Ozoro

Last updated January 29, 2023

Ozoro is a city and the headquarter of Isoko North Local Government area of Delta State, Nigeria.^[1] It is one of the two administrative units in the Isoko region of [Delta State, southern Nigeria. Ozoro had been incorrectly spelt Usoro in some older maps of Nigeria. Ozoro, the capital city of Isoko North, has a population of approximately 186,000 inhabitants.^{[ citation needed ]}

Etymology

The oral tradition passed on to the present generation, talks proudly of the descent and origin of Ozoro from “Aka or Edo n’ Ubini” as the Great Benin Kingdom is fondly referred to by its people.^{[ citation needed ]}

History

Ozoro is said to have been founded by Opute who migrated with his wife, Ozoro, in the 7th century from the shores of Igodomigodo or ancient Benin Kingdom to Isokoland in the Niger Delta Region. This was during the reign of Ogiso Orrorro, the 7th Ogiso (King) of Great Benin Kingdom (600–618 AD).

The ancestor and founding father of Ozoro, Opute, was a great warrior. In the company of his wife, he migrated from Ancient Benin. Opute's decision to leave his birth place was forced on him by circumstances. There was trouble at home which made him a persona non grata. Oral tradition has it that Opute and Ogwaran were sons of the same father but from different mothers. Their mothers had a quarrel in the market place that resulted in a fight. Opute's younger brother, Okpe, shot an arrow during the fight which mistakenly blinded Ogwaran's mother. Opute scared of the wrath and anger of his brother Ogwaran, a giant with legendary strength, fled Benin Kingdom with his wife Ozoro, Okpe his younger brother, and his brothers from the same mother, namely; Odume, Osumiri, Ozormo, Etimi, Iselegwu and Obodogwa. Ogwaran's medicine man known as Obogelowo gave a hot pursuit to Opute and his brothers. On getting to Ologbo River, Obogelowo stopped the pursuit and returned to the land of Benin, he could not cross the river for fear of losing his magical powers. Opute is said to have left the shores of Benin armed with a plethora of magical powers for victory in warfare and success in life endeavors. His father gave him a magical staff (“Usu”), the seed of a possession tree, and the replication/artifacts of his own deity.

In Opute's flight from Benin, his magical “Usu” was put to use by him to test for a favorable place of settlement. In every likely place of settlement, he performed the ritual of thrusting the “Usu” into the ground and pulling it out. If he successfully pulled it out, such a place was regarded as not suitable for settlement. After so many suns and moons in his journey of destiny, after crossing so many rivers and streams, subduing both attacking beasts and men, and testing many other places which the “Usu” rejected, he finally arrived upland in the heart of the Niger Delta. Here, he thrusts his “Usu” into the ground at the exact location where Eri-Okpe Community deity is housed today. At this fortuitous spot, he could not pull the Usu off the ground as was the case in previous “unwanted” locations. The powers that followed, led and backed him, had chosen and approved his divine settlement! He planted the possession tree at this place to possess the land and he built a shrine for the ancestral deity on the same spot. His younger brother, Okpe, later became known as Eri-Okpe after the name of its high priest Okpe. As at today, the age-long family that produces the deity's high priest is known and called the Okpe family or “Olua-Okpe”.

Opute gave birth to five sons, who settled in Uruto, Erovie, Etevie, Urude and Uruamudhu, in order, who fanned out and settled in star-fashion from Ala which represents the geographical and administrative center of Ozoro, in a manner very reminiscent of the present ring road in Benin City

Politics and government

As the administrative center for the local government, it houses the council offices. Ozoro is made up of five communities: Uruto, Erovie, Etevie, Urude, Uruamudhu.

The traditional ruler and custodian of the people's customs and traditions is the Ovie. The Ovie is influential in Isokoland in matters relating to Ozoro^{[ citation needed ]}. He is also a member of the state council of traditional rulers, which also provides him an additional platform for influence on statewide matters.

Economy

Ozoro has vast amount of crude oil and natural gas deposits which are yet to be developed to their full potentials. Shell Petroleum Development Company and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company were the main developers of the oil wells and oil platforms around Ozoro and Isoko. Ozoro and Delta State have vast amount of rubber trees that produce large amount of rubber latex used in various industrial rubber and plastic products manufacturing. Ozoro also have vast amount deposit of white sands that contained silica use in manufacturing varieties of industrial scale glasses for the automobile industry, homes doors and windows glasses, dinning plates, drinking glasses, tiles for homes and industries, etc.

Ozoro is home to The Delta State Government University of Science and Technology (formerly The Delta State Polytechnic) with ultra-modern stadium, and has large proportion of academic staff and university professors.

Ozoro also has a large concentration of lawyers, doctors, engineers, accountants and bankers that work in various institutions and branches of various large Nigeria financial institutions such as First Bank of Nigeria, Zenith Bank, etc.

