Wikipedia

Umunze

Umunze (Listenⓘ) is a town and the headquarters of Orumba South Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria.[1] The town comprises seven villages.[2] It is home to the Federal College of Education (Technical)[3] and the Nkpokiti International Cultural Dance Group.[4]

Umunze
town
Umunze is located in Nigeria
Umunze
Umunze
Umunze in Nigeria
Coordinates: 5°57′54″N 7°14′14″E / 5.96500°N 7.23722°E / 5.96500; 7.23722
Country Nigeria
StateAnambra State
LGAOrumba South
Population
 • Ethnicity
Igbo
Time zoneUTC+1 (WAT)

History

edit

A 2011 field study records a local oral tradition that Umunze traces its origins to a progenitor named Nze from Ohafia.[5]

Local oral traditions

edit

The name Umunze was derived from the name of the originator "Nze" meaning the descendant of Nze in about 1476 during the time of extreme drought. Nze Izo Ezema was a farmer and hunter from ohafia near Arochukwu in the present day Abia State. He wandered the forest of his normal hunting and discoveries when he came across a very fertile land full of arable crops and he liked it. He settled and was very comfortable considering the weather and other climatic factors. He went back to his father and told him about his new home and also ask for wives. His father saw his behaviour and equipped him with necessities. He was given a mother shrine that has a stream known as Izo mmiri (the present Izo in the eke izo square) with two wives and a slave to the Izo. He settled first at Akpu Mgbatiri Okpa situated at Umuizo today. His wives Mrs Lolo and Ijendu. Lolo gave birth to 7 sons and 1 daughter and Ijendu had 1 son. Izo was Nze's father's name in Ohahia: Ezema was the family village name in Ohafia.

Lolo gave birth to 7 sons and 1 daughter:

  1. Nso- the descendants that formed Nsogwu.
  2. Ugwu (Ojimgba)- the descendants that formed Ugwunano.
  3. Carpodacu- the descendants that formed Lomu.
  4. Ishingwu- the descendants that formed Ubaha.
  5. Cheke- the descendants that formed Ururo.
  6. Okpontu- the descendants that formed Ozara.
  7. Diala- the descendants that formed Amuda.

The daughter was married to an immigrant from Isunjaba in the present day Imo State. He became a neighbor to Nze and now the present Isulo (Umunze treats any girl from Isulo as Ada in any ceremony till today). Ijendu the first wife born one child; Dara (1st son), who is the father and founder of Eziagu, a neighboring town, after a family problem.

War separated the two wives after the death of Nze that made Dara (the first son of Nze) to demand absolute control of the empire but war was waged by the combined forces of his half brothers and they forced him to move out of the empire and enter into Agu which is called IKPA according to Umunze language. Dara blessed with many children which formed the origin of Eziagu, he settled in the western part of the area.

The slave that came with Nze was blessed by Nze but when he died and he was regarded as the father since he takes care of the entire kingdom after the death of Nze Izo Ezema. He became the present Umuizo where the entire Umunze gathered.

All the villages have unique features:

  • Nsogwu forbids Dog and cannot be charmed when under the guide of nzu ngene.
  • Ugwunano forbids Hyena (Edi)
  • Lomu are guided by a police incarnated [Ngene Ojii]
  • Ubaha have the ability to lay and cleanse Charms on Farmland (Iwa Ogboro)
  • Ozara forbids Snail
  • Ururo .........
  • Amuda

These 7 sons settled at different locations which today formed a town called Umunze. The sons as you see today formed the seven villages we are today.

There are many towns that migrated to join Umunze and form the town. A good example is parts of (Umualaoma) Isuokpu when the famous wars with Izuogu and Iheme (notorious inglorious slave trader and murderer from Arochukwu and Awka respectively) who they hosted benevolently and innocently and who stabbed Isuokpu people at the back by going to bring mercenaries from Abam to fight the Isuokpu in order that Izuogu and Iheme could take their land and settle at the time of abolition of slave trade by the British. Parts of Isieke and Obinohia people in Umuallaoma who migrated to Umunze to escape one type of punishment or the other are now part and parcel of Umunze. Ihite Umuenze (now Ihite) is rich in people from Umualaoma who ran from wars and humiliations from punishments from other types of deed or the other. One powerful man from Isuokpu (Umualaoma) called Ezerioha Udensi (father of Ezeagwula Ezerioha) of Obiokwara (Umudim), Obinihu was responsible for keeping the dangerously advancing Aros and their slaves in a "fight of life for land" in check. He organized Isuokpu, Umunze and Ihite people and neighbours to form a powerful militia group that restricted the advance of the Aros from Okigwe area. At the same time Ezerioha Udensi charismatically encouraged some communities in the present Okigwe and Orlu Divisions to allocate the Aros some land since the Aros and their slaves could not go to nowhere having been blocked at Okigwe by the white man who ensured that slave trade was stopped. Using this strategy, Ezerioha Udensi stopped the numerous wars and guerrilla warfare against the Aros and ensured the survival of many indigenous communities and that the Aros did not reach Umunze.

Umunze maintains a special relationship with the Obiokwara Obinihu people, shown by exchange of goodwill at Obi Ezerioha in Isuokpu masquerade ceremonies and at Nkwo Umunze or palace of Abalikete (up to Ugochukwu reign) at Okuka and other ceremonies. The neighbors of Umunze are Umualaoma in Imo State; Aro Ndizuogu in Imo State; Eziagu, Isulo, Ezira, Ihite, Ogbunka, Umuchu, Nneato in Abia State, Umuomaku and Nawfija. Its people are mainly farmers and traders. The traditional ruler is called Abalikete and its people Nze, hence the name "Umunze".

