A BRIEF HISTORY OF UMUNWANWA

by

C.B. Ezekwe



Umunwanwa is one of the seven major communities of Umuopara Clan in Umuahia South LGA of Abia State. The other major Umuopara communities are: Ezeleke, Ogbodiukwu, Ekenobizi, Ehume, Ogbodinibe and Umuihe.

In pre-colonial days Umunwanwa community was known as OzunaNgodo. It was so called because, the three hamlets answering 'Ozu', comprising: Umuobia, Umuawoli and Umuoke regarded themselves as a community, while Ngodo hamlet took themselves to be another community. Later, the two original communities united to have a common village square (Mbara), a market place, an annual dance (Ikoro), and other cultural festivals; and the unity was called Ozunangodo. However, Ozu people retained a separate spiritual head from the Ngodos. Like many other Igbo communities, the spiritual heads of both Ozu and Ngodo people were called 'Onye-Isiala'. The Onye-Isiala was believed to be the link between the living and their ancestors. Because the population of the village was not much by then, inter- marriage between the hamlets that made up Ozu was prohibited; likewise, Ngodo people could not inter-marry within themselves. The only possible inter-marriage within Ozunangodo could be performed between Ngodo men and Ozu women, and vice versa.

Although, Igbos use a 4-days week, namely: Nkwo, Eke, Orie and Afor, our community and others, in many clans around us, preferred to adopt cultural and major market days at 8-days intervals.

One of the many observed cultures was the Nkwozu, occurring every eight market days; and this alternated every four days with Nkwoudo, being another Nkwo day observed by the neighboring Udo community. Only sanitary work, including 'iza ama' by women, was allowed in an Nkwozu morning; later in the evening, trading took place on that eighth market day, at a special Nkwozu market place which was the same space in which the annual Ikoro dance was celebrated. Any breach of the peace on such a day, by two fighting adults, attracted fines imposed on each of the two. The Ikoro Dance was fixed annually to fall on an Nkwozu in the dry season. When Ozunangodo embraced the International 52 weeks’ year in the third decade of the 20th Century, which runs from January-1 to December-31, the first Nkwozu after the New Year Day was given preference in scheduling the Ikoro Dance. As the adult men and women entertained themselves and their visiting spectators, with their Ikoro musical beatings, songs and dancing, groups of teenagers from various sections/subsections of the community would boost the entertainment by dancing to the square, one after the other, wearing their respective types of masquerades There were other commonly held annual festivals like Iri-ji, also fixed on an Nkwozu day - when yams were due for harvesting - in the wet season. In honour of both Ikoro Dance and Iri-ji, relatives and in-laws from neighboring communities, like Ogbodinibe and Nsirimo enjoyed paying visits to the Ozunangodos carrying along with them, palm wine and the likes, as entertainment items were offered them in appreciation. The people of Ozunangodo paid similar cultural visits, individually, to their close connections in neighboring communities.

Local recording of events in Igboland started in1857 -- for those that could make the necessary contacts -- with the night schools of CMS Anglican Church in Onitsha. Those of our people that had the opportunity to travel in connection with cases at native courts established in the Bende District, in the first decade of the 1900s, could gain knowledge of dating with days, months and years fixed for cases. Other people in our area could get their dating knowledge from the Sunday school system started in 1910 at Uzuakoli prior to the establishment of the Primitive Methodist Church there. However, most native people became gradually conversant with modern dating of events when schools, founded by Christian missionaries, started functioning in their domains. Before then, people could only count the number of years from the time of a human birth, and if a major confusion occurred in ascertaining the age of a person, the age-group belonged to, would serve as a guide in estimating the age attained. Apart from uniting their members, most age-grades played important roles in initiating and executing development projects in their Igbo communities.

On the eve of an Nkwoudo, being Afor 12th December, 1901 the Aro Expeditionary Force crossed the Imo River through Udo, invaded and occupied Ozunangodo, till Orie 15th December, 1901 when they left the communty to continue their journey to Bende. The Aro Expedition (aka, Anglo-Aro War) was initiated by the British High Commissioner for Southern Nigeria Protectorate, Ralph Moor, to attack and capture places belonging to the Aro Confederacy. Two columns of the force led by Lt. Col. Arthur Festing and over 30 other European military officers, fought their way from Oguta and Akwete axes of the expedition, right from November 1901 and reached present day Abia Central in December that year, after joining together at Owerri. Before embarking on their expedition, they had drafted some friendly Aros and trained them as would-be interpreters of spoken English, to native Igbos who they were going to meet on their way. Of course, local people they encountered on their route did not know who they were (with some that had a common white colour); nor could they understand their mission that caused them to be heavily armed. These were the reasons for the resistance which many Igbo communities organized themselves to do, by way of attempting to prevent the aliens from entering their domains. Marching all the way from their two axes and moving through neighbouring Mbaise, the expeditionary force that had foreseen the need, prepared to cross Imo River with weapons, food and safety equipment which their special carriers brought along.

The Aro men in their company were not familiar with the route from Imo to Bende; so, the aliens needed people living closer to Bende to lead them to their destination. Sources from the family of Chf. Nwosuocha Ukaoha narrate how he was fishing with some other men at Ozunangodo side of the river when they sighted a multitude of strange-looking people at the Udo side, who obviously wanted their cooperation in order for them to cross to the Ozunangodo side. His fishing colleagues became afraid of the strange-looking aliens and began to retreat to their homes. But Nwosuocha summoned courage and signaled the strangers to reach the up-river where they were helped to cross to the Ozunangodo side with the 'akwa', being a 'bridge' made with local materials. That was how the aliens got acquainted with Nwosuocha who, they hoped, could also lead them to Bende. On the other hand, Nwosuocha being unaware of the type of people they were and the purpose of their journey, he did not realize that, by boldly and voluntarily helping the strangers cross Imo River, he had unconsciously joined an extremely powerful group that was going to play a great roll in his life and fortunes.

The British had considered Bende as a possible converging centre for their planned expedition, right from the year 1896, when Arthur G. Leonard and his group pioneered a visit to that area of Igboland from Opobo. The group had sailed to Opobo and penetrated inland to Bende. According to a web article written by Chris Aniche Okorafor, on AROCHUKWU KINGDOM, dated 17-June-2010, Leonard reported in his “Notes on A Journey to Bende” in the "Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society..." that at Bende where they met with the Aro to “negotiate free trade and abolition of slave trade, the Aro were requested to remove their hats in respect to the white men"; to the visitors' surprise, “every Aro that had a hat put it on and those that lacked hats borrowed them for the purpose..."

