By Chineze Ogbodo (NewsLeader Correspondent, Enugu State, Reports From Agbani)
Ozalla, otherwise known to the aborigines as Ozara, is a prominent town in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, South East, Nigeria. The name Ozalla is a colonial name given to it. The correct form "Ozara" is the most widely used by the natives in their Ozara dialect of Igbo language.
Ozalla is among the nine towns that comprised Nkanu West LGA. Namely: Agbani, Akpugo, Akegbe-Ugwu, Obe, Umueze, Amurri, Obuoffia and Amodu. Ozara, is referred to as a gateway town to Nkanu West because of its strategic location along the major access roads to the Nkanu region. It can be located between the towns of Akegbe-Awkunawnaw in the East of Nkanuland and Obe in the Western axis.
History had it that the Ozara people migrated centuries ago from their ancestral home at Okpatu, a major town between Umulumgbe and Ohum, in the old Udi (Agbaja) division of Enugu state, to settle in their present location in Nkanu West. That is why Ozara is also known among the native people as "Ozara Okpatu-Oke"!
According to history, Okpatu is one immersed in myths and legends. Oral tradition has it that Okpatu can be traced to the antecedents of a woman called " Ojebe " (though some oral traditions called her " OjebeOgene"). According to the traditional ruler of Ikeghe-Okpatu autonomous community, Ojebe-Ogene was a woman of many virtues who married three different husbands, whose names were unknown. She bore, for the first husband, a son called Ngwo in the present day Udi L.G.A. She later re-married and bore Nike and Egede (in Enugu East and Udi L.G.As respectively). Lastly, she married a third husband whom she bore a third son called Okpatu. Local historians however are yet to tell the full story of this great woman.
In the pre-colonial times and even till this day, the indigenes of Ozara are renown for their trading and agrarian exploits, but particularly reputed for their occupational skill in butchery, which is beef meat selling business. The people of Ozara are predominantly associated with this cow meat selling business everywhere they sojourned. Ndi Ozara are also said to be engaged in local hunting.
In major towns and cities of Igboland like Onitsha in Anambra state, Aba in Abia state, Abakaliki in Ebonyi state; Owerri in Imo state and in Enugu markets like Ogbete, Kenyatta, New Market, Oye Emene, etc, a large proportion of butchers in these "akwata" (Abatoir) markets are essentially citizens of Ozara. The people of Ozara are also identified as great butchers across the length and breath of Nigeria where they are found to have migrated to. But beyond butchery, they dominate in other areas of human endeavors like commerce, civil service and in the professions. Though they now show minimal presence in the politics of their local environment and state, Enugu.
Ozara is mainly made up of six (6) villages: Amechi, Amigbo, Enugwuegu, Ezzi, Obeagwu, and Umuokoruba, with more than twenty (20) sub-villages such as obunegu, umuaniegu, enugwuegu-ndiuno, Umu-udewigwe, umunnebe, etc.
In 2002, Ozara was split into five traditional administrative units by the government of Enugu State in the then Dr Chimaroke Nnamani's administration: Umuokorouba-Ozara, Obeagwu-Ozara, Umuohanne-Ozara, Etiti-Ozara, and Ishi-Ozara.
Prior to this, Ozara had one traditional ruler regarded as the supreme "Chief", in the person of His Royal Highness Igwe Crescent Okafor, a Portharcourt-based businessman. Before then, the Ozara Kingship had been relatively domiciled with the famous Chukwuani ruling dynasty in the day present Ishi-Ozalla, for nearly a century. But currently, each autonomous Ozara community now has an "Igwe".
Ozara has a river that runs across the town called the Ufamu, which remains the major source of water supply for the inhabitants of this town. An elderly female native of Umuokorouba Ozara, told NewsLeader reporter on further enquiry about this river, that among the town's people, Ufamu is also called "Ufamu Aneke Akuru". Whatever that means, she was unable to explain. The Ufamu river is said to be a clean, natural spring water that flows from the Udi Hills. Though this claim is yet to be clinically confirmed. This river criss-crossed the whole of Ozara autonomous communities. According to yet unverified traditional fable, the Ufamu River has the spiritual capability to heal sicknesses in those who drank from it.
