Rejoinder to the distorted history by desperate umuode
THE FACTS ABOUT ORUKU HISTORY 27/2/09
The umuodes are not the original founders of oruku, or the progenitors of Oruku community. Oruku was not founded by any group of hunters as umuode claimed. When oruku was founded predated history like some other communities in Nkanu land nay Igbo land.
The founder of oruku was Onaga Ifejiaba Nnamauchi who came from Agbaba (IGALA area) in search of arable land for farming and settled on the bank of Inyaba or nyaba river at a place known at Aguikpa. He settled at the portion of Aguikpa land known as Okpuhu with his family (INTELLIGENT REPORT OF THE COMMUNITIES IN NORTH NKANU VILLAGES OF ENUGU DIVISIN BY J S CLARK ESQ, ACTING DISTRICT OFFICER 1935 PAGE 20 PARAGRAPH 45 AND 46 REFERS) .
He had two sons namely Chiani and Igwejike. The descendants of chiani also called Ihunnam, are known today as umu chiani while the descendants of Igwejike are today known as Umu Unaa Igwejike or by extension Onuogowo
They occupied both sides of Inyaba River with Umuchiani or Ihunnam occupying the southern end, right of the river and bounded by Amagunze and Akpofu while Umuigwejike or onuogowo occupied the northern end left of Inyaba river and bounded by Amechi Idodo.
Chiani has twelve children namely Nnajiekpa Chiani( no link with Prof. Barth Nnaji’ name), Ogbu Anichiani, Chinjoku chiani, and OnumaEze Chiani, the later has four sons namely Edeekpa Eze, Okenwa Ede Nwachi Onuma Eze, Orji Nwede Nwachi Onuma Eze , Eze Nwachi Onuma Eze. Others are Umuowene, Umuomee, Umuechiku and Umuekee,
Igwejike or Onugowo has six children namely Ujoreji, Chieze, Nshiuba Nnamchi, Anegu Nohe, Agubata, and Okenwa Onuma. Their children make up the 18 families in Oruku from time immemorial.
Oruku was engaged in a threefold war with Amagunze, Akpofu, and Amechi Idodo between 1860-1865. The war was caused by a notorious criminal Known as Uzu Nwonovo Ani Nwuzu who took asylum in Oruku in the household of Eze Nwokenwa, the son of Okenwa Ede Nwachi in order to escape death, after committing an abomination in his Town Amagunze. He lived in Oruku until he stole a cow belonging to one oruku man and ran away. On his way to escape, he ran into the hands of slave hunters who caught him and sold him to chief Nwiboko of Izzi in Abakaliki. Amagunze people on getting wind of this insisted that Oruku people must produce Uzu Nwonovo Ani alive. On tracing his whereabout, it was discovered that he was no longer alive.
Oruku people sent emissaries to Amagunze in a bid to resolve the matter. Unfortunately, Amagunze people abducted the leader of Oruku delegation, Chief Eze Nwokenwa and killed him. Oruku people fought gallantly and recovered the body. This situation brought about tension between the two communities. Akpawfu people, one of the neighboring communities approached oruku People and requested for a cow to enable them form an ally with Oruku and fight Amagunze but Oruku refused. They approached amagunze who obliged them. They jointly attacked Oruku people. While Amagunze attacked Oruku from Ihunnam/Umuchiani quarter, Akpawfu attacked Oruku from Umuigwejike quarters. The battle became fierce and some oruku people Oruku people ran to neighbouring Amaechi Idodo to take shelter , unfortunately, hundreds of them were killed by Amechi people. Few survivors form what is known as Umu Onuma Ezeigbo, Umu Unaa etc in Amechi Idodo.
At the end of the war, oruku people re-located northwards to the current location and occupied their lands near her boundaries with Nike and Akpugo which include; aguikpa, Nkuji-Nkpuma, Aguefi land , Isiobodo Area and will never live in Okpuhu again as the land had been overrun by Inyaba River, Ogbolo Enyi lake, Orinuta lake etc.