When they were first sighted in December 1901, news went around Ozunangodo that a group of armed aliens were crossing the river from the Udo side. In reaction, all able-bodied men were organized to resist the invading aliens. According to an eye witness, Nnanna Ihuoma Enogwe (1880s-1970) who, with his mates, followed their armed, more matured men, behind and curious to watch the reaction of the reportedly strange, "albino coloured" people, to their own men's shootings: Ozunangodo men fired many shots, from their locally-made guns; but, when the aliens had prepared their own weapons and started firing them in the direction of the Ozunangodo resistant group -- with tremendous ear-shattering noise -- everyone at the scene instinctively reacted by fleeing from the river side. Next, most of the natives carried their families to neighboring communities for refuge. The men could only return to bushy meeting points near their homes to discuss that disturbing development.

The aliens continued scaring people by firing frequently into the air even when they had reached an inhabited part of the community (obviously to discourage further attacks from the natives). Nwosuocha, who the aliens had earlier considered as having been drafted into their fold, fled to his Nsirimo maternal home with the pandemonium caused by their strange weapons. This factor, coupled with the strange looks of the aliens' uniformed men, whose toes were not visible, being a later observation -- unlike his colleagues -- he had scarcely noticed at the initial stage. At first, many blacks in the expedition were moving in front of the group -- ahead of the armed aliens -- the overall strange look of things, later, seemed to justify his colleagues' reasons for retreating, on first sighting the strangers.

When the alien soldiers had gathered at the community's Mbara, they found themselves stranded in Ozunangodo, lacking people that could lead them to their desired destination; so they had to form a temporary camp at the part of Mbara near Umuezi. Frustrated, they issued threats, through their Aro interpreters, that they would resort to destroying all houses in Ozunangodo, if Nwosuocha and the fled men of the community did not gather to meet them at Mbara. When Nwosuocha reported at Mbara, he was first subjected to severe military discipline for being absent without official permission. Then he was convinced to lead them to Bende. Eventually, the aliens had enough men gathered at Mbara, and they gave assurance to the natives that their mission was not to kill native people. Then, at the spot which Ugwumba Age Grade erected the now age-old “WELCOME TO UMUNWANWA” signboard, they laid a stone to mark their peace treaty with the natives. That stone has been removed – probably during the civil war – by people who did not understand its significance. But a similar stone laid by the British at Bende on March 26, 1902 to symbolize the end of the Anglo-Aro War, is said to still being used as a tourist's attraction. Although Nwosuocha and other natives were told at Mbara that the main purpose of the expedition was to campaign against slave-trading and slavery, they did not mention that they were going to fight a battle at Bende. Actually, when they arrived at Bende the group did not confront their opposition to risk fighting any battle before March 2, 1902 when all the columns of the expedition would converge there. At the interval, people drafted from Bende led that group to other places, the next invasion -- by the main attacking Arthur Festing's column No.3 -- being Abam (18-Dec-1901), regarded by the British as a very powerful confederate of the Aros.

By the time the aliens reached Mbara – probably thinking that they were in the eastern part of Udo -- they did not ask to know the name of the area. On reaching near Nwosuocha’s home, when their journey had started, he saw some members of his Nwanwa kindred returning from the place they had taken refuge. It was then that the aliens asked Nwosuocha the name of the community. Thinking that they were inquiring about the returnees, Nwosuocha replied "umu Nwanwa". Upon hearing what he pronounced, the unit's commanding officer jolted down Umunwanwa as the name of the village. That is how the community has been answering UMUNWANWA till today, because it is what the colonial government entered in the gazette. Later, when the Aro Expedition (aka, Anglo-Aro War) had ended, Nwosuocha was made a warrant chief by the colonial masters. That post enabled him to be visiting the then district headquarters in Bende. There being often land and other disputes, requiring customary judgment to settle them, every journey he made to Bende would require his being accompanied by local men who were good at judging cases. As all journey's were then made by trekking, they would stay weeks in Bende before returning home. The native court cases he handled and other duties assigned to him by the colonists, made Nwosuocha very prosperous and wealthy, which enabled him to marry many wives, as was the norm in ancient times with affluent men. Nwosuocha later felt in love with a girl called Nwamgbede, from Ezerioha family in Umuogidi Umuobia, and he wanted to marry her. Since he was born in Umuawoli, which is a co-Ozu hamlet with Umuobia, entering into such marriage would have been a taboo unless the cultural prohibitions were broken. Being very influential, he consulted the Onye-Isiala of Ozu who dictated the requirements that would make inter-marriage between the Ozu hamlets possible. His wealth enabled him to meet those requirements, and the Onye-Isiala presided over the severance of the inter-marriage taboos between the three Ozu hamlets. The traditional ritual so performed enabled Nwosuocha to marry the Umuobia girl that was first attracted to him. According to Elder Hart Bende of Umuegbuogu kindred in Eluama Umuawoli, who retired from the federal civil service in 1989, his father, Bende Onyegbule, soon followed Nwosuocha's footsteps to marry his mother, Janneth, which event took place in 1923, his mother's maiden home being in Uwakwurube family of Umuoke.

From then, onwards, other marriages between the Ozu hamlets took place. It may be pertinent to note that since those early intermarriage events, marriage prohibitions within any of the four hamlets of Ozunangodo have not been cut.

Towards the period of the last major Igbo resistance to colonial rule which ended by 1911, Christian missionaries from Europe and later, North America, were able to enter into areas, east of the Niger which were before then, considered to be repellent to their religion. Also, the colonists were satisfied that the earlier major expedition, conducted by them, stopped frequent pilgrimages, believed to be ignorantly made by Igbos and their neighbours, to the Ibin Ukpabi oracle (aka, "Long Juju of Arochukwu") which they alleged, was secretly used to sustain the Aro slave-trading network. Some modern scholars, proud of their roots, have different views about the ancient Aros, though.

In the British created Bende District - forming the present day Abia North/Central - Methodist Church made the greatest impact. That Christian denomination was the first to establish a church in Umunwanwa which was completed with the initial baptism of converts in 1921. Later in that 3rd decade of the 20th century, they also founded a primary school, attached to that first church, named: Methodist Central School, Umunwanwa. A postal agency was later attached to the school. The next denomination that entered Umunwanwa was the Apostolic Church, in their two versions: one church was built by the Bende headquarters of the Apostolic Church, the other one was founded by the Aba Divisional headquarters of the church. Next was the Faith Tabernacles Congregation, attracted by Elder Johnny and Pastor Nwade, who became the resident minister for many years.