Some of the other main economic activities are large-scale food and cash crop farming, accompanied by game and varieties of wildlife hunting. Ozoro and it’s environs have a wide variety of wildlife and fisheries due to its various rivers, lakes and its proximity to the River Niger and the Atlantic Ocean.

Some of the major staple and cash food crops produce in large scales in Ozoro are cassava, varieties of yams, palm oils, mangoes, oranges, plantains, bananas, guavas, etc. Ozoro Women are renowned for their beauty, tenacity and dedication to raising highly energetic family's, and form a large proportion of the daily commercial and farming activities.

Ozoro is fast developing with increasing commercial activities, exporting locally produced cash crops to nearby larger cities such as Ughelli, Warri, Sapele, Benin City, Asaba, Port Harcourt, and as far as Lagos and Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria. On market days, which is held every Thursday of the week, Ozoro beautiful women and men sell assorted wares in the city's various markets, such as, Cassava (Garri, starch-Ozi, fufu and tapioka- foniya), yams, fresh and dried assorted spices, tomatoes, beans, rice, plantains, fresh and dried smoked cat fishes and other assorted fisheries and bush meats, locally tailored or made African attires clothing’s, etc .

Ozoro the capital city of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria, has an estimated population of 186,000 inhabitants. Ozoro is rapidly growing and developing city due to its being the capital city of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State and its central geographical location of Delta State and southern Nigeria.

Education

Ozoro has several primary, secondary and post-secondary schools. Secondary institutions in Ozoro include Notre Dame College, Saint Joseph College (now St. Joseph College Technical), and Anglican Grammar School (formerly a girls-only school called "Anglican Girls Grammar School"), Alaka Grammar School, Igbonine Grammar School, and a host of private schools; among which include Opute Memorial Grammar School, Final Touch International School, Delsust Demonstration School, Hope Foundation, etc. Post-secondary institutions include the Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro.^[2] Catholic Diocese of Warri Music Academy, Film and Broadcast Academy (FABA), N.T.I (DLS)

Religious beliefs

Although the predominant religion in Ozoro is Christianity, many natives still practice African traditional religion, which has been practiced for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans to Africa. This is evident in the several ancestral shrines that can still be seen in Ozoro. A critical appraisal of the belief system of the average Ozoro indigene will reveal a combination of both Christian and pagan leanings.

Related Research Articles

The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri and her twin city, Uvwie are the commercial capital of Delta State with a population of over 311,970 people in 2006. The city is the indigenous territory of Urhobo, itsekiri and Ijaw people.

Uro is a town in Nigeria, in Isoko South Local Government Area in Delta State. It has an estimated population of 3,500 people. It is bordered by Ada, Okpe-Isoko, Ivrogbo and Ekpe. Uro is also actively involved in politics, as a result, they produced the incumbent chairman of the Isoko South council in person of Hon. Malik Ikpokpo, headquarters at Oleh. uro has also, at one time produced the councilor representing Irri Ward 2 at the council in Oleh, in person of Hon.Blessing Ese.

Delta State is a state in the South-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State on August 27, 1991. Bordered on the north by Edo State, the east by Anambra and Rivers States, and the south by Bayelsa State while to the west is the Bight of Benin which covers about 160 kilometres of the state's coastline. The State was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991 which was later extended to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Asaba as its state capital is located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the State, while the state's economic centre is the twin cities of Warri and Uvwie

Isoko North is one of two Local Government Areas (LGA) in the Isoko region of Delta State, southern Nigeria – the other being Isoko South. The population of Isoko North was approximately 112,000 as of 2003. Its headquarters are in the town of Ozoro which has 14,000 seater capacity Olympic size stadium at the Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro. There are 13 Electoral Wards in the Local Government Area. Major towns in Isoko North are Ozoro, Owhelogbo, Otor Owhe, Oghara-Iyede and Emevor. The people are mostly Christian and traditional worshippers. Isoko North contains oil producing regions, and is the location of some of the recent conflict in the Niger Delta.

The Itsekiri are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the Warri South, Warri North and Warri South West local government districts of Delta State on the Atlantic coast of Nigeria. Significant communities of Itsekiris can be found in parts of Edo and Ondo states and in various other Nigerian cities including Lagos, Benin City, Port Harcourt and Abuja. Many people of Itsekiri descent also reside in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. The Itsekiris are closely related to the Yoruba of South Western Nigeria and also close to the Okpe people and Edo peoples. The Itsekiris traditionally refer to their land as the Kingdom of Warri or 'Iwere' as its proper name – which is geographically contiguous to the area covered by the three Warri local government districts. The area is a key centre of Nigeria's crude oil and natural gas production and petroleum refining and the main town Warri forms the industrial and commercial nucleus of the Delta State region.

Ughoton is a town in Nigeria's Edo State.

