INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 3, 2019, 6:49:50 AM10/3/19
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​I am fascinated by Patrick Obahiagbon's independence message to Nigerians not because of his bombastic English but because of the historical significance of his adopted name (alias) IGODOMIIGODO. Not many Nigerians are aware that before 1200 AD, the people that were thereafter referred to as Benin were known as IGODOMIIGODO people and their local leader was titled OGISO. Then came ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the grandson of ODÙDÚWÀ, and invaded the IGODOMIIGODO territory and subjugated the people. When ÒRÀNMIYÀN subsequently left IGODOMIIGODO in anger, he installed his son, EWÉKÁ as the King and changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBINU. Thenceforth, the King was referred to as OMO N'OBA N'EDO which in Yoruba means Omo Oba Ni Edo, practically implying the son of King ÒRÀMIYÀN IN EDO. The word 'EDO' in Yoruba means a base or a settlement. A new town settlement in Yoruba land is called, TE-ÌLU-DÓ eg. ÈPETÈDÓ.

​When the Portuguese came in the second half of the fifteenth century, they corrupted ILÈ-ÌBÍNU to BENIN which the British colonialist continued to recognize as the true name of the city. Benin people say the word Oba means to shine but in Yoruba, Oba means ascending (landing) on the throne. Follow this link to read Patrick Obahiagbon's fantastic independence message to Nigerians:- ​https://www.tori.ng/news/131484/read-patrick-obahiagbons-independence-message-to-nigerians.html 
Patrick Obahiagbon, a former Nigerian lawmaker has wished Nigerians a happy birthday on the country's 59th independence.
​S. Kadiri

Uyilawa Usuanlele

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Oct 3, 2019, 6:22:09 PM10/3/19
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Ethnic supremacy induced fiction writing. Silence.
Uyilawa
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
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Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 
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Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 4, 2019, 6:09:15 PM10/4/19
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​Uyilawa Usuanlele!

​It is a true history that ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the son of ÀKÀNBÍ, was the grandson of ODUDUWA. It is a true history too that EWÉKÁ was the son of ÒRÀNMIYÀN who became the King (Oba) of IGODOMIIGODO PEOPLE in 1200 AD.

​It is real history that EWÉKÁ was on the throne for forty years before he died and his son UWAKHUAHEN succeeded him as a KING in 1240 AD. When EWÉKÁ died in 1240 AD, his head was severed and buried in IFE in keeping with the Yoruba adage that ORÍ ADÉ KII SÚNTA, meaning King's head shall never lay outside. Every dead Benin King from 1240 AD up to the 36th King, EWÉKÁ II, who died in 1933, had their head severed and burried in Ile Ife. Thereafter, that tradition stopped but the burrial site of the head of Benin Kings from 1240 AD up to 1933 are still well kept in Ile -Ife up till today. It is not a fiction that the people now known as Benin were before 1200 AD known as IGODOMIIGODO people and their leadership was known as OGISO and not OBA.

​Analogically, when we narrate how Nigerians came to be either Christians or Muslims from historical perspectives, it is not because we believe in the racial superiority of the Hebrews and Arabs over us. History in many cases is not pleasant to read but we cannot for that sake ignore it.
S. Kadiri
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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 4, 2019, 11:07:17 PM10/4/19
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Alagba Kadiri.

Good for informing oue international readeeship of the comparayive history that as England the mother of western democracy was consolidating its Constitutional Monarchy withe the Magna Carta in 1213 so also was the Yoruba Federated Monarchy consolidating its own Constitutional Monarchy with the spread of the Iwarefa Mefa council ( equivalent of the English Parliament and fore runner of the Oyo Mesi) to Edo land and the 16 original crowned heads of Yoruba land.

OAA.



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-------- Original message --------
From: Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Date: 04/10/2019 23:19 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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​Uyilawa Usuanlele!

​It is a true history that ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the son of ÀKÀNBÍ, was the grandson of ODUDUWA. It is a true history too that EWÉKÁ was the son of ÒRÀNMIYÀN who became the King (Oba) of IGODOMIIGODO PEOPLE in 1200 AD.
​It is real history that EWÉKÁ was on the throne for forty years before he died and his son UWAKHUAHEN succeeded him as a KING in 1240 AD. When EWÉKÁ died in 1240 AD, his head was severed and buried in IFE in keeping with the Yoruba adage that ORÍ ADÉ KII SÚNTA, meaning King's head shall never lay outside. Every dead Benin King from 1240 AD up to the 36th King, EWÉKÁ II, who died in 1933, had their head severed and burried in Ile Ife. Thereafter, that tradition stopped but the burrial site of the head of Benin Kings from 1240 AD up to 1933 are still well kept in Ile -Ife up till today. It is not a fiction that the people now known as Benin were before 1200 AD known as IGODOMIIGODO people and their leadership was known as OGISO and not OBA.

​Analogically, when we narrate how Nigerians came to be either Christians or Muslims from historical perspectives, it is not because we believe in the racial superiority of the Hebrews and Arabs over us. History in many cases is not pleasant to read but we cannot for that sake ignore it.
S. Kadiri
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Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 5, 2019, 10:52:01 AM10/5/19
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​Thank you OOA. Before the British intrusion into Nigeria, a river was named *ÓDÒ OYA* in honour of the wife of SÀNGÓ by the Yoruba people. The white man came and renamed it River Niger. Nigerian intellectuals will rather retain the foreign name instead of reverting to any of the indigenous name given to the river before the white man came to name it River Niger. It baffles me that the Portuguese intruders renamed ILÈ-ÌBÌNÚ to Benin around 1450 AD, during the reign of EWUARE the Great 

​and Nigerians accept it while despising the original name of the people, OGODOMIIGODO which they think is a fiction.
S. Kadiri
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Uyilawa Usuanlele

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Oct 5, 2019, 1:51:12 PM10/5/19
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Salimonu Kadiri,
                          

                              Congratulations for bringing to our knowledge your field of expertise, “TRUE HISTORY” (whatever that means). What you have written and continue to write is nothing but ethnic supremacy driven fiction as I will show below:

                              If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us where “ ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the grandson of ODÙDÚWÀ, and invaded the IGODOMIIGODO territory and subjugated the people.” and your source.

If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us you should have told us

how an Oranmiyan who couldn’t move beyond the precinct the Benin Chiefs gave him how much more rule  “changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBINU.”

                      If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have been able to tell us  how the so-called Yoruba name ILE -IBINU resembles or correlates to the Portuguese name BENIN, what happened to the  “U” unless you want to tell us that the Portuguese cannot pronounce the letter “U” or they substitute the letter “U” with the letter “I”.  (For the benefit of those with open minds about the history of Benin and its name, one of the indigenous names of Benin was UBINI and that is also what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call Benin and they told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc) that has since been spelt as BENIN).

