History of Egbu

Via Obioha Egbere

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According to oral tradition, Egbu existed over a thousand years before the advent of the Europeans. The settlement dates as far back as the 9th century A.D. From genealogical reckoning the great grand father of Egbu was OFO AKURU, the proto - Alaenyi progenitor, who according to records of ethnological studies of Ndigbo, lived in the 6th century A.D. in the forest lands of the present Umuorii Uratta in the Obibi Uratta autonomous community .. Ofo Akuru’s first son was called Ome. According to oral tradition Ome was a polygamist and had many children which included ENYI, EZELUKWU and NNEORIE. Ome according to history was a tactful and peaceful man. His strong control over his large family however marked him out as a strict disciplinarian. 

Enyi became the head of the family after Ome's death and he had five sons namely: IHITTA OGADA, AWAKA, EGBU, OWERRI and NAZE. It must be mentioned that there is another legend that places Owerri as part of Uratta. According to this legend Owerri fled from Uratta having taken the heart of the cow which he bought for his father’s funeral which by tradition belonged to Alum. When his other brothers conspired to kill him, he fled to Ugwu Ekwema to escape the inevitable consequence of his wanton action. 

Enyi’s five sons are called ALAENYI. The five towns that make up Alaenyi have similar traditions and customs which served them as a bond of unity. Enyi like his father Ome maintained the unity of his family. It was after his death that internal rancor hit the unity and solidarity of the sons. Enyis’ children separated and moved to new settlements with their respective children. In spite of geographical movement the said cultural and political affinity was maintained. The early settlement of Enyi and his five sons was at a place called "APU OTU OBO" of Egbu. The tree 'Apu' gave a wonderful shade and provided a rallying centre for relaxation and social entertainment. Houses were built around the Apu tree. The houses were made of sticks, palm fronts, 'Uga' and"Etere”. Egbu, the third son of Enyi was dynamic, witty and highly industrious. He was a polygamist and had three sons; OKOCHI, UBA EZE and UBA. Okochi the first son of Egbu was the father of Ayalu and Okweke. Okweke had a son called Ofeuzo. As a result of the blood relationship between Ayalu and Okweke one can understand the indissoluble ancestral affinity between Ayalu and Ofeuzo till this day. Uba Eze the second son was the father of Mpama and Ofomeje or Umuofo (Umunwahu and Ugama were also kindred’s in Mpama). Uba the third son of Egbu had only one son called lshiuzo. 

Egbu and his large family lived peacefully but after his death sporadic misunderstandings and quarrels led to the dispersion of some members of the family to other lands. These emigrants still maintained close relationship with their kith and kin at Egbu. They continued to attend the famous Egbu cultural festival. "Mgbugbuzo" for a long time. Every Egbu person in Diaspora observed the "Afor" market day which agreed with the "Afor” market day at Egbu. The migration thinned down the population of Egbu and left her with five villages. 

Many factors were responsible for the emigration of some of our people but the dominant factor was the Ihitta Egbu incident. According to oral tradition, a group of Ihitta Egbu people killed one Nwagwu by accident. Embittered and incensed by the incident his brother Oformeje retaliated by killing Odogwu Onyikiri and his pregnant wife. This led to fighting and unrest which eventually caused the emigration of some of our people to distant places namely Egbu Ozuzu, Egbu Oguta and Egbu Nzam.

History of Owerri

Via Njamanze Family Abroad

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Owerri was founded about the 14th century by our founding father Ekwem Oha.
His mother's name was Arugo.
He fled from Umuori Village, Uratta in Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo State when his life was threatened by his younger brother Ndum. The threat to his life arose from the dispute over the sharing of the Funeral Cow slaughtered when their father Oha the aristocrat and embodiment of royalty died. The first son (Opara in Igbo) Ekwem was to provide the funeral cow as demanded by custom. He did not have the means to do so. He appealed to his younger brother Ndum popularly known as Ndumoha to buy the cow, which he did. Ndum asked for the head, heart and other parts of the cow that go to the first son in keeping with custom. His reason being that he Ndum, bought the funeral cow. Ekwem turned down his request and a quarrel ensued. The elders (Oha Uratta) were invited to settle the dispute. They did so by allowing tradition to prevail. Ekwem was'entitled to the aforementioned parts of the cow being the first son. Ndum did not take kindly to this and so planned to kill Ekwem in order to have his way. The plot leaked and Ekwem fled with his family at the dead of the night to Egbu a neighboring town (Community) taking with them some stores and domestic assistants. History has it that his sister was married at Egbu. His sister fearing that Ndum may look for him asked him to continue his journey to an unknown and uninhabited land for safety and settle there permanently. They 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 morning broke and they took their first meal roast old yam together in a typical communion fashion (not served) with thanks to Almighty and merciful Father our Lord God for their safety, the thick forest in the area being infested with dangerous animals such as lions, tigers and snakes like pythons, vipers and cobras.

THE NAME OWERRI (OWERE)

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.
The British found them very clean people. Recall the presence of Nwaorie and
Otamiri rivers flanking Owerri on the West and South respectively. Owerri people
were caring, friendly and accommodating hence *:he choice of Owerri by the
British Colonial Government as first, Divisional Headquarters later Provincial
Headquarters and today a state capital of Municipal status. It is sad to note what
the so-called modern technology in culverting had done to both Nwaorie and
Otamiri rivers at the creation of Imo state in 1976 when Owerri became the state
capital. The fine bridges that flew across the rivers that once flowed with beauty
were pulled down to give way to the culverts which were perhaps
unprofessionally constructed. The rivers are now almost stagnant and would
require millions of Naira to dredge. The influence of the two rivers on the culture
of Owerri people is now historical.