History of Onitsha

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By CHIKA ABANOBi (Last update 28/09/2017)

The history of Onitsha is said to have begun with the migration of its people from the Benin Empire towards the end of early part of the 16th century as a result of a wave of unrest, war and displacement unleashed by the Islamic movement from North Africa. One version said that it was during their passage through the outskirts of Ile-Ife that they acquired the name Onitsha, a corruption of Orisha Udo.

Another version has it that their migration to East of the Niger has to do with a misunderstanding that arose between the Onitsha family and Oba Esigie (1404-1550), following the slighting of their shrine, Udo, by the Oba. According to the legend, it was customary for newly installed Oba to pay homage to all important shrines in the Benin Kingdom by slaughtering a cow in the shrines enclave. But Oba Esigie is said to have refused to do this at the Onitsha people’s Udo-Shrine, hence the quarrel and the migration down towards the River Niger area and across it.

Ukpabi disagrees with the Oba Esigie angle and posits that the misunderstanding and migration was rather as a result of “a fight over a farmland. These other people fighting over farmland with the others and interest started coming. And because of interest, bitterness ensued and the two brothers decided to go their separate ways. One said, no, ‘I will now leave you, I’m going to Ado N’Idu.’ ‘Ado’ means border. ‘I will leave you and go and settle down on my own. I’m no longer going to be with you.’ That’s the issue. So, the two brothers had to separate.”

Onitsha, capital of Igbo Kingdom
The immigrant settlers from Benin were said to have been helped by the Igalas to cross the river to settle in Onitsha in the 16th century, which was originally called Ado N’Idu. It soon became the capital of an Igbo Kingdom. In 1857, British traders in palm oil established a permanent station in the city, and Christian missionaries soon followed, headed by Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther (a Yoruba) and Reverend John Taylor (an Igbo).
In 1884, Onitsha became part of a British protectorate. The British colonial government and Christian missionaries penetrated most of Igboland to set up their administration, schools and churches through the river port at Onitsha.

Historically, Onitsha became an important trading port for the Royal Niger Company in the mid-1850s. Following the abolition of slavery, trade in palm kernels and other cash crops boomed around this river port. Immigrants from the hinterland were drawn to the emerging boom town as did the British traders who settled there and coordinated the palm oil and cash crops trade.

Colonial relics and post-colonial architectural wonders
Areas bordering Old Market, New Market Roads, Upper Market Road, Modebe Avenue, Iboku, Old Cemetry, Old Hospital, Mbanugo St, Emejulu St, Obi Street, Benjamin St, Court, Enugu Road, Awka Road, Egerton, etc are known as Whitemen Quarters, so-called because the white colonial masters who first settled in Onitsha, used to live here. And, even till today, the white colonial style of buildings such as you see at Yaba, Ebute Metta and Central Lagos, can be seen existing, side by side, with the new, on these streets.

But much more modern exotic architectural wonders exist in places like the G.R.A and “33” Housing Estates. Sunday Sun understands that SCityGate Real Estate Ltd, located on Mike Ilodibe Crescent and which specializes in building ultra-modern architectural structures, makes such building wonders happen for interested clients. In 1965, a bridge was built across the Niger River to replace the ferry crossing. Today, plans are said to be underway to build the Second Niger Bridge.
Onitsha is made up of three groups of people, Ukpabi reveals. The first is the Edos, the Ezechima’s team. The second, Igalas. They were the people that were fishing at the Niger by the time Onitsha people came to settle there. The third, the Igbos who are very close to the Niger and had integrated with them. These three groups make up what is today known as Onitsha.”

“Their tradition is blended with the three peoples, first the Edos, second the Igalas”, Ukpabi says. “In fact, in the past, there were some villages in Onitsha that spoke Igala. And they are made up of two villages. They are still in Onitsha. Onitsha is made up of nine villages. Two out of the nine are purely the Igalas: Ogbodu and Obigboru. So, that is how Onitsha people came to be.

“The ones with Edo influence are the monarchy itself. That’s the Eze Chima, that is the ruling villages. They are four in number. Umueze Aroli, Okebunabu (which include Umudei and Ogbabu) and Olosi. The present Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Achebe is the 21st Obi of Onitsha.”
Inter-marriages, says Ukpabi, have long existed between the Igalas and the Edos. “The people our ancestors met fishing at the bank of the River Niger were purely Igallas. They were following the Niger all the way from their place to Onitsha. So, they don’t normally come to the upper land. They remain there. They have their buildings in their canoes. So, we attracted them into coming to the hinterland. We started intermarrying with them. One of the outstanding monarchs of Onitsha, Obi Eze Aroli, the mother, Enubi, is from Igala.”



https://www.edoworld.net/History_of_Onitsha.html

The Benin is wide spread and only the great. Benin palace can shed more light on this

All histories are ancient fraternization of idolatrous and occult practices, empires, kingdoms, race, tribes, languages, tradition, culture, laws, trades, etc..