                             If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have known by now that the fiction “Every dead Benin King from 1240 AD up to the 36th King, EWÉKÁ II, who died in 1933, had their head severed and burried in Ile Ife.” was discredited by archaeological excavations in 1977 and there were no skulls found and the materials found at the site predate 1200 the supposed year of Oranmiyan’s arrival in Benin.

                            I would have continued with my silent treatment of your ethnic supremacist writings, but since your cheerleader Olayinka A. Agbetuyi has chosen to amplify and parrot your fiction to “oue international readeeship” (whatever that means), I decided to respond to show that you are peddling fiction and not history and your readers are better off reading Amos Tutuola for their entertainment rather than your “TRUE HISTORY.”

Silence again.  

Uyilawa

 

 

 

   

 

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Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 5, 2019, 1:51:21 PM10/5/19
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And still on the etymology of the Ara Oke (Northern Yoruba) words bequeathed to Yoruba posterity:

Olodumare=  Olodu embodiment of Odu+ ma(do not) +re
(approach)
The embodiment of Odu God i.e Ifa originator that cannot be approached ( because she resides in the nether world.)

Esumare (as in Esu- Elegbara's mound)= The mound in the sky ( the rainbows arc)+ ma (do not)+ re (approached)

The mound in the sky that cannot be approached because it is situated in the distant sky.

Oduduwa=  Y(oruba projenitor)  Odu+ da( create) + uwa (northern dialect for Iwa : conscientiousness and moral probity see Barry Halen and Olubi Sodipo on the high premium the Yoruba place on moral probity) The name indicates Ifa created the Yoruba progenitor with sterling leadership qualities that gave rise to the establishment of an enduring civilisation. Progenitor plenipotentiary

Uwarefa  mefa(Iwarefa) = Six dignitaries  or council associated with Oduduwa's rule and a blueprind of the Yoruba monarchical federation  The Ara Oke (particularly Ekiti) pronounces the initial 'i' in a word as'u' e.g. 'usu'  (isu) yam, 'uyin' (iyin) praise as in Uyin Ekiti  (Iyin Ekiti)

Orunmela (Oyo: Orunmela)= Orun+ mo( knows)+ Ela.

This etymology is the clearest indication of the Ara Oke origins of Ifa.  Ela is the actual name of the Jfa deity while the associated mound of worship is the symbolic name 'Esu ' in the same way the cross is associated with the worship of Christ whose actual given name is EmmanuEL ( he who was named in honor of God  EL of the Egyptian pantheon.)

Orunmela perhaps occupied a similar position to Peter among Christ's disciples.

Thus Orunmela i northern Yoruba pronounciation) ndicates the Ifa priesthood leader who has the closest association with Ifa deity  (Ela) and instrumental to its rituals and the most knowledgeable of its workings in part because he oversaw its creation and the interpretation of the deity's will.  Thus O'runmela baba Ifa.'

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Date: 05/10/2019 15:54 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Sv: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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​Thank you OOA. Before the British intrusion into Nigeria, a river was named *ÓDÒ OYA* in honour of the wife of SÀNGÓ by the Yoruba people. The white man came and renamed it River Niger. Nigerian intellectuals will rather retain the foreign name instead of reverting to any of the indigenous name given to the river before the white man came to name it River Niger. It baffles me that the Portuguese intruders renamed ILÈ-ÌBÌNÚ to Benin around 1450 AD, during the reign of EWUARE the Great 
​and Nigerians accept it while despising the original name of the people, OGODOMIIGODO which they think is a fiction.
S. Kadiri
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 5, 2019, 5:52:43 PM10/5/19
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Uyilawa.

If you call me Kadiri's cheerleader, I am happy to be so called because I'm in good company with a host of Yoruba on the forum. Please tell me the meaning if your name.  It sounds patently Ekiti- Yoruba in origin.  Can Obasanjo deny his eastern origin simply because he was brought up in Yoruba culture.  I do not know where all this Yoruba hate and theory of ethnic supremacy is coming from.  You are either who you are or you are

What you called fiction by Kadiri is in the history syllabus thought in all Yoruba high schools and ALL Yoruba scholars above the age of 40 in this forum can confirm this.  The 'oue' you refer to was caused by typigraphical error because I was typing on the tiny keyboard of a phone rather than a tablet.  The oue stands for "our'

If you note the dialect pattern of Yoruba North east you will agree that initial u' for nouns starting with 'i' is very common.  This may be due to linguistic ferment (as linguists can confirm) in the area as you will note the contiguity of Ekiti region (spanning about 50 cities, towns and villages) and Akoko area to Edo and Delta area for millenia.  

I can confirm that the Ekiti call Benin Ubini just like you.  This may be a transition from an initial Ubinu which would be the Ekiti equivalent of Oyo's Ibinui. (I am actually from the last main Yoruba (Ekiti outpost on the way to Asaba the first major Edo township on that route so I know precisely what I am saying.

From my township till Asaba the language of the Yoruba settlements become progressively unintelligibke to the Oyo country in the West until you get to Akoko where the language is hardly intelligible to the Oyo Yoruba in the West. Yet as I once said on this forum  they will never deny their Yoruba nature as you do here

You have actually indirectly confirmed Kadiri's story and not denied it. I am sure if you took a DNA test it will show half Yoruba and half Edo as there would have been massive inter marriages between the Yoruba Edo royal family and the commonalty.

Can you please furnish the journal of archeology for your denial story?

If you compare Uyilawa and Agbetuyi you will see the common Ekiti morphological root my dear brother. (Ask my brother Kperogi who was busy attacking the Yoruba till the ancestral link between his people and the Yoruba were shown to him.)

Esu has been described as the author of the Primal Cogito.  The deity that is affirmed in the very act of denial.  You cannot deny your Yoruba ancestory  because the Yoruba blood has to keep you alive to be able to voice a denial in which case the denial is null.  You have confirmed the nature of Esu.

OAA.



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
-------- Original message --------
From: Uyilawa Usuanlele <big...@hotmail.com>
Date: 05/10/2019 18:57 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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Salimonu Kadiri,
                          

                              Congratulations for bringing to our knowledge your field of expertise, “TRUE HISTORY” (whatever that means). What you have written and continue to write is nothing but ethnic supremacy driven fiction as I will show below:

                              If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us where “ ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the grandson of ODÙDÚWÀ, and invaded the IGODOMIIGODO territory and subjugated the people.” and your source.

If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us you should have told us

how an Oranmiyan who couldn’t move beyond the precinct the Benin Chiefs gave him how much more rule  “changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBINU.”

                      If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have been able to tell us  how the so-called Yoruba name ILE -IBINU resembles or correlates to the Portuguese name BENIN, what happened to the  “U” unless you want to tell us that the Portuguese cannot pronounce the letter “U” or they substitute the letter “U” with the letter “I”.  (For the benefit of those with open minds about the history of Benin and its name, one of the indigenous names of Benin was UBINI and that is also what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call Benin and they told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc) that has since been spelt as BENIN).