Ozara is also partly the home of the Premier Specialist Hospital in the old Eastern Region known as the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH). This federal specialist hospital is located between Ozara and Ituku towns, along the Enugu-Portharcourt Expressway. One of the major public facility the town could boast of, is the Ozalla Community Health Center which has though gone through several refurbishment of its physical outlook, but not really in terms of structural expansion or equipment with modern medical facility or even category upgrade of the hospital.
Among other public facilities in the town is the Community Secondary School, popularly known as "Ozalla Boys". This secondary school was a product of community efforts of the leaders and people of Ozara in the late 70s. This is complimented by several primary schools in most of the villages among which are the popular St. Paul's School, Four-Corners, Ozalla and St. Vincent Primary School, Ugwundaru, in the lshi-Ozalla axis. The only Catholic Parish in this major Ozalla village known as St. Vincent Catholic Church, is located in the same Ugwundaru primary school.
Ozara also has a police division which ensures the general security of the town. This police division is said to have existed in the town many decades ago. Many superior police officers who have held top positions in the Nigerian Police are said to have, at one time or the other, been in charge of affairs of the community police security in Ozara.
But unfortunately, Ozara, as a prime gateway town to Nkanu West, has no Nigerian bank with an operational office located anywhere in the town, not even any of the first generation banks like the First Bank of Nigeria, United Bank for Africa (UBA) or Union Bank. All the banks currently have their operational base at Agbani, the Local Council Headquarter of Nkanu West. NIGERIAN NEWSLEADER Newspaper investigation in Ozara, reveals that the seeming absence of these banks in a major town like Ozara, has indeed posed great difficulty and inconvenience to the natives of this town. For any serious financial transaction to be carried out, the individual must go to Agbani, another major town, though the Council's capital.
However, in terms of public power supply system, the Ozara town has not fared any better than its neighbors. The epileptic energy distribution and supply pattern by the sole disco in the South East Nigeria, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), has, often, left most part of Ozara villages, if not the entire town, in complete darkness. This is however worsened by the obnoxious electricity tariff system of the EEDC which has been a source of public angst, not only in Ozara, but in the entire states, towns and communities in Igboland.
The spiritual head of Ozara is said to be located in one of its major autonomous community arm called Ishi-Ozalla, meaning the head or fountain source of Ozara! That community, according to some of the town's elders, is the base of the shrine of "Ani Ozalla", which is also known as "Oji-ngene-ani". The "Ani Ozalla" is said to be a Water Goddess of protection of the Ozara people, and symbolized by the presence of Crocodiles which had lived in the Oji-Ngene-Ani lake for centuries. This shrine has a Chief Priest responsible for offering sacrifices to the "Ani" Goddess of Ozara town. NEWSLEADER Newspaper reporter found out on arrival at the town, that aside from the native born of Ozara, people often come as tourists from far and near to Ishi-Ozara, to see the Oji-Ngene-Ani Crocodiles and even offer sacrifices, usually of fowls (white cocks) to this Ozara water Goddess.
In terms of prominent human potentials, Ozara is indeed reasonably blessed. This Nkanu West town has produced eminent citizens, men and women, who have distinguished themselves in the service of Nigeria in various capacities and in the various professions like the Civil Service, law, Journalism, Engineering, Medicine, Politics, Academia, Banking, Teaching, Business, etc.
In the roll call of distinguished indigenes of Ozara who have served Nigeria meritoriously in diverse capacities at the national level, include Mr Frank Nweke Jnr, the functional traditional Regent of Ishi-Ozara community pending the emergence of a new monarch. His late father, Frank Nweke Snr (Oke-ifufe 1) was the pioneer paramount ruler of Ishi-Ozara at its creation as an autonomous community in 2002. He reigned for a decade (2002 - 2012). His heir, Nweke Jnr who was a former Chief of Staff to the ex-governor of Enugu state, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, was also a former Minister for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Affairs and later, Minister of Information and National Orientation in the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidency. He later became a Director-General of the Nigerian Economic Summit, NES.