Notable among Oruku people who survived and later helped in re-building the community: Okenwa Ede Nwachi the great grandfather of Engr. R N Okenwa. Okenwa Ede Nwachi was a chief and revered by Oruku people , Aba Onovo, Mba Nwogbu ( great warrior) Ogbu Nwede, Nnaji Nwannamani, Ukea Nnamani, Uzo abene, Nwobodo Inyaba, Ogbo Nwologbo Nwannamani, Ani Nwominyi, Ede Omeoga, Nwatu Nwagu, Nnaji Nwenegbo , Nwatu Nwuvu Eke, Ogbede Orji, Ogbu Egbo amongst others.
There was nothing like Umuode in oruku then and in Okpuhu to be precise. Only the descendants of Chiani and Igwejike lived in Okpuhu.
Origin Of Umuode
Umuode people came to Oruku through the system of Slavery shortly after oruku relocated to her present places of abode. All the umuode families of Oruku are remnants of slavery , accommodated by the descendants of the children of Onaga Ifejiaba Nnamuchi the progenitors of oruku. Their fore – fathers served as serfs to the Oruku progenitors until 1948. In other parts of Nkanu Land , Umuode and their kilts and kilns are reffered to as AWBIAS meaning “strangers or strangers element. The Supreme Court in its judgment of July 1994 in page 2 of the lead Judgment in the suit Akpugo vs oruku, described Awbia group as Osu or an outcast who has no right to claim ownership of the land of his master.
The intelligent report of both Messrs SLA Beaumont and J S de Clark on the villages in Nkanu land and North Nkanu in 1933 also refers
Umuode were brought together as a political unit in the year 1948, by Warrant Chief Okenwa Adenyi alias Ebiem Ede, the Igwenezolu Oha of Oruku (1875-1958). It was Chief Okenwa whom Umuode now call his families mischief maker that sponsored the first Umuode man called Ogbo Anichi to take Ozo title in oruku in the fifties. He , Okenwa Adenyi also used his money to buy a horse which he gave to Ogbo Anichi to perform his father’s funeral ceremony. The first of it’s kind by any Umuode man. Prior to these magnanimous act, Chief Okenwa had allotted plots of land to all the adult male of Umuode in different villages in Oruku for them to build their houses thus making the habitation of Oruku people to be interwoven. He ended their serfdom. This Great leader of Oruku appointed some Umuode into his cabinet, gave them many other assistance and integrated them.
Warrant chief system
The colonial masters who ruled Nigeria during the colonial period established that the Umuodes were Awbia and that the Orukus (Umuchiani and Onuogowo) were the freeborn and the original founders of Oruku and because of this bestowed the Warrant Chieftaincy to Oruku people. In 1914, Chief Nnamene Nwogbu was nominated for warrant chieftaincy by Oruku community and thus became the warrant Chief Of Oruku from 1914 to 1918 when he died. It was during his tenure that the white missionaries arrived Oruku and established the Roman Catholic Mission.
After the death of Nnamene Nwogbu, Chief Okenwa Adenyi (alias Ebiem Ede) , the Igwenezolu oha 1 of Oruku and the father of Engr. Raymond Okenwa was nominated and thus became the second warrant chief of Oruku in the year 1928. He ruled from 1928-1958. He was the longest serving monarch in this our area.
In 1976 Late Igwe Nwatu Okenwa was elected the third traditional Ruler of Oruku while the incumbent, HRH Igwe Dr C.A Nomeh was elected in the year 1990.
Okenwa family had been a royal famiy, producing two monarchs and had assisted Umuode to develop since their arrival and integration in Oruku. It is an affront for Umuode to call them migrants in a bid to deceive the whole world and the entire Igbo race in General.
In 1945, a body known as Obinettiti was formed in Oruku under the distinguish leadership of Hon. Dennis Nnaji, they performed the functions of the present days Town Union. Thank God, Umuode did not claim that Prof. Nnaji is related to Late Hon Dennis Nnaji.
