THE UKWUNZU PEOPLE OF THE ODIANI CLAN
History of the Ukwunzu/Odiani People
The traditional ruler of Ukwunzu, his Royal Highness Obi Christopher Ogoh 1, gave a
very detailed account of the origin of the Ukwunzu people of Delta State. According to him,
many decades ago, when Benin and its environs were still under the Ife Empire whose ruler was
Oba Oduduwa, the Bini’s were directly governed by lesser kings who reported back to the Oba
of Ife.
It was during this era that Ojiso and Odiowere emerged as the direct rulers of Bini subject
to the Oba of Ife. Due to their high handedness and lack of leadership charisma, the people
protested and appealed to the Oba of Ife to send them one of his sons to be their king. The Oba
who agreed to their plea, agreed to send his first son Orumiha. As a prince, during his journey to
Benin, Orumiha was accompanied by advisers, soldiers, friends and slaves. On getting to Benin,he was crowned as the first Oba of Benin, to have directly descended from the Oba of Ife. After
his coronation, most of those who accompanied him refused to go back to Ife rather they chose to
stay back in Benin.
The new king Orumiha married from amongst the Binis and then gave birth to Iweka who
became the crown prince. Iweka 1 ascended the throne after the demise of his father as the first
Oba, born and brought up in Benin. During Iweka’s reign, there were series of wars, owing to the
fact that Iweka intended for the Benin Empire to extend across the Niger towards the Igbo lands.
Stiff resistance were met from the Igbo settlements across the Niger.
It was during this war era that Eko (a place that was later known as Ukwunzu) was
formed as a war camp. This was due to its strategic position, being close to both the citadel of
power (Benin) and the Igbo lands across the Niger. It should be noted here that Eko in the Bini
language means war camp. Being a war camp, it was from Eko that troops of soldiers were sent
out into Igbo lands during this conquest. History has it that this conquest was quite successful
because the Bini Empire was able to capture some areas around Onitsha. On the other hand, it
was not a total success because penetrating further into the Igbo land was met with tough
resistance by the rulers of those areas. It was at this point that the king decided to regroup his
army at Eko with the intent of ending the war and amalgamating his newly conquered territories.
On getting to Eko, he marched his soldiers back to Benin, signifying the end of the war.
However, some soldiers refused to go back to Benin and chose to remain in Eko. Their reason
cannot be detached from the fact that the war lasted for a very long time and during the cause of
the war, some have started living their normal lives in Eko.
The leader of this extraction who refused to go back to Benin after the war was Ogbe.
Though this group were later joined by Igbo immigrants, both traditional and empirical evidence
gives credence to the fact that the present day Ukwunzu was founded by Ogbe and his followers
around later 11th century to late 12th century. One of the proofs that the Ukwunzu’s were one of the first after Ugbodu
to settle in their present day location is their Olukumi language. Historians are of the opinion that
if the Odianis were not the first to settle, they would have dropped their language
Olukumi for the new language of their host. However, the reverse is the case because the Igbo
settlers who later joined them picked up Olukumi.
Ukwunzu, formerly known as Eko, is one of the oldest towns in present day Aniocha
North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Language Situation
The people of Ukwunzu, along with their Ugbodu neighbours, speak Olukumi as their
native language. These communities are surrounded by the Enuani speaking people of Aniocha
North and South, and Oshimili. Consequently, the Olukumi language is believed to constitute a
‘linguistic island’; being the only Defiod language spoken in the heart of Igbo speaking
communities in Anioch-south. Olukumi in both the Yoruba and Igala languages (Onukumi)
means ‘my friend’. Though people have tried to classify Olukumi as a dialect of Yoruba,
however, the Ukwunzu and Ugbodu people agree that though they originated from Yoruba land hundreds of
years ago (like every other people have their history traced back to migration from someplace),
they do not see themselves as Yoruba people. It is important to note here that the Olukumi
spoken in this area is not mutually intelligible with Yoruba. This is because their history of
migration (from Yoruba land to Benin then later to their present place in Delta State) has led to a
lot of ‘cultural and linguistic diffusion’ in the language. This is evident in the language which
has a mixture of Igbo, Yoruba and Bini.
One interesting peculiarity of the Ukwunzu and Ugbodu people is their linguistic diversity expressed
in form of ‘communal bilingualism’. In this community natives speak both Olukumi and Igbo.
However, historians have it that in their earlier formative years, the Odianis only spoke
Olukumi. Over time, due to the need to interact and relate with their Enuani speaking neighbours
who surrounded them, it became imperative to learn the ‘Delta Igbo’ language. From thence,
every child born in the community acquires both Olukumi and Igbo. One important thing worth
taking note of here is their language attitude. Within the community, the Ukwunzu people speak
mainly Olukumi, except in cases where they may have strangers in their midst. In such instances,
they either communicate in English language or in Igbo (where the person is from an Igbo
speaking community). This positive attitude in the form of language loyalty has ensured the
preservation of the language even when its speakers are very few and the language liable to
‘linguistic colonization’ by their Igbo neighbours, who are greater in number. Outside the
community, the Ukwunzu and Ugbodu people interact with their neighbours in Igbo (or in English when the
need arises).With the gross increase in language endangerment due to lack of intergenerational
transmission and too much borrowing from Igbo into Olukumi, puts Olukumi language in a very
delicate position. This forms one of the foremost bases for the interest in this research. It is
important to note that code switching and code-mixing between Olukumi and Igbo is also ageneral norm amongst speakers. This is due to the fact that every child, born and bred in
Ukwunzu or Ugbodu is competent in both Olukumi and Igbo and today freely communicate in both languages as they choose. Historians have it that in future ,the odianis might switch completely to the Enuani dialect as the olukumi is highly threatened and diluted.
