HOW OWERRI, THE 400 YEAR OLD CITY GOT HER NAME

Owerri City in Imo State of Nigeria

HOW OWERRI, THE 400 YEAR OLD CITY GOT HER NAME

Owerri is the capital city of Imo State in the south eastern part of Nigeria in West Africa. Populated majorly by the people of igbo tribe, Owerri is arguably the most cosmopolitan city in the entire south east today.

Like most other towns/cities in Africa, the history of Owerri is steeped in valour, courage and victory.

It all started in the 14th Century. An Aristocrat named Oha, with his wife, Arugo, had two sons. the first Son was Ekwem while the second was Ndum. they lived in a village called Umuori in Uratta  which is located in present day Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State.

Oha the Aristocrat became old in age and died after a brief illness. By the igbo custom, the first son (usually called Opara in igbo culture) is required to provide the funeral cow.

Now, it is almost a taboo for an aristocrat to be buried in igbo land without the slaughtering of a cow, the burial would be deemed inconclusive. the passage of an igbo aristocrat is not a trivial issue even till this day. i witnessed the burial ceremony of an Ozo title holder in Onitsha, OMG! it was then i realized that the Oyinbos lied to us. Its a lie, not all men are born equal. an Ozo or Ichie title holder is not equal to a commoner. Mba! those are indeed aristocratic titles. The beauty of the African culture is that it always balances. so, while the Ozo or Ichie title holder has more communal priviledges, they also are expected to display more communal responsibilities.

So, Ekwem being the first son of Oha was supposed to provide the cow for their father's funeral. However, Ekwem was a man without means. Though a very honourable man in his own right, sometimes, honour is not synonymous with wealth. So that their father can have a befitting burial, Ekwem requested that his younger brother who was more wealthy should assist to buy the cow. Ndum bought the cow for the funeral. Thereafter, things were no longer at ease for the family as Ndum demanded to be given the head and heart of the cow since he was the one that bought the cow. Tufiakwa!

The head and heart of the funeral cow, by custom, belonged to the first son. Ekwem made this known to his younger brother, but Ndum was adamant. the elders of the clan (Oha Uratta) were called in to arbitrate. the elders being thruthful upheld tradition and ruled that Ekwem is the rightful owner of the head and heart of the cow. Ndum was enraged. He asked why custom didnt forbid him from buying the cow as a second son but forbade him from taking the head or heart. the wise elders responded by telling Ndum that it is for same reason that the custom allows him to have other parts of the cow but not the head or the heart.

Ndum became angry and plotted to kill Ekwem his elder brother. The plot leaked and Ekwem fled with his family in the dead of the night to Egbu, a neighboring town, taking with them some stores and domestic assistants. History has it that Ekwem's sister was already married at Egbu at the time. The sister fearing that Ndum may look for Ekwem in neighouring towns advised him to continue his journey to an unknown and uninhabited land for safety and settle there permanently. Ekwem and his immediate family set out during the night with the aid of owa (native torch) and arrived at a hill top now known as Ugwu Ekwema and settled there. They heaved a sigh of relief saying "OWERELA IHE MARAYA AKA" meaning HE HAS TAKEN WHAT IS HIS RIGHT or what rightly belonged to him. He sounded the drum (as he was told by his sister) to indicate his location. His sister was happy to locate him and his family the following morning. She returned to Egbu thereafter.

 

The advent of the British saw the anglicizing of Owere to Owerri but pronounced as though it was spelt Owere. All the neighboring towns (communities) of Owerri were founded and existed on planet earth centuries or decades before Owerri came into existence. It is a God given land (DESTINY LAND being the slogan for Owerri Municipal) and has remained protected with all the people therein by the same God Almighty.

 

In the last quarter of the 17th century about 1670-1680, the Title of the Eze of Owerrl - OZURUIGBO (The King whose authority spans a large area of Igboland) was enacted and there have been 11 kings

 

1.   Eze Eke Onunwa	1690 - 1735
2.   Eze Okorie Onunwa	1735 - 1788
3.   Eze Iheancho Okorie Onunwa	1788 - 1845
4.   Eze Njemanze Iheanacho Okorie Onunwa Ozurigbo the First	1845 - 1920
5.   Eze Ihemeje Njemanze	1921 - 1931
6.   Eze Onwuegbuchulam Njemanze	1931 - 1941
7.   Eze Johnson Osuji Njemanze Ozuruigbo the 2nd	1941 - 1965
8.   Eze Reverend Samuel Njemanze	1966 - 1970
9.   Eze Reginald Anugwolu Njemanze Ozuruigbo the 3rd	1970 - 1976
10. Eze Alexuis Anumaku Njemanze Ozuruigbo the|4th	1976 - 1988
11. Eze Emmanuel Emenyonu            Njemanze Ozuruigbo the 5th	1988 -

