Edda (local government area)

Edda local government area Eddha. Edda
LGA
Motto:  None
Edda local government area Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 5°58′N7°52′E / 5.967°N 7.867°E / 5.967; 7.867 [1]
Country	Nigeria
State	Ebonyi State
Headquarters	Nguzu Edda
HASC	NG.EB.AS
Government
• Type	Local Government
• Chairman	Chima Ekumankama [2]
Area
• Total	146 sq mi (378 km2)
Population  (2023)
• Total	450,072 [3]
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
Postcode	490 [4]
Ethnicity	Igbo, others

Edda (formerly Afikpo South and changed to Edda LGA as part of the 16 constitutional amendment acts signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on 17 March 2023) is a local government area in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

Locations

Edda is composed of many autonomous communities and towns which include: Ebunwana Edda, Nguzu Edda, Ekoli Edda, Owutu Edda, Amangwu Edda, Oso Edda, Etiti Edda, Ogbu Edda etc. The administrative headquarters of Edda local government area is at Nguzu.

The names of towns and villages within Edda often have "Edda" at their endings as an addendum designating their membership of the Edda cultural common wealth and community of shared values. Most of the autonomous communities of Edda had existed as small, but very strong, city states with each having its own monarch before Nigeria was carved up by British colonialists. These communities, made up of about 72 villages today, had functioned as a confederation of small city states bound by common heritage until 1867, when the British colonialists finally enveloped Edda into the Southern Protectorate, which later became the now defunct Southern Nigeria. The old city states of Edda still exist with monarchs that have no administrative functions; but serve as social and cultural representatives of different Edda communities.

The designation of Afikpo South was initially given to Edda when it was separated from Afikpo Local Government Area in 1991 by the then Nigerian Federal Military Government. Successive legislators from the area have fought to change the name of their place and people, to Edda in Nigeria's constitution to better reflect their heritage and proud identity.

Edda is bordered by Unwana to the east; Akaeze to the west, Amasiri to the north, Afikpo to the north-east, Ohafia to the south, Nkporo to the south west, and Erei to the south-east. ^[5] It has an area of 378 km² (146 sq mi) and a population of 157,072 at the 2006 census.

Culture

Unlike the different tribal peoples of Nigeria that surround them, and the larger Igbo ethnic group, Edda people (Nde Edda) do not have the concept of being indigenous as a basis for membership of their cities, towns and villages. The more general concept in Edda is citizenship, which is about membership of a person regardless of places of ancestry, to their community of values and shared norms. Persons not permanent members of a community in Edda are considered as guests, and are generally treated hospitablly. The Edda people also highly value the ideas of integrity and loyalty.

Education

Education was once held in a quasi-religious place in Edda in its ancient history. Every district of each town and village in Edda still bears a relic of a past where social life was built around mead halls that were centers of education, religion and recreation. In the old custom, Edda boys were inducted into the mead hall from young age. They were taught swordsmanship, warfare, craftmanship and the norms of their clan. They would go on a peregrination in the woods for months where the learned survival, sometimes with an older relative who had already passed the training. Relics of mead hall are still found all over Edda.

The ancient martial culture of Edda people ensured that Edda remained unassailable by slavers. The people defended their lands and protected territories they considered a sphere of influence that stretched into modern day Cross River and Akwa Ibom, extending into the sea. Unfortunately, the traditional mode of education that focused on building skills to defend their lands didn't survive into modern times as Edda eventually was assimilated into what became Nigeria. Today, schools in Edda are well kept because of a tradition in which Edda people (Eddics) hold learning with reverence. Under a centralized education system, Eddish children today are not taught traditional Eddish norms, and with the dysfunction of the shared system in Nigeria, Edda currently face a lack of critical mass of capacity for modern craftmanship for production of modern goods, building of modern infrastructure and development of technology based modern services. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Government

Edda is administered as a local government area, now called Edda Local Government Area. The local government is headed by an elected Chairman and councilors who are elected from their respective wards within the local government area by citizens. The first executive chairman was Chief Sonni Ogbuoji. The government of Ebonyi State and Nigeria both also recognize the hereditary monarchs of different ancient kingdoms, called Ezeogo, as traditional rulers and ceremonial cultural heads of their communities, albeit without any political powers.

Weather, climate and vegetation

There are two distinctive seasons in this area: the rainy and dry seasons. The rainy seasons usually begin in early March and ends in October, giving way to the dry season. The dry season usually begins in October and ends in February. Temperatures range from 20 °C to 38 °C during dry season and 16 °C to 28 °C during the rainy season. Average annual rainfall varies from 1750mm to 2250mm. The vegetation here is a parkland, with stunted trees and pockets of woodland and forest consisting of shrubs and large trees. The economy here is generally subsistence with agriculture as the mainstay.

Notable People from Edda

1. Chief (Dr) Francis Ama Oji, OFR, KSJI, Former Deputy Governor of Old Imo State, Honourable Secretary/Minister of Police Affairs 1992–1993

2. Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, politician

3. Sinach, Gospel Artist/Musician

4. Chief Julius Ama Oji, businessman

5. Hon. Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam JCA, jurist

6. Chief (Mrs) Ugo Nnachi, first female Head of Service in Ebonyi State

7. Ikenna Emewu, journalist, author

8. Grace Amah, actress

9. Elem Nnachi, actress

See also

• Amanchor Cave

Senator Sonni Ogbuoji, politician Senator Michael Ama Nnachi, politician Prince Ikenna Emewu, international journalist, author, researcher Julius Ama Oji, businessman Uchechukwu Onyemenam (JCA) Jurist Prince Uka Ezeogo Ugwuocha

References

1. "Edda: Nigeria". Geographical Names. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
2. "List of Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State and their Chairmen" . Retrieved 2024-12-23.
3. "Nigeria Local Government Areas".
4. "Post Offices- with map of LGA". NIPOST. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
5. "Social Control System - Role of Traditional Associations of Edda". Archived from the original on 2018-09-08.
6. "Nigeria States".
7. Suberu, Rotimi T. (1994) 1991 state and local government reorganizations in Nigeria Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, ISBN   978-2015-28-8
8. Ajayi, Gboyega (2007) The military and the Nigerian state, 1966-1993: a study of the strategies of political power control Africa World Press, Trenton New Jersey, ISBN   1-59221-568-8