Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed the suggestion that the Ikwerre ethnic group is part of the Igbo nation, despite the election of former Senator John Azuta Mbata, an Ikwerre man, as President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on January 10.
Speaking during a live media chat broadcast on major television networks, Wike asserted that Mbata’s position as the head of the apex Igbo socio-cultural group does not alter the distinct ethnic identity of the Ikwerre people.
“Mbata’s emergence as the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo does not make the Ikwerre people part of the Igbo ethnic group,” Wike said. “Just as not all northerners are Hausa, the Ikwerre people, despite sharing a region with the Igbos, cannot automatically be categorized as Igbos.”
The minister acknowledged the shared cultural and linguistic ties between the Ikwerre and the Igbo but emphasized that such similarities do not determine ethnic identity.
This statement has reignited debates about the nuanced relationship between the Ikwerre and the Igbo people. While some have seen Wike’s remarks as an assertion of Ikwerre’s distinct identity, others interpret it as a reflection of the broader complexities of ethnic affiliation and self-determination in Nigeria.
Wike’s stance highlights the ongoing conversations about cultural and political identity in the country, with implications for the dynamics of regional and national unity.
