Emeka Esogbue

 How Ndudi Elumelu Remembered the Omu Institution with a Palatial Edifice - Emeka Esogbue HRM Obi Dr. Martha Dunkwu, the Omu of Anioma means so many things to so many people but to the Anioma nation, she is an exemplification of the elevation of the Omu traditional institution.  Once crowned the Omu of Anioma amid severe criticisms from her Anioma people, Omu Dunkwu took up the female institution and made it her pet project. From a dying institution, she worked hard to miraculously sell the institution to the world and it became the envy of other traditional institutions in the region.  She told her followers the story of her journey, "I met about five to six Omus when I became Omu, two are remaining from that era. Through advocacy by our Great Anioma Historian Emeka Esogbue, Anioma Association USA, Prof E. A. C Nwanze, late Prof Onwuejiogwu, Dr. Ikechukwu Enwenwa, Comrade Patrick Nweike Ochei, my humble person, etc, we have over ten Omus today. We had about fifteen but f...

 Ibusa Pays Final Respect to Omu Augustina Nando, the late Omu of the community  By Emeka Esogbue The final funeral rites of the last Omu of Ibusa, Omu Augustina Ogugua Nando was conducted in Ibusa yesterday being Eke day. The final rites of the funeral natively known as "Ife ilo" were conducted to give the late Omu who was popular for her discipline and knowledge of the Ibusa customs and tradition, the last respect culturally expected of an Omu in the community where culture is heavily cherished.  Omu Nando was the last Omu of Ibusa whose reign ended the more than 400 years of the traditional institution of the Anioma people in the community. Since then, the community has been struggling to rebirth the foremost traditional female institution which gave women in the community and Anioma as a whole, a true sense of belonging. The institution once acted as a voice for the womenfolk and as a check on societal excesses. For instance, the Omu of Ibusa is empowered to attend th...

 IN MEMORY OF OMU MGBOUSHE OF ASABA: THE CIVIL WAR HEROINE, BETRAYED BY HER PEOPLE AND KILLED BY SOLDIERS  By Emeka Esogbue Although the Omu Mgboushe of Asaba statue stands reverently erect in front of Ogbeogonogo Market in Asaba, most visitors and natives alike do not know the history behind the statue. Nevertheless, the statue stands to historically testify to the wartime atrocities and deaths that the people of Asaba suffered during the Nigerian Civil War. Omuship is a 500- year female traditional institution that exists among the Anioma people. The institution also once existed in Onicha Ado (Onitsha) and Ossomarri, two other Anioma communities that are now outside the geographical Delta State.  Omuship, charged with the spiritual, economic, and political responsibilities to their respective Anioma communities is the pride of the people. It is also the traditional vehicle for the movent of women in this region. Take for instance, in Ibusa, a community of about 6 miles...