Onitsha
| Onitsha Onicha (native spelling) (Igbo) Ado N'Idu |
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| — City — | |
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  Onitsha
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| State | Anambra State |
| LGA | Onitsha North, Onitsha South |
| Founded | 1550 |
| Government | |
| - Obi | Igwe Nnayelugo Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe |
| Area[1] | |
| - City | 14 sq mi (36.19 km2) |
| - Land | 13.9 sq mi (36.12 km2) |
| - Water | 0 sq mi (0.067 km2) |
| - Urban | 9.8 sq mi (25.45 km2) |
| - Metro | 14 sq mi (36.19 km2) |
| Population (2002)[2][1] | |
| - City | 511,000 |
| - Density | 113,902.5/sq mi (43,978/km2) |
| - Metro | 1,003,000 |
| - Ethnicity | Igbo 90%>, Others |
| - Demonym | Onye Onicha (Igbo) |
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
| Postcode | 430...[3] |
| Area code(s) | 046 |
Onitsha is a city, commercial center and river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. As of 2001 Onitsha had an estimated population of 511,000 with a metropolitan population of 1,003,000.[2] The indigenous people of Onitsha are primarily of Igbo ethnicity. Anioma people (an Igbo subgroup), and settlers from the Kingdom of Benin are believed to have settled in Onitsha in the 16th century, which was originally called Ado N'Idu.[4] It soon became capital of an Igbo Kingdom. Eze Aroli was the first Obi of Onitsha, the monarch of the city.[5] In 1857 British traders in palm oil established a permanent station in the city, and Christian missionaries soon followed headed by Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther (a Yoruba) and Reverend John Taylor (an Igbo).[6] In 1884 Onitsha became part of a British protectorate.[7] The British colonial government and Christian missionaries penetrated most of Igboland to set up their administration, schools and churches through the river port at Onitsha.
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History
Early history
The history of Onitsha, actually began with the establishment of a frontier state by the Benin Empire. Infact the word Onitsha signifies new land in old Bini. Of course dialectically the word itself have been erroded not only by time but also by cultural dilution. Isele-uku was actually the name of the frontier state. The meaning of isele ukwu(Isi ilie uku)in Bini, is the benin people in diaspora or as differentiated from the Bini people in the main settlements. Power struggle led to the establishment of Onitsha in its present form. Yes some of the commonly known history speaks of a founder Ezechima who actually led the supposed exodus of the onitsha people from the present delta territory. There is nothing further from th truth.
Modern history
Onitsha became an important trading port for the Royal Niger Company in the mid 1850s following the abolition of slavery and with the development of the steam engine when Europeans were able to move into the hinterland. Trade in palm kernels and palm oil which was going on on the cost of Bight of Biafra since 12th century was now moved upwards and other cash crops also boomed around this river port in the 1800s. Immigrants from the hinterland of Igboland were drawn to the emerging boom town as did the British traders who settled there in Onitsha, and coordinated the palm oil and cash crops trade. In 1965, the Niger River Bridge was built across the Niger River to replace the ferry crossing.
Demography
Today, Onitsha is a modern day urban society, the people speak Igbo and English languages. There is a catholic cathedral, Anglican cathedral and it is the headquarters of so may church organizations and sociocultural groups. A federal government college is situated in the town. There is an army barrack, a school of metallurgy, and it is the the home of the biggest market in the whole of Africa, the Onitsha Main Market.
Population
The population of Onitsha is not reflected in the Nigerian census figures and the trader migrate to their bases, neighbouring villages and states during census events reducing the official figures. A lot of industry is based in Onitsha. However a lot of counterfeiting, copying of technology and imitation is also going on in this busy city.
Economy
The state of Lagos and various northern towns are partially fed by supplies from Onitsha. Trade soared between the east and west of Nigeria because of Onitsha market. This made Onitsha the strategic gateway for trade between the former eastern and western regions. The Nigerian-Biafran war brought widespread devastation to the city; at its end came the subsequent oil boom years bringing a huge influx of immigrants into the city. The war-damaged facilities, still under repair, could not cope with the pace of the rural-urban exodus into the city. Slums consequently began to emerge from the hasty haphazard building construction to accommodate the huge influx.
Geography
Onitsha lies at a major east-west crossing point of the Niger River, and occupies the northernmost point of the river regularly navigable by large vessels. These factors have historically made Onitsha a major center for trade between the coastal regions and the north, as well as between eastern and western Nigeria. Onitsha possesses one of the very few road bridge crossings of the mile-wide Niger River[8][9] and plans are in place to add a second bridge near it. Today, Onitsha is a textbook example of the perils of urbanization without planning or public services.
Religion and politics
The Cathedral Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha. The Anglican church also has a cathedral in the city. The Anglican was the first missionary in Onitsha in 1857. Later came the Catholics in 1884. It is the residence of the traditional ruler of Onitsha, the Obi of Onitsha. There is also a teacher training college for women and a famous leper colony. Despite being one of the biggest commercial cities of west Africa, Onitsha remains congested from the over-concentration of all her huge markets within the old city center and minimal expansion of the colonial roads infrastructure.
In February 2006, armed militants killed at least 24 ethnic Hausa Fulani (Muslims) and burned a few Muslim sites including two mosques.[10][11][12] The riots were in response to riots by Muslims in the city of Maiduguri days earlier, where at least 18 Christians were killed, sparked by the cartoon controversy in Denmark.
See also
- Onitsha Market Literature - literature sold at the main market in the 1950s and 60s.
- Onitsha is the title of a novel by French author J. M. G. Le Clézio
- Ryszard Kapuscinski writes of "The Hole of Onitsha" in his book The Shadow of the Sun.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 UN Habitat (2009). Structure Plan for Onitsha and Satellite Towns. UN-HABITAT. ISBN 978-92-1-132117-3. http://www.unhabitat.org/pmss/getElectronicVersion.aspx?nr=2687&alt=1.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minahan, James (2002). Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: S-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 762. ISBN 0-313-32384-4. http://books.google.com/?id=K94wQ9MF2JsC&pg=PA762.
- ↑ "Nipost Postcode Map". Nigerian Postal Service.
- ↑ Azikiwe, Nnamdi (October 1930). "Fragments of Onitsha History". The Journal of Negro History (The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 15, No. 4) 15 (4): 474. doi:10.2307/2714208. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2992(193010)15%3A4%3C474%3AFOOH%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1. Retrieved 2007-12-24.
- ↑ Nigerian traditional poilities
- ↑ Hefling, Charles C. (2006). The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey. Oxford University Press US. p. 298. ISBN 0-195-29756-3. http://books.google.com/?id=Vf7h6fJaG2MC&pg=PA298. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
- ↑ Chigere, Nkem Hyginus M. V. (2001). Foreign Missionary Background and Indigenous Evangelization in Igboland. LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster. p. 133. ISBN 3-825-84964-3. http://books.google.com/?id=sAY8aQz4ztEC&pg=PA133. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
- ↑ "The second Niger Bridge". The Daily Sun. 2007-02-20. http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/opinion/editorial/2007/feb/20/editorial-20-02-2007-001.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
- ↑ ""Britannica"". http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/429251/Onitsha. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
- ↑ "Scores killed in Nigeria riots". "Al Jazeera". 2006-02-23
- ↑ "Toll rises in Nigeria sectarian riots". "Al Jazeera". 2006-02-24
- ↑ Timberg, Craig (2006-02-24). ""Nigerian Christians Burn Corpses"". "The Washington Post": pp. A10. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022300647.html. Retrieved 2007-04-06
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