BY PROFESSOR STEVE A. OKECHA
“To be yourself in a world that is
trying to make you something else
is the greatest accomplishment.”
RALPH WALDO EMERSON
We are Ukwuani
Always proud Ukwuani
Our ancestors were Ukwuani
We worship them today
As Ukwuani in our
Various Ukwuani communities.
Ukwuani is our language
Ukwuani is our ethnic group
We are NOT Igbo
We are NOT Western Igbo
We are NOT Midwest Igbo
We are NOT Bendel Igbo
We are NOT Delta Igbo
We are NOT Ika Igbo
We are NOT Kwale Igbo
We are NOT Ndokwa Igbo
We are Ukwuani speaking.
We are not Ndokwa speaking.
We are not Igbo speaking.
We respect our elders
And hold them in high esteem
To the Ukwuani, Igbo as
A word, is derogatory:
A slave is an Igbo.
An Igbo like the witch
Is ostracized in Ukwuaniland.
This explains why an Ukwuani
Does not marry an Igbo,
No matter how handsome
Or how beautiful.
Igbo is a taboo, definitely.
Hunger, poverty, joblessness
Shamelessness have now
Pushed our Gen Zs to proclaim
Igbo as their ethnic group.
These youths’ parents are
Proudly Ukwuani, but
Their children are proudly Igbo.
What a shame! What a shame!
Are these youths neurodivergent?
Are they really normal?
How could children rewrite their history?
The Igbo claim that they
Migrated from Israel.
Soon, some of our youths
Will start saying that the
Ukwuani people are Israelis.
See what poorly educated
Youths are doing to our land.
See what herbs and tramadol
Are doing to our youths.
Some say Ukwuani language
And Igbo are similar.
This is arrant nonsense.
The Igarras of Edo North
And the Igbiras of Okene in
Kogi State speak EXACTLY
The same language.
But they see themselves
As different ethnic groups.
Language alone does not
Define a people anywhere.
Examples abound in different places
In Europe, Asia and Africa.
English is Nigeria’s lingua franca.
Many Nigerians speak and write
Better English than even
Some English men and women
Are we now English?
German is Austria’s official
Language. But Austrians
Are not Germans. Austrians are
Persistently and proudly Austrians.
Similarities in names of persons.
So what?
There are Obis in Igboland.
Just as there are in Ukwuaniland,
In Isoko, in Edo North, in Benue.
Opute, as a name, is borne by people
In Ukwuaniland and also in Auchiland.
A name is a mere distinguishing mark;
It does not necessarily denote linguistic
Affinities, identical history and culture.
An Okoroafor in Ndosumili has no ties
With an Okoroafor in Abagana in Anambra.
My surname, OKECHA, is borne by a tribe in
Western Kenya. OTUYA is also borne
In Kenya and Uganda in East Africa.
Are we Kenyans or Ugandans?
Are Kenyans and Ugandans Ukwuani?
Our DNA is different from that of the Igbo:
The Igbo do anything and everything to make money.
They sacrifice human beings for money.
That practice is an abomination in our land.
The Igbo really do not love themselves.
The chumminess they exhibit over palm wine
And on such ceremonies as Igbo-Day, is
Deceitful and misleading. We certainly
Do not have the Igbo trait among us.
The clamour for Biafra is waning.
Somehow, some Igbo appear to show
Misguided interest in Anioma state,
Which will NEVER materialise. I smell a rat.
The struggle for Anioma state across
The Niger River is a wild goose chase.
I repeat, a wild goose chase.
Among the 371 tribes in Nigeria are: Ibo [No 165]
And Ukwani [No 338] in Delta State.
Aristotle said, “Knowing yourself
is the beginning of all wisdom.”
We cannot trade our identity and
Dignity for dollars. And so shall it be.