scholes0:


Fulaman we can't possibly believe a book written in 1921 by some colonialist who must have made numerous errors, is true in 2015 can we?


This is the result of the 1961 Census. The Yoruba and Hausa populations were neck to neck at the time.
Hausa population might have surged ahead between 1961 and now, but Yoruba would still very much solidly in 2nd place, knowing fully well that they have a higher birth rate compared to Igbos who at the time had a much less population, not to even talk of now.

Since you are Fulani, the fula number might also surprise you. I was personally pleasantly surprised, that we had that many beautiful Fulanis in Nigeria, as at 1963. If there were almost 5 million Fulas at the time, they are most probably around 15 million by now.... lets even assume 70% of them can't speak Fulfulde, that still leaves about 4.5 Million of them who can- which is definitely more than the 1.9 Million quoted in the OP's article.

Anyone interested in the full list can PM me, or quote me and demand for the rest.

...I agree with d figures in that table but u failed to use ur common sense to obtain d total no. Of igbos in Nigeria, u failed to understand that d population was obtained from d states of residence and not state of origin, yorubas including lagos, kwara nd kogi is abt 20m while igbo is abt 16m..if u minus d igbos in lagos. & ibadan alone 4rm dt yoruba population nd add it to 16m u knw wat it will result..then u now add igbos in Delta nd Rivers as kwara nd kogi was added to dt of yoruba...finally u will agree with me that igbos will be over 24m while Yorubas will be reduced to abt 17m..

It is reported that the North (Hausa, Fulani and Kanuri) make up 33% of Nigeria's population while the South West (Yoruba) accounts for 21%, the East (Igbo) is 18%, the South-South (Ijaw and Ibibio) is 13.5% and the Plateau Region (Tivs) is 2.5%. source:http://nigeriaworld.com/feature/publication/babsajayi/122305.html

saxywale:
Igbo's like psquare, don jazzy, onyeka onwenu e.t.c sef dey sing for Yoruba.lol
+ all my Lagos and Ibadan Igbo boys and girls wey sabi Yoruba pass me.

one thing i noticed is, igbo's are naturally gifted in learning tongues of other languages.....i know so many igbos that cud speak yoruba, hausa, ibibio etc.....so its not just a yoruba thing

splashbaby:
Painting lies and repeating them as if they are true. All the dense population in Igbo land are on scarce land of Onitsha, Aba and probably Owerre. All the rest are rural dwellers living in small groups all over the place.

Compare that with massive urban dwellers all over Yoruba land from Lagos to Ibadan, Abeokuta to Ilorin, Ondo to Ogbomosho, Akure to Oshogbo, not leaving out towns like Ilesha, Akure, Ado, Ijebu Ode, Ikire just to name but a few.

You claimed Igbos travelled a lot I agree but they are more Yorubas in diaspora than Igbos, if we are to count that we will need two countries the size of Sudan to accommodate them.
Two countries in West Africa Togo and Benin have Yoruba as the largest ethnic group...just because we have few noisy Igbo men selling provisions, crayfish, spare parts and cloths around towns in Nigeria do not make them twice as much in population of their host town...in major towns in Nigeria including your Aba and Onitsha Yorubas control the taxi industry, wood industry and the engineering/building industry. It's a common scene in Port Harcourt to hear Yoruba spoken on the streets and in taxis.

yoruba the largest ethnic group in benin and togo? Dude ar u kiddin me.....av made my research and nowhere was this ever stated.....so where did u get this facts 4rm Or did ur grandfather tell u dis?

zendy:




Please don't make me laugh. It is actually a very rare thing to see a Yoruba person in Igboland (with the exception of civil servants who have no choice with their postings). However,it is a very common thing to see Igbos in Yorubaland,even inside where they do their 'Orisa'

correct!!

adeitoro:
Igbo language is on the verge of extinction.
With the rate younger Igbo generations drop the langauge I doubt if Igbo will survive next 100yrs.
Was on a wedding ceremony of my colleague who is Igbo, I was ashamed of how the parents were happy and amazed that the guy can express himself with shaky Igbo.
Also I paid a visit to my uncle, on greeting his kids in Igbo, my uncle was like I should use English, you know they don't understand Igbo.