In 1957 the Odida Anyanwu Local Authority (mainly the present-day Umuahia South and North LGAs) founded another primary school at the present site of the Technical School, called: Local Authority School, Umunwanwa (shortened to "L.A. School"). In 1958 the Seventh Day Adventist Church was brought to Umunwanwa. This was when Elder Alfred Nwokeafor of Ogbodiukwu sought the cooperation of a fellow Umuopara man, Pa Josiah Uzosike Enogwe to negotiate accommodation, in the house of Pa Matthias Nwobasi Ezekwe; and this formed a base for the 'EFFORT', presided over by Pastor Odinma of Ubakala and conducted throughout the month of May that year. Soon after SDA Church, the Assemblies of God Mission, were helped by indigenes like Rev Nwosu-Nwamara and Rev Jeremiah Uzoma, to organize a missionary campaign that brought and built a church in Umunwanwa. By the time Methodist Church was building the first Umunwanwa School, the Roman Catholic Mission was introducing the first church in Nsirimo, and built it at Umuako. In order to enable the Catholic priest to be conducting Mass every Sunday at Nsirimo, by travelling from the town, that denomination constructed a motor-able road, linking Amauzu Ubakala with Umuako, called Okporo-Father (or, Okporofada). Since then, it is Okporofada that the residents of Egbelu Umuawoli in Umunwanwa have been using as the most conducive route to join the main road, which the colonial government had widened soon after making Umuahia a major railway town. In those days, the colonial authorities ensured the maintenance of that main Mgbarakuma-to-Umunwanwa road, to keep it motor-able, by hiring road maintenance workers.

After the civil war, many more denominations, including the Catholic, built churches in Umunwanwa. By 2019 there were more than a dozen Christian denominations and over 20 church premises in the community.

The existence of the Ohiya stream between Ogbodinibe and Umunwanwa had the tendency of the latter having more cultural leanings with Nsirimo than other communities in Umuopara clan. In other to ease inter-movement of Umunwanwa people with the rest of Umuopara, Chf Ezekiel E. Anosike organized other men of the community whose mothers were born in Ogbodinibe to construct a small bridge in order to bring that seeming barrier to an end. Thus, Umunwanwa people that had maternal homes in Ogbodinibe contributed money and labour to make possible the bridge construction across the Ohiya stream.

After Independence, in 1960, the Eastern Nigeria Government, being administered by indigenes, continued the maintenance of the community's main road. With Dr. Michael Okpara as the post-Independence Premier of Eastern Nigeria, one of his campaign promises, prior to the election which returned him to a second term, was fulfilled by building a modern bridge across the Imo River, linking Umunwanwa with Udo in Mbaise. By late 1969, that bridge was the main link between the eastern side of the secessionist Biafra to the western side.

When the civil war started in 1967, all schools ceased to function in the then eastern region. This caused most schools to be used for non-educational activities. Methodist Central School Umunwanwa became important as the first major refugee camp for displaced civilians from the combat battery zones of the eastern Niger Delta. The adjacent Maternity Home, founded in the early 1960s (when Chief J.I. Uwakwe attracted it, being the community's elected councilor in the then Odida Anyanwu County Council), was partly used as a base for storing relief materials for the refugees. Such relief materials, mainly made up of food items, were donated by international humanitarian organizations, such as ICRC and Caritas. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and SDA Mission also sent their donations which were extended to some local people threatened by war-caused malnutrition. The entire community was a beehive of activities as subsequent refugees, especially those of higher standing, were sheltered at most homes in the community, from where they visited the refugee camps to collect relief materials. The central school camp and homes of the natives continued to shelter refugees till December 24, 1969 when the federal troops advanced to Umunwanwa. As the popular Orie Ntigha market of the 1969 yuletide, was due to hold next on the festive day of 26th December, it had to be opened for trading on that rowdy 24th December. This shift of trading date caused many women with their underaged children and elderly men from our area (including similar people from neighbouring Mbaise area), that attended Orie Ntigha that day, to suddenly see themselves late in the rush to cross to the western side of Imo River. In the twilight of the following morning – of December 25 -- the Imo bridge was blown up with explosives when the federal troops moved to its eastern edge. In his book "No Place to Hide" the Chief of Biafra Intelligence, Bernard Odogwu, wrote that thousands of civilians still struggling, in the over crowded space, to flee from the advancing federal soldiers, met their doom on that "Udo bridge" when the destructive explosions occurred. There were also corpses of dead civilians and soldiers seen littering the road, right from the previous day, all the way from the old Ubakala junction. The federal troops occupied Umunwanwa from the Christmas Eve of 1969 to the end of January 1970, especially as that community formed one of their fighting bases till 15th January, 1970 when the civil war ended.

The inhabitants of Umunwanwa found the soldiers' continued occupation of their homes, after a deadly civil war, very discomforting. The situation reached a climax a few days before withdrawal of the troops, when one person, Mr. Ejikeme Ekechukwu, was shot dead along a bush track, as he was going to farm. A young woman was escaping from a soldier that was pursuing her to be taken captive when the incident occured. It had been a common practice throughout the period of the hostilities which was extended to some weeks after the war was declared ended, that a soldier only needed to point the nozzle of his gun at a young woman, sighted in a captured territory, for she to surrender herself for raping or forced marriage. Some girls, so abducted, were never to be seen by their parents again. Where practicable, people had to keep their teenage daughters in hiding, throughout the duration of the soldiers' occupation of their area. In the case that caused the death of an Umunwanwa indigene, the young woman courageously outsmarted the soldier and escaped to a bushy area. After getting tired of looking for the direction she fled to, the soldier vented his anger at Mr. Ekechukwu who was the first person he saw after the failed abduction attempt, because he considered himself slighted by a girl of the community which he thought was his absolute right to take captive. That is how the soldier made his victim to be the one to pay for his claimed loss. In 1970, when the civil war ended, normal schooling resumed, but the then East Central State government, installed by the military regime, decided to take over the running of all schools from their founding missionaries. By 1980 more classroom blocks were built at the L.A. School site as the premises were expanded; that is how it was changed to "Secondary Technical School, Umunwanwa". This made it the next secondary school in the clan, after Umuopara Grammar School. The president general of Umunwanwa Progressive Union (UPU), that organised the opening of the Secondary Technical School (STS) was Nze Ndimele Ukauwa, and chairman of the board of governors was Prof S.N. Nwosu.

That change seemed to have returned the community to the pre-1957 status of having only one primary school. However, when Governor Okezie Ikpeazu made Mr. Kenechukwu U. Nwosu the Chairman of Abia State Universal Basic Education (ASUBEB), a new primary school was founded in Egbelu Umuawoli by 2017, in addition to renovating and equipping the Technical Secondary School and the old Central (primary) School.