-Reason, we have too many historians who blindly argues against the facts that are reality just to satisfy and promulgate their lineal, ethnic and traditional superiority.. Nevertheless, terminology of languages is a clue and proof that humbles and points us to the reality..

-Under this thread, some will oppose it to make it appear like history identity theft.. Above all debates or arguments, brown skinned history is a movement and an intermixed of the ancient wanderers..

The further facts of reality to find out and discover should be "where did they wandered from? Are their originated lands invaded that made them wander/roam about like the lost sheep whose shepherd had been killed while seeking for strange lands to settle?

With God's Spirit of the past, present, and future, we shall discover most things if not all.. Spirit of history truth!

So Onitsha is part of Benin kingdom


This is great

I wonder why the Benin kingdom with all its influence, wealth and power failed to record the happenings within their kingdom and sphere of influence. They didn't establish universities, commission works of literature, or even sponsor expeditions for research and documentation purposes.

Though they tried to establish a gun factory.

Another fictitious story fit only for the trash bin.

All Igbo spread from Nri

Another concocted tale from www.edoworld.....

Eze Chima has never been a Benin name.

Secondly, in ancient times, Nri-IGBO people were the royal lineages of all the monarchies in Igbo and Igodomigodo.

It would have been a huge and unacceptable sacrilege for a non-Igbo to form the royal lineage of Onitsha. Definitely IMPOSSIBLE.

Nri was already the cultural and political overlord of Benin in those times, and there were lots of NRI titled men perambulating all across Benin territory, so an Eze Chima would have been one of such people.

Onitsha is crawling with lots of Nri-introduced cultural practices, one of which is the fact that Obis of Onitsha were crowned by the Nris, up until the 1960s.

All these your outlandish tales are just fictional tales.

NRI looms large over the Igbo cultural tapestry, thus making it extra difficult for any history falsifiers and interlopers to break in and introduce fake tales

Just google the oldest tribe in Nigeria


And google agha idu na oba

OfoIgbo:
Another concocted tale from www.edoworld.....

Eze China has never been a Benin name.

Secondly, in ancient times, Nri-IGBO people were the royal lineages of all the monarchies in Igbo and Igodomigodo.

It would have been a huge and unacceptable sacrilege for a non-Igbo to form the royal lineage of Onitsha. Definitely IMPOSSIBLE.

Nri was already the cultural and political overlord of Benin in those times, and there were lots of NRI titled men perambulating all across Benin territory, so an Eze China would have been one of such people.

Onitsha is crawling with lots of Nri-introduced cultural practices, one of which is the fact that Obis of Onitsha were crowned by the Nris, up until the 1960s.

All these your outlandish tales are just fictional tales.

NRI looms large over the Igbo cultural tapestry, thus making it extra difficult for any history falsifiers and interlopers to break in and introduce fake tales

have been following your talk for long but I just refuse to reply because I feel that

Igbo's have nothing to say when it come to history

Igbo's from time past are just nothing when opening the pages of raw African history.


anyway I want you to answer this question

where is the oldest Igbo kingdom located ?

who was it first king ?

how far did the kingdom spread ?

ezenwajosh:
Just google the oldest tribe in Nigeria

And google agha idu na oba

google only give you what you post.

SLAP44:
Another fictitious story fit only for the trash bin.

All Igbo spread from Nri

the story of Nri is a cooked one to suit the likes of Igodomigodo and other African Empire of old.
Igbo were the laziest in ancient history who didn't affect history but history affected them.

Etrusen:




google only give you what you post.

I know my history and someone put it out there for people asking questions to read


For the fact that google told you 1+1=2 and someone put it out there in google does it make a wrong answer

History books was written by someone

Histories on google was written by someone

How do you know history of things that happened when you were not born....for the sake of arguing blindly....you read the book SOMEONE POSTED ON GOOGLE OR HISTORY BOOKS

Etrusen:




the story of Nri is a cooked one to suit the likes of Igodomigodo and other African Empire of old.
Igbo were the laziest in ancient history who didn't affect history but history affected them.

What is igodomigodo in english please

DenreleDave:
So Onitsha is part of Benin kingdom


This is great

Sw migrated from north Africa

This is great

ezenwajosh:

What is igodomigodo in english please

king begot kings

Etrusen:




the story of Nri is a cooked one to suit the likes of Igodomigodo and other African Empire of old.
Igbo were the laziest in ancient history who didn't affect history but history affected them.

