04/07/2025
IGBO OR NOT IGBO? LET’S FACE THE FACTS!
By HRH Omu Onyebuchie Okonkwo – Omu of Obio
What has held us back for decades isn't just external oppression, it's internal division. Particularly, our inability to find common ground across the Niger.
It’s baffling how some Anioma people, despite practicing the same culture, speaking the same language, and sharing the same heritage, still deny being Igbo. Why? Because of years of subtle indoctrination and cultural distortion.
I didn’t “learn” the Igbo language, I was born into it. I speak it naturally, just like any other child from Nsukka, Nnewi, or Owerri. So how can I deny what is naturally mine?
Let’s break it down:
You speak Igbo, not Benin or Igala.
You use Ọfọ, follow the market days (Eke, Orie, Afor, Nkwo), worship Ani, honor Umuada, and yet you say you're not Igbo?
Your name is Emeka, Nneka, Chukwudi, not Eromosele or Idowu.
Your system of Okpala-Ukwu, Umunna, Obi, Eze, Agu is undeniably Igbo.
And if language and names don’t signify origin, how then did African tribes identify themselves before colonialism? Why do European colonizers and missionaries emphasize changing names and languages first?
Let’s face this reality:
Anioma, Ika, Ikwerre, Ndokwa, your culture, beliefs, and identity are Igbo. Geopolitical boundaries do not erase bloodlines or traditions.
Those who say otherwise need to ask:
What has Edo done for Anioma?
Who supported the genocide that wiped out our people?
Where are the investments from Benin?
Yet Igbo people invest, marry, and develop Anioma communities like they are part of the same home because they are.
Let’s Discuss:
Is it time we stop this denial and reclaim our full identity?
What do you think fuels this cultural division?