Another eminent son of Ozara town is Barrister Victor Chukwuani, said to be the eldest son of a renowned educationist and college Principal, late Chief Boniface Chukwuani, from the famous Chukwuani family in Ishi-Ozalla. Victor Chukwuani was a former National Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in charge of Legal Directorate of the Commission in Abuja INEC headquarters under Prof Maurice Iwu-led INEC. Victor's cousin, Mr Chudi Chukwuani, an Economist, politician and public affairs analyst, was a former national chairman of one of Nigeria's notable political parties, National Democratic Party (NDP). Chudi Chukwuani is one of the prominent sons of Ozara known at the national level.
Also, one of the eminent professional Journalist in Nigeria and a distinguished son of Ozara town from the same Ishi-Ozalla autonomous axis, is Mr Celestine Osondu Okafor, a renowned newspaper editor and a former Presidential Committee Member of the Nigerian Police Equipment Fund (PCPEF). He was appointed by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 to serve in the elite presidential police committee which included the then Inspector General of Police, Mr Sunday Ehindero, former Minister of Police Affairs (Chief Bozimo), billionaire industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and some state governors at the time including other prominent Nigerians. Celestine Okafor, the eldest son of another prominent educationist from the Ishi-Ozara community, late Mr Patrick Nwununta Okafor, is a former editor of some top Nigerian Newspapers - the Vanguard, Punch, Daily Times, LEADERSHIP and the Daily Independent Newspapers, respectively.
He was also a Group General Manager (Publications) of the LEADERSHIP Newspapers Group and the Executive Director/Head of Abuja and Northern Region Media Operations of the Daily Independent Newspapers Group. Celestine Osondu Okafor is the founding Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of the Nigerian NewsLeader Newspapers (one of Nigeria's most credible and leading Online, e-newspaper, print and Tv news medium) and also Certified Products & Services Magazine (Nigeria's first Products and Consumer Safety Publication). According to Amazon's Alexia Website traffic ranking system, the Nigerian NewsLeader Newspaper's Online website, within its short period of existence, is currently rated number 795,903 globally and 4,980 in Nigeria in terms of viewership/visitors traffic to the Internet site. The rating is still increasing by the day to the top line.
Celestine Okafor is the Executive Chairman of SeaRoute Group, an umbrella corporate subsidiary companies which includes SeaRoute Manufacturing and Trading Company Limited, SMAT-C (a medium player in the real sector of the Nigerian economy, manufacturing in its Abuja factory complex, a wide range of proudly Nigerian high quality NAFDAC approved foods, industrial, household and personal cleaning agents as well as a variety of cosmetics and beauty care products); SeaRoute Communications Limited (Publisher of Nigerian Newsleader Newspaper and Certified Products & Services News Magazine including upcoming Radio and Tv cable Channels, all media brands of SeaRoute); SeaRoute Farms and Agro Products Limited; SeaRoute Dialogue, Books & Legacy Project; Eminent Scholars Project and My Learned Pals Educational/Learning Project, among others.
Ozara town has also produced other distinguished sons and daughters who have held very important positions in politics and governance, both at the state and sundry levels, including Boards, Parastatals, Agencies of governments, uniformed armed services, judiciary, banking and academia, etc. Among them are: Chief Willy Chukwuani, an Ishi-Ozara Prince, community elder and politician. Hon Willy Chukwuani was a former Local Government Chairman of Nkanu West. Another prominent Chukwuani prince, is Barrister Dada Chukwuani, a former cabinet Commissioner in both Commerce and Finance Ministries in Enugu state during the Sullivan Chime administration. Professor Uchenna Agu, the son of another distinguished educationist from Ozara town, late Chief Jacob Agu, is said to be a prominent University lecturer, a member of the academic community.
Within the nation's banking sector, Ozara has produced professionals who have risen to the top management hierarchy of banking in Nigeria. Standing among the pack is Mr Vincent Okoye, a Senior Manager with the Zenith Bank Plc in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State. In the diaspora too, Ozara indigenes have equally made the town proud in various fields, especially in Europe and America. Ozara town currently boasts of top and middle officers in the Military, Police, Customs, Immigration, Civil Defence and other uniformed officers in the nation's armed services. It also has serving top political appointees in government currently at both the state and local government levels, including senior civil servants of note, most of who may not easily be listed here. NNL.
