Uromi is a town in northeastern Esan, an ethnic group in Central Edo state,

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, ...

. At various points in Uromi's history, the town and people have been known for their resilience and strength. The people of Uromi, led by Agba N'Ojie resisted the Benin Empire expansionism during the reign of Oba Ozolua. They were also at the forefront of the resistance of the British invasion of Esanland.

History

Uromi, originally known as 'Uronmun', is the most populated area in Esanland, settled by several waves of people. The first wave consisted of the aborigines who were believed to have settled in the various autonomous villages, from the present day central Nigeria. These settlements date as far back as 100 AD. The villages had a system of gerontocracy where the eldest man was the head. Then other migrants poured in from various places in present day Esanland, Ifeku Island and Igodomigodo. The Kingdom itself was formed by around the 1100 AD to 1200 AD. The Kingdom is headed by a King who is known as Onojie in Esan language. The present King of the town is HRM, the Ojiuromi (Ojie Uromi) Anslem Okojie Aidenojie II. Uromi is a conurbation of villages divided into three groups, recognized as Okhiode, Obiruan and Obiyon.

The villages of Okhiode

Consisting of: * Eguare * Egbele * Onewa * Utako * Unuwazi * Arue and Isua * Uje Oror

The villages of Obiruan

Consisting of: * Ebhoiyi * Efandion * Ekhue * Ubierumu * * Obeidu * Uwalor * Idumoza * Ivue * Idumhengan Ebhoyi * Eko-Ibadin * Uwalor Okpere

The villages of Obiyon

Consisting of: * Amedeokhian * Ukoni * Iruele * Idumu-Iyasele * Okpujie Ne Amedokhian * Idumu-Onogbosele * Awo Eguare, the seat of the Onojie of Uromi, is made up of seven villages, namely: * Ikekiala * Okpujie * Oyomon * Odigule * Okhieren * Uwalor-Okpere * Uwalor-Usogho * Idejie The seven villages have the responsibility of crowning a new king.

Economy

A large percentage of the economy of Uromi is derived from local

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and trading, with some contribution from the government's budget. Uromi's productive

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

output is mainly the result of its situation in a rain forest zone, its loamy

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

type and its

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

. Uromi also has a good number of markets that provide opportunities for local farmers to trade their farm products. The Uromi Main Market has good, portable lock-up stores. Although officially market day is held at four-day intervals, the Uromi Main Market operates daily from morning to late evening. Across Uromi, there may be up to three markets in each village, with some village markets functioning at four-day intervals, while others trade every day. Apart from farming and trading, other business transactions take place on a daily basis. In Eguare, there are many business offices both in the government-owned business sector and in the privately owned business sectors. Some examples of financial businesses include the Union Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA),

First Bank of Nigeria First Bank of Nigeria is a multinational bank and financial services company with headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria. First Bank was founded in 1894 by Sir Alfred Jones and is currently owned by First HoldCo PLC, which in itself has diversified own ...

, Unity Bank, Zenith Bank, EcoBank, Fidelity Bank, Uromi Community Bank, and other monetary firms like the Uromi Microfinance Bank, etc. Uromi is home to the Institute of Construction Technology and Management (NICTM) situated on Amedokhian-Ugboha Road, Amedokhian. The NICTM provides a wide range of courses, including Computer Science and Civil Engineering. Uromi is also host to the Uromi Technical College in Onewa Village.

Religion and belief

Uromi traditional religion has many similarities to the Bini traditional religion, even though Westernization has caused Christianity and Islamic influence. Esan religion has so many deities, which among them are: Osanobua: which actually is the main and really Esan God. This name was adopted into

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

as God, and thus the meaning and the translation for

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

in Esanland is Osanobua. Esu/Oju: This is the Esan trickster god. This god is related with the Yoruba and Edo myth. This name "Eshu" was also adopted into the Western religion, which is translated as Satan by Christian missionaries. Osun: This is the Esan god of medicine. This god can also be said to be related to the Yoruba deity (known as

Osun Osun (; ), is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria; bounded to the east by Ekiti State, Ekiti and Ondo State, Ondo states for 84 km and for 78 km respectively, to the north by Kwara State for 73&nb ...

). This is where the surname " Olokun" known as the "son of medicine" originated from.