Which is so annoying.... Most Igbos feel inferior with their native language. That's why you see some of them trying to 'phonerise' the language.
I give hand to my aunt. Her kids have been in africa just once, but they speak and understand wella.
Speaking your native language at home wouldn't make you bad in english if you put your effort.
I can blow and write Igbo wella, I still get A for English.

ONE THING ABOUT IGBO PEOPLE IS THEY ARE QUICK IN LEARNING THE LANGUAGES OF OTHER PEOPLE.....MOST IGBOS IN LAGOS CAN SPEAK YORUBA..THE ONES IN D NORTH CAN SPEAK HAUSA AND ALL DAT...BUT U CUD BARELY HEAR A YORUBA MAN SPEAKING ANY OTHER LANGUAGE APART 4RM THEIRS, ITS LIKE THE YORUBA BRAIN SHUTS DOWN WHEN IT COMES 2 LEARNING OTHER LANGUAGES.......SO IGBOS ARE MORE VERSATILE WITH LANGUAGES THAN ANY OTHER TRIBE IN NAIJA............just saying.

I'm Tiv but my location is not mentioned. Pls include NAIRALAND as my location

bigfrancis21:


It is clear you didn't read a tid bit of that book. The authors are:

By Percy Amaury Talbot, H. Mulhall

The best population census figure of Nigeria is best given by outsiders who have no biased views of the Nigerian tribes.

Says who?

The first set of population figures were even deemed to be flawed in favour of the north politically. The census was conducted by our colonial masters.

Beyond all this,let's use logic? If a poll is taken asking Nigerians to list ALL the languages they speak. You think Igbo will be high up there? Or has the topic for this thread changed?

Flawlessangel:

yoruba the largest ethnic group in benin and togo? Dude ar u kiddin me.....av made my research and nowhere was this ever stated.....so where did u get this facts 4rm Or did ur grandfather tell u dis?

You need to do that research again. Benin republic and Togo are mostly Yoruba.

Urhobo. My language going through extinction gradually. In the next 100, many minor languages in Nigeria would have gone extinct.

Did I hear u say Ijaw language is spoken as a native language in Ikole Ekiti?... oga dat one na lie o

semitunde:


You need to do that research again. Benin republic and Togo are mostly Yoruba.

This 'mostly Yoruba' thing is extremely funny, especially with reference to Togo where the Yoruba fraction of the population is so small they are almost invisible.

Togolese and Beninois Yoruba altogether are only about 300,000 people. Meanwhile, the combined population of Benin and Togo is some 17 million.

Do not take my word for it. Look it up.

McLuhan:
Is this some kind of ethnic posturing or what? Who conducted this research? I hate it when people try to score cheap political points by bandying statistics and supremacist rhetoric. If Hausa is the most widely spoken native language in Nigeria, what am I expected to do? Abandon my mother tongue and learn Hausa? Or can we compare Hausa and Yoruba to English in terms of linguistic development, universal acceptability, versatility and sheer utility? Those who blow the trumpet of these so-called majority langauages should know that in the global setting these Nigerian languages are practically inconsequential. Whether Fulfulde or Annang or Igbo or whatever, they are all peripheral to English, French, Spanish, etc.

Now what is this white man's slave saying?

Radoillo:


This 'mostly Yoruba' thing is extremely funny, especially with reference to Togo where the Yoruba fraction of the population is so small they are almost invisible.

Togolese and Beninois Yoruba altogether are only about 300,000 people.

Do not take my word for it. Look it up.

You need to understand that I wasn't referring to spoken language now. And while I don't know where you got those figures from; I can tell you "first hand" that most of the population from Benin and Togo are Yoruba or can speak the language or variants (Egun) of the language.

