Ahiara is a city in Mbaise,

Imo State Imo () is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo R ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. The city stands about 16 miles between

Owerri Owerri ( , ) is the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of Igboland. It is also the state's largest city, followed by Orlu, Nigeria, Orlu, Okigwe and Ohaji/Egbema. Owerri consists of three Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Loc ...

and

Umuahia Umuahia () is the capital city of Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. Umuahia is located along the rail road that lies between Port Harcourt to its south, and Enugu city to its north. Umuahia has a population of 359,230 according to the 2006 Ni ...

. It was the location of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu's Ahiara Declaration during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

. It is the location of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in Mbaise. The first recorded Ahiara contact with Europeans was around 1905 when the British expedition got mixed up in local warfare, of which a British man named Dr. Stewart was a victim. Ahiara people were attacked by British forces in a reprisal invasion which forced many citizens to flee and never return. The Ahiara Slogan is ''Decent Dexterity''.

Origin

Ahiara was founded by a man of that name. He was the son of Anunu, popularly called ''Odo ji Anunu''. His sibling Avuvu became a part of Ikeduru. Etymologically, the name Ahiara is a type of plant among the Igbo people. The leaves of this plant signify peace. The Igbo used to travel with Ahiara leaves to guarantee peaceful journeys across several territories. Before Christianity, which 89 percent of the people practice, traditional religion held sway. Ahiara does not practise a centralized system of government. The ten chief priests and chief priestess were the symbol of authority and they occasionally met to deliberate and pass motions which eventually became tradition and laws. They also conferred titles to deserving citizens. Among those was Hon Nze.H.C. O Uhegbu who was conferred with the title of Nze Onugotu of Ahiara; at the time he was the first man in Ahiara to represent the clan in the state legislature.

Ahiara Ofo Iri

Ahiara city is historically called ''Ahiara Ofo Iri'', which means ''Ahiara of the Ten Scepters''. Each

scepter A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia, signifying sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia The '' Was'' and other ...

represents each of the ten villages that make up the city. The ten villages of Ahiara are: Ahiara is divided into two sections: Ihitte and Ikenga. *Ihite consists of these five villages: Obodo, Nnarambia, Oru na Nneude, Otulu, and Ogbe. *Ikenga consists of these five villages: Akabo, Amuzi, Agu na Eze, Ogwuama, and Ujichi. These ten villages are symbolically explained as the ten fingers of the human hands. This signifies an evolved dexterity and is why the Ahiara Slogan is ''Decent Dexterity''. The Mater Ecclesiae Cathedral in Ahiara is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ahiara.

References

Cities in Imo State {{Imo-geo-stub