Igwe Orizu I (Eze Ugbonyamba)

Igwe Orizu I was the 15th Obi of Otolo and the isi Obi of Nnewi. He was born in 1881 and was crowned the King of Nnewi in 1904, he died in 1924.

He was a young man when his father died, the British army led by Major Harry Moorhouse and Hugh Trenchard entered Nnewi in the same year. The British agreed to support the young King and Nnewi laid down arm soon afterwards. It was also in 1904 that Trenchard was involved in bringing Igboland under British control. Initially many of the inhabitants refused to surrender weaponry to the British and Trenchard's political advisor, R M Heron, arranged for the destruction of the houses of those who harboured weapons. In light of this policy, many guns and other arms were surrendered to Trenchard's soldiers at Nkwo Nnewi where they were destroyed. During this time the Igbo nicknamed Trenchard Nwangwele, meaning young lizard in Igbo, on account of his figure.

Nnewi thrived during his reign through land gains from neighboring towns like Ichi through wars, He also resettled soldiers in Abubo, Nnewiichi & Akabukwu. reign marked the beginning of Christianity in Nnewi and his family and people would later gradually become Christians. He took the prestigious Nri Ozo title, with the Ozo name, 'Eze Ugbonyamba'.

He is the father of Nigeria's second senate president and acting president, Prince Nwafor Orizu and the Grand father of Igwe Kenneth Onyeneke Orizu III, the current Igwe of Nnewi.

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