The Edoid languages are a few dozen languages spoken in Southern Nigeria, predominantly in the former Bendel State. The name Edoid derives from its most widely spoken member, Edo, the language of Benin City, which has 25 million native and secondary speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isoko South</span> LGA in Delta State, Nigeria

Isoko South is a local government area (LGA) in the Isoko region of Delta State, Nigeria. With its headquarters at Oleh, Nigeria, it is one of the two local governments that make up the Isoko region. The other is Isoko North, which has its headquarters at Ozoro.

Uzere formerly known as "Uzei" is located in the Isoko South Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State of Nigeria. It has become one of the largest petroleum oil producing communities in Nigeria. Oil exploration started in Uzere in 1957. Uzere has two oil fields(Uzere West and Uzere East) with a total of 43 oil wells producing about 53,000 barrels per day (8,400 m³/d). Uzere has nine communities: Uhei, Ezede, Uweye, Afikioko, Uhroko (Paris), Ekregbesi, Abale, Iwre-Ezede, and Iboro.

Isoko is a region of Delta State and Bayelsa state in southern Nigeria and is inhabited by an ethnic group of the same name, the Isoko people. The region is divided into two Local Government Areas, Isoko North and Isoko South.

Sapele is a town and one of the Local Government Area in Delta State, Nigeria.

Uvwie (/hu-we-ɛ/), is a principal Urban Local Government Area in Delta State. It lies along the Warri River and it is one of the twenty-four Urhobo Kingdoms. The entirety of the LGA is conurbated with the city of Warri, making it a greater part of Warri metropolitan area

Enhwe is a kingdom made up of two main sections which are Otu Enhwe and Uluthe with its center of administration in Uluthe where the Paramount Rulers Emanates from. Enhwe Kingdom in Isoko South migrated from IDU during the end of the 13th Century. Its founder was Oviota Oriro, son of the third Ogiso, in the first Benin dynasty. He was denied the rights to becoming the next King. As a result of this, he ran away from Benin leaving with some loyal followers. Amongst his followers were Uvie, Ediagbon, Ekedi, Afia, Okpolo and many others. They had a brief sojourn at Jesse and later left as a result of war threats from the Oba. They found Uri, a place located in the present day Isoko South LGA. After a while, they left and settled in their present location, Uruchie, where Oviota Oriro became the first King in 1235 AD.

Oleh is the headquarters of the Isoko South Local Government Area, one of the two administrative units in the Isoko region of Delta State, southern Nigeria.

Ellu is an Isoko, countryside community in Delta State of Nigeria that was founded around the 18th century. Bounded in the north by Emu-Uno community, in the south by Ozoro and Idheze communities, in the east by Ofagbe community, and in the west by Owhelogbo community, Ellu is located within longitude 6'13 East and latitude 5'36 North. These geographical boundaries incorporate Aradhe and Ovrode communities, which are Ellu's sister communities in the north and east, respectively. According to the 1995 National census, Ellu has a population of 10,000 people. While a large proportion of the inhabitants of Ellu are subsistence farmers, a growing number are civil servants and small-scale entrepreneurs. The Ovie of Ellu is the traditional head of the community. Majority of the people are professed Christians while a dwindling number still practise the African Traditional Religion. The community has two public primary schools, a public secondary school, and a number of private schools. A government-funded health care centre is also located in the community. Ellu is founded by Akaje, Ogwaru, Ogeidhe, Ogike and Orodo from Owhe. Akaje brothers Egbeta and Esakpa founded Aradhe, while Ovime founder of Ovrode migrated from Uruode in Ellu.

Emede is a town in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, south of Nigeria.

The Urhobos are people located in southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta.

The Agbon Kingdom is one of twenty-four subunits of the Urhobo people that have been in existence since before the rise of the Benin Empire in the 1440s and before the arrival of the Portuguese in the Western Niger Delta in the 1480s.

According to the language family tree classification by Ethnologue, Okpe, Urhobo and Uvwie, alongside Eruwa and Isoko, make up the five Southwestern Edoid languages of the Benue-Congo group. Quoting Johnstone (1993), Ethnologue puts the population of Urhobo people at 546,000, Okpe 25,400 (2000) and Uvwie 19,800 (2000). These three languages have geographically neighbouring languages: Izon and Itsekiri to the west and south, Ukwuani and Isoko to the east and Edo to the north. Thus, Isoko and Urhobo are similar languages that belong to the same linguistic family.

The 2019 Delta State House of Assembly election was held on March 9, 2019, to elect members of the Delta State House of Assembly in Nigeria. All the 29 seats were up for election in the Delta State House of Assembly.

References

↑ "Okowa's popularity and triumph of PDP in Isoko North". Vanguard News. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
↑ "Welcome To Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro". www.dspz.edu.ng. Retrieved 2022-02-17.

Coordinates: 5°32′18″N6°12′58″E / 5.538333°N 6.216111°E / 5.538333; 6.216111