The struggle to have electricity supplied to the community intensified in the 1980s. On June 25, 1983 the Umunwanwa Progressive Union (UPU) appointed an "electricity launching committee" with Engr. P.O. Nwosuagwu and Chief G.C. Anyanwu as chairman and secretary, respectively. On October 29, 1983 the first launching of the electrification project was carried out. In the UPU general meeting of December 25, 1983 Chf Friday O. Amuzie was made the President General (PG) of UPU, along with Chf Bennett Elendu as secretary, Engr. P.O. Nwosuagwu as treasurer, Chf. Igbo Ogbuehi as Financial Secretary. Along with other elected officers, the new UPU executive inherited the responsibility of the electrification project and the proceeds of the first launching from the Electricity Launching Committee. Two subsequent electricity launching events were successfully carried out on December 29, 1984 and April 6, 1985, with Chf. John O. Achilefu as chairman and Chf Emmanuel Nwachukwu as secretary.

The proceeds of the three launching events enabled UPU to purchase and erect 27 high-tension electric poles along the Umunwanwa-Mgbarakuma road, including a distance of many poles, from the Mgbarakuma end, threatened by gully erosion.

At the UPU general meeting of December 25, 1986 internal auditors were appointed to audit the electrification project handled by the UPU executive and how the proceeds of the three launching events were utilized. Mr. Chukwuemeka B. Ezekwe was to be assisted by Chf Heart Adighmadu for the purpose of carrying out the audit. At its completion, the audit revealed, inter alia, that about one-third of the money realized from the three launching events was handed to the Village Council which used it in building a workshop needed at the Technical School. Mr. C.B. Ezekwe was working in a far-distanced company when his appointment as the head of the auditors was made. He had to be driving from his Warri base to Umunwanwa on weekends to carry out the audit. On one occasion he narrated to Chf Amuzie, how he was having a smooth drive all the way from Warri, but on branching out from the Old Aba Road, towards Umunwanwa, the road was giving a big problem to his car, caused by the threatening gully near the Mgbarakuma end. He also expressed his fear that the high-tension electric poles being erected on the road would soon fall into the gully as it widened. Chf Amuzie replied that the UPU would consider the possibility of creating another entrance to the community's road that should be far from the widening gully-erosion.

Shortly thereafter, Engr. P.O. Nwosuagwu, organized Umunwanwa people residing in Rivers State to donate for the purpose of changing the entrance of the community's road, at Mgbarakuma, from the Old Aba Road. Many of the community's indigenes resident in that state responded to his call by donating generously for the desired change. A great number of them also followed Engr. Nwosuagwu to effect the proposed change. Some of his friends in Shell were among those that followed him to do the manual work of creating a new road entrance. With an electrician, Chf. Chibuzor Uhegbu Nwosuocha, among them, transferring the electric poles to the new road-side was made possible. Of course, the newly created entrance constitutes the greater part of the now tarred portion of the road -- the part near the ‘Ubakala Slaughter’.

Soon after the electric poles were erected on the road, an organization, Umunwanwa Youth Development Movement (UYDM), was formed by the youths who were impatient that the desired electricity supply was not soon forthcoming. The youths tasked themselves to donate more electric poles, as those earlier erected by the UPU executive were not enough. After erecting enough poles on the road, the youths also called for cash donations to enable the acquisition of electric cables and a transformer. The UPU executive, with Chf Daniel Mbagwu as the new President General, encouraged UYDM in what they were doing. Later, both UPU and UYDM cooperated to raise more money for a transformer by imposing levy on every adult. By this time, Chf Chiwoda Anyanwu (preceded by Chf Emenike Ukauwa) was president of UYDM and Chf Princewill I. Nwosuagwu, the secretary. Prof S.N. Nwosu helped in contacting the state government authorities for the purpose of procuring a transformer. Eventually, the transformer was acquired and Governor Temi Ejoor, being the then military administrator of Abia State, commissioned the electricity supply to the community in January 1995, at Mbara, when Elder Reuben Nwosuagwu was the PG of UPU, and Chief Stephen Nwachukwu, the secretary.

The history of Umunwanwa road has been a thorny one. Relative to the early construction of the road, which happened in the first decade of the 20th century, Princewill Elendu passes a story to the community, as narrated by his father, the late Chief Joshua Elendu -- who apparently witnessed the construction of the road to it's first Mgbarakuma end -- the road work involved late Inyama Uchegbuonu whose grandson, Pst Emeka Inyama, affirms to have been a court messenger, then acting as the Ozunangodo leader of the road workers.

Dr. Prince Elendu, in his messenge to an Umunwanwa platform on 21-February-2024 (also pasted on his FB wall), wrote: "For records, the original exit road to Uzoakoli Bende is the one that passes in front of Nwachukwu Onyegbula compound through Achara to Uturu Eziama Ubakala. When OzunaNgodo people decided to make current road being tarred now, there was serious fight between OzunaNgodo people and Mgbarakuma people. From Mgborogwu Asa place go straight passing through now valley behind slaughter to old Aba road at Mgbarakuma.

The fight was so much that a youth from Mgbarakuma died in the process. When peace was eventually negotiated for the road to be allowed by Mgbarakuma people, they demanded for a compensation for a youth from OzunaNgodo to be given in exchange. OzunaNgodo people returned and started meeting on the issue. It ended with Umuonugha (opara) producing the youth. The first son of Umuonugha was handed over to Mgbarakuma people as compensation for their youth who died in the fight."

When Dr. Peter Odili was governor of Rivers State his wife, Justice Mrs. Mary Odili, attended an important occasion at her maiden home in Udo, Mbaise. Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, then the governor of Abia State, also attended the occasion. Mrs. Odili utilized the opportunity to request Governor Kalu to present the poor state of the Mgbarakuma-Umunwanwa-Achingali Road and the Imo bridge connecting Imo and Abia states (along the road), to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and recommend that stretch of road to be constructed by NDDC. The Abia State governor later complied with that request and contacted the then Chairman of NDDC, Chf Onyema Ugochukwu, on the need to include that stretch of road among the NDDC-handled roads. When Dr. Princewill Elendu became the president general of Umuopara Clan Union, the people of Umunwanwa also urged the executives of that clan union to pay an official visit to Chf Onyema Ugochukwu, in order to ensure that the proposed stretch of road would enter the next budget of NDDC. Dr. Elendu did carry the executive officers of the Umuopara union to meet Chf Ugochukwu at the tail end of his office as the NDDC Chairman and returned to report that the proposed stretch of road had been included among NDDC project roads. By 2006 an Akwa Ibom State indigene had been appointed the new chairman of NDDC. By then, no contract had been awarded for the construction of the Mgbarakuma-Umunwanwa-Achingali Road. Engr. Peter O. Nwosuagwu had to pay several visits to the new chairman’s office, which resulted in NDDC awarding contract to Zerock Construction Company, for the construction of that road. A mobilization fee was paid to the contractor and construction of the road commenced. Only two kilometres of the road was tarred from the Mgbarakuma end when Zerock stopped working with the complaint that payments were not being received from NDDC -- contrary to their initial agreement – after they paid a little mobilization fee. But, by the time of suspension of their construction work, in 2007, the road had been leveled up to the Imo River edge; and in the process, erosion-control measures earlier installed by Engr. P.O. Nwosuagwu from the Mbara area, beyond his country home, towards Okahia, had been destroyed.

