Onitsha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Onitsha | |
  Onitsha
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Nigeria |
| State | Anambra State |
| Population (1991) | |
| - Total | 328,000 |
Onitsha is a city, commercial centre and river port on the eastern bank of the Niger river in Anambra State, southeast Nigeria. As of 1991 Onitsha had an estimated population of 328,300. [1]
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[edit] History
Immigrants from the Kingdom of Benin are believed to have founded Onitsha in the 16th century, which was originally called Ado N'Idu.[2] It soon became capital of an Igbo Kingdom. In 1857 British traders in palm oil established a permanent station in the city, and Christian missionaries soon followed. In 1884 Onitsha became part of a British protectorate. The British colonial government and Christian missionaries penetrated most of Igboland to set up their administration, schools and churches through the river port at Onitsha.
Historically, the former Eastern Nigeria did not experience a prolonged period of indigenous urbanisation like Ibadan in the southwest or Kano and Zaria in the north. Onitsha became an important trading port for the Royal Niger company in the mid 1850's. Following the abolition of slavery, trade in palm kernels and other cash crops boomed around this river port. Immigrants from the hinterland were drawn to the emerging boom town as did the British traders who settled there and coordinated the palm oil and cash crops trade. In 1965, a bridge was built across the Niger River to replace the ferry crossing,[1] and plans are in place to add a second bridge as well. [3]
Trade soared between the east and west of Nigeria. This made Onitsha the strategic gateway for trade between the former eastern and western regions. The Biafran war years brought widespread devastation to Onitsha. The subsequent oil boom years brought a huge influx of immigrants into the city. The war-damaged facilities, still under repair, could not cope with the pace of the rural-urban exodus into the city. Slums consequently began to emerge from the hasty haphazard building construction to accommodate the huge influx. It lies at a major east-west crossing point of the Niger River, and occupies the northernmost point of the river regularly navigable by large vessels. These factors have historically made Onitsha a major centre for trade between the coastal regions and the north, as well as between eastern and western Nigeria. Onitsha possesses one of the very few road bridge crossings of the mile-wide Niger river.
[edit] Economy
Modern day industrial products include textiles, beer, mineral water, shoes, lumber, tyres, nails and printed publications. Traditional occupations include fishing and canoe-building. Local agriculture produces palm oil, maize, nuts, vegetables, and fruit.
[edit] Religion and politics
The city has both Catholic and Anglican cathedrals. It is the residence of the traditional ruler of Onitsha, the Obi of Onitsha. There is also a teacher training college for women and a famous leper colony. Despite being one of the biggest commercial cities of west Africa, Onitsha remains congested from the over-concentration of all her huge markets within the old city center and minimal expansion of the colonial roads infrastructure.
In February 2006, armed militants killed at least 24 ethnic Hausa Fulani (Muslims) and burned a few Muslim sites including two mosques.[4] [5] [6] The riots were in response to riots by Muslims in the city of Maiduguri days earlier, where at least 18 Christians were killed, sparked by the cartoon controversy in Denmark.
[edit] See also
- Onitsha Market Literature - literature sold at the main market in the 1950s and 60s.
- Onitsha is also the title of a novel by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio.
- Ryszard Kapuscinski writes of "The Hole of Onitsha" in his book The Shadow of the Sun
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
- ^ Azikiwe, Nnamdi (October 1930). "Fragments of Onitsha History". The Journal of Negro History 15 (4): 474. doi:.
- ^ “"The second Niger Bridge"”, "The Daily Sun", 2007-02-20, <http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/opinion/editorial/2007/feb/20/editorial-20-02-2007-001.htm>. Retrieved on 6 April 2007
- ^ "Scores killed in Nigeria riots", "Al Jazeera", 2006-02-23
- ^ "Toll rises in Nigeria sectarian riots", "Al Jazeera", 2006-02-24
- ^ Timberg, Craig (2006-02-24), “"Nigerian Christians Burn Corpses"”, "The Washington Post": A10, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/23/AR2006022300647.html>. Retrieved on 6 April 2007
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