The History Of Eke Kingdom In Udi Local Government Area Of Enugu State Rewritten At EkeTv.com.ng

The History Of Eke Kingdom In Udi Local Government Area Of Enugu State Rewritten At EkeTv.com.ng

The History Of Eke Kingdom In Udi Local Government Area Of Enugu State Rewritten At EkeTv.com.ng

Eke is bordered on the east by Ngwo, on the west by Oghe, on the north by Ebe, on the south by Nsude and on the southwest by Imezi Owa.

Eke is one of the most prominent communities in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. Eke lies about 16 miles west of Enugu and only 3 miles from 9th mile city, one of the most popular and populated cities in Nigeria, and the only city that links the South East to other regions of Nigeria, through Enugu, Onitsha, Nsukka and the Northern Nigeria.

Eke community originated from one of the three children of Oshie Anugwu who lived in the early 12th century AD. He had two sons named Nsude and Eke, a daughter named Neke. Nsude had ten sons while Neke, according to legend, had seven sons. As the descendants of Oshie increased in population, Eke, being the younger son had to venture out in search of a home. He found a fertile valley north of uto hill in Nsude where he settled.

Eke prospered in his new home and had seven sons, two of whom died. The five surviving sons were; Amufia, Amankwo, Ôma, Ogui and Enugu Eke. However, it is well to note that some of the descendants of Eke are already advocating for autonomy, while some have gotten autonomy.

Eke being a community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria was home to Chief Onyeama of Eke, who helped establish native courts in the Udi division in the early 1900s.

Who Is Chief Onyeama

Prominent Chief Onyeama is one of the descendants of Eke ancient kingdom.

The story of Chief Onyeama and why The Wawa are most notably associtoated with Chief Onyeama’s people from Eke, who was the paramount ruler of Agbaja in the early 20th century.

Onyeama was born circa 1870s, the youngest of the ten children of Özö Omulu Onwusi, a polygamous titled man of means, and an only son of his mother – Chinazungwa Ijeonyeabo of nearby Ebe community. At 7, his father initiated him into the masquerade society. A puberty rite of passage, this showed the promise of the young man. Onyeama’s father died thereafter. His mother also died, probably killed for poisoning a man who had threatened her son Onyeama with violence.

Brought up by his half-brother, Amadiezeoha Nwankwo-Onwusi, Onyeama worked hard and made his mark in business. He traveled to famous Aro-controlled trading centers, including Abiriba, Arochukwu, Arondizuogu, Bende, Oguta, Uburu, etc. When British rule reached Eke in 1908, Onyeama was rich enough to buy his way into the Ozo title society and to marry a local beauty, Afia Nwirediagu, and later Gwachi Ebue.

Slowly but surely, Onyeama got the colonists to award him the “Warrant Chiefdom” of Eke. He took power and defined it. Onyeama saw himself as an absolute ruler whose authority could not be easily flouted. But the King of Onitsha, Obi Okosi I, also reigned. No Igbo king questioned the might of the supreme monarch of Onitsha, let alone supposedly “lesser chiefs” from the north. In 1910, Chief Onyeama was appointed a warrant Chief and later a paramount Chief. He ensured his reign was associated with numerous landmarks. In 1914, the missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church arrived Eke and with the encouragement they got from Chief Onyeama, they established St. Paul Primary School. The school has nurtured so many prominent and illustrious persons and has served the community till date.

Onyeama had signaled quite early that the reign of the Obi of Onitsha was history turned upside down, because he considered the entire monarchy of Onitsha a sub-colonial setup of recent immigrants from the Benin Kingdom. If anything, he (Onyeama) was in the league of the Oba of Benin or Ooni of Ife, the Yoruba monarch. This set the stage for a looming showdown between the kings of the northeast Igbo (called the Wawa) and southwest Igbo (called the Ijekeebé).

And so it was that at the gathering of Igbo kings in 1928, all major kings and chiefs in the old Onitsha province (including Enugu) and beyond assembled in Enugu to welcome Captain W. Buchanan-Smith, the recently appointed lieutenant-governor of southern Nigeria provinces. The Obi naturally occupied the highest seat of honor reserved for the supposed traditional ruler of Igbo nation. When Onyeama came in later with his entourage of security men, chiefs and Igbanküda drummers, he was outraged by the Obi’s assumed position of supreme authority in his domain.

Onyeama ordered the immediate removal of the powerful King of Onitsha. A scene ensued with the District Officer trying to placate Onyeama. Furiously, as legend has it, he uttered, “Wa” (the local lingo for “No”); for emphasis and as a mark of immutability, he stated: “Wa–wa!” [Never!] He turned and decreed to the colonial officers: “If that man is still occupying that seat when I come back, the leopard will eat him.” Onyeama got his way and prevailed as the greatest king in town! Considered an upstart by those who have had longer socioeconomic intercourse with the British, Onyeama did not make himself many friends.

A record was waxed in the 1930s accusing him of burying an unfaithful wife alive! A court order forced the German company that waxed the slanderous record to withdraw it from circulation. This and other image-destructive stories of absolute tyranny, wife-snatching and even murder have never really removed from the legend of Onyeama. His people looked at him with mixture of awe and admiration. His secret police (made up of handpicked, local wrestling champions) struck so much fear into both chiefs and commoners that generations still respect the might of this great king.

The current traditional ruler Of Eke is Igwe Harold Chinwendu Onuoha, Eze-Oha I.

The History Of Eke Kingdom In Udi Local Government Area Of Enugu State Rewritten At EkeTv.com.ng