The Aro-Ibibio Wars were a series of conflicts between the Aro people (subgroup of the Igbo) and the Obong Okon Ita clan in present-day Southeastern

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, ...

in the Ibom Kingdom from 1830 to 1902. These wars led to the foundation of the

Arochukwu Arochukwu Local Government Area, sometimes referred to as Arochuku or Aro Oke igbo is the third largest local government area in Abia State (after Aba and Umuahia) in southeastern Nigeria and homeland of the Igbo subgroup, Aro people. It ...

kingdom.

Arochukwu conquest

Before Igbo arrival in the Aro territory, a group of proto

Ibibio Ibibio may refer to: *Ibibio language, Niger-Congo language of Nigeria *Ibibio people an ethnic group of southern Nigeria *Ibibio Sound Machine, an English electronic afro-funk band who sing in Ibibio See also * Ibiblio, a digital library and ar ...

migrated to the area and established the Ibom Kingdom during the

Bantu expansion Bantu may refer to: * Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages * Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Natio ...

. This proto Ibibio group originally came from Usak Edet (

Isanguele Isanguele (Archibong) is a commune and arrondissement in the Ndian département, Southwest Province, western Cameroon.Located on the Akpa Yafe River, it is a small fishing community. See also *Communes of Cameroon The Divisions of Cameroon are ...

), a segment of the Ejagham in present-day Southern

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. The

Eze Agwu Agwu Inobia or Eze Agwu was one of the founding fathers of the city of Arochukwu, the third largest city in Abia State in southeastern Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situate ...

clan from

Abiriba Abiriba pronounced E`biriba`/is an ancient Enuda kingdom in Abia State, in southeastern Nigeria, traditionally an Igbo speaking region. It is in the Ohafia local government area. History The origin of the Abiriba people is not as speculative ...

, initiated Igbo migration into the region around the mid-17th century. The Ibibio clan welcomed all until some started rebelling against the ruling house. The Eze Awgu group who lead the rebellion against the ruling family aligned with several outside forces like the Priest

Nnachi Nnachi Ipia mononymously known as Nnachi, was one of the founding fathers of the city of Arochukwu, one of the largest villages in Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. During the conclusion of the 17th century, he was a Dibia (priest-doctor) from t ...

from the Edda group near

Afikpo Ehugbo often referred to as Afikpo, is the second largest urban area in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Afikpo North Local Government Area. It is situated in the southern part of Ebonyi State and is bordered to the north by ...

, was called by their king Awgu Inobia (Eze Agwu) for help. When he arrived, Nnachi and Eze Agwu allied with prince Akakpokpo Okon of the Ibibio kingdom of Ibom Kingdom. Akakpokpo Okon was the son of a marriage between an Igbo woman of the Eze Agwu clan and the King Obong Okon Ita in an attempt of a peace treaty for a war that have been fought between the Igbo subgroup and Ibibio. The Eze Agwu/Nnachi faction decided to help Akakpokpo attempt to overthrow his brother king

Akpan Okon Akpan Okon was an ''Obong'' (king) of Ibom Kingdom around 1690-1720. An attempt was made to overthrow him by his brother Akakpokpo Okon with the support of groups such as the Eze Agwu, Nnachi Ipia, and the Nnubi dynasty in the final phases of th ...

The coup was heavily resisted which called for even more help. Through Nnachi, an Eastern Cross river group answered the call for help. They were known as the

Akpa The Ibom Isi also known as the Akpa are one of the three main lineages comprising the Aro people. They are centered in Ibom, Arochukwu in Nigeria. The Akpa are descendants of the Ejagham in present day Cross River State in Southeastern Nigeria. ...

who were living at today

Akwa Akpa Duke Town, originally known as Atakpa, is an Efik city-state that flourished in the 19th century in what is now southern Nigeria. The City State extended from now Calabar to Bakassi in the east and Oron to the west. Although it is now absorbed ...

before the arrival of the

Efik people The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the Be ...

in that region. These warriors and traders, may have had

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

guns A gun is a device that propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). Solid projectiles may be ...

which were new to the territory. Being the Igbo allies, the Akpas were led by the royal Nnubi family.

Osim and Akuma Nnubi {{Short description, 17th century tribal dynastic period in West Africa Osim and Akuma Nnubi were brothers and merchant princes of the Akpa people from the east of the Cross River in the late 17th century. The Akpa people were trading allies with t ...

led Akpa soldiers to help fight against the ruling household. Together with Igbo forces and rebels, they fought against the warriors of the Obong Okon Ita clan (1890). During the final battles, Osim Nnubi was slain in Oror city state making it the capital of Arochukwu. At the end of the war, Osim and Akakpokpo were dead. In order to honor Osim's legacy, his brother Akuma was crowned the first EzeAro (king). After his death, Nnachi's descendants took the throne starting with his first son Oke Nnachi. The Arochukwu kingdom, was founded.

Aftermath

After Arochukwu was formed, it began to expand because of the growing population and territorial protection. Ibibio groups sporadically attacked Arochukwu shortly after its formation. Aro forces formed vigilante camps which eventually grew into communities on the Arochukwu-Ibibio boundaries.

References

External links

*http://www.aro-okigbo.com/history_of_the_aros.htm *http://www.aronetwork.org/others/arohistory.htmlhttp:/{{dead link, date=October 2016 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes /www.aronewsonline.com/origincivilization.html *http://people.bu.edu/manfredi/Contours.pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20110209213030/http://anny-nigeria.com/ *https://books.google.com/books?id=tjLjoC6ScKYC&dq=aro+slave+trade+ohafia+ibibio&pg=PA26 Aros Ibibio Wars involving the Aro Confederacy Wars involving Igboland 17th century in Nigeria 18th century in Nigeria