The contractors’ abandonment, after destruction of the private erosion-control measures, affected the Umunwanwa side of the road badly, especially with the long, deep gully that has since then developed from Mbara, towards Okahia. Many letters were written to NDDC and later to the National Assembly on The problem created by the abandonment of the road.

As delegated by a December 2013 meeting of UPUF, in January 2014, a team of indigenes led by HChief Emeka Inyama, visited NDDC head office in Port Harcourt, today report that, since after tarring 2 kilometres, their contractor had abandoned our road. Thereafer, Zerock returned to site and started drainage work on March 24. This time the width of the road -- between the two gutters -- was reduced to 80% of it's original width. Zerock pulled off again affer doing the drainage work for a short distance. Later, then secretary general of UPUF, Horatius Uzosike, reported through Umunwanwa Patriotic Blog, that on February 10, 2015, as a fallout from the visit made by a few leaders, Zerock came back with their equipments to Umunwanwa. But, without doing any major work, that construction company pulled off again -- in May that year -- few days before Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as the next civilian president of the nation.

On April 5, 2016, owing to a major letter of protest, initiated by Engr P.O. Nwosuagwu, the then managing director of NDDC, Mrs. Seminatari, visited the road and ordered the contractors to return to work. Zerock complied with that order and built only gutters from the end of the tarred portion to “ama Nwade” near 'Sign Board', before pulling out again for same reason of non-funding, by NDDC. On October 23, 2018, owing to the pressure mounted by Elder Sunday (Edozie) Nwosuocha and Engr. P.O. Nwosuagwu, the erosion problem of the community's access road was raised on the lower floor of the National Assembly, by the member representing Ikwuano-Umuahia Federal Constituency, Hon Samuel Onuigbo. Thereupon the House of Representatives reacted by mentioning that a committee should visit the erosion site and report within a month.

In February 2019, Professor Chukwunyere Nwosu, was granted interview in NPR where he made a broadcast on the deplorable condition of the badly eroded Umunwanwa roads.

The next that was heard of it was when, in October 2019, the lower house urged the Ecological Fund Office to sue NNPC/PPMC to court on the neglect of the exposed pipelines. Senator T.A. Orji who was representing the affected Abia Central Senatorial Zone in the upper house of the National Assembly, also visited the community after the October 2018 motion of Hon Onuigbo in the lower house and inspected both the Mbara and Ngodo gully-erosions; but by the start of the erosive rains of 2019, there was no indication that the erosion problems had been taken to Ecological Fund Office Abuja, or to any other federal government organ that could handle the problems. With the first seasonal maxima of 2019 rainy season, the erosion-caused gullies widened further to the extent of cutting the road leading to Ngodo.

Following the 2019 general elections, Barr Hon Jerry Uzosike won the votes to be the member representing Umuahia South State Constituency in Abia House of Assembly. That was the first time any indigene has won an election outside the Ohiocha Electoral Ward. Shortly thereafter Pastor Emeka Inyama became Chairman of Umuahia South Stakeholders of the ruling PDP party in Abia State; and in Augustine 2019, news came that mobilization fee had been paid to a contractor, so as to begin the construction of the Umuopara Ring Road, to start at the "5-Mile" end, and continue to Mbara. By the end of 2020, few kilometers of construction work had been completed to Ehume. That ring road had been proposed (even before the issue of the community's main road was taken to NDDC) to start from 5-Mile and end at Mgbarakuma. In June, 2020 it was announced that the Federal Government, through the Minister of Works, Hon Babatunde Fashola, was to embark on a multi-billion naira road project stretching from Achingali, then running through Obizi, Udo, Umunwanwa, and ending at Ubakala. That development finally ended the NDDC episode on the Umunwanwa road. In the year 2000, the Ohiaocha Autonomous community was created out of the existing Umuopara Autonomous Community with Eze Bennett Elendu as the first traditional ruler. The new autonomous community was made up of: Umuobia, Ngodo, Umuawoli, Umuoke and Ogbodinibe. Soon after, Ihenwekeala Autonomous Community was created, with Eze Barr U. Emelogu, as their first traditional ruler. In 2001, Eze ANON Nwosu became the first traditional ruler of a newly created EluamanaMgbedeala Autonomous Community; soon after, Ngodo Autonomous Community was also created, with Eze Stephen Ihuoma as their first traditional ruler.

Owing to some disagreements at home, the men's UPU national meetings could not hold for about eight years. Only the women's wing and some branch men's meetings were taking place. In 2008, Chief Jones U. Anosike took the initiative to organize Umunwanwa indigenes, both within Nigeria and in diaspora, to form another national union. That is how Umunwanwa Progressive Union Federated (UPUF) was formed, and Jones Anosike was made the first president general of the new organization that replaced the defunct UPU national men's meetings, and was succeeded by Chief Jonathan Chiwoda Anyanwu at the end of 2013.

In the UPUF general meeting of 26-12-2017, Chief Princewill Ikedichi Nwosuagwu, was voted to succeed Chief Jonathan Chiwoda Anyanwu as the president general. Unfortunately, Chf P.I. Nwosuagwu died in office in mid 1990, before his three years term of office could complete later that year. In the general meeting of 2021, Chief Horatius U. Uzosike was elected as the UPUF president general for the next three years.

Towards the end of Chf H. U. Uzochukwu's term office, UPUF resolved to build a civic hall which would be a storey building, and appointed Architect Okezie Mbara as the chairman of the planning committee. In order to make a good start, the planning committee for the proposed civic hall, decided to organize a luncheon for donations to be done in December 2024. For the purpose of making a big success of the proposed luncheon, the planning committee decided to give awards to both the present (living) and past major contributors to the progress of the community, with selections for those to receive awards (and survivors of post humous awardees) to be solely made by the committee members. The luncheon was successfully organized on December 31, 2024. Thus, pledges for donations were made on that date by awardees and other launchers of the proposed civic hall, amounting to about 26 million naira, with some of them paid on the day of the luncheon or soon after; thus, enabling the realization of a total of 4.2 million naira within a few weeks.