Flawlessangel:
ONE THING ABOUT IGBO PEOPLE IS THEY ARE QUICK IN LEARNING THE LANGUAGES OF OTHER PEOPLE.....MOST IGBOS IN LAGOS CAN SPEAK YORUBA..THE ONES IN D NORTH CAN SPEAK HAUSA AND ALL DAT...BUT U CUD BARELY HEAR A YORUBA MAN SPEAKING ANY OTHER LANGUAGE APART 4RM THEIRS, ITS LIKE THE YORUBA BRAIN SHUTS DOWN WHEN IT COMES 2 LEARNING OTHER LANGUAGES.......SO IGBOS ARE MORE VERSATILE WITH LANGUAGES THAN ANY OTHER TRIBE IN NAIJA............just saying.

One of the reasons why you can see Igbos speaking Hausa and Yoruba but almost never you see vice-versa is because Igbo is the hardest to learn amongst the 3 main languages. Most Yorubas only know "kedu" in Igbo while most Hausas don't know any Igbo. I know Hausas who have been selling ciggertte and Suya in Enugu for years but don't know a single word in Igbo!

scholes0:


Bro, don't be ridiculous.
The Wikipedia figures quoting that Igbos are 18% of nigeria is probably even a bonanza- it is not based on any empirical facts, but rather, from the CIA world factbook- which was the same factbook that claims Ijaws are 10% of nigeria.... now you can see how ridiculous this is becoming.
, look at the figures I posted above- Igbos were 16.6% of the country, so unless somehow igbos have found a secret way to multiply that remains unknown to the Yorubas and the Hausas- I doubt they have become the number 1 or 2 group in the country ahead of the former two.

Also, this thread is about language, and considering the well known fact that Igbos tend to speak and proliferate/propagate their language at much less frequency than the Yorubas or the Hausas.... I doubt it is the number 2 language in the country. More like Number 4 sef... After Hausa Yoruba and Pidgin.

The very same CIA that quotes Yoruba to be 21%...isn't that equally ridiculous??

The very same CIA factbook that draws their figures from so-called Nigeria's 'official' population census??

semitunde:


Says who?

The first set of population figures were even deemed to be flawed in favour of the north politically. The census was conducted by our colonial masters.

Beyond all this,let's use logic? If a poll is taken asking Nigerians to list ALL the languages they speak. You think Igbo will be high up there? Or has the topic for this thread changed?

Igbo may not likely make the list in the sense of having a large number of second language speakers to add to its list of native speakers but when it comes to the highest number of native speakers of a Nigerian language, Igbo language might top the list if an official census proves that they have the largest population of all 3 major ethnic groups in Nigeria.

In the last census by Obasanjo, why did he 'smartly' omit 'ethnicity' in the census list but rather substituted it for 'state of residence' knowing full well that there are mass numbers of Igbos residing outside south east in other states of Nigeria, thus swelling the population figures of non-south-eastern states? And at the end of the exercise, population figures were summed up region for region thus placing SW and the North at higher figures, of which about 30% are Igbos? How can you explain that? When Obasanjo was asked why 'ethnicity' was removed, he replied that the population figures would be controversial. Controversial? So he knew very well what he was doing? Even here in US, race is not omitted but included on census forms, to account for the racial make-up of Americans. Now, this is accountability which every country should strive for. When will Nigeria ever conduct things accurately and fairly for once in its existence? Or you think the leaders up there don't know the truth? For the past 40 years the Igbo have been lied to and subjugated to number 3 position in Nigeria, such that many Igbo people even believe that they are number 3.

semitunde:


Says who?

The first set of population figures were even deemed to be flawed in favour of the north politically. The census was conducted by our colonial masters.

Beyond all this,let's use logic? If a poll is taken asking Nigerians to list ALL the languages they speak. You think Igbo will be high up there? Or has the topic for this thread changed?