                             If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have known by now that the fiction “Every dead Benin King from 1240 AD up to the 36th King, EWÉKÁ II, who died in 1933, had their head severed and burried in Ile Ife.” was discredited by archaeological excavations in 1977 and there were no skulls found and the materials found at the site predate 1200 the supposed year of Oranmiyan’s arrival in Benin.

                            I would have continued with my silent treatment of your ethnic supremacist writings, but since your cheerleader Olayinka A. Agbetuyi has chosen to amplify and parrot your fiction to “oue international readeeship” (whatever that means), I decided to respond to show that you are peddling fiction and not history and your readers are better off reading Amos Tutuola for their entertainment rather than your “TRUE HISTORY.”

Silence again.  

Uyilawa

 

 

 

   

 

Sent: Friday, October 4, 2019 5:01 PM
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Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 

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Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 6, 2019, 12:33:10 PM10/6/19
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​ABOHIAN, Uyilawa Usuanlele!!
​It was smart of you to infer from what i wrote about ÒRÀNMÍYÀN as ethnic supremacist writing. Clever people will regard your inference as, what the latin people call, ignoratio elenchi. I have never proclaimed the superiority of any ethnic group in Nigeria against others. One of the grounds for wrongly labelling me 'an ethnic supremacy fiction writer' according to you is, "If you are not an ethnic supremacy writer, you should have told us how an Oranmiyan who couldn't move beyond the precinct Benin Chiefs gave him how much more rule changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBÌNU." By your own statement, you admitted even though subconsciously that a Yoruba man called ÒRÀNMIYÀN and who happened to be the grand son of ODUDUWA was at IGODOMIIGODO later known as Benin. The onus is now on you to tell us what was the mission of ÒRÀNMIYÀN in IGODOMIIGODO and why was he provided with a precinct? There were not Benin Chiefs when ÒRÀNMIYÀN arrived at IGODOMIIGODO but an OGISO who he, ÒRÀNMIYÀN, conveniently shoved aside. 

​Having insinuated in your response that an ÒRÀNMIYÀN was given a precinct by imaginary Benin Chiefs, it must be logical to assume that he was also provided with a wife with whom he fathered EWÉKÁ who ascended the throne of ILÈ-ÌBÌNÚ in 1200 AD. My dear Uyilawa, let us agree that IGODOMIIGODO, OGISO, ÒRÀNMIYÀN, EWÉKÁ and ILÈ-ÌBÌNÚ are not fictitious names if judged on your  core submission that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was confined to a precinct.

​You informed readers that, "... one of the indigenous names of  Benin was UBINI and that was what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call Benin and they (the Itsekiri) told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc, that has since been spelt as BENIN." Itsekiri people claim that they are Yoruba descendants and that is why their monarch, OLÚ of Warri, is always present at any meeting of all Yoruba monarchs. Itsekiri language and naming patterns are so closely related that the slight differences can only be noticed in writing but not in pronunciations eg Omatshola (Itsekiri) and Omoshola (Yoruba). Thus, UBINI in Itsekiri language means anger as IBINU in Yoruba. If the Itsekiri's told the Portuguese explorers that the name of the town was UBINI but was stage-wise corrupted to BININ, BENY, BENI and lastly to BENIN, what did the people in the area call their language and where they live?

​With regards to the heads of dead Benin Kings that were severed and buried at Ife, you claimed that the assertion was discredited by archaeological excavations in 1977 and there were no skulls found and the materials found at the site predate 1200, the supposed year of Oranmiyan's arrival in Benin. I am not aware that the authorities in Ile Ife ever permitted the desecration of Royal graves in Ife, in 1977, and for the purpose of finding evidence that heads of Benin monarchs from 1240 AD to 1933 were severed and buried in Ile Ife. The archaeological diggings that were done in 1977 was never at the grave yard of the monarchs or ordinary citizens of Ife. If anyone, including Uyilawa, is in need of evidence to prove that the heads of dead Benin Kings between 1240 AD and 1933 were not severed and buried in Ife, the most sensible thing to do is to ask for the opening of the graves of Benin Kings of the periods in question so as to verify if their skulls remain in the grave with bones from other parts of their bodies.
S. Kadiri
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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 6, 2019, 2:30:29 PM10/6/19
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No one would grant such requests.  Yoruba practice ancestral veneration and worship and would certainly not permit the desecration of royal sites simply to satisfy western curiosity.  Yoruba are not Egyptians!

If anyone wanted to see the site of past Bening Kings they should ask the Benin people to provide the burial places in Benin for the stated period and excavate to show the King's remains.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Date: 06/10/2019 17:35 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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​ABOHIAN, Uyilawa Usuanlele!!
​It was smart of you to infer from what i wrote about ÒRÀNMÍYÀN as ethnic supremacist writing. Clever people will regard your inference as, what the latin people call, ignoratio elenchi. I have never proclaimed the superiority of any ethnic group in Nigeria against others. One of the grounds for wrongly labelling me 'an ethnic supremacy fiction writer' according to you is, "If you are not an ethnic supremacy writer, you should have told us how an Oranmiyan who couldn't move beyond the precinct Benin Chiefs gave him how much more rule changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBÌNU." By your own statement, you admitted even though subconsciously that a Yoruba man called ÒRÀNMIYÀN and who happened to be the grand son of ODUDUWA was at IGODOMIIGODO later known as Benin. The onus is now on you to tell us what was the mission of ÒRÀNMIYÀN in IGODOMIIGODO and why was he provided with a precinct? There were not Benin Chiefs when ÒRÀNMIYÀN arrived at IGODOMIIGODO but an OGISO who he, ÒRÀNMIYÀN, conveniently shoved aside. 
​Having insinuated in your response that an ÒRÀNMIYÀN was given a precinct by imaginary Benin Chiefs, it must be logical to assume that he was also provided with a wife with whom he fathered EWÉKÁ who ascended the throne of ILÈ-ÌBÌNÚ in 1200 AD. My dear Uyilawa, let us agree that IGODOMIIGODO, OGISO, ÒRÀNMIYÀN, EWÉKÁ and ILÈ-ÌBÌNÚ are not fictitious names if judged on your  core submission that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was confined to a precinct.

​You informed readers that, "... one of the indigenous names of  Benin was UBINI and that was what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call Benin and they (the Itsekiri) told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc, that has since been spelt as BENIN." Itsekiri people claim that they are Yoruba descendants and that is why their monarch, OLÚ of Warri, is always present at any meeting of all Yoruba monarchs. Itsekiri language and naming patterns are so closely related that the slight differences can only be noticed in writing but not in pronunciations eg Omatshola (Itsekiri) and Omoshola (Yoruba). Thus, UBINI in Itsekiri language means anger as IBINU in Yoruba. If the Itsekiri's told the Portuguese explorers that the name of the town was UBINI but was stage-wise corrupted to BININ, BENY, BENI and lastly to BENIN, what did the people in the area call their language and where they live?