 

Eze Emmanuel Emenyonu Njemanze Ozuruigbo the 5th is now on the throne as Ozuruigbo the 5th by title, the 8th Njemanze on the throne and 11th king of Owerri. He was crowned on the 11th of November 1989 (11/11/89). it was said that at about 1840-1850, the kindred's of Eke Onunwa and Okorie Onunwa agreed to leave the crown permanently with the Njemanze family and became the kingmakers of Owerri who decide the Njemanze that wears the crown. The oldest man from the lineage of Akalonu Okorie kindred crowns the Eze of Owerri.

 

If you have gone to Cannan, the promised land in Isreal, but yet to set foot on Owerri, the destiny land in Nigeria, Africa, you are yet to fulfill your destiny.

 

So when next you set your foot on Owerri, you should remember that you are on a land of destiny, make a prayer for yourself and for me who revealed the secret unto you.

 

Cha, Cha, Cha.... Igbo Kwenu!

 

 

 

Follow Olufemi Fadairo on twitter @ffadairo.

 

 

PS: Special thanks to the Njemanze family (Sons of Njemanze Iheancho) for the documents and historical accounts of Owerri town.

ADIEU OONI OF IFE AND THE AB'OBAKU DEBACLE

         

         

Yorubyte: ADIEU OONI OF IFE AND THE AB'OBAKU DEBACLE

First and foremost, in Yoruba land, you never say a king is dead, a king only ascends to realm of spirits. It is an ASCENSION.

The recent ascension of the king of Ife Kingdom in Osun state of Nigeria, Ooni of ife, Oba Sijuade Okunade, Olubuse (II) has caused many brouhaha. Some have even chastised the Yoruba race saying we are not modern. Our response to them is that we are a very cultural people and we would not just wake up, smack our bumbum and say “away” with our structures, culture and tradition. So many people have tried to ridicule us (the yorubas), but we just smile and forgive their ignorance cos the chick does not appreciate a hawk, its only the mother-hen that has an idea of the strength of the swift predator.

The Ooni stool! The greatest stool (mark my words, I didn’t say the greatest king) of the Yoruba race. Homage is paid to the Ooni stool from 7 countries of the world where Yoruba language is spoken as native language. The stool of Oduduwa himself, the progenitor of the yorubas. We can not afford to throw away our custom. For those who do not know, like every other thing in Yoruba land, there is a structure and order to the announcement of the ascension of the Ooni. The Ooni is the property of the Yoruba race. He is the custodian of the household of Oduduwa, its shrine and the protector of its legacies. Therefore, it is absolutely a taboo for anyone, be it a prince, a royal family member or any palace chief to break the news without clearance or approval from the appropriate traditional quarters.

The announcement of the Ooni’s death is a traditional role conferred only on the brother, the Oore of Otun and Mobaland, one of the 16 foremost monarchs in Yorubaland. The reigning Oore is Oba Adedapo Popoola, an economist and chartered accountant.

After ascertaining that the Ooni has w’aja (confirmation of the king’s ascension), the palace chiefs are expected to inform the Oore. The Oore will mourn his passage in a traditional way (don’t ask me what the traditional way entails o). He will not waste time in breaking the news to the children of  Oduduwa, especially the Alaafin of Oyo, descendant of Oranmiyan (who is the greatest king of the Oduduwa children), including the Oba of Benin, the Onipopo of Popo, the Onisabe of Sabe,. Also to be informed are the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, and the Owa Obokun Adimula. The Oore will also carry along the Ajero Asotemaru, the Alara and the Obalufon Alayemore.

The foremost rulers will break the news to their towns and tributary towns. Days of mourning will be declared. The attention of the towns and villages will focus on Ile-Ife, the Orirun (the source of the Yoruba race), where all these kings obtained their legitimate crowns.

In ancient times, a celebration will be proclaimed, with its characteristic visitation to the cradle by monarchs, accompanied by their chiefs and families. The palace chiefs will play dominant roles during the burial ceremony. They will also play dominant roles during the selection of a new prince for the prestigious throne.

