What differentiates Igbos from the Ikwerre people connects with the soul, not just language
An Ikwerre chief one time had erroneously signed up for Ohaneze membership to get a job, but his kinsmen made him buy a cow to compensate for the sacrilege and he also had to erase his ties with the Igbo group.
Entering into the first year of his leadership as the President of Nigeria, tribal formations like the southeastern Igbos have seen sparks that Mr Bola Tinubu is someone they can work with. But in the breath of calling for widespread Igbo support for the president, Ohaneze, which is the umbrella association numbering every Igbo on the face of this earth, has riled up a firm response from the Rivers State Ikwerre people over their connection.
President Bola Tinubu, despite the economic hardship existing side-by-side with his administration, is seen as one whose tenacity and building skills – the way it manifested when he was the Governor of Lagos for eight years – will lead the country to prosperity eventually.
As the Supreme Court has also stamped Mr Tinubu’s widely contested victory in the 2023 General Elections, there is no reason not to support him now, says Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide President General, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu.
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The chief reportedly hosted an Igbo Community Assembly delegation at his Abuja residence on Friday 3 May. His call to the guests was a call to all Igbos wherever in the world they may be.
I want to let you know that during the last general election, we didn’t vote for the present administration but he (Tinubu) has been declared the President of Nigeria by the Electoral Commission.
The court has declared him up to the Supreme Court. So, as your leader, I have proclaimed that Igbos, as good citizens of Nigeria, will support him. We are going to support him because we want Nigeria to be a success. If Nigeria fails, Igbos are going to suffer more than any tribe.
A day after this remark came a response by the Ikwerre sub-nationals known as the Iwhnurohna Progressive Organisation (IPO). Dr. Okahchukwu Dibia, a member of this entity, over the weekend, cautioned Chief Iwuanyanwu for a comment two weeks ago, which insisted that the Ikwerres are the same with the Igbos.
Both Rivers State where Ikwerre lies, and the Igbo states are in close proximity, making the claim of an existing connection quite easy utterance to make yet IPO, via Dr. Dibia insists that this is not the fact.
Ikwerre history has been well written and documented. Ikwerre is not Igbo. In Igboland, due to reckless boundaries delineation between Rivers State and Imo State, Ikwerre people are carved into Imo State. Example is the Ohaji people in Imo state.
Ohaneze should know that it is only a handful of Aro people who were allowed to settle in Ikwerre that can trace their origin to Igboland. Therefore, it is very wrong, preposterous and unacceptable for anyone to say that Ikwerre is Igbo.
Henceforth, such offensive, insulting, abusive and insensitive hate-claim should not be uttered by Ohaneze or any other group or individuals from any part of humanity. Iwhnurohna will not tolerate it anymore.
Ikwerre history, according to Dr Dibia, already sets the precedence that all his kin do not think themselves Igbo.
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This happened with a kinsman, a title holder named Chief Eguma who it was claimed had erroneously signed up for Ohaneze membership one time to get a job. After revoking his membership, the fine imposed on him by another Ikwerre group, Ogbakor Ikwerre Organisation WorldWide, was reportedly a cow to make amends with.
Still making emphasis on the Ikwerre and Igbo distinctiveness, Dr Dibia told the latter’s leadership that Ohaneze should maintain good neighbourliness.
Ohaneze, Ijaw and indeed all ethnic groups in Nigeria should respect their neighbours as distinct people instead of angling and making subtle desperate moves for unification for a political entity they will dominate. No nation is successfully built on suspicion and domination.
Ohaneze should recognise the need to change its antagonistic attitude towards Ikwerre. Igbo should stay and develop their five states and let Ikwerre be. Ikwerre is not Igbo.
Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.