​With regards to the heads of dead Benin Kings that were severed and buried at Ife, you claimed that the assertion was discredited by archaeological excavations in 1977 and there were no skulls found and the materials found at the site predate 1200, the supposed year of Oranmiyan's arrival in Benin. I am not aware that the authorities in Ile Ife ever permitted the desecration of Royal graves in Ife, in 1977, and for the purpose of finding evidence that heads of Benin monarchs from 1240 AD to 1933 were severed and buried in Ile Ife. The archaeological diggings that were done in 1977 was never at the grave yard of the monarchs or ordinary citizens of Ife. If anyone, including Uyilawa, is in need of evidence to prove that the heads of dead Benin Kings between 1240 AD and 1933 were not severed and buried in Ife, the most sensible thing to do is to ask for the opening of the graves of Benin Kings of the periods in question so as to verify if their skulls remain in the grave with bones from other parts of their bodies.
S. Kadiri
Skickat: den 5 oktober 2019 18:44
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Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 7, 2019, 12:12:38 PM10/7/19
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​If anyone wanted to see the site of past Benin Kings, they should ask the Benin people to provide the burial places in Benin for the stated period and excavate to show the King's remains - Olayinka Agbetuyi.

​That was exactly my point of argument against Uyilawa Usuanlele when he falsely attributed the sole purpose of archaeological diggings in Ile Ife, in 1977, to search for the heads of Benin Kings buried there between 1240 and 1933. For what we know, ÒRUN OBA ÀDO, where the heads of dead Benin Kings for the period in question were buried in Ile Ife are still intact and has never at anytime been excavated. If any Benin person, who for the sake of ethnic pride, disbelieves the burial of heads of Benin Kings in Ife, the most appropriate thing for the person to do is to request for the opening of the graves of Benin Kings in Benin from 1240 to 1933 to demonstrate that the graves contain skulls of the late Kings.

​My interest in history as a hobby, and in particular, of Nigeria is to find out what connects us together as a people and not what separates us. Uyilawa Usuanlele, described Itsekiri as neighbours who minted UBINI to the Portuguese explorers that was eventually spelt BENIN. However, Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike told us in his 1956 book : TRADE&POLITICS IN THE NIGER DELTA 1830-1885, that the first King (Oba) of Warri was the son of King (Oba) Olua of Benin. Professor Dike informed readers that Prince Ginuwa, son of Oba Olua and heir to the throne of Benin, was popularly believed to be the power behind the Oba and instigator of many acts of cruelty visited by his father on the people. So the people of Benin resolved to barr the wicked Prince from succession to the throne. Consequently, Oba Olua advised his son to flee Benin Followed by his admirers, mainly young hot-heads, and powerfully aided by his father with arms and men, Prince Ginua secretly left Benin by night and taking the direction of the sea, settled at Warri and founded Itshekiri Kingdom. That was how Prince Ginuwa, the son of King Olua of Benin became the King of Warri known till this day as OLÚ of WARRI. Just as Prince Ginuwa founded Itshekiri Kingdom as narrated by Professor Dike, we are told as late as 2009 that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was the founder of dynasties in Benin and Oyo (p.81, Dynasty and Divinity - Ife Art in Ancient Nigeria, edited by Henry John Drewal and Enid Schildkrout).
We must read history as it is and not how we want it to be.
S. Kadiri

 


Skickat: den 6 oktober 2019 20:13
Till: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Ämne: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 7, 2019, 1:04:28 PM10/7/19
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My interest once again is in the etymology of the names.

They betray centuries of migrations from the contiguous Ekiti province eastwards as Uyilawa' s name does (Uyilawa is another variant of Agbetuyi meaning 'we are ennobled, where Agbetuyi Agbe-to-uyi means the one that is ennobled' uyi or iyi in Oyo, meaning nobility.)

If we take Olua not to mean lord as commonly interpreted the links to Oduduwa is at once obvious. Uwa the Ekiti dialect variation of Iwa

What the Oyo pronounce as oniwa ( possessor of character trait)  is pronounced as oluwa and shortened as Olua/,Olu as in Olu of Warri. Uwa the Ekiti dialect variation for Iwa  in Oduduwa shows the same lingo- genealogical consistency with Olu- uwa (olua).

Uyilawa Usuanlele

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Oct 8, 2019, 5:34:10 AM10/8/19
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Salimonu Kadiri,

                           I would have continued giving you the silent treatment and allow you to carry on with your fiction writing and ignorance of what archaeologists have been doing in Ile-Ife, but for your resort to the deliberate falsehood that “ UBINI in Itsekiri language means anger as IBINU in Yoruba.” (your emphasis) I will not allow you to get away with such deliberate falsehood to bamboozle your readers. There are Itsekiri speakers on this listserve who can testify that UBINI in Itsekiri language refers to BENIN or EDO LAND and not ANGER as you falsely claim. ANGER in Itsekiri language is BINỌ (pronounced BINOR) and does not have the same spelling and pronunciation as Yoruba IBINU. 

                    I leave you to your fictional “True History” which your cheerleader Olayinka Agbetuyi was kind enough to admit was ethnic-supremacist history that was taught to Yoruba children (who are not above forty years of age) in the old Western Region. If history is your hobby, you better try to catch up on the latest findings instead of hanging on to the fiction of the 1950s and 60s peppered with your lies. 

Silence.

Uyilawa


Sent: Sunday, October 6, 2019 9:49 AM

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 8, 2019, 9:07:54 AM10/8/19
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We cannot maintain the thesis of 'ethnic suoremacist' if people come and go in migrations to Benin for the past millennium and if the Itsekiri have not denied their links to Yoruba.

Can an Itskekiri indigene come in here please?

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Uyilawa Usuanlele <big...@hotmail.com>
Date: 08/10/2019 10:39 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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Salimonu Kadiri,

                           I would have continued giving you the silent treatment and allow you to carry on with your fiction writing and ignorance of what archaeologists have been doing in Ile-Ife, but for your resort to the deliberate falsehood that “ UBINI in Itsekiri language means anger as IBINU in Yoruba.” (your emphasis) I will not allow you to get away with such deliberate falsehood to bamboozle your readers. There are Itsekiri speakers on this listserve who can testify that UBINI in Itsekiri language refers to BENIN or EDO LAND and not ANGER as you falsely claim. ANGER in Itsekiri language is BINỌ (pronounced BINOR) and does not have the same spelling and pronunciation as Yoruba IBINU. 

                    I leave you to your fictional “True History” which your cheerleader Olayinka Agbetuyi was kind enough to admit was ethnic-supremacist history that was taught to Yoruba children (who are not above forty years of age) in the old Western Region. If history is your hobby, you better try to catch up on the latest findings instead of hanging on to the fiction of the 1950s and 60s peppered with your lies. 

Silence.

