Dear Ikem,

Thank you for your feedback. Did you, Ikem, have any choice in determining your ethnicity? No. You are only Igbo by accident of fate. God could have made you a Lukumi Yoruba or a Northerner. Hating people solely based on their ethnicity is a liability.

In fact, it is wrong to hate another human. You can hate what they do, but not the person.

And even if you must hate others (you shouldn’t), do so based on things they can control, such as their character. But to detest them based on attributes that are beyond their control does not reflect well on our judgement as humans.

And the funny thing is, linguistically, Lukumi Yoruba is the closest language to Igbo and Efik. They are from the same Niger-Congo language family.

Let’s start with the basic thing man searches for: God. God in Igbo is not Chukwu. That is a misnomer. Chukwu is actually two words. Chi and Ukwu conflated.

The actual word for God in Igbo is Olisa, which corresponds to the word for God in Lukumi Yoruba, Orisha. Then you move to individuals: in Lukumi Yoruba, children are known as Omo, whereas in Igbo, they are known as Umu.

The words for body parts, which is the easiest way in etymology to find out if two languages are related, are eerily similar. Mouth in Lukumi os Enu, and Onu in Igbo. The ear is called Eti in Yoruba and Nti in Igbo. Nose is Imu in Lukumi Yoruba and Imi in Igbo. Teeth are Agbon in Lukumi Yoruba and Agba in Igbo.

Then you move on to animals and goats in Lukumi Yoruba is Ewure, meanwhile, it is Ewu in Igbo. The Yoruba word for a male chicken or cockerel is Akuko, and in Igbo, the same animal is called Okuko.

Stone or rock is Okuta in Lukumi and Okwute in Igbo.

Then you move on to the most essential thing for life on Earth: water. In Lukumi Yoruba, it is Omi; in Igbo, it is Mmiri.

Then, to the commonest forms of communication, which will be questions. What in Yoruba is Kini, and in Igbo it is Ogini.

So you see, Ikem, when you come down to the basics, these Yorubas you insult are genetically and linguistically closer to you, as an Igbo, than the Hebrews of Israel. You cannot find a single word in Igbo that has linguistic affinity to Biblical Hebrew. But there are hundreds of words of common origin between Lukumi Yoruba and Igbo. But you can find similarities even in Fula or Fufulde, the language of the Fulani, which is also a Niger-Congo language.

Ikem, even your much-hated Aboki is your brother, too!

And Peter Obi’s surname has the same root as the Yoruba word for king, Oba.

Not what you will like to hear, I know. Yet, truth is bitter but better than butter in a batter!

Thank you again, Ikem, and may God bless you.

Reno Omokri

Ambassador Designate to Mexico. Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year, 2022. 21st Most Talked About Person in Africa, 2024.

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