Ogwashi Ukwu

Ogwashi Ukwu, sometimes spelt as Ogwashi-Uku, is a town in Delta State, Nigeria. Located west of the state capital Asaba, it is the headquarters for the Local Government Area, Aniocha South. The population of Ogwashi-Ukwu is about 50,234.. However, its number has increased vastly and keeps increasing. It is an Anioma region of Delta State which is home to the Igbo-speaking people of Delta State. Its natives are the Enuani people, who are predominantly farmers and fishers. The villages in Ogwashi-Ukwu include Ikelike (the original inhabitants), Umu Dei, Azungwu, Agidiase, Agidiehe, Ogbe Akwu, Ishekpe, Ogbe Onicha, Ogbe Ubu, Ogbe Ani and Umu-okwe.

Ogwashi-Ukwu
Seal
Nickname:  Adaigbo Nshiagu
Ogwashi-Ukwu
Coordinates: 6°10′59.06″N 6°31′27.72″E
Country	Nigeria
State	Delta State
Government
• Obi	Obi Ifechukwude Chukuka Okonjo 2nd
Population
• Total	50,234
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
National language	Igbo

Landmarks

• Jay Jay Okocha Stadium
• Ogwashi-Ukwu Post Office,
• Ukwu Orji at Ogbeofu,
• Ihu Ngwu at Azungwu
• Abu Ano Market at Ishekpe and
• Ogwashi-Ukwu Carnival (Ineh Festival)
• Kwale junction
• Agidiase
• Hausa Quarters - It had beautiful well-kept lawns and gardens maintained by prisoners under the watch of warders. There were many fruit trees: mango, guava, tangerine, orange and grapefruit which delighted the children and provided shade. Today Ogige is the site of Local Government Offices and it would benefit from landscaping and maintenance services. Although the fruit trees are gone it remains a green and leafy part of the town.
• Obi's Palace (the king's palace) at Ogbe Nti Quarters, Umu Dei Village
• Obasanjo Egg and Poultry Farm.

Institutions

• Delta State Polytechnic
• Nshiagu College.
• Comprehensive College
• Adaigbo College
• St.Roses Girls' Secondary School
• St Mary's Hospital, P.O. Box 38, a hospital of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Issele-Uku
• Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-uku
• Institute of Continuing Education Isah road Ogwashi-uku
• Delta preparatory high school Isah road Ogwashi-uku

Notable indigenes of Ogwashi Ukwu

Ogwashi-Ukwu has a number of prominent people either born in the town or elsewhere, who have contributed to the growth of the town or of Nigeria. They have made their mark in the fields of politics, scholarship, sports and the arts. Here are some of them:

• Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is a Nigerian-American economist and international development, expert. She sits on the boards of Standard Chartered Bank, Twitter, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, and the African Risk Capacity. On 15 February 2021, she was appointed as Director-General of the World Trade Organization
• Peter Konyegwachie, champion boxer and silver medalist, featherweight category in the 1984 Summer Olympics
• Augustine Okocha, former international professional football player
• Raph Uwechue, was a Nigerian minister, diplomat and publisher. He is a former president-general of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, an Igbo socio-cultural organization in Nigeria
• Peter Emelieze is a Nigerian-born German sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres, an African Junior Silver medalist and participant at the London 2012 Summer Olympics.
• John Benedict Elumeze [1917 - 2003], of Ishekpe Quarters, was the first Ogwashi-Uku man to travel to the United States of America. Born into the Elumeze branch of the Ogwashi-uku royal family (Umu Diei), he was also connected by his paternal grandmother to the royal family of Ubuluku, in Aniocha South Local Government Area; and through his mother, to the royal family of Akumazi, in Ika East Local Government Area - both towns in the Anioma region of Delta State. Inspired by the Nigerian nationalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was the first Nigerian to study in the US, Elumeze arrived in the US in 1948. The West African Pilot reported on the send off party held in his honor where he was urged to represent his community honorably. He attended the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he obtained a bachelor's in Political Science. Subsequently, he earned his master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. As a postgraduate student, he helped to found an African students' association. His return to Nigeria in 1956 was also documented in the West African Pilot, and upon his visit to his hometown, a parade was held in his honor together with a 21 gun salute. He took up a career with the Federal Government Civil Service, working in the ministries of Education, Labor, Commerce & Industries before retiring as Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Establishments. He also served as the pioneer Administrative Secretary of the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, (ASCON), Badagry. All his life, he was active in the Ogwashi-Uku community, serving as pioneer president of the Ogwashi-Uku Development Union, helping to raise funds for the organization to provide scholarships to children from Ogwashi-Uku to attend institutions of higher learning. He also participated in the union's agitation for the establishment of the Delta State Polytechnic in Ogwashi-Uku. He was also active in family associations notably the those of the Umu Diei (Royal Family) & the Elumeze Family in which he was the Diokpa (oldest elder). Elumeze was married with children and grandchildren.

Gallery

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See also

• Anioma people
• Organisation for the Advancement of Anioma Culture (OFAAC)
• Enuani dialect
• Ekumeku Movement

External links

• Ogwashi-Uku Association USA
• Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku educational portal