Arochukwu

Arochukwu (formerly and sometimes still Arochuku) is the third largest town in Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. As of 2005, the population of the area was 97800 and it contains 130169 acres of land. Arochukwu is a principal historic town in Igboland. It was also one of the last towns in the Southern protectorate conquered by the British colonial government. Several historic tourist sites exist in the city. The mystic Long-Juju shrine, the slave routes and other relics of the slave trade era are frequently visited by tourists. It is also in the food belt of Abia state where most of the staple foods are produced. Slogan: Divine Illuminating Brilliance.

History

Arochukwu is believed to have been the homeland of the Ibibio as they arrived in 300 AD from the Benue valley and founded early states like Obong okon Ita and Ibom. Many years passed as Igbo immigrants came along and pressed into the Ibibio occupied territory and founded several states. As Aro-Ibibio wars occurred, Igbo rulers were unable to turn the conflicts in the favor of the Igbo. In reaction, one Igbo Priest named Nnachi, invited some allies from the east of the cross river through his son Oke Nnachi. These people were identified as the Akpa people as there firearms attracted their Igbo allies. Akpa forces led by Osim and Akuma Nnubi, they helped the Igbo forces capture the area and settled in the Aro region. This formed the alliance of 19 new and old states in the area known as the Arochukwu kingdom in a time around 1690-1720. The first king (or EzeAro) was Akuma but after his death, Oke Nnachi tookover and his descendants has the throne to this very day. Slave trade hit the hinterland around the same time replacing Arochukwu's economy which was based on trading and palm products.

Slave trade formed the Aro Confederacy which was an alliance of strong city states and kingdoms who shared the same religion and ethnicity which was led by the powerful Eze Aro (king of the Aros) and other chiefs and priests of Ibini Ukpabi. After the confederacy evolved, Aro businessmen left the large crowded Cross River port city to settle in hundreds of settlements mostly in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. The confederacy was very powerful as it controlled the Niger Delta and even beyond the borders of Nigeria by political and economical forces. Wars were common as Aro slave raiders and warriors were feared and backed up by allies such as Ohafia, Abam, Bende, Abiriba, Afikpo and other warriorlands that supplied recruiters and mercenaries.

Tensions rose between the Aro confederacy and Europeans in the late 19th century leading to the power to decline and eventually the Anglo-Aro war in 1901-1902. Constant British invasions by men with advanced and superior weapons defeated Aro forces who fought gallantly. The legendary Ibini Ukpabi (known as the Long Juju) shrine was destroyed as the Aro dominance and power died.

Diversity

The kingdom has been home mainly to the Igbo, Ibibio, and Akpa. Minorities are the Ekoi, Yako, Efik, Annang, Akangbe, and more. These groups formed the Cross River group named the Aro people.

Languages

The languages in Arochukwu are mostly Cross River languages and of course Igbo. But each language spoken in the area is a different dialect of the language due to the diversity of the area and how disputes are common between the ethnic groups which are mostly Igbos and Ibibios.