After the new Ooni is crowned, Yoruba monarchs will accord him automatic recognition and respect. He may visit selected palaces of his fellow obas in the spirit of brotherhood.
This is our tradition, this is our culture, this we have followed. May the king  have a joyous re-union with his ancestors and may the kingmakers make the right decision in the selection of the new Ooni.

                                                                       AB’OBAKU
I have heard so many hog wash online about the Ab’obaku fleeing from the palace of the Ooni. As a matter of fact, there is no Ab’obaku in Ife kingdom. It is the great Oyo empire that had Ab’obakus. The last Ab’obaku was actually spared in 1859, and the ab’obaku was  crowned king after the demise of Alaafin Atiba. This was what resulted into the famous Ijaiye war with Aare Kurunmi. Please see the yorubyte post here.  (Why All Aare Ona Kakanfo die fighting) (1st part) and here (why-all-aare-ona-kakanfos-die fighting 2) for the concluding part.






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 PS: Thanks to Dr  Fabunmi for his great contribution on the Ife tradition.

Yorubyte: The African science of tying a woman's pregnancy

YORUBYTE: THE AFRICAN SCIENCE OF TYING THE PREGNANCY OF A WOMAN

“Won o ni de Oyun mo e ninu o” is a very serious prayer which you hear many pregnant women shout AMEN to. Loosely translated into English from the native Yoruba language, it means “May your pregnancy not be tied using African voodoo”.

If you have been opportuned to watch either Ogunde’s “Aiye” or “Jaiyesinmi”, you would have seen where a woman was pregnant for 2 years (24 months) and she still was not due for delivery, causing great pains, anguish and suffering for the lady. The inexperienced would dismiss it and say it’s merely a film. Just film Ke? Aiye o! Akamara! Ta’motiye! (I can’t find an adequate translation for those words than to say DANGER!). Please do not be mistaken, it’s no mere film, it’s REAL! The African fore fathers really knew and had the science to ensure that a pregnant woman does not give birth. This is why some people call our fore fathers diabolic or demonic. I smile, for it is not so. I would explain in a jiffy….

Medically, there is a condition called Cervical incompetence (or cervical insufficiency). This is a medical condition in which a pregnant woman's cervix begins to dilate (widen) and efface (thin) before her pregnancy has reached term. This causes miscarriages in women. Some women are so unlucky that they have these miscarriages severally. Medical science has recently learnt to solve this problem through a surgical procedure called CERVICAL CERCLAGE, a surgical technique that reinforces the cervical muscle by placing stitches above the opening of the cervix to narrow the cervical canal and the woman can NEVER have a natural delivery except the cerclage is removed. That is, her cervix is tied, blocked. Simply put, THE PREGNANCY IS TIED. Personally, I know at least 3 ladies that have subjected themselves through this painful procedure.

Our African fore fathers had been performing this “Cerclage” long before medical sciences learnt about it. And the best part is that when done the African way, it requires no surgery, neither is it a painful process. It can be as simple as just putting on a ring that had been specially prepared with herbs that can lock the cervix just by contacting the body. Then, our fathers say “A ti de oyun e” – we have tied your pregnancy. Tying the pregnancy was actually done by our fore fathers to assist women, not to cause them pains. Whenever a pregnancy was so tied, the antidote is always handed over either to the woman or her husband. It was a more efficient, less painful treatment than the current medical procedure. Most of all, it is non-intrusive. The pregnancy would never come down until the antidote is invoked. For example, removing the ring after the 9^th month.

The Recipe for Pregnancy Tying includes Ogere Epo (Palm Oil top layer), Ewe Padimo-Padimo (The padimo-padimo leaf – It’s a leaf that once you touch, it closes up. We used to play with it while we were kids), and the most important of the ingredients is ………..

As usual with most inventions, the GOOD art of “Pregnancy Tying” has been learnt by wicked people and they are using it to cause evil in the land.

I repeat again, may you or your women never need to have your pregnancy tied. Either using the painful oyinbo method or the painless African method.

Africa my Africa. A people with advanced science long before the advent of modern science.

PS: Thanks to Araba of Ipakodo that gave me the recipe, unfortunately, he didn’t disclose the last ingredient to me. He said to me “what the elders eat the corn-meal with is kept under the leaf”.

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