Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu has intensified the need for the people of Rivers State to embrace their real names which “has been in existence for over 5000 years”.
A small section of Ikwere people including the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, falsely claimed that Ikwere is not Igbo, when in fact it is Igbo territory known to be descendants from an Igbo migration from Awka and Orlu areas.
Ikwere, as part of a larger Igbo ethnic group, speak the “Ikwerre” language, an Igbo dialect.
To buttress the facts surrounding the subject, Kanu referred to a religious likelihood from the Bible,
“The fact European Bible wrongly referred to it as #Jerusalem does not mean the original name #Yerushalayim is an attempt at land grab by the Jews of Israel but a reflection of historical reality”, he said
He noted that it will be unwise to allow poorly educated individuals who are filled with hate to change a name that has been in existence for over 5000 years.
The subject mainly proded by the media became the topic of public discussions in the aftermath of the nationwide #EndSARS protests. Governor Wike falsely accused IPOB of masterminding the protest and signed a controversial order to ban their activities and target members for arrests.
The order paved the way for a military invasion; with the state locked down, soldiers stormed the streets in search of members.
Many Igbos were reportedly killed, particularly in the Obigbo Local Government Area, houses belonging to Igbos were burned down causing many to flee their homes.
Kanu also noted that the Europeans had tried to change different Igbo names such as (IGWEOCHA) which is now Port Harcourt, during the colonial reign, adding that a repetition of such would spell doom.
He continued, “It is #OBIGBO not Oyigbo. Britain may have gotten away with planting the fake name Port Harcourt in our brains in place of the rightful name #IGWEOCHA, this time around we will not allow a bunch of badly educated people, full of self-hate, to change a name that has been in existence for over 5000 years.
“Igbo people never changed the name of anybody’s town or village, therefore, nobody has the right to come to our land to give us a name that has no meaning.
“You may call it #Rome but to Italians, the proper name is #Roma and that is what they call it to this day. You call it #Munich but the Bavarian owners of the land know and call it #Munchen.
“To us the owners of the land in Igweocha, the correct name is OBIGBO, foreigners are free to call it Oyigbo if they like, it won’t change the identity of the people or originality of the name”.
Nwada Ugochinyere Onyechere reporting, Obinwannem News
