Ala: The Supreme Witness in Igbo Cosmology LONG before colonial administration formalised legal institutions in Nigeria, Ala (the earth deity) was central to governance, morality, and communal arbitration in Igbo societies. Unlike hierarchical kingdoms, many Igbo communities operated decentralised republican systems where spiritual cosmology and civic order were intertwined. Crimes were not just interpersonal offences […]
70% Control Was Not Just a Number — It Was a System THE Aro story is not simply about dominance, but systems innovation. Their 70% control over slave-trade routes came from: Riverway governance Market colonisation Political brokerage And spiritual enforcement. They built a commercial republic that required no king to rule, only routes to regulate. […]
The Indigenous Question & Political Boundaries Not Migration, But Ancestry THE narrative that Igbo communities outside the five South-East states are products of modern migration has long shaped public discourse, census assumptions, political representation, and even resource allocation. Yet ethnolinguistic evidence, pre-colonial settlement patterns, and indigenous governance systems point to a different conclusion: several Igbo-speaking […]
Identity Beyond Language: The Untold Political Anatomy THE Ikwerre story sits at the intersection of linguistics, power, war, and self-preservation. Scholars agree that Ikwerre shares an estimated 95 percent linguistic similarity with Igbo, placing the group firmly within the Igboid language family. But reducing Ikwerre identity to language alone oversimplifies a more complex historical reality. […]
When Onitsha Said No IN 1991, a proposal linked to Nigeria’s military administration under General Ibrahim Babangida triggered one of the most decisive civic resistances in South-East history. The plan sought to excise Onitsha from Anambra State and merge it with Delta North to form an Anioma State. For the Igbo of Onitsha and surrounding […]
IGBO spirituality is a complex tapestry of forces and principles, embodied in a pantheon of deities that govern nature, morality, and human destiny. At the top is Chukwu (Chi-Ukwu), the Supreme Source—too vast to be worshipped directly. Ala/Ani, Mother Earth, upholds morality, justice, fertility, and the laws of the land, while Amadioha wields thunder, lightning, […]
By NINI NDUONOFIT-AKOH PORT Harcourt did not begin as a British invention. Long before it was stamped into maps in 1913, the land was already mapped in the imagination of Eastern traders. They called it Igwe Ocha — “the White High Place.” It was a name inspired not by myth, but by observation: dazzling white […]
By PAULINA NZERUBE THE Obuzor of Ibusa, His Royal Majesty Obi Prof. Louis Nwaoboshi, has restated that Anioma communities in Delta State are historically and culturally part of Igboland. Speaking in his palace, he said the region’s current placement traces back to a colonial-era error made in 1939, when British officials misaligned Nigeria’s regional boundaries. […]
By EMEKA ESOGBUE ACROSS today’s Igbo society, Odogwu is a familiar badge of honour — a praise name for achievers, philanthropists, and men of influence. Yet behind this modern popularity lies a largely forgotten history: Odogwu was once a formal military title rooted not in Eastern or Central Igboland, but in the Anioma (Enuani) communities of […]
By IKE UZOR-NZUBECHI IN a landmark decision that has drawn widespread praise across Imo State and beyond, traditional leaders in Oguta, Oguta Local Government Area, have officially abolished the age-long Ohu (outcaste) system — a deeply entrenched practice that had long divided the ancient community along lines of birth and social status. The announcement, made […]