Before the launching date of the building project, an election was done in the UPUF general meeting of December 26, 2024; in which Chief Fidelis Okebugwu was elected to succeed Chf Horatius Uzosike as the new president general, even as Comrade Charles C. Ibeneche was reelected to serve as the secretary general for another term of three years.


People of Umunwanwa origin have recently been making impressive successes in sports administration and in it's development, as well as in sporting championships.

Pastor Emeka Inyama was, for 11 years, chairman of the Nigerian professional football club, Abia Warriors of Umuahia, during which period that new football club consistently retained it's status in the national apex league. He was handling that political appointment when the government of Abia State did some modernization work -- as a choice of the women wing of UPU, led by Chief Mrs Sally Ukauwa -- at the Mbara Ogwumabiri, with several solid market buildings, which were commissioned on 11-February-2019, by then Abia State first lady, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu.

Inyama was the Chairman of Abia State FA when that state owned clubside, Enyimba Football Club of Aba, in 2003, became the first Nigerian professional side ever to win the Confederation of African Football (CAF) trophy. He came to the limelight when he was made the Vice Chairman, Transport Committee, during the 1999 FIFA World Chairmanship; later, during 'COJA' African Sports Festival, he held the position of General Manager, Marketing. He was for several years, a board member of Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), which period he was voted to occupy the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Nigerian National League (NNL). And in November 2023, the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) Board set up a Youth League Committee to organise the 2023/24 NPFL Youth League, to be headed by Pastor Emeka Inyama.

Pastor Inyama is the founder of Carl Academy and Football Training College, Umuahia. He has also donated several yearly trophies to boost footballng skills among Umunwanwa youths.

Uchenna Nwosu plays in the prestigious National Football League (NFL) of USA. He has made American news headlines by staring for Los Angeles Chargers (2018-2021) and Seattle Seahawks (2022--). Uchenna and his father, Henry Bierechi ANON Nwosu, have performed important philanthropic activities, among which is the 2023 rescuing of hundreds (over two-thirds of the consumers) of helpless house owners in Umunwanwa by settling their accumulated public electricity bills. Also, for a period of six months (August 2024 to January 2025), the ANON-Nwosu father-and-son settled bills for all non-metered power consumers in Umunwanwa, the last settled bills being for power consumed in December 2024.

The first indigenous Personnel Manager of Nigerian Airways, Late Stephen Ama Achilefu, was a native of Umunwanwa. His son, Obioha Achilefu, was by 1988, the captain of NNPC Warri Football Club. He later joined then popular BCC Lions FC of Gboko, and with that club, in 1990, became the third Nigerian clubside to win the African Winners Cup (now "Mandela Cup"). Obioha then proceeded to play in the professional football league of India.

The first Umuopara woman graduate (also born in Umunwanwa), Lady Joana U. Ogbuehi (nee Achilefu), was the Ogbe Hard Court International Tennis (female) Champion, 1973.

Inhabitants of the community are today very grateful to many contemporary elites, such as:

Engr Peter Nwosuagwu, in the late 1980s, organized the shifting of the Mgbarakuma end of our road -- along with the community's electric poles -- from the badly eroded northern side of the 'slaughter' to the now tarred southern side.

Engr Chikezie Nwosu, led in the funding of the engineering work that covered the gully erosion which, by 2019, had made it impossible for any four wheeled vehicle to enter the most inhabited parts of Ngodo.

Followed by Henry Bierechi Nwosu, Engr Chikezie Nwosu also led in the cash donations that funded the engineering work which covered the Mbara erosion for continuing accessibility to the central primary schools, the Ogwumabiri, Maternity/Health Centre, Umuezi residential areas, and the rest of our Umuopara Clan. Scores of our elitist indigenes were united in responding to the SOS call made by the community leadership to rescue the road users, pupils and the affected inhabitants, generally. Full list of people and their donations that made such accessibility possible, is provided in a Whatsapp platform, captioned, "Mbara Erosion Tackling 1".

The solar street lights at the Mbara area were funded by Chf Sunny Mbagwu; and grass cutting machines were provided by Sir Sunny Mbagwu and Dr. Humble Uche, for the schools.

Chief Chukwunma Mbagwu has, for several years now, been aiding in accommodating youth coppers posted to the Secondary Technical School, and helping to supplement their stipends.

There is a recent house built by the duo of Chiefs Jerry Uzosike, and Ugo Inyama, to accommodate the matron of the Maternity/Health Centre and help other health workers;

There was a delegation, on 12-October-2022, consisting of the chairman of Umunwanwa Advisory Councillor (UAC), Pastor Emeka Inyama (as the head); the traditional ruler of Ngodo Autonomous community, Eze Stephen Ihuoma; the traditional ruler of Eluama Na Mgbedeala Autonomous Community, Eze Chibuike Roland Osuagwu; the Prime Minister of Ohiocha Autonomous Community, Chief Samuel Ndubueze; the member representing Umuahia South in Abia House of Assembly, Hon Barr Jerry Uzosike; the President General of UPUF, Chief Horatius U. Uzosike; Architect Okezie Mbara (as secretary); Chief Jonathan Chiwoda Anyanwu; and Mr Festus J. Onyemaechi JP. The delegation visited the office of the Federal Controller of works at Owerri, after which they travelled to the site of the construction work being handled by the contractor of our federal road project, Boliv Construction Company, at the Mbaise side. The visits were soon followed by that company in starting some sand filling work and tarring on our road, from Mgbarakuma and Amuzu Ubakala to where the construction work, by mid 2023, got suspended (near Technical Secondary School Umunwanwa).

In August 2024, the Special Adviser to Abia State government on policies and interventions, Rev.Fr. Christian Anokwuru, assured us his native people that the continuation of Umuopara Ring Road was soon to be continued, and to reach our community in the process. On 4-Dec-2024, Gov. Alex Otti of Abia State, flagged-off the construction of Umuopara Ring Road, to start this time at the Umunwanwa end of the road. Construction work soon started with the modernization of the bridge linking Umunwanwa with Ogbodinibe.

There are also selfless services and cash donations that have recently been made by progressive-spirited indigenes which are too numerous to mention here.



OFTEN DISPUTED HISTORICAL ISSUES

There are legends concerning the origins of sections of the community. Though such legends may seem popular, none reflects the views of the generality of the people. Thus, the author did not wish to delve into such legends which are lacking authentic sources, quite unlike what one would find in the community’s history.

