Ndoki People

The Ndoki people are located South-South and South-Eastern Nigeria. In the South – South, the Ndoki people are found in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State. Besides their occupying parts of Rivers State, they have stretched out to another South – South State known as Akwa Ibom State. The Ndoki people who are located in Akwa Ibom State are found in Ukanafun Local Government Area specifically in a village called Ikot Inyang Udo (also known as Oha Obu). In summary therefore, the Ndoki people located in the South – South region of the country can be found in Oyigbo Local Government Area of Rivers State and Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State respectively, while their kit and kin in the South-Eastern region can be found in Abia State, occupying the Ukwa-East Local Government Area.
According to the 1934 C.T.C. Ennals’ Intelligence Reporthttps://lib.ugent.be/catalog/rug01:001309875, “They speak Igbo, but with dialectal variants from the Igbo spoken by the Ngwa clan.” This view did not contrast with Alagoa’s who asserts that the Ndoki have in the past, been classified as Igbo on cultural grounds he also stated that their is great similarity in the culture of the Ndoki people and the Igbo people from the perspective of language because the form of Igbo spoken is often referred to as Ndoki Igbo as a way of preserving the ethnic identity of the people of Ndoki in a pluralistic Nigerian society. This inference derived some impetus from the historical fact that the Ndokis themselves had been together with the Igbos in the defunct East-Central State and much later in the Eastern State of Imo before they were administratively severed as a result of the Justice Nasir Boundary Adjustment Commission of 1977.
Ndoki land lies between longitude 100 and 7.300 east of the Greenwich Meridian and between latitude 4.150 and 5.000 north of the equator.
They cover an area of approximately 174 square miles. And so the 54 Ndoki towns as well as the plantations within the area belong to Ndoki people. This means the Ndoki people have exercised authority and control over these places from Okoloma to Obete in the South-South State of Rivers; the entire Ukwa-East Local Government in the South – Eastern State of Abia and Ikot Inyang Udo (also known as Oha Obu) in Ukanafun Local Government Area of the South – South State of Akwa Ibom from antiquity.
Ndoki land is not far away from rivers. The Imo River and Aba roughly correspond to the south and east boundaries of Ndoki land Ndoki land has a rich rainforest which makes farming a natural occupation for the members of this clan. 
Ndoki has a dense population, and one of the earliest evidence of a head count of Ndoki in the 20th century was the 1931 census which put the population of the entire area at 16,510 people. This figure was drawn from the tax returns for the area, covering the seven distinct groups that make up Ndoki land. In 1953, the census figure for Ndoki was 34,728. 
For the 1991 census, which was conducted by the National Population Commission (NPC) in Nigeria, the figure reveals that the Ndoki People had a population of 74,390 people. The figure then cut across three separate places namely; Oyigbo in Rivers State, Ukwa-East in Abia State and Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom where the Ndoki town of Ikot Inyang Udo (also known as Oha Obu) is located. 
In the 2006 head count carried out by the NPC puts the population of the Ndoki people to be about 580,000. The population based on the last census is captured from the entire Ukwa-East Local Government Area of Abia State, the Ndoki stock in Oyigbo of Rivers State and the one village of Ndoki ethnic stock in Akwa Ibom State.
Ndoki people are divided into seven groups of villages they included Umu Ihueze I, Umu Ihueze II, Obohia, Ikwueke, Umu Okobo, Uhuru na Mkporobo and Ikwu-Orie-Ato. The identification of these groups revealed that Umu Ihueze is divided into groups; the division of Umu Ihueze is as a result of the natural feature of the Imo River which separates the area into two. This was acknowledged and accepted that on occasion, the group council could meet as a whole to discuss issues that might affect them in totality. It is important to add here that the Ndoki re-organization which had been similar to the Ngwa was translated into accomplishment in 1934. But two difficulties came up, which has to do with the choice of the headquarters for the Clan Council and the presence of the Ibibio speaking people of Ika and Annang villages in their midst. Some of these clans have a common ruler over them while in some the position is in contention. The current ruler of the Umu Okobo clan Eze Nwankwo Nwankwo is known as the Eze Ala of Umu Okobo IX. 
