Andre Uweh:

The urbanisation of Onicha can be attributed to its location on the Niger River. The expansion of Bini empire affected other Igbo communities such as Ogwashi Ukwu, Onicha Olona etc, yet they did not develop to great urban centres.
Also, there were so many market centres all over Igboland such as Nkwo Ntiha, Afor-Ogbe, Eke Elelenwa, Orie-agu, Ekeikpa, Eke Umulogho, Orie-Umuihi, Nkwo-Ihitte, Eke Umuawuchi etc. Yet they did not develop like Aba, Owerri, Umuahia etc.

Those market towns weren't on major trading routes like that of Aba that leads to Ubani, there's a reason the British focused on towns like these when they built the railway. Onicha was created by migrants who settled in one place and many of these people were skilled traders and so on, or at least that's what some are saying.

ezeagu:

Those market towns weren't on major trading routes like that of Aba that leads to Ubani, there's a reason the British focused on towns like these when they built the railway. Onicha was created by migrants who settled in one place and many of these people were skilled traders and so on, or at least that's what some are saying.

It is a truism that as a result of Benin expansion under Ewuare, Igbo communities were affect ted and this led to movements that resulted in establishment of some towns. Onitsha was not only affected but Igbo communities west of the Niger were equally affected, yet can not be compared to Onitsha today.
Similarly, The Aro settled in so many parts of Eastern Nigeria yet , they did create large urban centres.
My point is, immigration is not necessarily responsible for the growth of Onitsha but because of strategic location on the Niger River.

Andre Uweh:

My point is, immigration is not necessarily responsible for the growth of Onitsha but because of strategic location on the Niger River.

We're saying the same thing then, although there are other towns on the Niger like Aboh and some other small villages. I think apart from it's location, the city also grew because of the immigrants that came from different parts of the larger region, like the Igala, who made the place a major intersection, which the river makes even more perfect. I think I believe the story of Igbo migrants being expelled from Benin city and I believe many of these people were highly skilled, a Benin man cannot be called Eze Chime, I don't buy it. . . . . .

To go back to the issue of Igbo cities, I think with the way Igbo villages are laid out, with many paths filled with what seems like a never ending chain of houses, there really wasn't any need for cities, or maybe this is an excuse for not developing one, I don't know, but the Igbo villages were more like sections of a larger, maybe what you could even call a 'county', a good example is all the villages that make up Orlu, not all these communities were made up of (closely) related families, so they cannot be called a 'clan'.

ezeagu:

We're saying the same thing then, although there are other towns on the Niger like Aboh and some other small villages. I think apart from it's location, the city also grew because of the immigrants that came from different parts of the larger region, like the Igala, who made the place a major intersection, which the river makes even more perfect. I think I believe the story of Igbo migrants being expelled from Benin city and I believe many of these people were highly skilled, a Benin man cannot be called Eze Chime, I don't buy it. . . . . .

To go back to the issue of Igbo cities, I think with the way Igbo villages are laid out, with many paths filled with what seems like a never ending chain of houses, there really wasn't any need for cities, or maybe this is an excuse for not developing one, I don't know, but the Igbo villages were more like sections of a larger, maybe what you could even call a 'county', a good example is all the villages that make up Orlu, not all these communities were made up of (closely) related families, so they cannot be called a 'clan'.

@Ezeagu, great post from you Sir.

Port Harcourt and Enugu did not start as administrative centres. About 1908, coal was discovered at Enugu thus raising the question of how mined coal could be evacuated by sea. Attention turned first to Calabar, but this view was suppressed in view of the obvious difficulties of linking Calabar with Enugu by rail. The search for an alternative led to the founding of Port Harcourt.

Development of P.H started in 1913 and by 1915 the railway line from Port Harcourt had reached the Enugu coalfields. With this, Port Harcourt started on its career of rapid growth-thanks to the railway line and the harbour. Enugu, on its side, started as a mining camp and owed its growth to this fact.

Enugu was so important that it soon overshadowed what was its administrative capital-Udi, and by 1929 Enugu had become important enough to be made the headquaters of the Southern Provinces.

Can we at this time share our opinions on how the emergence of the whitemen shaped up our communities, positively or negatively.

Positives
- Put an end to Aro confederacy
- Put an end to some practices
- Brought various communities into an age of globalization

Negatives
- Stunted (and in some [many] cases, outrightly devastated) cultural growth and development
- Brought death to many cultural artifacts

Andre Uweh:
The above is an ignorant post. Ethiopians, Chinese, Japanese are not living inthe bushes.

Even if that is the case, why do people feel that living in the bush is a bad thing? There are white people who live for bush....in rural area. Living in the Bush is not a bad thing, it is disappointing how there are Nigerians who have such inferiority complex to whites, but good job Andre, keep up the informative speech. What white people brought to Nigeria mainly was religion and Western education. Western education is a good thing depending on what you want to do with it.

Nice thread andrew! I am really enjoying it.