The controversial topic concerning the "Igbo denial" of some/most of the Delta tribes that speak Igbo dialects has been raging on this forum for as long as I have been a member, which is as long as the forum has existed. I have learnt a lot from members argument here and it has also made me do some deep research into the topic. I will drop in this thread, where I am at now in the debate.

One of the oft used argument by the propounders of the argument that the Delta tribes deny their Igbo ethnicity is that the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970 and it's outcome led to these tribes denying their igboness as the Igbos lost the war. From this argument one would infer that these tribes identified as Igbos before the war but ceased to do so after the war.
What does the historical evidence reveal?
From oral and documented records, up until the civil war, the Igbo speaking tribes along the Niger did not identify as Igbos. They considered the hinterland to be Igbos and to be different from them. These people included the Onitshas, Ogbarus, Abohs, Asabas etc. There are historical documents to back this. Marrying a hinterland Igbo during these times was close to a taboo around this time. This didn't change until the political events of a new country, Nigeria, that culminated in the civil war led to the unification of the Eastern Igbo speakers on the banks with the hinterland Igbos. The political exigencies of the times and the geographical proximity made it a no brainer for these people to align. However, the history of the dichotomy that existed between these two group of Igbo speakers is evidence that they are of sharply different origins

The first Igbo speaking tribes with monarchical structure are the riverine igbo speakers, the first being the Abohs. The titular appellation Obi, most likely originated at Aboh and from there to Onitsha, as the Aboh stool predates that of Onitsha by many years. The riverine Igbo speakers therefore were politically and culturally different from the hinterlanders. They(riverine group) tended to assimilate people into their fold, including people of slave origin, which was a taboo to the hinterlanders

Language is the big controversy in the argument. How the riverine group came to speak the same language as the hinterland group. Various theories have been put forward including the theory of a back migration which has no historical proof. My own theory is as follows:

The language called Igbo today might have originated along the lower banks of the Niger. The reason for my assertion is that the riverine speakers were the trading force around the region at that time and the language of trade was copied by the hinterlanders who took wares to the riverside to exchange for trade. It is a known fact that the precolonial hinterland Igbos were not long distant traders. The language at the banks became the dominant language for this reason of trade, just like Hausa is spoken in the North.

Oral history

The oral history of major towns around the lower Niger banks records that the ruling class came from Bini. This is difficult to dispute considering that they established monarchies in these places akin to the Bini monarchy with some traditional titles bearing exactly the same names e.g Iyasele meaning prime minister. These migrants came in large numbers with their entire households, friends, servants etc. They settled and in most cases took over political control of the places they settled. Their language changed to the overwhelmingly spoken Igbo over the years as did the population of those places which today are very mixed in terms of their origin. Unlike the hinterland Igbo speakers who are organized into clans with linear heritages, those of the banks are diverse within a clan and sometimes within a family as seen in Aboh

In conclusion, the civil war and the politics around the civil war era united the eastern Igbo speakers to some degree but had little to no effects on the Western Igbo speakers. The Westerners have retained their precolonial identity and are culturally and politically different from those in the Igbo hinterland. Their values sharply differ but their languages are the same- Igbo

Ok following

This matter go long, that’s if the people wey sabi this matter dey free to drop their opinions. 🤣. It’s always an interesting and educative thread just like the Benin vs Ife supremacy battle.