Some claims concerning the traditions of origin of the Ndoki people link the origin of the people to the Central Delta. Such claims have to do with reported accounts which were derived from oral traditions, which were later put into writing. These traditions of origin reports show that the origin of Ndoki is tangled with the origin of Bonny. One of such traditions of origin is found in Jones’ work titled “Trading States of the Oil Rivers”.
Jones put it thus: According to tradition, the Bonny people were derived from a section of the Ndoki Tribe living on the lower Imo River, which claimed to have migrated there from the Central Ijo area. In a similar vein, Alagoa as well, reported in these words, “The traditions suggest that they migrated north and eastward from the central delta along with the ancestors of the Ibani to their present location – where they were affected by Igbo cultural influences.2 It is also important to add here that C.T.C. Ennals also showed the intermingling of the origins of Ndoki and the Ijo through his discussion of the origin of Bonny town. Ennals captures this in these words It would appear that the group referred to below as Umu Ihueze,Umu Okobo and Ikwu-Orie-Ato in their origin were connected with the Ijos. However, these reported accounts do not seem to be supported by any cultural affinity between the Ndokis, and the Ijos of the central delta which their traditions claimed was the place they migrated from, with the Bonny people.
The language evidence between the natives of the central delta and the natives of the Ndoki clan do not indicate any relationship. However, between the Ndokis and the Bonny people there is some form of mutual intelligibility. However between the Ndoki man and the Igbo man there is strong mutual intelligibility of language which suggests that the Ndoki people are of Igbo origin. And by this imputation there is little or no evidence to support the reported claim of their tie to Ijo origin as their culture relates them more to the other Igbo groups, especially of Abia and Imo States. The indigenous organization of the Ndoki people is similar to that of all Igbo communities. This means that they share a lot of cultural qualities and structures with the Igbos. And of this affinity which seriously suggests their Igbo origin, S.J.S. Cookey, clearly pointing to the tribe had the following words to say:
At the bustling town of Akwete, Jaja was still within an environment remarkably similar to his own experience. The local language was a dialect of Igbo and could be understood by the young Jaja. 
From the statement of S.J.S. Cookey, it is clear that Jaja was of Igbo descent, and the environment of his native home of Umuduroha in Isu clan of what was then Orlu Division of East-Central State was similar to his new home of Akwete. And that the terrain of Akwete which S.J.S. Cookey felt applied to most Igbo towns and villages of the period, does not exclude the other communities that formed the Ndoki Tribe.
All of these emerging ideas point strongly to the proposition that the Ndoki clan must have originated from the Igbo. And then as a corollary, the reported account of claims of their origin to the central delta appears to be very doubtful in historical context. 
Another point of great interest to be considered has to do with the traditions which state that the Ndoki migrated with the Ibani, but lost them on the way. Here again, it appears certain factors that might have fostered good relations between these two groups in time past may have been responsible for such reported traditions. Here, such factors as good trade relations and inter-marriage ties could not be ruled out as S.J.S. Cookey captured thus in his words:
The Bonny trader had to reach an understanding with the Ibibio, situated at the mouth of the Imo River as well as the Ndoki people of Azumini, Ohambele and Akwete.
This statement made by S.J.S. Cookey about the trade relations that had existed between the Ndoki and Bonny in the earliest times might have given rise to these traditions that the Ndoki migrated with the Ibani, as reported. In fact, the Ndoki had a strong tradition of trade connection with the Bonny and about this connection, Ennals had this to say: In the early days, the Ndokis possessed the market through which slaves from the north were passed to Bonny and sold to the Europeans. Today the trading connection between Bonny and Opobo continues. The bulk of the trade in oil is carried out by middlemen whose centre is Azumini. Individual traders take market produce and in particular cassava, down the river to Opobo and Bonny.
As suggested earlier on, these trade relations between the Ndokis and Bonnys in pre- colonial and colonial periods might have influenced the reported traditions of the two groups said to have left the central delta together in the course of their migration.
