Edited by Azizi Powell
This post documents some examples of putdown (insults) that are found in a 2015 discussion on the nairaland.com forum. "Naira" is a contemporary referent for the nation of Nigeria and for Nigerians. "Naija" is a (it appears to me) more common form of that referent.
That discussion revolves around issues of Biafran re-secession in general and the question raised by the original poster whether Delta State Igbos are actually Igbos. Information about Biafra and the Delta State region of Nigeria are included as background for this discussion.
This post also provides an opportunity to share definitions for a few Nigerian Pidgin English words.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric and cultural purposes.
I'm most interested in documenting Nigerian insult customs based on my belief that African American insult customs such as the dozens come from Nigerian and other African insult traditions and that African American insult customs are still similar to those African traditions. However, this post also shares comments about contemporary Nigerian politics.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
DISCLAIMER: This post shouldn't be construed as taking any position about the issues that are raised in the Wikipedia article or the comments that are quoted herein.
I happened upon this discussion thread in my research of Delta Igbo language (dialect?) in Igbo novelist Chinua Achebe's 1958 novel Things Fall Apart. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/06/what-is-meaning-of-these-sentences-in.html for that post.
UPDATE: June 10, 2016 - Here's a link to a related pancocojams post about Delta State region of Nigeria and whether they are or should be considered Igbos: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/06/excerpts-from-nairalandcom-nigerian.html. That pancocojams post only quotes selected comments from 2010, but that (10 page) discussion continued into 2013.
One participant in that discussion posted a blistering comment in which he insulted other commenters, calling them baboons who need to visit the zoo among other things (but his insults were much more colorful). For various reasons, I didn't include that exchange in that post.
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BACKGROUND - BIAFRA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biafra
"This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. (March 2015)
The neutrality of this article is disputed. (March 2015)
This article's factual accuracy is disputed. (July 2015)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2015)
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in eastern Nigeria that existed from the 30th of May, 1967, to January 1970. It took its name from the Bight of Biafra, the Atlantic bay to its south. The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions among the various peoples of Nigeria. Other ethnic groups that constituted the republic were the Efik, Ibibio, Annang, Ejagham, Eket, Ibeno and the Ijaw among others.
The secession of the Biafran region was the primary cause of the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War....
After two-and-a-half years of war, during which over three million Biafran civilians died in fighting and from starvation occasioned by the total blockade of the region by the Nigerian government, Biafran forces under the motto of "No-victor, No-vanquished" surrendered to the Nigerian Federal Military Government (FMG), and Biafra was reintegrated into Nigeria.[4]...
Movement to re-seced
The Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) is one of the most prominent groups advocating for a separate country for the people of south-eastern Nigeria.[16] They accuse the state of marginalising the Igbo people. MASSOB says it is a peaceful group and advertises a 25-stage plan to achieve its goal peacefully.[33] It has two arms of government, the Biafra Government in Exile and Biafra Shadow Government.[34]
The Nigerian government accuses MASSOB of violence; MASSOB's leader, Ralph Uwazuruike, was arrested in 2005 and was detained on treason charges. He has since been released... On June 16, 2015, the Supreme Council of Elders of the Indigenous People of Biafra, another pro-Biafra organization, sued the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the right to self-determination within their region as a sovereign state.[36]
Another group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), led by a United Kingdom-based Biafran, Nnamdi Kanu, reinvigorated the quest for Biafran realisation in 2012. He established a radio station to champion the Biafran cause, Radio Biafra, which has been broadcasting at various frequencies around the world. The Nigerian Government, through its broadcasting regulators, the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigerian (BON) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has sought to clamp down on the UK-based station with limited success. On November 17, 2015, the Abia state police command seized an IPOB radio transmitter in Umuahia.[37][38] Mr. Kanu is presently being detained by the federal government.”...
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INFORMATION ABOUT DELTA STATE (NIGERIA)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_State
"Delta or Delta State is an oil and agricultural producing state of Nigeria, situated in the region known as the South-South geo-political zone with a population of 4,098,291... The capital city is Asaba, located at the northern end of the state, with an estimated area of 762 square kilometres (294 sq mi), while Warri is the economic nerve center of the state and also the most populated located in the southern end of the state. The state has a total land area of 16,842 square kilometres (6,503 sq mi)
Demographics
Delta State is ethnically diverse with peoples and seven major languages and dialects are spoken in the state. The state is divided into two regions on account of state creation movements (between 1976 and 1996) which was a feature of the military governance of Nigeria. This culminated to the increment of states in Nigeria from 12 states to the present 36 states...
The first group are Anioma (Igboid group) which consists of Aniocha/Oshimili, Ndokwa/Ukwuani ethnic nationality, and Ika. These areas occupy the Delta North senatorial district of the state.
The second group comprises Urhobo/Isoko (Edoid group), Itsekiri (Yoruboid group), and Ezon ethnic groups. These ethnic groups occupy the Central and South Senatorial districts of the state. The Urhobo and Isoko speak very similar dialects unlike the Ezon and Itsekiri people but have a loosely related culture as they traded and intermarried for centuries before colonization. Most inhabitants of the state practice Christianity and very few traditional faiths..."