Uyilawa


Sent: Sunday, October 6, 2019 9:49 AM

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Gloria Emeagwali

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Oct 8, 2019, 11:34:31 AM10/8/19
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My question is about the original name for the Niger River. What was it called?  I am working on a project that involves the documentation of indigenous names across Africa where feasible. For example, in terms of Ancient Egypt, what the Greek colonizers called Memphis, Thebes, Hierakanpolis,Abydos and Heliopolis were originally named by Indigenous Egyptians as Men-Nefer, Wast, Nekhen,Abdju and On,  respectively.

So what was River Niger called , in your view?Has anyone worked on compilations of Indigenous names, for the records, at least.

GE
africahistory.net

Harrow, Kenneth

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Oct 8, 2019, 3:58:38 PM10/8/19
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this is an interesting question. wouldn't different people have called it something different, until large enough political entities, with a shared language, would have named it. and why would anyone name a river--if you go back far enough in history?
names can be bizarre. the portuguese came to cameroon -- for which they had no name at the time, and found a river we call the wouri (or ouari, if spelled in french), and found it teeming with shrimp. in portuguese the word for shrimp is cameroon, or something like that.

names are bizarre. instead of cameroon, it could be called, country of the noble people, and instead of one language, use two....   instead of calling it, upper reaches of the volta rivers.
or give it another river name: the Portuguese Zaire, itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, meaning "the river that swallows all rivers".
or congo, named for one people...
or afrika (afrique), for that matter.
ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2019 10:50 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 8, 2019, 3:58:52 PM10/8/19
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The Yoruba called it Odo Oya   (River Oya) to commemorate Queen Oya the wife of the legendary King Sango of Oyo empire during whose reign the Yoruba discovered the nature and use of electricity.  What did the Igbo and Hausa call it respectively?  I also do not know what the ethnicities of Delta  & Edo called it before the arrival of the Yoruba.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Date: 08/10/2019 16:43 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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My question is about the original name for the Niger River. What was it called?  I am working on a project that involves the documentation of indigenous names across Africa where feasible. For example, in terms of Ancient Egypt, what the Greek colonizers called Memphis, Thebes, Hierakanpolis,Abydos and Heliopolis were originally named by Indigenous Egyptians as Men-Nefer, Wast, Nekhen,Abdju and On,  respectively.

So what was River Niger called , in your view?Has anyone worked on compilations of Indigenous names, for the records, at least.

GE
africahistory.net





On Thu, Oct 3, 2019 at 6:22 PM Uyilawa Usuanlele <big...@hotmail.com> wrote:

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Uyilawa Usuanlele

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Oct 8, 2019, 4:11:51 PM10/8/19
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Dear Prof.,
                 Greetings. We had a discussion on the names of the Niger in another forum. Here is what i read : Madingo named the Niger- Joliba, Hausa call it Kwoora, Yoruba call it Oya, the Edo call it Ohinmwi, and the Igbo west of the Niger and some to the East call it Orimi. Some of the spellings might not be as the authors wrote it.
Regards.
Uyi
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2019 10:50 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 8, 2019, 4:11:52 PM10/8/19
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​Uyilawa Usuanlele,

​You seem to be a separatist who takes pleasure in inventing stories to erase the historical connections between the people of Igodomiigodo, later called Ile-Ibinu by ÒRÀNMIYÀN in order to promote your ethnic pride. In one of your previous responses, you wrote, "If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us how an Oranmiyan who couldn't move beyond the precinct the Benin Chiefs gave him how much more ruled, changed the name Igodomiigodo to ILE-IBINU." By your rhetoric, you admitted that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was at a place known nowadays as Benin and that Benin Chiefs of that time gave him a precinct beyond which he could not move. Why was ÒRÀNMIYÀN in Benin? Why did Benin Chiefs(?) give him a precinct to which he was confined? Was he their prisoner? If the people later known as Benin were formerly known as IGODOMIIGODO, when and who changed the name to Benin and why? If you deny that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was the father of EWÉKÁ, the King of Benin from 1200 to 1240 AD, please tell your readers who was the father of EWÉKÁ? Tell us​ if IGODOMIIGODO is a fictitious name that had never existed, as well as OGISO. Were ÒRÀNMIYÀN and EWÉKÁ imaginary names? Please tell us their history as you know it.

Now you are trying to dance around the meaning of the Itsekiri word, UBINI. Let me recall your earlier reference to the origin of the word. You stated, ".... one of the indigenous names of Benin was UBINI and that was what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call BENIN and they (Itsekiri) told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc that has since been spelt as BENIN." An indisputable understanding of what you wrote is that the Itsekiri invented the name UBINI to describe the town to the Portuguese who misunderstood it to BININ, BENY, BENI which finally stood as BENIN. What did the Benin people call their town and their ethnic group before the Itsekiri named them UBINI to the Portuguese which corrupted it lastly to Benin? Simplified, what did Benin people call themselves and their town before the Portuguese met the Itsekiri? I am not an Itsekiri and I can only rely on those who speak and understand the language for translation. According to Professor Dike in TRADE & POLITICS IN THE NIGER DELTA - 1830-1885, Prince Ginuwa, the son of Oba of Benin, King Olua and heir to the throne, flee Benin from hostile Benin subjects. Prince Ginuwa secretly left Benin by night and taking the direction of the sea, finally settled at Warri and FOUNDED THE ITSHEKIRI KINGDOM. Viewed from the circumstance under which Prince Ginuwa left ILÈ-ÌBÍNU, to settle in WARRI and found ITSHEKIRI KINGDOM where he installed himself as OLU of WARRI, the name UBINI must be related to IBINU. Whatever the Itshekiri might have told the Portuguese, the name the people of ILE-ÌBÍNU call their town and ethnic group at the point of contact is what matters.

Finally, let me share with you this information from A Short History of Africa authored by Professors Roland Oliver and John D. Fage. They asserted, "The coherently preserved traditions of BENIN INDICATE THAT ITS DYNASTY WAS FOUNDED BY IMMIGRANTS FROM IFE SOME THREE CENTURIES BEFORE THE COMING OF THE PORTUGUESE, PERHAPS THEREFORE TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. THE SETTLEMENT OF IFE WAS CERTAINLY OLDER (P. 106)."
S. Kadiri


Skickat: den 8 oktober 2019 06:57

Uyilawa Usuanlele

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Oct 8, 2019, 4:43:49 PM10/8/19
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Salimonu Kadiri,
                          What i expected from you if you have any sense of decency is to defend your assertion that that “ UBINI in Itsekiri language means anger as IBINU in Yoruba.” (your emphasis) which i questioned and countered with Itsekiri word for anger and the pronunciation which is different from the Yoruba Ibinu. But since you know that you lied and cannot defend your lie you resorted to obfuscating your fiction and lies which you call "True history". Quoting Dike, Fage, Oliver and so on does not and will not obliterate your lies. Silence again and good day.
Uyi

Sent: Tuesday, October 8, 2019 4:00 PM

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 8, 2019, 5:30:27 PM10/8/19
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Alagba during my younger years I have always interpreted Ile - Ibinu to mean a land that caused Oranmiyan anger .  