Festivals

Talking about Uromi, we must mention some of the traditional festivals with the knowledge that Uromi people value their tradition so much. Speaking on one of the

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

s known as OTO-UROMI and briefly on Amukpe. As the name implies, Oto-Uromi (Uromi land) is celebrated in the month of July or early August. This celebration is done to appease the land of Uromi in order for good harvest. The date for this festival is always a market day, fixed by the Onojie of Uromi who acts on the advice of his Chiefs. The people are given a notice of 15 days after the announcement of the date for the purpose of preparation. It is a custom that no one goes to the farm on the day of celebration. The ceremony is performed on a chosen spot by Iwienbola people. To appease the land or the soil, these items are brought; Four sticks of chalk, four kola-nuts, cowries, ripe pumpkin and a dog. The people merry, sharing gifts among themselves, most especially, in every home, women send gift to their husbands for giving them portion of the farm for the year. After the festival, the Onojie of Uromi summons his elders and chiefs and through them appreciates the people for making the celebration a success. Another festival celebrated in Uromi is the Amukpe festival which is celebrated yearly during the month of August. It is always a day celebration which is meant to usher in new yams. This is also called Ihuan or Ihunlan in some villages. It is widely celebrated by each village indigenes that make up Uromi at their designated date of the year, usually within the harvest period of the summer season. The celebrating village usually attract a large number of visitors and well-wishers from the neighboring villages, towns and cities. The ceremonies are accompanied by large displays of fanfares.

Geography

The city of Uromi lies in north-eastern Esan in

Edo State Edo State, Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South Geopolitical zones of Nigeria, geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As of 2024, the state was ranked as the List of Ni ...

, on

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

3° 24' E and

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

6° 27' N. Almost the whole of the city is covered with land.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

in Uromi is similar to that of the rest of southern Nigeria. There are two rainy seasons, with the heaviest rains falling from April to July and a weaker rainy season in October and November. There is a brief relatively dry spell in August and September and a longer dry season from December to March. Monthly rainfall between May and July averages over 300 mm (12 in), while in August and September it is down to 75 mm (3 inches) and in January as low as 35 mm (1.5 inches). The main dry season is accompanied by

harmattan The Harmattan is a season in West Africa that occurs between the end of November and the middle of March. It is characterized by the dry and dusty northeasterly trade wind, of the same name, which blows from the Sahara over West Africa into th ...

winds from the

Sahara Desert The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

, which between December and early February can be quite strong. The average

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

in January is 27 °C (79 °F) and for July it is 25 °C (77 °F). On average the hottest month is March; with a mean temperature of 29 °C (84 °F); while July is the coolest

month A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar mo ...

Politics and government

Uromi is not a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

and has therefore no overall city administration or governance but instead, it is run by the

Local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

council headed by a Chairman. Uromi is not a local government but is the seat of the local government council governing the Esan North-East local government area. The administration of the government of Uromi is divided into eleven (11) wards. Each ward delegates a Councillor who represents it at its local council election who is normally tenured for four years.

Notable people

* Chief Anthony Enahoro * Chief Tony Anenih * Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie * Chris Aire * Dr. Robert S. Okojie (research scientist, NASA) * Arc Dr Mike Onolemenmen. Notable politician and technocrat. ormer Minister of Works* Benita Okojie (Gospel singer, actress and songwriter)

Kingship

The Uromi kingdom is a monarchical territory headed by a king (Onojie) who handles the leadership of the kingdom. The leadership in the Uromi kingdom is a hereditary

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

system. The king is the monarch who rules with the body of chiefs who assist the king in the leadership of the kingdom.

List of Kings of Uromi kingdom

* Ijiesan * Ozogbo * Aiwogho * Uwaifo * Agba I * Aigbojie * Ikhimhin * Ehidiamen * Aisiokuo * Ikiesan * Agba N’Ojie * Ikenoa * Ehenoa * Ikhivabhojere * Okuoye * Ikhize * Ikhimigbale * Uwagbo * Ediale * Akhilomen * Okolo N’Ojie * Ogbidi Okojie * Uwagbale * Edenojie Okojie I * Omelimen Edenojie I * Anslem Edenojie II The different villages of Uromi are led by the Elders of the individual villages who are responsible to the king. The council of Elders are headed by an indigenous elderly man who by birth is eldest among all the male indigenes. The council of elders have their own legislative authority and so are able to mete out punishment to offenders within their designation.

Gallery

File:All Progressives Congress, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:Ubiaja road roundabout, Uromi, Edo state2.jpg File:Ambrose Okosun Housing Estate, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:Arue Secondary School, Uromi, Edo state2.jpg File:Benson Idahosa Cathedral Academy, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:Benson Idahosa Cathedral Academy, Uromi, Edo state5.jpg File:Church of God Mission International, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:Church of God Mission International, Uromi, Edo state2.jpg File:Efandum Demonstration Primary School, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:Federal Ministry of Agriculture crop processing technology, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:Lumen Christ International High School, Edo state.jpg File:National Institute of Construction Technology, Uromi, Edo state3.jpg File:Nigeria post office, Uromi, Edo state3.jpg File:Sacred Heart Girls Model Secondary School, Uromi, Edo state.jpg File:St. Camilus Catholic Hospital and School of Midwifery, Uromi, Edo state3.jpg File:St. Joseph Catholic Church, Uromi, Edo state.jpg

Footnotes

* History of Uromi. c/o Uromi Community Association New York

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Edo State Sub-ethnic groups