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SELECTED EXAMPLES OF PUTDOWNS (INSULTS) FROM A NAIRALAND.COM DISCUSSION
Brief Summation [with Slight revisions June 11, 2016]
Ymodulus, the original poster (OP) who began this five page discussion, asked whether Delta State Igbos are Igbo. He stated that they weren't Igbos but were being courted by Igbos from the Eastern part of Nigeria who want them to add the oil rich Delta State region to a proposed newly seceded nation of Biafra.
Some commenters wrote that there were a number of ethnic groups in Delta State, including Igbos. Also, some commenters accused the OP of trying to weaken Igbo unity.
Format
These examples are given in chronological order with the earliest dated examples given first. I've assigned numbers for referencing purposes only.
Some comments that don't contain insults are included to provide some explanations (albeit from one side of the discussion or the other) of the contentious debate about whether Delta State Igbos are part of the Igbo ethnic group.
Comments given in italics are quotes from previous commenters.
I've added a few explanations or definitions of Nigerian Pidgin English words (from online sources) after the "-snip-" quote ending designation.
****
From http://www.nairaland.com/2601360/why-igbos-trying-hard-claim/2
1. Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by Nobody: 10:49pm On Sep 15, 2015
Ymodulus:
I have been to Delta twice. Even visited that state this year. Nothing interesting about the place. I asked myself is Asaba or Warri the capital?
Delta state has lost its glory and finally gone to the dogs.
"Daura illiterate. Get education pls."
-snip-
Explanation:
Ymodulus, the original poster, for this discussion is described as being Hausa/Fulani.
"Daura is a town and Local Government Area in Katsina State, northern Nigeria. It is the spiritual home of the Hausa people." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daura.
**
2. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by honourhim: 11:10pm On Sep 15, 2015
Ymodulus:
I urge all those from Delta state not to allow themselves to be used as a tool in the hands of some so called Biafran Preachers or Agitators.
"I use to see you as an intelligent guy. How wrong i ve been."
**
3. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by onenaira3: 11:33pm On Sep 15, 2015
"[4 pictorial icons for grin]
This Hausa boy is still trying to start wahalla between anioma and SE. [2 pictorial icons for grin]
Using a Nollywood movie is just hitting the low. Ymodulus you can even draw a picture if you like, of you like make a cartoon video, it's still won't make me deny being a proud Igbo from Asaba, Delta. "
Keep trying though
-snip-
Wahala = (Yoruba) Nigerian Pidgin English meaning "trouble", "problem" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahala_(Yoruba)
**
4. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by eneidoko(f): 11:33pm On Sep 15, 2015
"They know the 5 land-locked ibo states cannot form a country. So, if they can rope some other people or states in, they may make some feeble noise.
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5. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by Masterclass32: 6:56pm On Sep 15, 2015
"I really don't think Igbos should waste their time on threads like this.
We know our brothers in Delta and other SS states (and benue) and they know us."
**
6. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by Deltagiant: 7:10pm On Sep 15, 2015
Bobbystanley:
Yes we the igbo speaking Delta's are Igbos
I am from Isele-Ukwu in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.
We speak igbo but a different version of the one spoken in the South East.
"My Grand Father have always told me the history of how we came to reside across the River Niger.
If Biafra should exist today, We are part of it.
Yoruba people una no dey tire? "
Carrying Biafra matter for head like gala
-snip-
“Gala” here may mean “gele”, a cloth wrapped as a female's head scarf.
**
7. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by amtalkin(f): 10:02pm On Sep 16, 2015
imhotep:
If "Delta" is an adjective qualifying the noun "Igbo", it follows that there are Igbos that can be found in the Delta.
Is the OP another dull@rd from d@ura?”
"Lolzzzzzz
He is a dull@rd but not from d@ura"
**
8. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by haqueurate(m): 1:15pm On Sep 17, 2015
"Y modulus thanx for this intresting expose
In all this 3month resurgence of intrest in biafra I have come to understand the following points
1. The agitation by the igbos is as a result of hope in amalgamating the oil rich south south to thier wild dream republic ( same as the initial biafra objective)
Clamour for igbo freedom does not include a desire for the south south to exist as an indipent country in the cases of disolution of nigeria, simply put the igbo will refuse the south south to go ( same situation as exist in nigeria)
2. Biafra 2.0 is to be fought only on naira land, and by igboes in uk ( namdi kanu army). No clear cut strategy either legal or civil to address any fall out including the fact that over 60% of igbos live and hv bizz outside igbo land. Secession usually involve people relocating in mass ( as in the cases of india and pakistan, sudan and south sudan. How will they be accomodated and how many are prepared to go back to ground zero
3. Hatred is the slogan of biafra secessionist generals ( namdi kanu). Forgeting no tribe is a monopoly of hate (as the hutus and tutsis in rwanda)
Also forgeting igbos are more in other peoples communities, therefore are more at risk incase of a violent fallout
4. Ethnic spread doesnt make you own the land ( there are yorubas in benin republic and ivory cost, does not give them the right to demand a restructuring of these 3 countries, their are fulanis in niger republic, chad and cameroun- can they claim their own country based on this fact?