From the context of Dike you cited on Ginuwa and from Uyilawa's comportment on this issueI now get the real meaning which is a land difficult to govern because THE PEOPLE are easily provoked to anger and disagreement.

OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Date: 08/10/2019 21:17 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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​Uyilawa Usuanlele,

​You seem to be a separatist who takes pleasure in inventing stories to erase the historical connections between the people of Igodomiigodo, later called Ile-Ibinu by ÒRÀNMIYÀN in order to promote your ethnic pride. In one of your previous responses, you wrote, "If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us how an Oranmiyan who couldn't move beyond the precinct the Benin Chiefs gave him how much more ruled, changed the name Igodomiigodo to ILE-IBINU." By your rhetoric, you admitted that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was at a place known nowadays as Benin and that Benin Chiefs of that time gave him a precinct beyond which he could not move. Why was ÒRÀNMIYÀN in Benin? Why did Benin Chiefs(?) give him a precinct to which he was confined? Was he their prisoner? If the people later known as Benin were formerly known as IGODOMIIGODO, when and who changed the name to Benin and why? If you deny that ÒRÀNMIYÀN was the father of EWÉKÁ, the King of Benin from 1200 to 1240 AD, please tell your readers who was the father of EWÉKÁ? Tell us​ if IGODOMIIGODO is a fictitious name that had never existed, as well as OGISO. Were ÒRÀNMIYÀN and EWÉKÁ imaginary names? Please tell us their history as you know it.

Now you are trying to dance around the meaning of the Itsekiri word, UBINI. Let me recall your earlier reference to the origin of the word. You stated, ".... one of the indigenous names of Benin was UBINI and that was what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call BENIN and they (Itsekiri) told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc that has since been spelt as BENIN." An indisputable understanding of what you wrote is that the Itsekiri invented the name UBINI to describe the town to the Portuguese who misunderstood it to BININ, BENY, BENI which finally stood as BENIN. What did the Benin people call their town and their ethnic group before the Itsekiri named them UBINI to the Portuguese which corrupted it lastly to Benin? Simplified, what did Benin people call themselves and their town before the Portuguese met the Itsekiri? I am not an Itsekiri and I can only rely on those who speak and understand the language for translation. According to Professor Dike in TRADE & POLITICS IN THE NIGER DELTA - 1830-1885, Prince Ginuwa, the son of Oba of Benin, King Olua and heir to the throne, flee Benin from hostile Benin subjects. Prince Ginuwa secretly left Benin by night and taking the direction of the sea, finally settled at Warri and FOUNDED THE ITSHEKIRI KINGDOM. Viewed from the circumstance under which Prince Ginuwa left ILÈ-ÌBÍNU, to settle in WARRI and found ITSHEKIRI KINGDOM where he installed himself as OLU of WARRI, the name UBINI must be related to IBINU. Whatever the Itshekiri might have told the Portuguese, the name the people of ILE-ÌBÍNU call their town and ethnic group at the point of contact is what matters.

Finally, let me share with you this information from A Short History of Africa authored by Professors Roland Oliver and John D. Fage. They asserted, "The coherently preserved traditions of BENIN INDICATE THAT ITS DYNASTY WAS FOUNDED BY IMMIGRANTS FROM IFE SOME THREE CENTURIES BEFORE THE COMING OF THE PORTUGUESE, PERHAPS THEREFORE TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. THE SETTLEMENT OF IFE WAS CERTAINLY OLDER (P. 106)."
S. Kadiri


Skickat: den 8 oktober 2019 06:57

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Olamide Adesina

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Oct 9, 2019, 12:51:44 AM10/9/19
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This forum is degenerating or has   degenerated. I thought it was an  academic forum. Anyone with a scholarly mind would enjoy the articles. I often do. But this one between Uyilawa and Salimonu  offends the ear. Are there guidelines on the tone/ language of discourses, like a Code of Good Conduct? It should help. Thank you.
Olamide Adesina
From: Uyilawa Usuanlele
Sent: ‎08/‎10/‎2019 21:43
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

[The entire original message is not included.]

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 9, 2019, 8:00:54 AM10/9/19
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I was about to say myself that Uyi went too far with this insulting reply which has not in any way been warranted by what his interlocutor wrote.

You either agree or disagree with what a contributor said and ask for more evidence if you are not clear.  But it is unacceptable to use the cover of insult to shut down the debate because you disagree.

The root of the word Uyi is suggesting still bears semblance to Yoruba semantics so it does nothing to Kadiri's position.

When all is said and done we are still brothers and sisters in the larger tapestry called Nigeria even if not in the narrow sense of neighbourly contiguity.  I strongly urge Alagba Kadiri to continue to maintain restraint in this particular matter.


OAA



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.


-------- Original message --------
From: 'Olamide Adesina' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Date: 09/10/2019 05:54 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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This forum is degenerating or has   degenerated. I thought it was an  academic forum. Anyone with a scholarly mind would enjoy the articles. I often do. But this one between Uyilawa and Salimonu  offends the ear. Are there guidelines on the tone/ language of discourses, like a Code of Good Conduct? It should help. Thank you.
Olamide Adesina
From: Uyilawa Usuanlele
Sent: ‎08/‎10/‎2019 21:43
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

[The entire original message is not included.]

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 9, 2019, 8:08:50 AM10/9/19
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The other point in relation to Oba Olua of Warri is the naming of River Oluwa in Okitipupa where my father had one of his law offices.  He used to take us there during our elementary school holidays to relieve my mother of our wayward -ness ( 4 troublesome boys!)

So on reaching the river bank I often wondered perhaps Jesus came there too!  

In retrospect it now becomes clear why the original pronunciation with a falling accent (as in Oduduwa or Omoluwabi) was cleverly replaced with the accent of Oluwa (owner/lord) by early Missionaries
to suggest Christian worship there since antiquity.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: OLAYINKA AGBETUYI <yagb...@hotmail.com>
Date: 08/10/2019 22:34 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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Alagba during my younger years I have always interpreted Ile - Ibinu to mean a land that caused Oranmiyan anger .  

From the context of Dike you cited on Ginuwa and from Uyilawa's comportment on this issueI now get the real meaning which is a land difficult to govern because THE PEOPLE are easily provoked to anger and disagreement.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: Salimonu Kadiri <ogunl...@hotmail.com>
Date: 08/10/2019 21:17 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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Skickat: den 5 oktober 2019 18:44
Till: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 
Salimonu Kadiri,
                          

                              Congratulations for bringing to our knowledge your field of expertise, “TRUE HISTORY” (whatever that means). What you have written and continue to write is nothing but ethnic supremacy driven fiction as I will show below:

                              If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us where “ ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the grandson of ODÙDÚWÀ, and invaded the IGODOMIIGODO territory and subjugated the people.” and your source.