Lol
Form someone who doesn't believe history from Google yet going with history from Google
Life is fact; laziest tribe but without support built themselves up after the war while your ilks with the whole focus from UN, WHO, ALL NGOs, & FG with all IDP camps are yet to rise from a sectional fight?
Grow up

ezenwajosh:


I know my history and someone put it out there for people asking questions to read


For the fact that google told you 1+1=2 and someone put it out there in google does it make a wrong answer

History books was written by someone

Histories on google was written by someone

How do you know history of things that happened when you were not born....for the sake of arguing blindly....you read the book SOMEONE POSTED ON GOOGLE OR HISTORY BOOKS

I really appreciate the fact that you realize that someone post it there

that is that same way the Op of this thread post his

that was how Zik his own

or you are now wiser or older than Azikiwe ?

to have known the history of onitcha better ?

Etrusen:




king begot kings

That's not true

Etrusen:



I really appreciate the fact that you realize that someone post it there

that is that same way the Op of this thread post his

that was how Zik his own

or you are now wiser or older than Azikiwe ?

to have known the history of onitcha better ?

zik is older than I am but no sure about his wisdoms but the story zik is telling according to the poster is difference from someone's else's older than zik

What a load of bullshit... Tiny Edo tribe looking for numbers

It must suck being a tribe of 100 people

sarrki:

History of Onitsha

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By CHIKA ABANOBi (Last update 28/09/2017)

[s]The history of Onitsha is said to have begun with the migration of its people from the Benin Empire towards the end of early part of the 16th century as a result of a wave of unrest, war and displacement unleashed by the Islamic movement from North Africa. One version said that it was during their passage through the outskirts of Ile-Ife that they acquired the name Onitsha, a corruption of Orisha Udo.

Another version has it that their migration to East of the Niger has to do with a misunderstanding that arose between the Onitsha family and Oba Esigie (1404-1550), following the slighting of their shrine, Udo, by the Oba. According to the legend, it was customary for newly installed Oba to pay homage to all important shrines in the Benin Kingdom by slaughtering a cow in the shrines enclave. But Oba Esigie is said to have refused to do this at the Onitsha people’s Udo-Shrine, hence the quarrel and the migration down towards the River Niger area and across it.

Ukpabi disagrees with the Oba Esigie angle and posits that the misunderstanding and migration was rather as a result of “a fight over a farmland. These other people fighting over farmland with the others and interest started coming. And because of interest, bitterness ensued and the two brothers decided to go their separate ways. One said, no, ‘I will now leave you, I’m going to Ado N’Idu.’ ‘Ado’ means border. ‘I will leave you and go and settle down on my own. I’m no longer going to be with you.’ That’s the issue. So, the two brothers had to separate.”

Onitsha, capital of Igbo Kingdom
The immigrant settlers from Benin were said to have been helped by the Igalas to cross the river to settle in Onitsha in the 16th century, which was originally called Ado N’Idu. It soon became the capital of an Igbo Kingdom. In 1857, British traders in palm oil established a permanent station in the city, and Christian missionaries soon followed, headed by Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther (a Yoruba) and Reverend John Taylor (an Igbo).
In 1884, Onitsha became part of a British protectorate. The British colonial government and Christian missionaries penetrated most of Igboland to set up their administration, schools and churches through the river port at Onitsha.

Historically, Onitsha became an important trading port for the Royal Niger Company in the mid-1850s. Following the abolition of slavery, trade in palm kernels and other cash crops boomed around this river port. Immigrants from the hinterland were drawn to the emerging boom town as did the British traders who settled there and coordinated the palm oil and cash crops trade.

Colonial relics and post-colonial architectural wonders
Areas bordering Old Market, New Market Roads, Upper Market Road, Modebe Avenue, Iboku, Old Cemetry, Old Hospital, Mbanugo St, Emejulu St, Obi Street, Benjamin St, Court, Enugu Road, Awka Road, Egerton, etc are known as Whitemen Quarters, so-called because the white colonial masters who first settled in Onitsha, used to live here. And, even till today, the white colonial style of buildings such as you see at Yaba, Ebute Metta and Central Lagos, can be seen existing, side by side, with the new, on these streets.