Main reason being that they found the people from the east too uppity, smart and aggressive for their liking. The masters knew they had to leave but they wanted to be still able to control Nigeria remotely from a distance. They Yoruba were educated and refined enough and they weren't an option to align with. They found the northerners naive and quite easier to control than the Igbo who would challenge and argue with them on basic governmental issues, thus they preferred the Northerners. To achieve their strategy, they would have to give the Northerners a dominating position and one easy way of doing that was exaggerating their population figure by a wide margin to give them the dominant position, and also making them believe that Nigeria's power is a birth right. A colonial master a few years ago confessed to this manipulative ploy by the colonial masters. Till today, Nigerians still believe that Northerners are the majority.

semitunde:


You need to understand that I wasn't referring to spoken language now. And while I don't know where you got those figures from; I can tell you "first hand" that most of the population from Benin and Togo are Yoruba or can speak the language or variants (Egun) of the language.

Quit spreading lies and false information purportedly. Do you think your claims cannot be verified by one click of google?

Let us get our facts straight:

Benin: The major languages of nearby Benin republic are Fon and Adja with a combined total of 54%. Yoruba comes third with a figure of 12.3%. This is coming from the very same CIA factbook you quoted. Thanks to you inadvertent exposure. Now the population of Benin is 10.32 million, 12.3% gives 1.27 million Yoruba language speakers. Add that figure to about 21 - 24 million Yoruba language speakers in Nigeria (SW + Kogi E.T.C) and you will have about approximately 25 million.

Togo: it has been falsely spread on nairaland that 'Yoruba is a major language in Togo', with Adebayor Emmanuel of Arsenal often quoted as a 'Togolese Yoruba'. Yoruba language as we know it is not an official nor recognized language in Togo and has never been, and Emmanuel Adebayor's parents are Yorubas from Nigeria living in Togo who visit Nigeria regularly.

asha80:
your post would have made sense if not that the Hausa population in Igbo cities and towns are quite high hence it nullifies the notion that igbos are not accomodating or do not accept foreigners.

Hausa community in Igbo land do not mingle with the locals. They don't inter-marry. They even barely speak the language. ... I haven't seen any Ibos married to Hausas unlike in Yoruba land where they inter marry and live like one family. Igbos don't accommodate other tribes like the love they show to them.... That's the truth...deal with it.

scholes0:


Fulaman we can't possibly believe a book written in 1921 by some colonialist who must have made numerous errors, is true in 2015 can we?


This is the result of the 1961 Census. The Yoruba and Hausa populations were neck to neck at the time.
Hausa population might have surged ahead between 1961 and now, but Yoruba would still very much solidly in 2nd place, knowing fully well that they have a higher birth rate compared to Igbos who at the time had a much less population, not to even talk of now.

Since you are Fulani, the fula number might also surprise you. I was personally pleasantly surprised, that we had that many beautiful Fulanis in Nigeria, as at 1963. If there were almost 5 million Fulas at the time, they are most probably around 15 million by now.... lets even assume 70% of them can't speak Fulfulde, that still leaves about 4.5 Million of them who can- which is definitely more than the 1.9 Million quoted in the OP's article.

Anyone interested in the full list can PM me, or quote me and demand for the rest.

The very same census figues you quote which we all know were crooked up to favour the north as dominating? You call that reliable because it favours you?

How is that even possible, were Enugu and Abia states in existence then? Where are the population figures of Ebonyi state, Delta Igbo, Rivers Igbo, Benue Igbo,e.t.c?

bigfrancis21:


Igbo may not likely make the list in the sense of having a large number of second language speakers to add to its list of native speakers but when it comes to the highest number of native speakers of a Nigerian language, Igbo language might top the list if an official census proves that they have the largest population of all 3 major ethnic groups in Nigeria.

In the last census by Obasanjo, why did he 'smartly' omit 'ethnicity' in the census list but rather substituted it for 'state of residence' knowing full well that there are mass numbers of Igbos residing outside south east in other states of Nigeria, thus swelling the population figures of non-south-eastern states? And at the end of the exercise, population figures were summed up region for region thus placing SW and the North at higher figures, of which about 30% are Igbos? How can you explain that? When Obasanjo was asked why 'ethnicity' was removed, he replied that the population figures would be controversial. Controversial? So he knew very well what he was doing? Even here in US, race is not omitted but included on census forms, to account for the racial make-up of Americans. Now, this is accountability which every country should strive for. When will Nigeria ever conduct things accurately and fairly for once in its existence? Or you think the leaders up there don't know the truth? For the past 40 years the Igbo have been lied to and subjugated to number 3 position in Nigeria, such that many Igbo people even believe that they are number 3.

