There was a time not too long ago when many sons and daughters of the Ijaw nation were ashamed of their culture. They danced, but hesitated to post. They sang, but kept it hidden. They spoke their language, but never publicly, fearful that no one would understand, or that they would be mocked for being “too local” in a digital world obsessed with foreign trends. That mindset has now changed, and at the heart of this transformation is GbaramatuVoice.
What began as a vision to tell the Niger Delta story from an insider’s lens, evolved into a cultural revolution that broke boundaries and inspired pride in an entire generation. It all started on the GbaramatuVoice Facebook page, where Ijaw songs, dances, attire, and language were no longer just cultural relics, but bold, unapologetic expressions of identity.
But it didn’t stop there.
Soon, the movement spilled over into TikTok, a space once dominated by global trends and foreign influences. Slowly, the tides began to shift. GbaramatuVoice began posting short cultural clips, from dance performances and traditional chants to comedy and spoken word in Ijaw dialects. What followed was unexpected but powerful: the Ijaw community around the world came alive.
From Bayelsa to Port Harcourt, Lagos to the creeks of Gbaramatu, even as far as the UK, USA, Germany, and Canada, Ijaw sons and daughters began to show up. They started posting their own cultural content. They sang traditional songs with pride. They danced in their wrappers and beads. They spoke boldly in their mother tongue. They told their stories. And they tagged #Ijaw, #GbaramatuVoice, and #NigerDelta.
We began to receive daily messages from people thanking us, for reconnecting them to their people, for giving them visibility, and for letting them know they were not alone. Many who had felt lost or disconnected from home, especially those living abroad, now say they feel reconnected to their roots.
Some even found more than culture, they found community, love, and marriage, all through the platform GbaramatuVoice helped build. What started as cultural content became a network, a digital village where Ijaw people could rediscover themselves and each other.
Today, we are proud to say that GbaramatuVoice created the first active Ijaw community on TikTok. And it didn’t stop with the Ijaw. Other tribes in the Niger Delta have joined in. Urhobo, Isoko, Itsekiri, and others are now going live on TikTok in their native tongues. What was once hidden has now become celebrated.
Over the past 10 years, this movement has birthed thousands of creators, young men and women who once hesitated to show their cultural identity, but now boldly use their voices, songs, dances, and language to create powerful content. From comedians and dancers to singers, poets, and historians, a new generation of Ijaw and Niger Delta storytellers has emerged across TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, many of them inspired directly by GbaramatuVoice’s example. What started as one media house telling its own story has become a people-powered media revolution, amplifying authentic voices across the region and beyond.
At GbaramatuVoice, we are not just telling stories. We are rewriting narratives. We are reconnecting people. We are reclaiming pride. We are building the future, one post, one dance, one language at a time.
To mark this incredible journey, GbaramatuVoice will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with a grand Public Lecture and Niger Delta Night of Honor, a landmark gathering to reflect on the past, spotlight the present, and shape the future.
Date: August 27–28, 2025
Venue: Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja
This event will host traditional leaders, policymakers, cultural ambassadors, and the very content creators who helped ignite this movement. It will be a moment to honor those who have kept the flame of Niger Delta culture alive, and to inspire a new generation to carry it forward.
