Osita Mordi>PROUDLY ANIOMA PROUDLY IGBO MY ANCESTORS CAME FROM BENIN THEREFORE I CANNOT BE IGBO I have come across this line of argument a lot of times and this is often used by anti-Igbo elements withi n Anioma land as a reason to claim that they are not Igbos. My ancestors were not Igbos so it’s not wrong at all to distance myself from the Igbo “tag”. In the Ndi Anioma page , this was the one excuse used by the anti-Igbo elements to dismiss the Igboness of the Anioma people. The logic employed by these people is that since Anioma is a mélange of people of diverse origins , claiming a single source of origin as the ethnic identity of the people is wrong. However , I find this line of argument weak. And these are some of the considerations I made: 1. No group in existence can be described as ”pure“. The Japanese are nearest to that designation but genetic evidence indicates that they had for generations absorbed people from other places. In Africa such process of assimilation was widespread. In Muslim cultures such as those of the Hausa-Fulani it was a question of religion( especially after Dan Fodio) , as far as you are a Muslim and have adopted the Hausa language and way of life you are one of them. Down in the South it was a similar situation. In Yoruba land , the Awori, Ijebu, Owo , Akure , Akoko, Ikale and others have traditions of people migrating from Benin as well. In the town of Ikorodu which is an Ijebu town in Lagos State , the Olisas who are the kingmakers claim that they originated from the Oliha family of Benin. Apart from the Edo element , people from Nupe , Borgu , and Igala origins are also present within the Yoruba population yet one cannot hear this argument because they have been thoroughly assimilated.. A good example of a Yoruba of Nupe origin is Femi Fani-Kayode. But today he is a proud Yoruba man.Among the Edos are large populations of absorbed peoples. In fact the true Edos are those whose family greeting( the Edos have family greetings ) is DELAISO meaning they descend from the old Ogiso period. Many are of Yoruba origin. The Ihama who is the ceremonial “father” of the Oba is of Yoruba origin. There are many other families of Yoruba origin and it was via this social interaction with the Yoruba people that led to the evolution of the Oduduwa dynasty in Yoruba land and the Oba dynasty of Benin. There are also people of Igala origin. These people are said to have been captured by the Queen Mother , Idia during the war with Igala and till this day the descendants of these Igala people take part in the funeral rites of any Queen Mother. There are Edos of Igbo origin. In Igueben , Ishan land is a village which claim descent from Awka(Bradbury, 1956) apparently attracted to the iron foundry industry there. In Benin , the Osa and Osuan priestly families were of Igbo origin ( possibly Nri). Many Benin families also descend from Anioma land. Let me give some examples the Obaseki family of Benin( Gauis Obaseki is from this family ) originated from Nsukwa in Aniocha South LGA. The Ologbosere family originated from Ogwashi Uku.. In fact some of the main actors of the British invasion of Benin were of Anioma origin. Ologbosere led the Benin army, Obaseki who was the Prime Minister of Benin ( Iyase) became effectively the ruler of Benin when Ovonramwen the Oba was deposed and exiled to Calabar. Then are the Ehanika and Okungbowa as well other other families from Ubulu Uku ; these people are settled in Agbado a ward in the heart of Benin. Never have these people claimed that because their ancestors were non- Bini people , it makes them non-Bini too. These people understood quite well that they were assimilated and this is just the situation with those Anioma communities claiming Bini or Edo origin. 2. The oral traditions of our people and indeed much of the World is not reliable. Let me give an example. In Somali society of East Africa , it is arranged into well defined clans. Each of these clans are believed to have descended from an ancestor that migrated from Arabia. In other words the Somalis claimed that they are of Arab descent. It therefore should not surprise anyone that Somalia is a member of the Arab League. But genetic research into the Somali population clearly reveals that they are of a very ancient race related to other groups in East Africa speaking Cushitic languages. In other words the claim of Arab origin is flawed. This claim of Arabian origin could be understood as a means by the Somalis themselves to justify their Islamic society. I want to see our Anioma societies too from the same perspective. I am not saying that all the claims of Bini origin in Anioma is wrong ; in fact most could be the case ; however we cannot rule out the possibility of many of these communities having Igbo origins too. It is quite easy to see where such possibility lies. In Abavo (in Ika South)for instance , the Colonial writer , McCrea Simpson ( 1930) emphasized that Abavo people deny any ancestral connection with Benin emphasizing rather that they came from “Avu”. In fact another name for Abavo is Avu because that is where they came from. My research has traced Avu to a community near Owerri. Prof Onwuejogwu suggested that Avu could refer to Oreri in Anambra State since that was the original name of Oreri. But the version of this Igbo origin have been more or less replaced by a Benin origin which the town now find as acceptable. Also we are faced with the story of Ezechima ( I will elaborate on that later) , Ukah founder of Ukala clan , Ekelie founder of Ashama clan as well as Aninga founder of Adonte all claimed to be from Benin despite their Igbo names. That of Adonte exposes of the weakness of some of these versions of origin. In the story of settlement , Aninga was sad to have exclaimed “Edo Ette” , Edo is so far away and as such its safe to settle on the land. That is purely Igbo language. Or in the case of Mbiri whose founder exclaimed and said Nimbiri or let me settle in Ika. Umunede also favours Edo( or Agbor) origin yet the prefix UMU- is usually used in naming Igbo towns and has no place in Edo social organization . In Edo land , a territory is not exclusively claimed by particular descent groups therefore the name usually used is IGUE which means a settlement (eg Iguobazuwa). This is different in Igbo land where claims to land is often via descent groups hence many towns in Igbo land have the UMU prefix. 3. From a broader perspective there are many similarities between the Igbo and Edo which could only suggest a common ancestry. Linguistic in fact believe that the ancestors of the Igbo , Edo and Yoruba spoke a common language until they began to separate some 6,000 years ago( Greenberg). In other words the Edos and Igbos are cousins therefore if there are exchanges of population between both sides it should not be seen as so important. Igbo people also have similar connections with the Idoma and Igala peoples( even people further east such as the Benue-Congo speakers). Therefore those who make such claims are very myopic and ignorant. Take the market days , the Edo , Igbo and Igala have similar market days of Eke, Orie , Afor and Nkwor. The Igbo staff of Ikenga (associated with Nri) have equivalents in Benin(called Ikegobo) and Igala(called Okega). In Igbo and Edo traditional religions the earth spirit was highly venerated and this is called Ani(Ala) in Igbo land and Otor in Edo. 4. Therefore such claims being peddled by our ignorant bothers and sisters should not be taken seriously. The reason the Igbo culture and language came to dominate and absorb other cultures in Anioma land is because it was the earliest ( I have written on that) and its was the most prominent. Nonetheless the fame and power of the Oba of Benin greatly affected the political organization of many West Igbo towns.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 10:39:23 +0000
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