It all started when I was in primary 3. I had just resumed at my new school and was settling in. Being the “new girl”, I didn’t have any friends at first but there will always be that one outgoing child who wants to know who you are and what you’re about on the very first day. The details of this encounter are quite sketchy but it was something like this, “What is your name?” I replied, “My name is Ogochukwu.” “You’re an Igbo girl…” I quickly cut in, “No, I’m from Delta state…I’m Ukwani.” My classmate looked puzzled-the questions were written all over her face. She must have thought to herself, “How can her name be Ogochukwu and she’s not Igbo?” This scenario was going to repeat itself many more times in the future than I would have ever imagined.
According to the Ethnologue, Ukwani is a dialect from a cluster within the Igbo language cluster. This means that ‘Chukwu’ is not solely owned by the Igbos across the River Niger. History has it that Orogun himself originated from the Benin Empire and migrated with his brothers to found different kingdoms.
My parents are from Delta state. My dad is Urhobo/Ukwani from Orogun kingdom while my mum is Itsekiri from Warri kingdom. Aragba Orogun is the name of my hometown and it happens to be a border town which explains the fact of 2 intertwined ethnic groups becoming one as is the case with most border towns. So I’m bearing an Ukwani name and I’m also Urhobo at the same time. This isn’t as strange as many might think.
Are you aware that there are people from Edo state who bear Yoruba names? I have an aunt who’s married to an Edo man named Bola. The Anioma people in Delta state speak a Yoruba dialect but they’re not Yoruba. Itsekiri language sounds like Yoruba but it is not. The singer, Omawumi is from Itsekiri kingdom while Omowunmi Akinnifesi, the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (2005) is Yoruba. Notice the similarities in their names? Rotimi Amaechi is from Rivers state but his name is Rotimi which is of Yoruba origin.
This brings me to the highlight of this post. If we’re so intertwined and obviously share a common origin and ancestry, why is there a high level of tribalism in Nigeria? Also, why do we fail to acknowledge the diversity in ethnicity and try to accommodate the fact that there are other ethnic groups in Nigeria apart from the 3 major groups? These differences and complexities are what make us unique and should even be a uniting factor- unity in diversity.
In the past, I struggled with explaining to people why my name is Ogochukwu and I’m not Igbo. As an undergraduate, whenever I met new people, I would give my name as Evita just to avoid the dreaded conversation which always ended up leaving them confused or making me look confused. During my service year, I was posted to Osun state and I figured that if I answered to Ogochukwu, I might end up being tagged as “Omo Ibo”(Igbo child) so I gave my name as Agnes. Looking back, it’s so funny to me because it wasn’t that deep. But at that time, I was just avoiding the obvious. I’m done running away from my first name. My name is Ogochukwu and I am a Nigerian.
Have you ever been faced with a similar situation? Having to explain your origin to people that you just met. Do you know people like me with such complex origins? Is this your first time of reading about the Orogun kingdom? Have you ever been in a situation where you had to abbreviate your name or bear your second name just to avoid being stereotyped or discriminated against? I’m all ears. Let’s have a conversation in the comment section below.
Not until we are more tolerant of both the physical, cultural, linguistic, religious, ideological and political differences among us, we are going no where with our human interactions. I’m a Nigerian. I’m an Urhobo, call it a minority tribe, I call it a Nigerian tribe.
Exactly! What do they even mean when they refer to some of us as the minority? A lot of issues really need to be addressed. Thank you so much Sheila.
I am igbo, however I still have to explain to people that my father and mother are both igbo. Because people say I don’t look igbo. Which begs the question how do people from different tribes look? Ayam not understanding.
Imagine someone telling you that you don’t look a certain way based on your ethnicity. 🤦🏽 How does that even work? People need to learn o.
I am Bini by origin and when Alot of persons meet me for the first time, they say; you are yoruba and sometimes some person’s begin to speak yoruba to me suddenly and it amazes me how people can draw conclusions on you without really knowing you.
🤦🏽 That can be really annoying. I’ve experienced something similar. I appreciate your comment, Aigbe.
“I am Ukwani, and not Delta Igbo”
I hear that alot, in order not to prolong unnecessary argument,I just nod in agreement to their claim.
And indeed they were right after all. 😄
Beautiful write up, and am happy for the clarity, even I from Delta needed this, being from Orogun and surrounded by Ukwani, definitely over time they most have married and become siblings, and having this overall culture, we all originated from Benin.
Thanks a lot, Enohor. Exactly, they intermarried and so much happened. We’re all so connected. I’m glad you learned something new from this post.
Hmm..this is my first time hearing the Orogun kingdom. In as much mine was not the case of having to explain where i come from; i most times shy away from my first name why because people always do not know how to pronounce it. Thank you for this little history lesson
Oh dear! The pronunciation problem too can be so annoying. I understand. I’m glad you learned something new from this post. 😊
I am a Yoruba lady and this is my first time of getting detailed information about these tribes, to say I am confused and shock is an understatement.
Although I am Yoruba, my fiancé is from Edo state and I remembered when I told my peeps at home about him they were skeptical all because he is not from my tribe and to them if you are not speaking the general Yoruba or Hausa then you are igbo.
It took lot of convincing to get them accept my choice. The truth is we are all racist in this country because at some point in our lives we have been told or said one ill thing about those of other tribes especially when it comes to marriage.
The other time #blacklivesmatter was trending in Nigeria, all I saw was bunch of hypocrite, we should fix us (Nigeria tribalism) first before trying to fix them (Americans).
Wow!! Just wow!!! The stereotypes and misconceptions that most of us have about other ethnic groups is mind boggling to say the least. I love how you stood your ground and made them accept your choice. Thank you so much for sharing with us, Rebecca. I really appreciate your comment.
I feel that it is only after we have studied our culture and tribes critically and not just where you are from but also study down to the details of where your neighbor is from.. THAT IS ONLY WHEN WE CAN FIGHT FOR AN ENTIRE RACE AND WE WILL WIN..
I totally agree with you. Learning our history is vital for our collective growth. Thank you so much, Fruity Amaka.
Ahh, it’s a very annoying something o. My name is Chukwudi. I am Ukwani. From Ndokwa East abi West, sha either of them. Some persons would now intently impress the igbo identity on you and make you feel like you don’t have a background. You are trying to explain to someone that you are not igbo, you are ukwani, then they say you can’t even speak igbo🙄. I have resorted to saying it’s a mixed breed of more delta and less igbo, before they now say oh ok. I don’t know why my parents chose to give us igbo names when they have konk ukwani names for themselves.
As far as there’s Chukwu in your name, some of them don’t want to know anything further. Mixed breed for the win o 😂
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