5. I thought the igbos surrendered after biafra, how come they are claiming ownaship of a land they signed away......
Do they know the meaning of surrender ( you put yourself at the mercy of your master, u lost the right of claim)
Emotions dont win a warm, sense does"
-snip-
"Warm" may be a typo for the word “war”.
**
9. Re Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by tonychristopher: 7:51am On Sep 17, 2015
"The question is why are non igbos try so hard to divide Igbo unity ....
The shocker of their lives was when Igbo voted with one voice
Why tell us who is Igbo or not ?"
**
10. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by Agbalanze(m): 8:38am On Sep 17, 2015
"Delta is not a tribe but a state. we have Igbos, isoko, urhobo, itshekiri, ijaw, izon etc as tribes .
Some are Igbos and some are not."
**
From http://www.nairaland.com/2601360/why-igbos-trying-hard-claim/3
11. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by Nobody: 4:52pm On Sep 17, 2015
"Why is it delta igbo if they are not igbos. Some people are crazy sha."
-snip-
From http://www.naijalingo.com/words/sha "Sha" is Nigerian Pidgin term that means "anyway, like that"
**
12. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by AlomoReloaded: 5:00pm On Sep 17, 2015
Ymodulus:
Some months ago i wrote an article on why the Deltans are not igbos and should be left out of the Biafram struggle.
Today while watching a Nigerian Movie title " The Meeting Silverbird Cinema "
I watched this, and I noticed the igbo lady trying so hard to make sure that Rita Dominic a Delta woman accept that she is Igbo and not Delta.
Why are igbos this forceful. Deltans say leave them alone and you are still trying to force yourselves.
"You are a complete foool!!! You called them Delta IGBOs, yet u say they are not IGBOs..... that means, my grandmother's sheep, is more clever and intelligent than you will ever be!!! iidiot!!!!!" [3 pictorial icons for angry]
**
13. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by Nobody: 10:07am On Sep 18, 2015
"dumbest op ever liveth"
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14. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by tonychristopher: 10:20am On Sep 18, 2015
zendy:
The morron called them "Delta-Igbos" but is asking if they are Igbos. Is "Delta" an African word or an English word?
"His stupidity is superb
If stupidity is in academic degrees ..he must have been a proffesor emeritus with his proffesorial chair still untouched"
**
15. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by adellam16(f): 11:30am On Sep 18, 2015
"I noticed something bout dis nairaland. Some people can show deir power here but in real life dem no born dem well. God help us ooooo"
-snip-
From http://ngex.com/personalities/babawilly/dictionary/pidgino.htm "O!: Placed at the end of sentences for emphasis and effect E.g. I go broke bottle for yua head O!"
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16. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by adellam16(f): 11:31am On Sep 18, 2015
menabadoo:
When some is called delta "Igbo", what does that depict?”
I thought they said yorubas are educated?
"Help me to ask dem o! Especially dose ones using all deir muscles to type wit vex o"
-snip-
Several commenters wrote that the OP was Yoruba, but other commenters corrected those attribution by writing that the OP was Hausa/Fulani. And the Original Poster didn't correct those statements about his ethnic identity.
**
17. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by adellam16(f): 11:34am On Sep 18, 2015
Marotzke:
I know urhobo,itsekiri,ijaw,isoko ,Igbo all claim to be deltans, but a little push further and they tell you where they are from. Why is that too difficult for you?
Nobody would have asked you, if you did not go writing an epistle differentiating between Deltans and Delta Igbo. If you are Igbo say it loud. If you you feel you are loosing opportunities identifying as an Igboman keep quiet.
If you are not an Igbo man, just Shut up. We already have a symbol in stupidity in Ymodulus, don't add to the irritation. If in the unlikely chance that you are from delta north,then shame on you.
The same Delta state that Edwin Clark, Tompolo and Orubebe unashamedly proclaim their Ijaw heritage without apologies, is where you want to disguise your Igboness. The spirits Of Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, lt colonel Okonweze and over 20,000 Anioma people massacred because they are Igbos will haunt you till you receive sense.
"I forgot to ask! What's paining u? Dis crap is too long na. I don't even understand all dis jargons? Take a deep breath, think of Barney d Dinosaur den talk sense."
**
From http://www.nairaland.com/2601360/why-igbos-trying-hard-claim/5
18. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by MacluvPH(m): 2:01pm On Mar 05
"Yes you are right,his* name Ifeanyi Okowa is an Hausa Yoruba name.
Honestly some people here need to be cross examined at a psychiatric hospital."
-snip-
*His = the Original Poster
**
19. Re: Why Are Igbos Trying So Hard To Claim Delta Igbos are igbos? by JahJaa(m): 2:35pm On Mar 05
Ymodulus:
No delta igbos are not igbos and should never be called such.
OK let me reframe my thread title to reflect my desired expression better
"hahahahah this guy is very st¥pid ok so its not Igbo but delta igbo, indeed many are mad but few are roaming..
Pls My Igbo Brothers better ignore this thread, the Op aint Sane"
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