from ONYE-IBO LAND to OYIBOLAND...
ONYE-IBO: the-Igbo-person was what they used to call us back in the days. Every person wanted to visit the largest market then in West Africa, located at Onitsha and also visit other towns like Enugu, Aba and Port-Harcourt all in ONY'IBO LAND: the-Igbo-person's land.
One of the first Nigerians to build houses with doors that could be locked in the North where from ONY'IBO LAND. They were every where, working with the railway cooperation, the civil service, the Military and Paramilitary, Construction Companies etc they also dominated the various markets.
The United Kingdom were the Colonial Masters but Ibos like they call them were the Colonial Teachers, teaching the skills of the white man to the North in particular. The skills of the Ibo stunned their colleagues and left them bewildered, a very competitive, hard working, bold and daring set of Blacks.
Even the white man couldn't help acknowledging the excessive potentials of the Ibo in a merit oriented society, but then envy and jealousy soon took over their host communities and as soon as the white man left, others started telling us that OYIBO is another name for White-Man, instead of ONYE-IBO and that OYIBOLAND means the WHITEMAN'S LAND instead of ONYE-IBO LAND.
For peace to reign and to cut arguments short, we not only agreed but we also adopted it the way they put it, so ONYE-IBO LAND now means OVERSEAS and ONYE-IBO became ONYE-MMIRI meaning the Water person or water-seller for short. This however was the way the Igbo used to call the northern water sellers when they see them pass because water then was scarce in the north. Today the name has been further transformed to Yamiri. Who cares? call Ibo's what you like and buy what you want at their price. The more you hate the more money they make. The more you ban the goods, the more their price increase, the more the risk, the more the gain, that is the definition of business.
One of the first Nigerians to build houses with doors that could be locked in the North where from ONY'IBO LAND. They were every where, working with the railway cooperation, the civil service, the Military and Paramilitary, Construction Companies etc they also dominated the various markets.
The United Kingdom were the Colonial Masters but Ibos like they call them were the Colonial Teachers, teaching the skills of the white man to the North in particular. The skills of the Ibo stunned their colleagues and left them bewildered, a very competitive, hard working, bold and daring set of Blacks.
Even the white man couldn't help acknowledging the excessive potentials of the Ibo in a merit oriented society, but then envy and jealousy soon took over their host communities and as soon as the white man left, others started telling us that OYIBO is another name for White-Man, instead of ONYE-IBO and that OYIBOLAND means the WHITEMAN'S LAND instead of ONYE-IBO LAND.
For peace to reign and to cut arguments short, we not only agreed but we also adopted it the way they put it, so ONYE-IBO LAND now means OVERSEAS and ONYE-IBO became ONYE-MMIRI meaning the Water person or water-seller for short. This however was the way the Igbo used to call the northern water sellers when they see them pass because water then was scarce in the north. Today the name has been further transformed to Yamiri. Who cares? call Ibo's what you like and buy what you want at their price. The more you hate the more money they make. The more you ban the goods, the more their price increase, the more the risk, the more the gain, that is the definition of business.
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