In his “Paper presented at the 2015 Ezumezu Obowu Colloqium; Etiti and Mbaloha in History. Otoko, Obowu. 14 August, 2015", with the caption, “People of the Heartland of the Igbo People” and published at: http://www.chidiosuagwu.org/igbo-culture-writings/etitigbo/, Dr. Chidi G Osuagwu wrote: “The thought of kinsmen across the Ancient River, Imo Mmiriochie, was definitely a two way affair. Sometime in the late 1980s, the former Provost of, then, Alvan Ikoku College of Education; Professor Sunday Nnanta Nwosu, of Umunwanwa-Umuopara, was interviewed on the then Imo Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) on the origin of the Umuopara people. He had answered that Umuopara people came from Obowu.” Professor S.N. Nwosu's statement is likely applicable to most communities and sub-communities of Umuopara, as even some subsections of the clan narrate conflicting legends of their origins. For instance some people, such as Chief Ikechi Ukauwa, who entered it in his University "1976 term project", contend that their Ngodo community of Umunwanwa and some sections of Ehume, all in Umuopara Clan, migrated from Isuochi in the present day Abia North. Also, according to Engr Peter O. Nwosuagwu, while replying to questions asked in August 2023, by some Umunwanwa indigenes, on a Whatsapp platform of UPUF, his "Umuoke people came through the banks of Imo River as refugees from Umuogele/Ntigha axis." Regarding his witnessed political wards' councilorship of last ccentury, he further narrated: "During the early administration of our land, Umuobia was so large that Umuoke was seconded to Umuawoli as Ward 15." He went on to explain that Elder Reuben Nwosuagwu was the first Councilor of Umuoke when it was made independent, as a ward, from the then Councilor Hezekiah Osuagwu's Umuawoli.

2. Although, Ozunangodo is part of Umuopara clan the community had a different route leading to Imo River from those of other communities of the clan, such as Ekenobizi. Through any of those routes, the white aliens could cross to make a first visit to their destination community, or vice versa. From available records, the British colonists first visited Ozunangodo during the Aro Expedition that lasted from November 1901 to March 1902. During this period, the first and third columns of the expedition, led by Captain Alexander Jackson and Lt. Col. Arthur Festing, respectively, moved from their Oguta and Akwete axes, through Owerri and Mbaise, then crossed the Imo River from Udo to Ozunangodo, and then continued their journey to join the other columns of the expedition at Bende. Other records suggest that the whites first visited some other parts of Umuopara, such as the Ogbodiukwu and Ezeleke communities, when the district officer of a newly created Bende District, Frank Hives, made an introductory visit to that section of Umuopara in 1906.

3. According to such authorities in Umuahia history as J.U.J. Asiegbu, the only recorded pre-colonial visit of Europeans to the Umuahia area was made in 1896 when Major A.G. Leonard and his group penetrated from Opobo to Bende, to discourage slave trading and encourage trading in approved goods. There were many freed slaves and repented slave-traders in Opobo, Bonny and other river ports of the Niger Delta that could lead Leonard through the Opobo-Bende route. Many history writers on the British colonialism of Igboland, like Asiegbu, sourced much of their books' materials from the Nigerian National archives. Authentic history of neighboring Mbaise indicates that the first encounter with the British and that Igbo clan was in the 1901-1902 period that the Aro Expedition was on going. The British or other white people could not have made any genuine crossing of the Imo River to Ozunangodo without first passing through Udo or their neighbors in Mbaise-Obowo area; and there was no such credible claim existing in their history. Thus, any story of the whites passing through a part of Umuopara clan in pre-colonial periods cannot be substantiated.

4. The Ahiara Punitive Expedition that lasted from December 1905 to April 1906 and related attacks by British forces in Ahiara and Onicha areas, may be causing confusion with historians of Umuahia origin. Around November 13, 1905 the Owerri district officer, H.M. Douglas, who started his duty in May 1902 -- after the Aro Expedition -- declared their medical officer, Dr. Rogers Stewart, missing while on his journey with a bicycle, from Owerri, towards their Southern Nigeria capital, Calabar. Instead of taking their troops’ Akwete-to-Owerri route of 1901, which would have involved his being ferried with his bicycle across the Imo River, or travel down-river to Opobo, he followed the pre-colonial Owerri-Bende route that would have required his crossing the river at Udo with the locally made ‘akwa’ bridge and finally journey along the Cross River , via Unwana. It was later discovered that he was killed at Onicha Amairi. There being a big communication gap between him and the natives, Dr. Stewart was mistaken for the hated Douglas (or his agent), coming to spy on them with a suspected dangerous, horse-like device (bicycle). On December 7, 1905 Douglas initiated reprisal attacks locally known as ‘ogu Dongalasi’ (Douglas’ war), led by army officers, on the inhabitants of Ahiara and Onicha areas. The punitive attacks were thus brought under the command of Major Hugh Trenchard, being the commander of the then Bende-Onitsha Hinterland Expedition (1903-1910) covering mainly areas in Igboland, such as Nnewi, not visited by the British during the Anglo-Aro War (1901-1902). Ahiara people were said to be included in the attacks because they had, for several years, been having conflicts with the Douglas’ administration. It is a common practice by soldiers, during a military operation, that civilians met on their way, are forced to move along with them (or drafted into their group), to pre-empt their following another route -- at a faster rate of movement -- to inform potential opposition people that an armed group is advancing towards their territory. Apparently, the earlier mentioned retreated Ozunangodo fishermen were the ones that gave such alert to their people when -- after their overnight stopover at Ahiara -- the group was crossing the river through Udo. Before moving together across Mbaise, the two columns had during their earlier battles, lost a number of soldiers as well as some of their more prone defenceless carriers, so the combined troops looked for any opportunity, as they moved along, to draft more civilians that could help the over-laden carriers.
Retrieved from Mbaiseonline.com/igbo-history-mbaise: "On their way to attack the Aro people, British soldiers marched through Ahiara, forcing men to carry their food and military supplies. The people of Ahiara, resented the imposition of forced labour by a foreign army, who trampled through their lands without consultation". Describing how the reprisal attacks were carried out, that Mbaise source added: "By April 1906, following a year of sustained attacks, with mass casualties and destruction, which wiped out entire villages, the British brought Ahiara as well as Mbaise under colonial control".

