Owerri

Owerri
Map of Nigeria showing the location of Owerri in Nigeria.
Coordinates: 5°29′06″N 7°02′06″E / 5.485°N 7.035°E / 5.485; 7.035
State	Imo State
Government
- State Governor	Chief Ikedi Ohakim
Area
- City	104 km2 (40.2 sq mi)
- Land	130 km2 (50.2 sq mi)
- Water	20 km2 (7.7 sq mi)
- Metro	100 km2 (38.6 sq mi)
	estimated
Population (2007)
- City	5.5million
- Density	1,400/km2 (3,626/sq mi)
- Metro	3.5million
	estimated
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+1)

Owerri is a city in southeastern Nigeria. It is the capital of Imo State and is set in the heart of the Igboland.^[1] It currently has a population of about 231,789^[2] and is approximately 40 square miles (100 km²) in area. It is bordered by the Otamiri River to the east and the Nworie River to the south.^[3]

The Owerri Slogan is Heartland. It is currently referred to as the entertainment capital of Nigeria and is home to an annual beauty pageant called "Miss Heartland".

History

Owerri was the capital of the Republic of Biafra in 1969. The capital of the secessionist state was continuously being moved as Nigerian troops captured the older capitals. Enugu, Aba, and Umuahia were the other capitals before Owerri.

Origin

Owerri was founded by a man called Ekwema Arugo. He was the son of Uratta and was forced to leave because his brother wanted him dead on the grounds that Ekwema had planned to infringe up on his rights. Ekwema Arugo was the elder brother of Ndumoha who was a wealthy farmer and it happened that when their father died, Ekwema Arugo could not afford to buy a bull for the burial as it was the custom then to give a befitting burial to a man of affluence. His brother being a wealthy man bought the bull and requested to take the heart which was against the custom because it is the right of the first son. The village chiefs convened, and after much debate declared that Ekwema Arugo had the right to the bull's heart with the saying "O KPARA AKU LIE NNA YA O WUHU OPARA GBURU" meaning "let the wealthy bury the father,the first son is not the killer" and Ekwema Arugo out of joy proclaimed that "E WERE LAM IHE RURU M AKA" meaning that he had taken what was due him and he asked to be called owere meaning that he has taken hence the name Owere. This however did not go down well with his younger brother who began to plot on how to kill him. After hearing about the plot,Ekwema Arugo fled to the present day site of owere and first settled in Ugwu Ekwema where he roasted yam and eat with his family; that is why in his remembrance,Owere people have a special celebration called Oru Owere. The festival is usually conducted at Ugwu Ekwema and is associated with yam which is very essential in the festival. Ekwema Arugo, who founded Owere, had five children. These children constitute the five hamlets of Owere village listed here according to seniority:

• Umuororonjo
• Amaawom
• Umuonyeche
• Umuodu
• Umuonyima

Traditional Ruler

His Royal Highness, Eze Dr. Emmanuel Emenyonu Njemanze is the current Ozuruigbo of Owerri. The stool of the Eze Owere was founded in the 14th century when the first Owerri traditional ruler, Eze Eke Onunwa was installed. Other traditional rulers in the same royal lineage are Eze Okorie Onunwa, Eze Njemanze Okorie Onunwa, Ihemeji Njemanze Iheanacho, Eze Johnson Osuji Njemanze and Eze Onwuegbuchlem Njemanze.

Transport and Trade

Owerri has an airport 14 miles (23 km) southeast of the city, called the Imo Airport which provides service to Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Enugu. Right now, it serves as an alternate for Port Harcourt, but it does not serve international purposes. Some major roads that go through the city are; Port Harcourt Rd., Aba Rd., Onitsha Rd., and Okigwe Rd. Roads within the city are; Douglas Rd., Weathral Rd., Tetlow Rd., and Works Rd. Eke Ukwu Owere market is the main market in Owerri.

Owerri sits in the rain forest and produces many agricultural products, such as yams, cassava, taro, corn, rubber and palm products.

Education

Important educational institutions in Owerri include Imo State University, Federal University of Technology Owerri, African Institute of Science and Technology (AIST CCE Owerri), Federal College of Land Resources Oforola, Seat of Wisdom Seminary Owerri, Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Federal Government Girls College Owerri, Owerri Girls Secondary School, Government Secondary School Owerri, Development Secondary School Owerri, Emmanuel College Owerri, Holy Ghost College Owerri, Community Secondary School Oforola Owerri, Federal Politechnic Nekede Owerri, Government Technical college Owerri, Army Day Secondary School Obinze Owerri etc

Sports

Religion

As in most of Igboland, Christianity is the dominant religion. The Catholics and Anglicans have the largest followings and Owerri is home to Assumpta Cathedral, seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri (Latin: Archidioecesis Overriensis).

The Seat of Wisdom Seminary is in Owerri.

The archdiocese covers an area of 2,996 km². 670,986 of the 1.7 million people in the area are member of the Catholic Church.

References

External links

• Youth for Technology Foundation
• YTF news article

Coordinates: 5°29′N 7°02′E / 5.483°N 7.033°E / 5.483; 7.033