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