If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have told us you should have told us

how an Oranmiyan who couldn’t move beyond the precinct the Benin Chiefs gave him how much more rule  “changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBINU.”

                      If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have been able to tell us  how the so-called Yoruba name ILE -IBINU resembles or correlates to the Portuguese name BENIN, what happened to the  “U” unless you want to tell us that the Portuguese cannot pronounce the letter “U” or they substitute the letter “U” with the letter “I”.  (For the benefit of those with open minds about the history of Benin and its name, one of the indigenous names of Benin was UBINI and that is also what their neighbouring Itsekiri cousins call Benin and they told the first Portuguese explorers who called the town BININ, BENY, BENI etc) that has since been spelt as BENIN).

                             If you are not an ethnic supremacy fiction writer, you should have known by now that the fiction “Every dead Benin King from 1240 AD up to the 36th King, EWÉKÁ II, who died in 1933, had their head severed and burried in Ile Ife.” was discredited by archaeological excavations in 1977 and there were no skulls found and the materials found at the site predate 1200 the supposed year of Oranmiyan’s arrival in Benin.

                            I would have continued with my silent treatment of your ethnic supremacist writings, but since your cheerleader Olayinka A. Agbetuyi has chosen to amplify and parrot your fiction to “oue international readeeship” (whatever that means), I decided to respond to show that you are peddling fiction and not history and your readers are better off reading Amos Tutuola for their entertainment rather than your “TRUE HISTORY.”

Silence again.  

Uyilawa

 

 

 

   

 

Sent: Friday, October 4, 2019 5:01 PM

To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Sv: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
​Uyilawa Usuanlele!

​It is a true history that ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the son of ÀKÀNBÍ, was the grandson of ODUDUWA. It is a true history too that EWÉKÁ was the son of ÒRÀNMIYÀN who became the King (Oba) of IGODOMIIGODO PEOPLE in 1200 AD.
​It is real history that EWÉKÁ was on the throne for forty years before he died and his son UWAKHUAHEN succeeded him as a KING in 1240 AD. When EWÉKÁ died in 1240 AD, his head was severed and buried in IFE in keeping with the Yoruba adage that ORÍ ADÉ KII SÚNTA, meaning King's head shall never lay outside. Every dead Benin King from 1240 AD up to the 36th King, EWÉKÁ II, who died in 1933, had their head severed and burried in Ile Ife. Thereafter, that tradition stopped but the burrial site of the head of Benin Kings from 1240 AD up to 1933 are still well kept in Ile -Ife up till today. It is not a fiction that the people now known as Benin were before 1200 AD known as IGODOMIIGODO people and their leadership was known as OGISO and not OBA.

​Analogically, when we narrate how Nigerians came to be either Christians or Muslims from historical perspectives, it is not because we believe in the racial superiority of the Hebrews and Arabs over us. History in many cases is not pleasant to read but we cannot for that sake ignore it.
S. Kadiri
Ämne: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
 
Ethnic supremacy induced fiction writing. Silence.
Uyilawa
Sent: Thursday, October 3, 2019 6:42 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>; oluj...@hotmail.com <oluj...@hotmail.com>
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS
​I am fascinated by Patrick Obahiagbon's independence message to Nigerians not because of his bombastic English but because of the historical significance of his adopted name (alias) IGODOMIIGODO. Not many Nigerians are aware that before 1200 AD, the people that were thereafter referred to as Benin were known as IGODOMIIGODO people and their local leader was titled OGISO. Then came ÒRÀNMIYÀN, the grandson of ODÙDÚWÀ, and invaded the IGODOMIIGODO territory and subjugated the people. When ÒRÀNMIYÀN subsequently left IGODOMIIGODO in anger, he installed his son, EWÉKÁ as the King and changed the name IGODOMIIGODO to ILÈ-ÌBINU. Thenceforth, the King was referred to as OMO N'OBA N'EDO which in Yoruba means Omo Oba Ni Edo, practically implying the son of King ÒRÀMIYÀN IN EDO. The word 'EDO' in Yoruba means a base or a settlement. A new town settlement in Yoruba land is called, TE-ÌLU-DÓ eg. ÈPETÈDÓ.

​When the Portuguese came in the second half of the fifteenth century, they corrupted ILÈ-ÌBÍNU to BENIN which the British colonialist continued to recognize as the true name of the city. Benin people say the word Oba means to shine but in Yoruba, Oba means ascending (landing) on the throne. Follow this link to read Patrick Obahiagbon's fantastic independence message to Nigerians:- ​https://www.tori.ng/news/131484/read-patrick-obahiagbons-independence-message-to-nigerians.html 
Patrick Obahiagbon, a former Nigerian lawmaker has wished Nigerians a happy birthday on the country's 59th independence.
​S. Kadiri

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Gloria Emeagwali

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Oct 9, 2019, 9:03:18 AM10/9/19
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Ken,
Naming rivers was not that rare.  Indigenous Africans named their environment  - plants,animals and topography.

Ethiopians called the Nile,  Abbay - apparently conceptualized as male.For the Egyptians it was Hapi. 

Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, from which about 15 percent of Nile waters originate, must have given it a name also.The naming  and renaming initiative that activists like Sankara initiated is part of the decolonization process.

I was not aware of the Portuguese shrimp factor in Cameroon.Thanks for that info.

Prof. Falola,  you should have a conference on Indigenous naming.


africahistory. net
Vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali


Harrow, Kenneth

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Oct 9, 2019, 2:32:01 PM10/9/19
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gloria, why do you suppose they named these rivers, like the nile? i understand a people calling a river, "the river," in their languages; and perhaps it had to do with needing to distinguish them?
ken

kenneth harrow

professor emeritus

dept of english

michigan state university

517 803-8839

har...@msu.edu

Sent: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 8:46 AM

OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Oct 9, 2019, 2:32:19 PM10/9/19
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GE.

You have an interesting and exciting project here.

You have my unalloyed support all the way.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: Gloria Emeagwali <gloria.e...@gmail.com>
Date: 09/10/2019 14:15 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: INDEPENDENCE MESSAGE TO NIGERIANS

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Ken,
Naming rivers was not that rare.  Indigenous Africans named their environment  - plants,animals and topography.

Ethiopians called the Nile,  Abbay - apparently conceptualized as male.For the Egyptians it was Hapi. 

Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda, from which about 15 percent of Nile waters originate, must have given it a name also.The naming  and renaming initiative that activists like Sankara initiated is part of the decolonization process.

I was not aware of the Portuguese shrimp factor in Cameroon.Thanks for that info.

