A renowned Anthropologist, Jazzy Ezeh, says there is no evidence to prove that the Igbo people migrated from the Jews as claimed by some authors and historians.
Mr Ezeh, a retired professor of Anthropology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, stated this during a maiden Annual Lecture 2025, organised by Chess Conclave Section of Enugu Sports Club, on Thursday in Enugu with the theme “Igbo Origin: Facts and Fiction”.
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Mr Ezeh stated that, when compared with the Hebrew and Igbo languages in terms of their lexicons, there was no evidence of relatedness, as reported by some writers.
According to him, “For you to claim that any two languages are related genealogically, it must be the case that the lexicons of those two languages are coordinated and originated from the same source, sound and meaning.
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“Hebrew belongs to Afro-Asiatic language, and when it comes to Nigeria, they have Hausa as their relations because Hausa is Afro-Asiatic, along with 23 others.
“This is not an assertion or belief but scientific, as there is ample, credible, solid evidence. So, if belonging to Hebrew confers any advantage, then it is to the Hausa.”
He added that some claimed that Esau’s wife was Ada, and Igbos name their first daughters Ada, explaining that if languages were related, the phonological similarity should also have semantic similarity.
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The anthropologist explained that numerous accounts of Igbo origin had yet to be proven, revealing that they were not objective, because every creation story was, by its nature, subjective.
Mr Ezeh noted that one author claimed that Igbos migrated from Jews as both practised circumcision, describing the Igbos’ circumcision as “a rite of passage from child to adulthood”.
He said that the situation had changed due to modernisation, while Jewish circumcision was done on the eighth day after birth.
“Average Nigerian cultural group practices circumcision. Are you then saying that all Nigerians are Jews? So, Hebrew and Igbo circumcision are two different things. One is a rite of passage admitting you to manhood.
“My father told me he was circumcised as an adult,” he said.
Unique identity
The Chairman of the event and former Anambra Chief Judge, Peter Umeadi, noted that the Igbo’s unique identity, both in language, culture, and dress, cannot be denied.
According to him, they represent resilience, hard work and the “forefront of development” in anywhere they found themselves.
In a keynote address, the Captain, Chess-Conclave Section, Enugu Sports Club, Chukwuemeka Onyesoh, said the lecture was organised to shed more light on the rich history and cultural heritage of the Igbo nation by addressing misconceptions about Igbo history.
Mr Onyesoh described people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture as “a tree without roots”, noting that those who could not remember their past were condemned to repeat it.
Stressing that the Igbos were an “organised entity”, Mr Onyesoh said “every Igbo person has a duty to further insist on who we are by continuing to write and, more urgently, publicise the proud past of our dear Igbo nation without apology.
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“We need to be celebrating our past as a way of continuing to be who we were. We need to be doing some work in order to add to what our ancestors left for us. There are Igbo doubting Thomases even among our supposedly enlightened elite.”
In a welcome address, the Chairman of Enugu Sports Club, Ifeanyi Nweke, said the topic was very apt and commended Mr Onyesoh for convening the lecture.
(NAN)
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