UZAM OKA AND ULULOKA
Uzam Oka is a portion of land predominantly inhabited by Onuogowo or Umuigwejike. It has nothing to do with Umuoka as claimed by Umuode. The origin of Umuoka is traceable to Akpugo in Nkanu West where one of the AWBIA families there bear the name Umuoka and where Onovo Ekpa came from. The origin of the name uzam okaa is that in that part of Aguikpa Oruku, there were in large number, a tree called Oka or Osisi Oka which is used to stake yam in the farmland. It is also used in making chewing stick. Because of the abundance of the oka tree, the land which is sandy in nature is referred to as Uzam Oka while a lake in it is called Ululo Oka. Uzam means land with sandy soil while Ululo means lake. The first Oruku man to establish his home in Uzam oka was late Inyaba Nwinyaba of Umunshiuba family. The land had never been a home for the Umuodes.
On the person of Engr. R N Okenwa, his credentials speak volume. He had served all the three tiers of Government in Nigeria with clean records. He severed in four local Governments namely Onitsha, Awka, Nkanu and Enugu North. He also served Enugu State as Permanent Secretary and was later elevated to the position of Head of Service of Enugu State and presently a Federal Permanent Secretary. Mr RN Okenwa OON MNI is an illustrious son of Oruku whose father liberated Umuode from the shackles of slavery.
MAINTAINANCE OF SHRINE
The fore -fathers of Oruku before the arrivalof Christianity were pagans and have many shrines. In those days, some shrines were maintained by the Awbias in Oruku and other parts of Nkanu land. The intelligent report of both Messrs SLA Beaumont and J S de Clark on the villages in Nkanu land and North Nkanu in 1933 refers. In Oruku the chief shrines are not reserved for Umuode for maintenance.
Shrines like ANI ORUKU (the gods of Oruku land and protector of all orukus) which is the chief deity of Oruku people is maintained by the Umuigwejike or Onuogowo quarters since time immemorial, similarly, Njoku ji shrine which is the gods of harvest and which sacrifice is made to before Oruku celebrates her new yam festival known as Ose Njoku every year is maintained by the Onuogowo Quarters since oruku was founded. Omerigwe shrine named after Omerigwe lake is also exclusive for Umuchiani Quarters as well as Offor Eke shrines. Others are Igwekamma Shrines, and many others. Umuode is allowed by custom to maintain few shrines such as Inyaba and Ngeneiji and other minor gods. In the case of omaba , each village has its own Omaba shrine and masqurade. Each village chooses their Atama (the priest) according to who the omaba accepted to maintain it. Maintainance of Omaba shrine is not exclusive to any of the clans in Oruku. In the case of Onovo Ekpa as trumpeted by Umuode, he was chosen to maintain it by “Ugwudike” the omaba of ishienu village but was paralysed by the omaba because of his evil machination which made him to offer sacrifice to the Omaba with his right hand instead of the customary left hand hence he was paralysed and this led to his death.

In ANI Oruku shrine, whenever there is a sacrifice, it is shared in the following Order Umuchiani, Umuunaa Igwejike , Agubata, Umuowene, Umuekee . These five families must collect their share of animal offered for sacrifice in this seniority order before Umuode.
Onyioha of Oruku.
This is the title of the Oldest man and the spiritual head of Oruku. He is the custodian of the Great offor totem of Oruku. At Okpuhu it was the Umuigwejike who were the custodian of this symbol of Oruku. This means that the oldest man must come from them . After holding this prestigious position for white a long time, it was transferred to Umuchiani, this is because the last holder from Umujoreji family had no male child. When he was about to die, he handed over the offor to his son-in-law from Umuchiani quarters. consequent upon this, Umuchiani became the custodian of the offor and produces the eldest man in oruku.
Umuode described the family of Nome Ogbodo, Umuanegu Nohe, as migrants. Umuanegu Nohe was among the quarters that relocated from okpuhu. For instance, Nwatu Nwuvu Eke, a great warrior is one of the ancestral fathers of Umu Anegu Nohe , Igwe Dr. C.A Nomeh’s Family