Geography and Administration

edit

Umunze is the headquarters of Orumba South Local Government Area.[1] The Independent National Electoral Commission's 2025 registration-centre list records three electoral wards or registration areas named Umunze I, Umunze II and Umunze III.[6]

The seven villages in Umunze are:[2]

  • Nsogwu
  • Ugwunano
  • Lomu
  • Ubaha
  • Ururo
  • Ozara
  • Amuda

Traditional Institution

edit

Chief Promise Eze was the Abilikete II of Umunze.[7][8] He succeeded Chief M. N. Ugochukwu, the Abilikete I, after Ugochukwu's death.[citation needed] Before Chief M. N. Ugochukwu, Chief S. I. Onyido (Agutagburuibeya) was the Native Authority and presided over Umunze for many years.[citation needed] The traditional rulership is rotational among the seven villages.[9] Every male is eligible to contest.[citation needed] A Supreme Court judgment in Onwu v Nka recorded that Chief M. N. Ugochukwu acted as the traditional ruler of Umunze and Igwe of Orumba during a customary arbitration in 1971.[10] The 2011 field study also described an Abilikete traditional council operating alongside the town union at that time.[9]

Economy

edit

Nkwo Umunze is the central market in the town, and a major commercial hub not just in Umunze but across surrounding towns.[citation needed] A 2011 study described it as the central and larger market, and also identified Afo Ururo and Orie Lomu as local markets.[9]

Education

edit

The Federal College of Education (Technical) is located in Umunze.[3] It was established under Decree No. 4 of 1986, moved to Umunze in 1989 and began lectures in 1990.[11] The college offers NCE, degree and postgraduate diploma programmes.[12][13]

Language

edit

A 2019 study compared Umunze Igbo with Standard Igbo and identified differences in vocabulary, grammar and phonology. The study also reported that some local forms were no longer used by younger speakers.[14]

Cultural heritage

edit
Mkpokiti dancers

Umunze is home to the Nkpokiti International Cultural Dance Group, an acrobatic dance group associated with the community's cultural identity.[4] A 2022 study dates the Nkpokiti group's establishment in Umunze to 1959.[15] A 2025 study of the Ikoro drum in Umunze between 1915 and 1970 describes its roles in communication, assemblies, emergencies and communal authority.[16] Other cultural traditions include Atilogwu dancers and Igba egwurugwu masquerade and dancers.[citation needed]

Notable people

edit
Flavour

References

edit
  1. 1 2 "LGAs Overview". Local Government Service Commission. Anambra State Government. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 Eze, S. N.; Aribodor, D. N.; Nwangwu, U. C.; Ogbuefi, E. O. (2022). "Breeding ecology of mosquito species in Umunze community, Orumba south local government area, Anambra state, Nigeria" (PDF). International Journal of Entomology Research. 7 (3): 69–76. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Location of the College". Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  4. 1 2 Nwankwo, Emeka A.; Agboeze, Michael U.; Nwobi, Anthony U. (2018). "Community Heritage Resources and Crisis Management in Rural Nigeria". SAGE Open. doi:10.1177/2158244018781202. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Uzochukwu, B. S. C.; Ajuba, M.; Onwujekwe, O. E.; Nkoli, E. (June 2011). Examining the links between accountability, trust and performance in health service delivery in Orumba South Local Government Area, Nigeria (PDF) (Report). Health Policy Research Group, University of Nigeria / CREHS. p. 30. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "List of CVR Registration Centres for Anambra" (PDF). Independent National Electoral Commission. 2025. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Anti-terrorism: Umunze inaugurates village vigilante". Vanguard. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  8. ↑ "Women protest rape, ritual killing of 72-year-old woman in Anambra community". Nigerian Tribune. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 Uzochukwu, B. S. C.; Ajuba, M.; Onwujekwe, O. E.; Nkoli, E. (June 2011). Examining the links between accountability, trust and performance in health service delivery in Orumba South Local Government Area, Nigeria (PDF) (Report). Health Policy Research Group, University of Nigeria / CREHS. p. 30. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  10. ↑ "Onwu v Nka (1996)". LawGlobal Hub. 1996. Supreme Court of Nigeria judgment. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  11. ↑ "Our History". Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  12. ↑ Compliance evaluation of the Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze (PDF) (Report). SERVICOM. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Enyim, Enyim (4 November 2015). "College of Education Umunze ends crisis with host community". Vanguard. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Eze, Patricia (2019). "Dialectal Variation: A Critical Study of Umunze Igbo". Journal of Language and Linguistics. 6 (2). Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  15. ↑ Eneh, Anselm E. O.; Eneh, Emmanuel E. (July–September 2022). "Concrete and Steel as Form-givers in Art, Architecture and Engineering". International Journal of General Studies. 2 (2): 7–17. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Korinya, Moses Tivlumun; Alago, Marycynthia Uchenna (October 2025). "Echoes of Authority: The Role of the Ikoro Drum in Umunze Society, 1915–1970". Igwebuike: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. 11 (8): 48–61. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  17. ↑ admin (18 July 2019). "The Igbo Man and His Entrepreneurial Spirit". The Top10 Magazine. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "Ugochukwu, (Chief) Mathias Nwafor". Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "Anti-terrorism: Umunze inaugurates village vigilante". Vanguard. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  20. ↑ Ujumadu, Vincent (14 July 2016). "Constitution not fair to dep govs—Sibeudu". Vanguard. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Homecoming concert: Life Continental Beer to host Flavour of Africa at Umunze". BusinessDay. Retrieved 13 July 2026.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Umunze&oldid=1363962263"