The resentment, caused by the treatment received from the British soldiers during their stopover at Ahiara on Orie market day, 11-December-1901, originated the lack of Ahiara people's cooperation with Douglas' administration right from 1902 when Mbaise came under colonial rule. Thus, H.M. Douglas saw the murder of Dr. Stewart as an opportunity to punish Ahiara people for their stubborn attitude to his administration. The reprisal attacks did not directly affect the Mbaise region closer to the Imo River which includes such Ozunangodo neighbors as Udo. Despite lack of closeness of Umunwanwa and the areas affected by the punitive expedition, some historians write that the British first invaded Ozunangodo in 1905/1906 to pacify the natives during their hostile period with the affected Mbaise areas. Sometimes, such stories include the belief that in reply to unprovoked shootings against Umunwanwa people, the villagers mobilized themselves to reply with their own shootings, which resulted in the British conquering Umunwanwa and subjecting them to untold sufferings similar to those of the affected Mbaise people. The probable cause of such rumors is that the sources of information could not avail themselves with authentic records of related events to rely upon, so such informants to inquiring historians resort to guessing that the first British invasion of Ozunangodo, relative to which villagers fled their homes, was associated with the infamous Ahiara Punitive Expedition. However, in the previous decades, there were relatively learned people, such as Eze ANON Nwosu residing within Umunwanwa, who were enlightening inquirers that the first visit of the whites to the community happened during the Aro Expedition of early last century which took place before the Ahiara Punitive Expedition.

5. There was an earlier operation that affected some parts of Umuahia. In late 1902, Major William Heneker, at the instance of his commander of the earlier concluded Aro Expedition, Col. Arthur Montanaro, led an "Ibeku-Olokoro Operations". In his book, “The Umuahia People and their Neighbours”, J.U.J. Asiegbu wrote that the “punitive expedition” related to two court messengers missing on duty when they were sent to Ibeku and Olokoro leaderships to solicit their cooperation in discontinuing slave trading. In this connection, some historians claim that 'positive Igbo clans' fought to resist British invasions, but Umuopara people offered no major resistance, even as their Mbaise, Ibeku and Olokoro neighbors did much fighting. It is noteworthy that Ogbodiukwu and Ezeleke people of Umuopara first encountered the British by 1906 -- during or soon after the Ahiara Punitive Expedition -- and also had fresh memories of the experience of Ibeku and Olokoro people during the British operations of 1902. So, the inhabitants of that section of Umuopara had to apply their common sense, by making a cordial welcome or moderate resistance to the first visiting British colonists, to avoid the sufferings and ruins which their resistant neighbors had undergone. The earlier mentioned resistance attempted by the Ozunangodos, resulted from the surprise encounter with armed aliens never previously seen or heard of; thus, it is understandable that a serious armed resistance would result. It was also a rational approach to the extremely superior-armed strangers, to avoid further resistance attacks and adopt a civil approach, when the natives had realized that they were no close match to the alien invaders. By 1905/1906 the entire Umuopara clan and their Mbaise neighbors were already aware that the whites had recently been exercising their influence in places around them, so further sighting of such aliens could not have occasioned much surprise to the Umuoparas.

6. Stories are common with native people that it is the loud notice of fake weapons, or harmless cannon shots, similar to the local 'ntunala' that frightened the Ozunangodo resistant group into fleeing when they first encountered the whites. Nothing could be further from the truth. In his book, "ENCOUNTER WITH THE LONG JU-JU. NOVEMBER 1901 TO MAY 1902 -- A PRELUDE TO THE BRITISH MILITARY EXPEDITIONS IN IBOLAND", Samuel N. Nwagbara, who sourced most of his materials from Nigerian National Archives at Calabar and Enugu, wrote: "On Dec 7, the troops of No.3 Column were ferried across the river, reaching Owerri on the 9th, where they joined No.1 Column. The combined columns started for Bende on December 11 and arrived there via Udo on December 16." Note that the “Udo” referred to, is the closest to Umunwanwa of the Mbaise western neighbors of Umuopara Clan, demarcated by the Imo River. S.N. Nwagbara also stated that No.1 Column was equipped with “1 M/m gun” (a mortar shelling equipment}, and “1 Maxim gun” (a machine gun that could fire 600 rounds per minute) in addition to smaller guns carried by each of their 16 officers and 300 other army ranks. No.3 Column led by Lt. Col Arthur H. Festing along with 20 other officers, joined Captain Jackson's group (No. 1 Column) with similar weapons. Thus, the two columns of the expedition that invaded Ozunangodo constituted a complete combat ready force of over a thousand people, including their numerous carriers and other people drafted for special duties. For instance, during one of their battles at Esu Itu (located a long distance from the north east of Akwete-Obohia area), which happened days before the unit was ferried across the river to reach Owerri, No.3 Column was able to destroy logs used in covering trenches, with a long-range M/m gun. At best, the aliens purposely shot widely with their first set of firing, preparing to aim directly at the Ozunangodo men if they persisted with their resistant fighting.

7. The correct year in which the name of a place was corrupted, or mistakenly changed officially, and the person/s that did it are often a subject of controversy. It is important, however, to bear in mind that governmental authorities have the sole right of entering into the gazette the name of a place. The mere event of visiting a place by a group of aliens for a non-governmental purpose would not warrant them to make an alteration to the name of that place. A visit could be for business, such as trading in palm oil, or a missionary campaign. An example is the establishment of the Primitive Methodist Church in Ozu-Akoli, by Rev Trevor Dodds, in 1912, preceded by two years of Sunday school teachings by Rev Christie. Neither of the two Christian ministers had altered the name of that community, even as they could be the first Europeans to visit the Akoli clan and probably the first people to build a church in the old Bende division. But when the British colonial authorities were founding a railway station there in 1915-16, the name of the place was corrupted to Uzuakoli, because they wrote down the wrong pronunciation, for the gazette, after they had got a verbal response directly from some natives.

In like manner, some whites named the Afor Ibeji area, Umuahia, in an earlier year which could only have happened after the establishment of the colonial government of Southern Nigeria in 1900; but, when a major railway station was founded in Ibeku clan in 1916, it was named Umuahia Ibeku, while the Afor Ibeji area was changed to Old-Umuahia, to be identified with a smaller station there. Thus, following the aforementioned recorded events, it would not help historians to adopt any legend saying that an obscure group entered Ozunangodo in an unknown pre-colonial year, and changed the community’s name to Umunwanwa.



In addition to the quoted authors and history sources mentioned in the body of this article, much appreciation goes to the respondents that contributed individually to much of the information with which this article is written, which include: the late HRH Eze ANON Nwosu, the late Pa Matthias N. Ezekwe, the late Chief Amos Uhegbu, Chief E.A. Uzosike, Engr P.O. Nwosuagwu, Elders: Amos Nwosuocha, Sunday Edozie Nwosuocha, Felix Onyeije Nwosuocha, Chief Levi Elendu, Mr Ubendu Achilefu, and several others mentioned above.


For more on Umunwanwa history, visit Ozunangodo History


LAST EDITED: January 2025