IBANI PEOPLE: RESTORING ITS BATTERED IDENTITY/HERITAGE

Volume : V, Issue : IV, April - 2015

Jones M. Jaja, Edna A. Brown

This paper addressed the impact of Western agents of change in Opobo land. It is not oblivious of the

fact that other African nations have suffered similar fate of cultural clash as noted by scholars, thus, the

main thrust of this work was to provide a solution on how to restore the lost cultural identity/heritage of Opobo Ibani

people vis–à–vis the socio–cultural predicaments posed by Western civilization in Opobo Kingdom. It enjoin all Ibani

(Opobo and Bonny) to come together in the spirit of Ibanihood and censor what should be infused into the peoples’

culture. The paper advocates for a proper enculturation of the good aspects of Western civilization, while discarding

those aspects that may become detrimental to the people’s socio–cultural heritage.