The Igbo people are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A sizable Igbo population is also found in Delta and Rivers States. Large ethnic Igbo populations are found in Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea, as well as outside Africa. There has been much speculation about the origins of the Igbo people, which are largely unknown. Geographically, the Igbo homeland is divided into two unequal sections by the Niger River—an eastern and a western section. The Igbo people are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
The Bight of Biafra is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea.
Aba is a city in the southeast of Nigeria and the commercial center of Abia State. Upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local government areas namely; Aba South and Aba North. Aba south is the main city centre and the heartbeat of Abia State, south-east Nigeria. It is located on the Aba River. Aba is made up of many villages such as; Aba-Ukwu, Eziukwu-Aba, Obuda-Aba, Umuokpoji-Aba and other villages from Ohazu merged due to administrative convenience. Aba was established by the Ngwa clan of Igbo People of Nigeria as a market town and then later a military post was placed there by the British colonial administration in 1901. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River, and is at the intersection of roads leading to Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot-Abasi. The city became a collecting point for agricultural products following the British made railway running through it to Port Harcourt. Aba is a major urban settlement and commercial centre in a region that is surrounded by small villages and towns. The indigenous people of Aba are the Ngwa. Aba is well known for its craftsmen and also the most populous city in the South Eastern Nigeria. As of 2016, Aba had an estimated population of 2,534,265. The state's slogan is "God's own State".
Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River.
Eze is an Igbo word which means King. Such words as Igwe and Obi, plus others, are used by Igbo people as titles of respect and homage to the Eze. Igwe is derived from the Igbo word Igwekala or Eluigwekala, "the sky or heaven above the sky is higher or bigger than land", implying that the Eze is a higher servant of the people. Obi usually refers to the centre building for receiving visitors within an Igbo leader's or man's homestead. When used as a title of respect for the Eze, Obi implies: "the one who sits in the throne house or heart of the Kingdom."
The Women's War, or Aba Women's Protest, was a period of unrest in colonial Nigeria over November 1929. The protests broke out when thousands of Igbo women from the Bende District, Umuahia and other places in eastern Nigeria traveled to the town of Oloko to protest against the Warrant Chiefs, whom they accused of restricting the role of women in the government. The protest encompassed women from six ethnic groups.
Chief Margaret Ekpo//(listen) was a Nigerian women's rights activist and social mobilizer who was a pioneering female politician in the country's First Republic and a leading member of a class of traditional Nigerian women activists, many of whom rallied women beyond notions of ethnic solidarity. She played major roles as a grassroots and nationalist politician in the Eastern Nigerian city of Aba, in the era of a hierarchical and male-dominated movement towards independence.
Adiele Eberechukwu Afigbo was a Nigerian historian known for the history and historiography of Africa, more particularly Igbo history and the history of Southeastern Nigeria. Themes emphasised include pre-colonial and colonial history, inter-group relations, the Aro and the slave trade, the art and science of history in Africa, and nation-building.
Nkechi Justina Nwaogu, is a Nigerian politician and banker, founder and CEO Libra Investment. She is the former Chairman Governing Council and Pro Chancellor University of Calabar. Nwaogu was the Member representing Osisioma Ngwa, Ugwunagbo and Obi Ngwa Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives from 2003 to 2007. In 2007 she was elected as the Senator representing Abia Central Senatorial District. In 2011 she was re-elected for a second tenure in office.
Ikwuano is a Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Its headquarters is in Isiala Oboro. The name 'Ikwuano' etymologically indicates that there are four different ancient kingdoms that make up the community called Ikwuano. These include Oboro, Ibere, Ariam/Usaka and Oloko.
The Thing Around Your Neck is a short-story collection by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, first published in April 2009 by Fourth Estate in the UK and by Knopf in the US. It received many positive reviews, including: "She makes storytelling seem as easy as birdsong" ; "Stunning. Like all fine storytellers, she leaves us wanting more".
Ngwa people, an Igboid tribe in south eastern part of Nigeria. It's also the largest and most populous ethnic group in Abia state southeastern Nigeria. They occupy an area of about 1,328 square kilometres (513 sq mi), although some accounts read at least 2,300 km2. In 1979, their population was held at an estimate of approximately 1.8 million people, the current population is estimated to be 4 million+ Within the seventeen local government areas of Abia State, Nigeria. Ngwa people occupy nine Local Government Areas which include: Aba North, Aba South, Isiala Ngwa North, Isiala Ngwa South, Obi Ngwa, Osisioma, Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East, Ukwa West.
The Imo River (Igbo:Imo) is in southeastern Nigeria and flows 240 kilometres (150 mi) into the Atlantic Ocean. In Akwa Ibom State, the river is known as Imoh River, that is, Inyang Imoh, which translates to River of Wealth. Its estuary is around 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide, and the river has an annual discharge of 4 cubic kilometres (1.0 cu mi) with 26,000 hectares of wetland. The Imo's tributary Rivers are the Otamiri and Oramirukwa. The Imo was cleared under the British colonial administration of Nigeria in 1907–1908 and 1911; first to Aba and then to Udo near Umuahia.
"Sitting on a man" is an Igbo method of public shaming employed by women against a man by convening upon his hut or workplace. Women may dance, sing, detail grievances with his behaviour, beat on the walls of his home with pestles, or tear the roof from his home.
Gender inequality refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals wholly or partly due to their gender or sex. It arises from differences in socially constructed gender roles. Gender inequality in Nigeria is influenced by different cultures and beliefs. In most parts of Nigeria, women are considered subordinate to their male counterparts, especially in Northern Nigeria as well as in other sectors including the Nigeria music industry, politics, and education sector. It is generally believed that women are best suited as home keepers.
A Bibliography of books about Nigerian women and studies:
King Ahebi Ugbabe was king (eze) and warrant chief of Enugu-Ezike, Nigeria. She was the only female king in colonial Nigeria. Her life's impact is described by Nwando Achebe: "She was a 'slave' married to a deity, a runaway, a sex worker, a headman, a warrant chief, and ultimately a female king. She was a strong leader of her people, yet also a collaborator empowered by and serving the British colonial regime in Nigeria."
Nwando Achebe is a Nigerian-American academic, academic administrator, feminist scholar, and multi-award-winning historian. She is the Jack and Margaret Sweet Endowed Professor of History and the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. She is also founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of West African History.
Oloko is one of the four communities that make up Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. Villages in the community include: Ahaba and Nchara.
Susan Kingsley Kent is a Professor Emerita in Arts & Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and the Chair of the Department of Religious Studies. Her specialty is British History, with a focus on gender, culture, imperialism, and politics. She authored Making Peace: The Reconstruction of Gender in Interwar Britain and other books. She has also co-authored books, including The Women's War of 1929: Gender and Violence in Colonial Nigeria with Misty Bastian and Marc Matera.
listen ), also known as Madame Nwanyeruwa, was an Igbo woman living in colonial Nigeria who gained prominence for her role in the Aba Women's Riots, better known as the Women's War. The revolt stemmed for the reluctance of Nigerian women to be taxed amidst the economic hardships of the Great Depression. After a scuffle with a male Igbo Warrant Officer, Nwanyeruwa organized 10,000 Nigerian woman in a protest against the colonial and native authorities. While the protest did not result in much concrete changes or acceptance of Nwanyeruwa's demands, it did result in woman being involved in the colonial Nigerian political system. Nwanyeruwa's actions have been appraised by several historians, who cite her actions as an important milestone in the history of African nationalism. [1] [2] [3] [4]