Prof. Falola,  you should have a conference on Indigenous naming.


africahistory. net
Vimeo.com/gloriaemeagwali

On Tue, Oct 8, 2019 at 3:58 PM Harrow, Kenneth <har...@msu.edu> wrote:

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Ezekoye, Ofodike A

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Oct 9, 2019, 2:58:56 PM10/9/19
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What if there were more than one river? For mountains, Denali supposedly means the tall or great one. Why wouldn’t each river have a name?  Each of my children has a name, while I could have called them boy 1, boy 2 etc.

 

DK Ezekoye

 

O.A. (‘DK’)  Ezekoye, Ph.D., P.E. 

W.R. Woolrich Professor

Walker Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

ETC 7.130 MS C2200

The University of Texas at Austin

Austin, TX  78712-1591

512-471-3085

 

www.utfireresearch.com

Follow @UTFireResearch

Follow @Ezekoye

 

Ayotunde Bewaji

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Oct 9, 2019, 5:21:36 PM10/9/19
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Just out of curiosity, may I ask Professor Uyilawa Usuanlele to tell us the meaning of "Uyilawa Usuanlele"? Ire o. Tunde.

Dr. John Ayotunde (Tunde) Isola BEWAJI, FJIM, MNAL
Professor of Philosophy
BA, MA, PhD Philosophy, PGDE, MA Distance Education
Postgraduate Certificate in Philosophy for Children
Department of Language, Linguistics and Philosophy
Faculty of Humanities and Education
University of the West Indies
Mona Campus Kingston 7 Jamaica
Tel:       1-876-927-1661-9 Ext: 3993
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             tunde....@gmail.com (alternate)

http://www.cap-press.com/books/isbn/9781611630879/Narratives-of-Struggle (2012)
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Aesthetics (2012)

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780739185032/Ontologized-Ethics (2013)

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498518383/The-Rule-of-Law-and-Governance-in-Indigenous-Yoruba-Society-A-Study-in-African-Philosophy-of-Law (2016)

http://www.cambridgescholars.com/the-humanities-and-the-dynamics-of-african-culture-in-the-21st-century (2017)


Gloria Emeagwali

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Oct 9, 2019, 5:21:55 PM10/9/19
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Remember the spiritual/ religious 
factor. Spiritual entities presided over 
these waterways, in the view of 
the various cultures,  and in some
 cases the waterways were named after
 them. That may the case of Ethiopia’s 
Abbay (Abay), Nigeria’s Osun River and also
ancient Egypt’s Hapi.

The Congo?

GE



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Salimonu Kadiri

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Oct 9, 2019, 5:21:56 PM10/9/19
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​Uyilawa Usuanlele,
​Drunk with ethnic pride and sailing on the high sea waves of history, you find yourself drowning in the ocean of historical facts. In desperation, you clutch your hands on a straw of the meaning of Ubini in Itsekiri language. Neither of us has Itsekiri as our mother tongue and the different meanings both of us have obtained from different quarters on the meaning of UBINI can both be wrong or one may be right. Viewed from that angle, your own meaning of the word  UBINI in Itsekiri language can equally be a lie or in a more appropriate word, wrong, as mine.

​Having said that, I must point out to you that the word *UBINI* is just a very tinny stem in the tree of history under discussion. The Portuguese met Benin people before meeting the Itsekiri and as such it was the Benin People who should have introduced the name of their language and town to the Portuguese and not the Itsekiri people presenting the Benin to the Portuguese explorers. If we leave *UBINI* aside, I can observe from your reaction that you prefer the Portuguese name of Benin for your ethnic group but object to ÒRÀMIYÀN's naming the same place ILÈ-ÌBÌNU. You are yet to dispute that people in nowadays Benin and their language before the beginning of 13th century called themselves IGODOMIIGODO with a leader known as OGISO. That ÒRÀNMIYÀN was in IGODOMIIGODO three centuries before the arrival of the Portuguese has not been denied by you even though you added that he was given a precinct beyond which he was not allowed to move by Benin Chiefs (?). You are yet to answer the important question of, why was ÒRÀNMIYÀN at IGODOMIIGODO and why was he, according to you, restricted to a precinct? Who was the father of EWÉKÁ and who installed him as the King of ÍLÈ-ÌBÍNU (now BENIN) in1200 AD? Asking and answering these questions do not portray the will to demonstrate ethnic supremacy as you, unfortunately, believe.

S. Kadiri 
Skickat: den 8 oktober 2019 22:24

Akin Ogundiran

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Oct 9, 2019, 10:08:57 PM10/9/19
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Uyilawa is a professional historian. He should have informed or updated Alagba Kadiri's retelling and interpretations of Benin-Yoruba history instead of calling him and those Yoruba people names. I won't call Baba Egharevba (blessed memory), a pioneer modern historian of Benin, an "ethnic-supremacist" for daring to write the history of Benin and the Yoruba based on the sources that were available to him in the 1950s. By the way, it is not possible to write Yoruba history without including Benin, and vice versa. 

 

Let's look at some facts:

1. The Itsekiri (phonetically, Ì-ṣẹ́-kì-rì) word for "angry" (BINỌ) is phonetically the same as the standard Yoruba word (BINU or BI-NUN). Please take note, I am not saying this is the etymological origins of BENIN. I want someone who has researched this to tell us the etymology of the name, different from what we already know in published sources.

 

2. The Itsekiri were living in the general region they now occupy by about 250 AD, based on linguistic evidence. They are a branch of the ancestral people that historical linguists and archaeologists call proto-Yoruboid. Their presence in that homeland has nothing to do with migration from Benin.

 

3. A dynasty that was affiliated with Ilé-Ifẹ̀ or within Ifẹ's political orbit (and by extension, Ọ̀wọ̀) certainly ruled Benin between the early thirteenth and the end of the fourteenth century.

 

4. Archaeological evidence demonstrates that the region from Ifẹ̀ to Benin (including the Ìjẹ̀ṣà and Ọ̀wọ̀, and likely some Èkìtì ) belong to the same ceramic tradition (style, form, decoration). There are other lines of evidence that archaeologists and art historians have discussed. 

 

 

For more references on Yoruba-Edo history:

J. U. Egharevba. 1968. A Short History of Benin. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.

Ade Obayemi, 1985. “The Yoruba and Edo-Speaking Peoples and Their Neighbours before 1600.” In History of West Africa, J. F. A. Ajayi and M. Crowther (eds.), pp. 255–322. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

A. Ogundiran, 2001. “Ceramic Spheres and Regional Networks in the Yoruba-Edo Region, Nigeria, 13th-19th Centuries A.C.” Journal of Field Archaeology, 28: 27–44.

A. Usman and T Falola 2019. The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present. Cambridge University Press.

P. Ben-Amos. 1999. Art, Innovation, and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Benin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Connah, Graham. 1975. The Archaeology of Benin: Excavations and Other Researches in and around Benin City, Nigeria. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

 

I am citing only some of the works that are based on original scholarly research in Edo or Yoruba region (or both).  Other historians can provide additional materials.


Thank you,

Akin Ogundiran

UNC Charlotte

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