where she saw a statue of Obatala built by Afro Descendants (probably from Ife) in which the following phrase was inscribed Obatala, King of the Igbo Nation). this phrase is so insightful that I will repeat it, Obatala, King of the Igbo Nation. These and other facts are documented in the book, History of the Igbo World, which you can purchase at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K4AIUO8 at a very affordable price. In fact, if you had read the book, you wouldn’t have asked me such an easy question. Oga, bring difficult questions na.

Source: http://www.nairaland.com/3456196/why-igbo-also-commemorate-queen

Why The Igbo Will Also Commemorate Their Queen Moremi Ajesoro

The Igbos have to join the Yorubas in celebrating Moremi Ajesoro, the same way Germany joins Britain, France, The United States and Russia to commemorate World Wars 1 and 2, when those countries defeated Germany. History must be used to unite rather than divide. That is what the Western powers know, and that is what we in Nigeria should begin to practice.

The Ooni of the great Yoruba Kingdom of Ife has unveiled plans to really honour Moremi Ajasoro, the remarkable Yoruba and Igbo Queen of Ife. A beauty reagent is being inaugurated and a statue erected in her honour. Ooni Ogunwusi is no doubt an enlightened monarch for looking to history to insightfuly build up his people’s economy through promotion of cultural tourism.

Moremi saved the Yorubas from the Igbo after the Igbo had been dislodged from Ife due to the arrival of Oduduwa The Great.

According to History Of The Igbo World by Prince Charles Offokaja, in the 12th century AD, after the aboriginal Igbo of were disloged from Ife, they started seriuous guerilla warefare to retake Ife from the Yoruba conquerors. The Igbo were succeeding due to their clever tactics of using raffia cotumes that made them seem extremely fearsome to the Yoruba who thought they were spirits. Moremi successfully wormed her way into the heart of Obatala Oreluere, the King of the Igbo aborigins and leader of the resistance.

Obatala Oreluere’s other Igbo royal titles included Oba Igbo, Obi Osere Igbo, etc., etc. Moremi undoutedly a paragon of beauty, strategically allowed herself to be captured by the Igbo forces, and then the Igbo King Oreluere saw her and married her.

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Little expose on Igbo people of Kogi State

Ndewo, ndi Igbodefender, oge m na enene Nairaland, a furum okwu nke a maka ndi be anyi gofmenti tinyere obodo fa na steeti a na akpo Kogi. Imara na ndi Igbo no Benue Steeti, ihe a na akpo ha bu Umu Ezekoha. Ndi Igbo si Kogi di otutu. Otu obodo Igbo di na Kogi, i ya na anu maka ha bu ndi Ibaji. Mana o buro nani ha no. Nene ihe nwafor Igbo n’aza Big Francis dere na Nairaland gbasara okwu nke a.

While much is known about the Igbo-speaking communities outside the SE, such as in Benue state (the Umuezekaoha people numbering over 300 villages), in Delta State (the Aniomas), Rivers state (Obigbos, Eches etc.), Akwa Ibom etc., very little is know about the Igbo-speaking communities in Kogi state especially in Ibaji and Igalamela/Odolu LGAs such as the Eke Avurugo community (which speaks Igbo as first language and Igala as second language).

Going through the list of Kogi communities found here: http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/1249765/1645681001/name/Kogi+East+locailties+working+paper.doc, one could find a handful of communities which strongly seem to be Igbo communities going by their names, despite the similarities between Igbo and Ibaji Igala names/words,: Ugwuebonyi, Ebokwe, Ozara, Amaeke, Amankpo, Amauwani camp, Amaokwu, Amadiefioha, Amaufulu, etc. all in Igalamela/Odolu LGA. The Odolu community in Igalamela/Odolu LGA is said to speak Igala as first language and the Nsukka Igbo dialect as second language.

In Ibaji LGA, we can see some town names such as Nwajala, Umuoye, Ubulie-Umueze which are, most definitely, Igbo community names. One obvious distinguishing factor between Igbo language and Igala is the lack of ‘z’ in Igala alphabet which is present in Igbo, which possibly rules out an Igala origin for some towns such as Ozara, Umueze etc.Akpanya is an Igbo-speaking community located deep in the heartland of Igala land. Very little is known about this town. About 95% of the people speak Igbo/are Igbo natives. The town also houses majority of Igbo muslims from Igboland. Igalaland uses the 4 native Igbo calendar days of Eke, Oye, Afor and Nkwo which are Eke, Ede, Afor and Ukwor in Igala land.Anyone residing in/close to these areas or living in Kogi to tell us what the situation is on ground?

Source: http://www.nairaland.com/3443446/igbo-speaking-communities-kogi-state