DR. NNAMDI AZIKIWE HAD IBUSA, ASABA AND IGBANKE BLOOD IN HIM
By Emeka Esogbue
It may sound surprising to know but it is true that the Owelle of Onitsha and Nigeria's first President, the Rt. Hon Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe shares line of ancestral descent with the people of Ibusa, Asaba and Igbanke in Edo State by maternal lineage.
In fact, the mothers of two Obis (Kings) that ruled Onicha Ado n'Idu (Onitsha), an Anioma community which was the late Owelle's homestead were from Ibusa and Igbanke. The mother of Obi Ijelekpe who was the twelfth Obi of Onitsha was an Ibusa woman while the mother of Obi Udogwu, the thirteenth Obi of Onitsha that actually succeeded Obi Ijelekpe, the Ibusa people's in-law hailed from Igbanke.
On the other hand, Nwabunkie who was born about 1880 was to marry Obi Okoye of Asaba.
Now, here's the connection: Zik's mother hailed from Ogboli Eke and she could trace her ancestry from six kings of Onitsha, two of whom I have mentioned here who married from Ibusa and Igbanke. It was Obi Akazue, the son of Obi Odogwu whose mother was an Igbanke woman that signed a treaty of friendship with Queen Victoria in 1877.
Chief Aghadiuno, the Ozi of Onitsha was the father of Zik's mother. He had five children: Nwabunkie, Anyamdio, Chinwe (Zik's mother), Onyejiaku and Agegbumnofu. It was Nwabunkie, Zik's mother's sister that married Obi Okoye of Asaba.
In all, one must not forget that these were the descendants of Ezechime as Zik himself proudly put it.
Zik wrote:
"Thirdly, the royal lineage of my maternal ancestry depicts a cosmopolitan mixture of tribes and clans, for example: the mother of Obi Odogwu hailed from Akiri; the mother of Obi Ijelekpe came from Igbuzo; the mother of Obi Chimedie was from Oze; and the mother of Obi Aroli was an Igala woman from Idah".
Nnamdi Azikiwe, My Odyssey, p. 7
In his active days of political campaigns, the Great Zik of Africa, mindful of his Anioma blood was fond of Ibusa. He paid the community an official visit and the people were gathered at the present site of Ibusa Town in Umuisagba where he addressed them.
In this book, "My Odyssey", which I picked up from the Lagos State University Library, Ojo, he mentioned "Igbuzo" thrice, a testimony of his fondness for the people of the community.
By Emeka Esogbue
It may sound surprising to know but it is true that the Owelle of Onitsha and Nigeria's first President, the Rt. Hon Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe shares line of ancestral descent with the people of Ibusa, Asaba and Igbanke in Edo State by maternal lineage.
In fact, the mothers of two Obis (Kings) that ruled Onicha Ado n'Idu (Onitsha), an Anioma community which was the late Owelle's homestead were from Ibusa and Igbanke. The mother of Obi Ijelekpe who was the twelfth Obi of Onitsha was an Ibusa woman while the mother of Obi Udogwu, the thirteenth Obi of Onitsha that actually succeeded Obi Ijelekpe, the Ibusa people's in-law hailed from Igbanke.
On the other hand, Nwabunkie who was born about 1880 was to marry Obi Okoye of Asaba.
Now, here's the connection: Zik's mother hailed from Ogboli Eke and she could trace her ancestry from six kings of Onitsha, two of whom I have mentioned here who married from Ibusa and Igbanke. It was Obi Akazue, the son of Obi Odogwu whose mother was an Igbanke woman that signed a treaty of friendship with Queen Victoria in 1877.
Chief Aghadiuno, the Ozi of Onitsha was the father of Zik's mother. He had five children: Nwabunkie, Anyamdio, Chinwe (Zik's mother), Onyejiaku and Agegbumnofu. It was Nwabunkie, Zik's mother's sister that married Obi Okoye of Asaba.
In all, one must not forget that these were the descendants of Ezechime as Zik himself proudly put it.
Zik wrote:
"Thirdly, the royal lineage of my maternal ancestry depicts a cosmopolitan mixture of tribes and clans, for example: the mother of Obi Odogwu hailed from Akiri; the mother of Obi Ijelekpe came from Igbuzo; the mother of Obi Chimedie was from Oze; and the mother of Obi Aroli was an Igala woman from Idah".
Nnamdi Azikiwe, My Odyssey, p. 7
In his active days of political campaigns, the Great Zik of Africa, mindful of his Anioma blood was fond of Ibusa. He paid the community an official visit and the people were gathered at the present site of Ibusa Town in Umuisagba where he addressed them.
In this book, "My Odyssey", which I picked up from the Lagos State University Library, Ojo, he mentioned "Igbuzo" thrice, a testimony of his fondness for the people of the community.
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