But much more modern exotic architectural wonders exist in places like the G.R.A and “33” Housing Estates. Sunday Sun understands that SCityGate Real Estate Ltd, located on Mike Ilodibe Crescent and which specializes in building ultra-modern architectural structures, makes such building wonders happen for interested clients. In 1965, a bridge was built across the Niger River to replace the ferry crossing. Today, plans are said to be underway to build the Second Niger Bridge.
Onitsha is made up of three groups of people, Ukpabi reveals. The first is the Edos, the Ezechima’s team. The second, Igalas. They were the people that were fishing at the Niger by the time Onitsha people came to settle there. The third, the Igbos who are very close to the Niger and had integrated with them. These three groups make up what is today known as Onitsha.”

“Their tradition is blended with the three peoples, first the Edos, second the Igalas”, Ukpabi says. “In fact, in the past, there were some villages in Onitsha that spoke Igala. And they are made up of two villages. They are still in Onitsha. Onitsha is made up of nine villages. Two out of the nine are purely the Igalas: Ogbodu and Obigboru. So, that is how Onitsha people came to be.

“The ones with Edo influence are the monarchy itself. That’s the Eze Chima, that is the ruling villages. They are four in number. Umueze Aroli, Okebunabu (which include Umudei and Ogbabu) and Olosi. The present Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Achebe is the 21st Obi of Onitsha.”
Inter-marriages, says Ukpabi, have long existed between the Igalas and the Edos. “The people our ancestors met fishing at the bank of the River Niger were purely Igallas. They were following the Niger all the way from their place to Onitsha. So, they don’t normally come to the upper land. They remain there. They have their buildings in their canoes. So, we attracted them into coming to the hinterland. We started intermarrying with them. One of the outstanding monarchs of Onitsha, Obi Eze Aroli, the mother, Enubi, is from Igala.”[/s]



https://www.edoworld.net/History_of_Onitsha.html

Trash! Go tell the Benin expansionist that we now understand their landgrabbing tactics. A people of 5 LGA cannot found an ethnic group of over 40m. Benin should look for their brothers in Urhobo, Isoko, Eshan! Any foolish movement towards east of the Orhionwon river would be met with brutal resistance. Maybe it’s time we begin to cure some madness.

Rather it was the Ibos who founded Idu before the coming of the Oba who brought war. Ibos were the founders of Idu, and the Ogiso dynasty which began from Igodo had Ibo origin.

Eastlink:
Trash! Go tell the Benin expansionist that we now understand their landgrabbing tactics. A people of 5 LGA cannot found an ethnic group of over 40m. Benin should look for their brothers in Urhobo, Isoko, Eshan! Any foolish movement towards east of the Orhionwon river would be met with brutal resistance. Maybe it’s time we begin to cure some madness.

Rather it was the Ibos who founded Idu before the coming of the Oba who brought war. Ibos were the founders of Idu and the Ogido dynasty starting from Igodo had Ibo origin.

please prove that the ibos founded Igodomigodo

Etrusen:




the story of Nri is a cooked one to suit the likes of Igodomigodo and other African Empire of old.
Igbo were the laziest in ancient history who didn't affect history but history affected them.

So U mean to say all the archeological discoveries were also made up right? Are some of U too lazy to even research?

ezenwajosh:
zik is older than I am but no sure about his wisdoms but the story zik is telling according to the poster is difference from someone's else's older than zik

please tell me the person older than zik

Etrusen:



please tell me the person older than zik

Pa Jude ikeotuonye akpakoba

ezenwajosh:

That's not true

please tell me the right answer since you understand edo language very well
avanukhun iso o khian gbua u ma na setin rie wanmwen yo mwen re.

What's the meaning of Eze Chima in Edo/bini language fam??

Do y'all know that NRI kingdom predated and influenced Bini kingdom!?!

How can Bini of yesterday be talking about history where Igbo history is being mentioned!?!

Etrusen:



please tell me the right answer since you understand edo language very well

avanukhun iso o khian gbua u ma na setin rie wanmwen yo mwen re.

What is the Edo meaning of Eze chima the man that led Onitsha to their current locale?

Ok

ezenwajosh:

Pa Jude ikeotuonye akpakoba

when did he give his narrative?

Etrusen:




have been following your talk for long but I just refuse to reply because I feel that

Igbo's have nothing to say when it come to history

Igbo's from time past are just nothing when opening the pages of raw African history.


anyway I want you to answer this question

where is the oldest Igbo kingdom located ?

who was it first king ?

how far did the kingdom spread ?

I thought you were about to write something discernible instead you towed the same part as the person you're trying to admonish

Hellraiser77:
What is the Edo meaning of Eze chima the man that led Onitsha to their current locale?

it is so obvious that the name is not an edo name but the fact is that ezechime was a product of Benin begotten by an ibo mother during oba esigie reign.


ezechime fled Benin after a conflict between his mother portion and Oba esigie thereby taking along most things that relate to Benin