The traditional ruler of Ukwunzu, his Royal Highness Obi Christopher Ogoh 1, gave a
very detailed account of the origin of the Ukwunzu people of Delta State. According to him,
many decades ago, when Benin and its environs were still under the Ife Empire whose ruler was
Oba Oduduwa, the Bini’s were directly governed by lesser kings who reported back to the Oba
of Ife.
It was during this era that Ojiso and Odiowere emerged as the direct rulers of Bini subject
to the Oba of Ife. Due to their high handedness and lack of leadership charisma, the people
protested and appealed to the Oba of Ife to send them one of his sons to be their king. The Oba
who agreed to their plea, agreed to send his first son Orumiha. As a prince, during his journey to
Benin, Orumiha was accompanied by advisers, soldiers, friends and slaves. On getting to Benin,he was crowned as the first Oba of Benin, to have directly descended from the Oba of Ife. After
his coronation, most of those who accompanied him refused to go back to Ife rather they chose to
stay back in Benin.
The new king Orumiha married from amongst the Binis and then gave birth to Iweka who
became the crown prince. Iweka 1 ascended the throne after the demise of his father as the first
Oba, born and brought up in Benin. During Iweka’s reign, there were series of wars, owing to the
fact that Iweka intended for the Benin Empire to extend across the Niger towards the Igbo lands.
Stiff resistance were met from the Igbo settlements across the Niger.
It was during this war era that Eko (a place that was later known as Ukwunzu) was
formed as a war camp. This was due to its strategic position, being close to both the citadel of
power (Benin) and the Igbo lands across the Niger. It should be noted here that Eko in the Bini
language means war camp. Being a war camp, it was from Eko that troops of soldiers were sent
out into Igbo lands during this conquest. History has it that this conquest was quite successful
because the Bini Empire was able to capture some areas around Onitsha. On the other hand, it
was not a total success because penetrating further into the Igbo land was met with tough
resistance by the rulers of those areas. It was at this point that the king decided to regroup his
army at Eko with the intent of ending the war and amalgamating his newly conquered territories.
On getting to Eko, he marched his soldiers back to Benin, signifying the end of the war.
However, some soldiers refused to go back to Benin and chose to remain in Eko. Their reason
cannot be detached from the fact that the war lasted for a very long time and during the cause of
the war, some have started living their normal lives in Eko.
The leader of this extraction who refused to go back to Benin after the war was Ogbe.
Though this group were later joined by Igbo immigrants, both traditional and empirical evidence
gives credence to the fact that the present day Ukwunzu was founded by Ogbe and his followers
around later 11th century to late 12th century. One of the proofs that the Ukwunzu’s were one of the first after Ugbodu
to settle in their present day location is their Olukumi language. Historians are of the opinion that
if the Odianis were not the first to settle, they would have dropped their language
Olukumi for the new language of their host. However, the reverse is the case because the Igbo
settlers who later joined them picked up Olukumi.
Ukwunzu, formerly known as Eko, is one of the oldest towns in present day Aniocha
North Local Government Area of Delta State.
Language Situation
The people of Ukwunzu, along with their Ugbodu neighbours, speak Olukumi as their
native language. These communities are surrounded by the Enuani speaking people of Aniocha
North and South, and Oshimili. Consequently, the Olukumi language is believed to constitute a
‘linguistic island’; being the only Defiod language spoken in the heart of Igbo speaking
communities in Anioch-south. Olukumi in both the Yoruba and Igala languages (Onukumi)
means ‘my friend’. Though people have tried to classify Olukumi as a dialect of Yoruba,
however, the Ukwunzu and Ugbodu people agree that though they originated from Yoruba land hundreds of
years ago (like every other people have their history traced back to migration from someplace),
they do not see themselves as Yoruba people. It is important to note here that the Olukumi
spoken in this area is not mutually intelligible with Yoruba. This is because their history of
migration (from Yoruba land to Benin then later to their present place in Delta State) has led to a
lot of ‘cultural and linguistic diffusion’ in the language. This is evident in the language which
has a mixture of Igbo, Yoruba and Bini.
One interesting peculiarity of the Ukwunzu and Ugbodu people is their linguistic diversity expressed
in form of ‘communal bilingualism’. In this community natives speak both Olukumi and Igbo.
However, historians have it that in their earlier formative years, the Odianis only spoke
Olukumi. Over time, due to the need to interact and relate with their Enuani speaking neighbours
who surrounded them, it became imperative to learn the ‘Delta Igbo’ language. From thence,
every child born in the community acquires both Olukumi and Igbo. One important thing worth
taking note of here is their language attitude. Within the community, the Ukwunzu people speak
mainly Olukumi, except in cases where they may have strangers in their midst. In such instances,
they either communicate in English language or in Igbo (where the person is from an Igbo
speaking community). This positive attitude in the form of language loyalty has ensured the
preservation of the language even when its speakers are very few and the language liable to
‘linguistic colonization’ by their Igbo neighbours, who are greater in number. Outside the
community, the Ukwunzu and Ugbodu people interact with their neighbours in Igbo (or in English when the
need arises).With the gross increase in language endangerment due to lack of intergenerational
transmission and too much borrowing from Igbo into Olukumi, puts Olukumi language in a very
delicate position. This forms one of the foremost bases for the interest in this research. It is
important to note that code switching and code-mixing between Olukumi and Igbo is also ageneral norm amongst speakers. This is due to the fact that every child, born and bred in
Ukwunzu or Ugbodu is competent in both Olukumi and Igbo and today freely communicate in both languages as they choose. Historians have it that in future ,the odianis might switch completely to the Enuani dialect as the olukumi is highly threatened and diluted.
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