Benin Origin
However, another account that is in contrast with the suggestion of Igbo origin as regards Ndoki and which differs from the reported claims that sees the Central Delta as the area where they originated from, do exist. This story has been derived from Aba and British Rule. Accordingly, Benin was revealed by Nwaguru as the place of origin for the Ndoki people. In his account, he saw Ijaws as one of the traveling groups who settled around Akassa. The trajectory of the migrants revealed that a part of this group, later left Akassa as they travelled northwards along the Engenni and Orashi Rivers to Oguta. According to Nwaguru, it was here that they came into contact with the towns of Umunoha in Owerri and Ndizorgu in the former Orlu Division. 13The migrants never settled permanently within these Igbo towns of Umunoha in Owerri and Ndizorgu in the former Orlu Division. They moved southwards again settling at Okolomakiri in the Azumini creek, from here they passed on to the site now occupied by Umuagbai.
It was at Umuagbai that the migratory group divided into two groups, one section going to a place called Okoloma (the land of the curlew bird) which later became known as Ibani or Bonny, while the other migrants opted to stay back on the sites now known as Umuagbai, Azuogu, Ayama and Obunku. The Colonial Officer, C.T.C. Ennals had earlier being told of this same story by some persons drawn from old Bonny houses (see Ennals, 1934:9). Probably Nwaguru’s claim of the origin of Ndoki which he traced to Benin might have been influenced by what Ennals was told, because his reported claim of Benin origin is similar to the story told Ennals. Interestingly, the thought pattern of the Ndoki clan seems to agree with Nwaguru’s claim which sees Benin as a dispersal place for the Ndoki people. From this recorded claim of Nwaguru, according to Nwankwo Nwankwo in his book Umuagbai-Ndoki: History and Culture certain facts emerged for highlighting.
One; the place of origin points to Benin in present-day Edo State. Two; there is this tendency to link the origin of Ndoki with that of the origin of Bonny as shown by the trajectory of their movements as revealed by Nwaguru’s claim of the Benin origin. Three; it suggests that they were of Ijo origin, and that possibly their contact with the town of Umunoha and Ndizorgu might have been responsible for the abandoning of its language in preference for the language spoken by the Igbo people whom they came in contact with. Four; the implication of the possible loss of language suggest that the migrant population were fewer in number and were not able to have sustained the customs and culture of the area, Nwaguru claimed they migrated from, which also revealed that the Ndoki thought pattern is in an accord with Nwaguru’s claim.
Five; the mention of Umuagbai, Azuogu, Ayama and Obunku, draw attention to the various lineages that migrated from the Benin area until they came to settle on the land known as Umuagbai, after which they moved to their present sites of habitat. Six; none of these names considered as the ancestors of the Ndokis reflect any linguistic affinity with the Benin language, which suggests that these lineages might have stayed for about two decades, long enough to have taken in the culture and language of the Igbo people who they came in contact with, before they settled on their present sites; and this migration probably occurred during the early 14th century. Seven; some demographical factors such as births as a result of inter-marriages which might have occurred, propel the sustenance of the new culture in their new habitats. Eight; the geographical nearness of the region settled by the Ndokis and the Igbos might have sustained this new culture, since constant interactions cannot be ruled out. However, as regards the second highlighted key point, there appears to be some recorded accounts of the migration of Bonny people, which revealed a sharp contrast with Nwaguru’s claim of their origin. For example, Alagoa (2005:152) writes “…The ancestral Ibani moved north-eastwards out of the central delta through the mainland to the Ndoki and Ogoni country.”
On the origin of the word “Ndoki,” which is the racial name all communities that formed the Ndoki clan bears, there are two conflicting versions on how they came to be referred to as “Ndoki” According to C.T.C. Ennals, it was doubtful whether there was ever a man of the name Ndoki, but it is generally agreed that the name was given after a quarrel with Bonny. Ennals did not record the day when this quarrel took place neither did the oral data he had collected from an elder who hailed from Ayama extended family of Obeaku record the name of the leader who had a son during the quarrel with Bonny. The quarrel between the group which later became known as “Ndoki” and “Bonny” was as a result of a native horn said to be pledged to Bonny for a loan of money which Bonny decided not to return.