You have brought up issues that are beyond this thread and need to be discussed more expansively. Maybe you can open another thread for that?

Its nice that you agree that the Igbo languge is by far not the most widely spoken, we have to be less emotional sometimes. Let's rest that there...

I will.make this as short as possible.

You have no facts to butress your point that igbos make up 30% of Lagosians. Let's say the Yoruba are 50%, are tiu saying that 20% make up the other ethnic groups? Do you know how many we have in Nigeria? Let's move on...

You mentioned that ethnicity was not included in the last census...Its wasn't only ndigbo that was dissapointed, some other groups too, like Yoruba for instance. But the disappointment was more because guys felt that inclusion, (with religion and residence) would show the true nature of the composition in northern Nigeria. Many prominent northerners didn't want that...

But let me tell you bro, such an inclusions might not be an advantage for igbos too. Apart from the oppurtunity of debunking the 30% population mantra, Ethnicity, religion and residence; would have shown the number of Igbo in other areas, their location, occupation, etc. These info can be used for taxation by a govt like Lagos. Trust me the Lagos state is working at achieving this through several benign means. Not necessarily because of Igbo only though.

In summary, if we have an accurate census where all these indices are used, we would be well on our way to better planing our future, and debunking some funny beliefs along the way.

splashbaby:
Hausa community in Igbo land do not mingle with the locals. They don't inter-marry. They even barely speak the language. ... I haven't seen any Ibos married to Hausas unlike in Yoruba land where they inter marry and live like one family. Igbos don't accommodate other tribes like the love they show to them.... That's the truth...deal with it.

It is mostly due to religion. Hausas are muslims and Igbos are christians. Most Igbo families find it difficult to marry from another christian sect or church different from theirs how much more from a different religion. The Igbos are very accommodating of other tribes in Igboland. Igbos will never go about destroying shops or business steads of non-Igbo traders in Igboland nor go around on a rampage killing non-Igbos.

A thriving Hausa community exists in Owerri (where I spent most of my life in) and many of them speak good Igbo, which they learned in order to boost their business. The area is called Ama Awusa and these Hausas speak good Igbo to you when you pass by there to entice you to patronize them. Another Hausa community thrives along PH-Enugu expressway where they trade successfully.

You need to start travelling out to other regions to see things for yourself.

bigfrancis21:


Quit spreading lies and false information purportedly. Do you think your claims cannot be verified by one click of google?

Let us get our facts straight:

Benin: The major languages of nearby Benin republic are Fon and Adja with a combined total of 54%. Yoruba comes third with a figure of 12.3%. This is coming from the very same CIA factbook you quoted. Thanks to you inadvertent exposure. Now the population of Benin is 10.32 million, 12.3% gives 1.27 million Yoruba language speakers. Add that figure to about 21 - 24 million Yoruba language speakers in Nigeria (SW + Kogi E.T.C) and you will have about approximately 25 million.

Togo: it has been falsely spread on nairaland that 'Yoruba is a major language in Togo', with Adebayor Emmanuel of Arsenal often quoted as a 'Togolese Yoruba'. Yoruba language as we know it is not an official nor recognized language in Togo and has never been, and Emmanuel Adebayor's parents are Yorubas from Nigeria living in Togo who visit Nigeria regularly.

You won't let this Togo - Benin thing go abi.

If someone said: "bigfrancis, do you know that all igbos get their kolanuts directly from western Nigeria, Google it, the facts are there". What will you, as an Igbo man who eats kolanuts for food say? Will you need Google.

Its not every info Mr Google has to be the arbitar or shining light.

bigfrancis21:


It is mostly due to religion. Hausas are muslims and Igbos are christians. Most Igbo families find it difficult to marry from another christian sect or church different from theirs how much more from a different religion. The Igbos are very accommodating of other tribes in Igboland. Igbos will never go about destroying shops or business steads of non-Igbo traders in Igboland nor go around on a rampage killing non-Igbos.

