Igwe Iwuchukwu Ezeifekaibeya (1855-1904) was the

17th 17 (seventeen) is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is a prime number. 17 was described at MIT as "the least random number", according to the Jargon File. This is supposedly because, in a study where respondents were asked to ...

Dr. John Okonkwo Alutu, Nnewi History (from the Earliest times to 1980/82),Fourth Dimension publishers Obi of

Otolo Otolo is a town in Nnewi North, Anambra State, Nigeria. Otolo is the premier quarter in Nnewi among the four quarters of Nnewi town. Others are Umudim, Uruagu and Nnewichi Nnewichi is a town in Nnewi North, Anambra State with villages such a ...

and

Igwe Igwe (meaning ''"Sky"''), is a royal title or method of addressing traditional rulers that control autonomous communities in Igboland. In other words, Igbos approximate the term to the HM style. An Igwe is therefore defined as a holder of a tit ...

Nnewi Nnewi is a commercial and industrial city in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. It is the second largest city in Anambra state after Onitsha . Nnewi as a metropolitan area has two local government area, which are Nnewi North and Nnewi South, a ...

kingdom in the present day

Anambra Anambra () is a state in Nigeria. It is located in the South-eastern region of the country. The state was created on 27 August 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State and Rivers State to the south, Enugu State to ...

state of

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, ...

. He is the traditional supreme ruler and

spiritual leader Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, an Igbo city in

. He is a member of the Nnofo Royal lineage and the successor to his father Igwe Okafo. Unlike most Igbo monarchies, there were kings of Nnewi before the arrival of Europeans. He sat on the throne of his

ancestor An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

s until his death in 1904, the same year that the British colonists arrived at

. The kingdom was mourning the passing of the King and one of the most influential Chiefs and brother of the late king, Nwosu Odumegwu (Eze Odumegwu), was asked to be the Warrant chief of Nnewi by the British Colonial Administration led by Major Moorehouse; he refused.

Reign

The reign of Igwe Ezeifekaibeya saw the expansion of the Nnewi kingdom through warfare, and trade with the

Aros AROS Research Operating System (AROS, pronounced "AR-OS") is a free and open-source multi media centric implementation of the AmigaOS 3.1 application programming interface (API) which is designed to be portable and flexible. , ports are availab ...

. It was during his reign that the Ubaru War was fought. Led by Nsoedo who bore before him the charmed gourd, and joined by the Nnofo troops, they marched towards Úbárú. On their arrival, they discovered that the enemy's defenses were solid and difficult to penetrate. This was the time when Nsoedo invoked, it is said, through the charmed gourd the gods of Umu Enem and, through their aid, presumably, the Otolo troops broke through. The Ubarus were conquered, though among the losses suffered by the Otolos was the death of Obi Mmaduabum, a relative of Dala Oliaku.Dr. John Okonkwo Alutu, Nnewi History (from the Earliest times to 1980/82),Fourth Dimension publishers The Ubaru War had some remarkable results. At its conclusion, every Otolo man who took part in it adopted a heroic name. Some of these were Eze Obiukwu of Udude who became known as Ogbujulukpa; Nsoedo, the okúkú carrier and native of Egbu Umu Enem became Ochibilogbuo; Unaegbu of the same Egbu became Ogbuotaba and Eze Udenyi, relative of Eze Odumegwu who became also Kwambákwáisi. Eze Onyejemeni's success in Ubaru War and his successes in others were to him a justification for the assumption of Onuo Ora title. Upon his death, his young son Eze ugbonyamba alias (Igwe Orizu I) became the 18th Igwe of Nnewi in 1904. Nigerian politician and educationist

Nwafor Orizu Prince Akweke Abyssinia Nwafor Orizu (GCON)(; 17 July 1914 – 1999) was a Nigerian Politician, who served as President of the Nigerian Senate from 1963 to early 1966, during the Nigerian First Republic. Orizu was also Acting President of Nige ...

is his grandson and the current Igwe of Nnewi, Kenneth Onyeneke Orizu III is his great-grandson.

Family

The following were the wives of Eze Ifekaibeya - (i) Mgbafo Eze Kwenna (ii) Uduagu (iii) Nwakaku Onwusilikam (iv) Afiazu (v) Nonu (vi) Mmegha (vii) Ukonnwa. Among his issues were Eze Ugbonyamba his first son, Eze Nnaweigbo the son of Mmegha, Eze Enefeanya alias Oji, and Ofodile who was of the same mother with Eze Ugbonyamba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwuchukwu, Igwe Igbo monarchs Nnewi monarchs People from Nnewi 1904 deaths 1855 births

Reign

Family

See also

References