We are Igbos, but denied Igbo because of Biafran War” says Ikwerre youths
By Adiele Samuel
Ikwerre youths has said that according to history, the people of Ikwerre are actually Igbos. The youths, in an epistle signed by one of their leaders, Adiele Samuel said that the reason why they were forced to deny their Igbo roots was to avoid being shortchanged in Nigeria during and after the Civil War.
Read for yourself: “We the youths of Ikwerre extraction, Elele, Ubima, Isiokpo, Ogbakiri, Omademe, Obiri Ikwerre, Rumuigbo, Rumuola, Rumukurushi, Rumuokoro, etc wish to make known our position as regards to Biafra movement.
The Ikwerre is a sub group of Igbo in the Niger Delta headquartered in Isiokpo Ancient Kingdom, we are some time classified as a separate ethnic group in Rivers State, if you call us Igbo you are not wrong and if you call us Ikwerre you are equally not wrong.
There are reasons behind the creation of Rivers State, one was to frustrate the Biafran dream and two was to divide the Igbo ethnic group being regarded as separatist tribe.
The division of old Eastern Nigeria no doubt was based on popular demands by the non Igbo speaking communities due to fear of marginalization, loosing their identity and other lies peddled by Nigeria Government.
When Rivers State was carved out from the east, there was need to divide the Igbo, on the process, part of Igbo communities were carved into Rivers State which resulted to identity crises, as some started rewriting the Ikwerre history to please the North.
The name Ikwerre is as if you are asking a question and then someone from Imo State replies you “Nkwerre” which is an LGA in the State.
The problem of most of our youth is that they rely on what their grand fathers told them without studying wide. In Eli kwerre, if you have not married from Imo you are not in line, most Ikwerre wives are Imolites and we speak Igbo even more than some Igbos who claims to be original Igbo.
The identity crisis in Rivers State started immediately after the war, some claim Bini origin, notable of them is Elechi Amadi the author of the Concubine, in all his books has promoted the Igbo culture but in a surprised move denounced his Igboness before Justice Oputa who reminded him of his Igbo names and Igboid language, No Igbo speaks the same. We can not admit our Igbo identity except during elections like Amaechi”. Ikwerre Meka
History
The Ikwerre (also spelt Ikwere) are one of the many native ethnic groups in Rivers State of Nigeria. They are a subgroup of the Igbo people, although a small minority for political expediency now dispute this account, claiming their history was rewritten during the colonial period because of the dominance of the larger Igbo group. The Ikwerre are said to be related or share common ancestry with the Ogba and Ekpeye people (Akalaka brothers). They trace their origins to Owerri, Ohaji, Etche, and Ngwa areas of Igboland. They constitute the majority of Rivers State, although there are other populations in neighboring states. The Ikwerre speak the Ikwerre language, a dialect part of the many diverse Igbo dialects,[4] and are predominantly settled in the Ikwerre, Obio-Akpor, Port Harcourt and Emohua local government areas. They are traditionally farmers, fishermen and hunters, but in recent times, the environmental degradation and urban sprawl associated with oil exploration and exploitation has caused a sharp decline in the amount of farmland, forests and rivers available for their traditional occupations.
The Ikwerre exist in well-delineated clans, with each clan having its own Paramount King, therefore, the Ikwerre do not have an overall paramount ruler or king, but designated kings, rulers or leaders mostly approved by its constituents. Although all paramount rulers in Ikwerre are united in what is known as Ogbakor Ikwerre which is an association of Ikwerre traditional rulers. A total of 92 oil wells, producing an estimated 100,000 barrels of crude daily, are located in Ikwerreland. The Ikwerre therefore play host to several multinational oil-producing and servicing companies, in addition to many other industries and establishments.[citation needed] Despite these, the Ikwerre, like nearly all other minorities of the Niger Delta, frequently complain of marginalisation by the oil operatives. The University of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, the three campuses of the Rivers State College of Education, as well as the Port Harcourt Polytechnic, are all sited on Ikwerreland.
Origin
The Ikwerre are considered by a great majority of scholars as a subgroup of the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria,
There are several theories over the origin, and the strongest and most widely accepted one is the theory linking the Ikwerre to an Igbo origin. They would be descendents from an Igbo migration from Awka and Orlu areas towards South. Igbo scholars take Ikwerre as part of the Southern Igbo. Amadi, an Ikwerre scholar, says that the Igbo origin theory has some support even inside Ikwerre themselves, with Ikwerre would be descendants of a migration of Arochukwu Igbo, with Okpo Nwagidi being the leader of the Ikwerre tribe. Before the civil war, there had been dissident voices that claimed that Ikwerre could have migrated from Owerri, Ohaji, Ngwa, and Etche areas of Igboland.[5] But when Port Harcourt was conquered by Nigeria during the Biafran War and the Igbo people from other parts of Igboland fled the territory, a UN report says that the Ikwerre decided to claim that the Ikwerre were non-Igbo for convenience. The Ikwerre are recognized officially as a separate group in the 1979 Nigerian Constitution.
Some notable people of Ikwerre origin:
Elechi Amadi, writer
Emmanuel Onunwor, former Mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Chibuike Amaechi, former Governor of Rivers State
Obi Wali, Writer, Politician and Minority rights activist
Tonto Dikeh, Actress, Musician
Celestine Omehia,former Governor of Rivers State
Monalisa Chinda, Actress
Duncan Mighty, Musician
Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Current Governor of Rivers State
Hon. O.K Chinda, Politician
Bobby Ogoloma, Actor
Okogbule Wonodi, Poet, former Mayor of Port Harcourt
Stephen Amanwo, President, University of East London Students’ Union London UK
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