Why Ikwerre People Are Not Igbos But Speak ‘Igbo Vernacular’, Top Lawyer Explains
- Anyakweh Miracle Amadi, Esq, said Ikwerre people are not part of the Igbo or any tribe in Nigeria
- The Port Harcourt-based lawyer said Ikwerre is a distinct ethnic nationality found in four different local government areas of Rivers state
- In an exclusive chat with Legit.ng, Anyakweh explained the reason Ikwerrre people speak some ‘Igbo vernacular’
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 7 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events
Port Harcourt, Rivers state - Anyakweh Miracle Amadi, Esq, said Ikwerre is a distinct ethnic nationality and not a sub-group of any other tribe in Nigeria.
Anyakweh explained that the Ikwere people live in four local government areas of Rivers state: Obio/Akpor LGA, Port Harcourt City LGA, Ikwerre LGA, and Emohua LGA.
Source: Twitter
He stated this during an exclusive chat with Legit.ng on Saturday, January 11, 2025.
The legal expert, who is Ikwerre by tribe, said Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organization Worldwide is the apex decision-making body in Ikwerre land.
He explained that the body made this clear in a paper presented to the Human Rights Violation Commission headed by Rtd. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa in October 2001.
“Ikwerre ethnic nationality is not and has never been a sub-group of any other tribe in Nigeria including Ndi-Igbo". There is no doubt that the advent of the British and later regionalization put Ndi-Igbo at the helm of affairs in Eastern Nigeria. This brought Ndi-Igbo into Ikwerre land. In the course of time, the Igbo took advantage of their position in the then Eastern Regional Government to grab land in Ikwerre and occupy political positions. In the process, Ikwerre along with other minority groups were marginalized and driven to the background.”
Why Ikwerre speak ‘Igbo vernacular’
Speaking further, the Port Harcourt lawyer explained why Igbo vernacular is found in the Ikwere language.
Anyakweh quoted Professor Godwin Tasie saying that in 1913, Rt Rev Herbert Tugwell, the Anglican Bishop on the Niger, discovered that the Ikwerre did not easily understand the Union Ibo Bible translation.
This was after the experimentation of Union Ibo Bible Nso in Ikwerre towns and villages that were assumed to be Ibo-speaking.
“Tugwell discovered from the tests he carried out that although the Ikwerre were often regarded as Ibo… the Union Ibo Bible translation, surprisingly, was not easily understood by the Ikwerre.” This is obviously why Igbo vernacular was compulsorily introduced and taught in all schools in Ikwerre land before the Nigerian Civil War to the assimilation (i.e. destruction) of the Ikwere language.”
Ikwerre: Amaechi urged to run for president-general of Ohanaeze
Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Ikwerre Youths Progressive Initiative (IYPI) urged former Rivers state governor Rotimi Amaechi to run for President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.
IYPI leader Barrister Cosmas Ozinyowe emphasised Amaechi's potential to redefine Igbo identity.
The group praised Amaechi’s political legacy, including his pivotal role in APC’s 2015 victory, and noted that his candidacy as a chance to promote national unity.
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Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.
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Source: Legit.ng