A thriving Hausa community exists in Owerri (where I spent most of my life in) and many of them speak good Igbo, which they learned to boost their business. The area is called Ama Awusa and these Hausas speak good Igbo to you when you pass by there to entice you to patronize them. Another Hausa community thrives along PH-Enugu expressway where they trade successfully.

You need to start travelling out to other regions to see things for yourself.

I have been to all the 36 state of the federation and lived five years in Agbor, 4 years in Uyo. Served in Owerre and presently living in Minna. You just affirm the truth.. . Religiously, Igbo don't even accommodate their fellow Christian if their are not catholics. This is in-born, how do you expect them to accept the Muslims in their fold especially when they are stranger. Compare that to the Yorubas that will have all members of their family practising different religion. Yoruba usually don't care about who you are what you practice before relating to you. They love to have good people around... Good Igbos trive in Yoruba land because they show them love.

EnigmAries:
Remove the bolded from the list. Call a Tangale, hausa and you may be in trouble.

I assume you are Tangale

zendy:


Until a proper census is done where 'ethnic group' is inserted into the questions,it will be difficult to determin which of Hausa/Fulani,Yoruba and Igbo are the largest. For now,everyone assumes it is the Hausas that are the largest while the Yorubas and Igbos argue amongst themselves who is larger,no one can tell for sure. I like languages and I speak my native Igbo and English with a bit of French and German. The only person I have ever met in my life who could speak the 3 main languages of Hausa,Yoruba and Igbo fluently like a native was Ojukwu (born in the north to Igbo parents,grew up in Lagos as a young boy and worked as military officer in the north,west and east.

Until a proper census is done so that people don't lump Hausa and Fulani together, I won't be happy

zendy:


One of the reasons why you can see Igbos speaking Hausa and Yoruba but almost never you see vice-versa is because Igbo is the hardest to learn amongst the 3 main languages. Most Yorubas only know "kedu" in Igbo while most Hausas don't know any Igbo. I know Hausas who have been selling ciggertte and Suya in Enugu for years but don't know a single word in Igbo!

dude there's no such thing as hardest language...all languages sound alien to those who dsnt understand it, its until u put ur mind 2 it thats when u understand it.....igbos make it a tradition in learning the languages of whatever states they reside in, thats why they cud speak their language....my mum aint igbo but because she lived in d east for sometime, she cud speak igbo to the extent u wud think she's igbo, its wasnt until i turned 10 years old did i findout dat my mum aint igbo.

Bullshiit Op, Yoruba has over 25million native speakers...and is definitely more spoken across West Africa and around the world than Igbo

splashbaby:
I have been to all the 36 state of the federation and lived five years in Agbor, 4 years in Uyo. Served in Owerre and presently living in Minna. You just affirm the truth.. . Religiously, Igbo don't even accommodate their fellow Christian if their are not catholics. This is in-born, how do you expect them to accept the Muslims in their fold especially when they are stranger. Compare that to the Yorubas that will have all members of their family practising different religion. Yoruba usually don't care about who you are what you practice before relating to you. They love to have good people around... Good Igbos trive in Yoruba land because they show them love.

you are now deviating...from saying that other ethnic groups are not in igboland(you had Yoruba in mind) because igbos are not accomodating..
Now on hearing about large Hausa settlements in igbo land you now reverted the hausas there keep to themselves that they do not mix(as if it is only in igboland that they do so)..bigfrancis had let you know that Hausa shops and individuals are not attacked in igboland unlike what happens up north you now diverted to marriage and bigfrancis have giving you the reason of religion....how many Hausa Muslims you know marry Igbo ladies up north?...next thing you now diverted that it is now Igbo Catholics...pls do not give me that talk about yorubas relating with you without caring about where you are from and the likes because from my experience yorubas like relating with you if their is something to gain from you....if you do not know the meaning of accomodating go to the dictionary and find out

Raiders:
Pidgin English is the most spoken language in Nigeria.

dose in the north dnt speak pidgin