At the time of the quarrel which could be possible to postulate occurred during the precolonial times, since Ennals did not record any year when this quarrel took place; a leader of what became known as Ndoki had a son whom he decided to name in the Igbo language they were said to have adopted at the time. The Intelligence Report on the Ndoki clan indicated that the child at birth was named “Anyi na do kwa ne ke” meaning “for what are we
contending?”16 Whenever they visited Bonny after this quarrel ended, they were addressed in the name given to the child who was born during the quarrel.
The recorded tradition of the origin of the word “Ndoki “does not indicate the name of the leader who had his son named “Anyi na do kwa ne ke”. It should be emphasized that it is quite impossible to attribute any historical date to this event. All that could be said is that this event which gave rise to the advent of the people’s racial name probably happened before the middle of the 15th century A.D.
Differing from this reported version of C.T.C. Ennals, Alagoa reported as well that these traditions state that the Ndokis migrated with the Ibani, but lost them on the way. The Ndoki came looking for the Ibani, saying “Aminadokiari” (I am looking for my brothers) - hence the name Ndoki. It could be deduced that the differing views reported by C.T.C. Ennals and Alagoa both of whom had relied heavily on oral evidence collected from an elder of Ayama extended family of Obeaku, and Chief Charles C. Akparanta of Akwete, is as a result of the events that took place, necessitating either one or the other, as derived from the reported oral evidence. While for instance, C.T.C. Ennals’ reported version sees the name for which they are presently known as a result of the quarrel with Bonny, Alagoa’s reported version sees the name as a result of their missing Bonny as claimed by tradition in course of their migration from the Central Delta. And also the linguistic evidence with regard to what each of these differing views as reported hold, does not show any linguistic affinity. The point being made here is that both conflicting reported views as regards the origin of the word “Ndoki” suggest that neither could be more authentic than the other.
The Ndoki homeland is well endowed with crude oil and gas and as a results plays host to lots of crude oil and gas installations from companies such as Shell Nigeria Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Agip, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, More than six power stations have been built in Okoloma by both the Federal Government and Joint Venture Partners. This has led to development and urbanization of communities in the area. 
In precolonial times the Ndoki homeland played a crucial role in the transatlantic trade of the Nigerian coastal states in both slaves, palm oil and other agricultural produce. It served as a major connection between the Ibo hinterland and the trading states of the costal areas as it lies along the Imo River Ndoki Towns such as Akewte, Azumini, Umuagbai and Obete where important towns in this trade.
Ndoki people are mostly farmers and farm mostly root crops such as cassava and yam. A significant portion of the people also engage in fishing, trading and other minor non-agrarian pursuits. Today due to the advent of western education many of them are educated and work in white and blue collar jobs in various sectors of the economy both home an abroad.
Ndoki women are famous for their weaving skills. In the past raffia yarn was used for weaving but currently both dyed cotton and silk have come to replace them. This weaving art is mostly known to women in the Akwete and Umuagbai communities it is correctly known as Akuruaku Ndoki although it is also popularly known as akwa Akwete.
* Chinyer Onyenucheya The first female Nigerian commercial pilot and the first woman to fly an aircraft.
* Eze Nwankwo Nwankwo The Ezeala of Umu Okobo clan, Philanthropist, author and former special adviser to the Rivers State Government on revenue generation.
* Desmond Akawor Diplomat and Politician, Former ambassador of Nigeria to South Korea and Former Minister of Transportation
* Felix Uche Former Chairman of Oyigbo Local Government and Commissioner for Youth and Sports(2008-2012)
* Chihor Martin Nworgu Author, Politician 
* Bright Jacob Former Chairman Oyigbo Local Government and Commissioner for Commerce and Industry(2015-2017)
Category:Igbo subgroups
Category:Indigenous peoples of Rivers State
Category:People from Abia State