Umulokpa

Umulokpa
Town
Umulokpa Location in Nigeria
Coordinates: 6°30′22″N 7°06′01″E / 6.50611°N 7.10028°E / 6.50611; 7.10028Coordinates: 6°30′22″N 7°06′01″E / 6.50611°N 7.10028°E / 6.50611; 7.10028
Country	Nigeria
State	Enugu State
LGA	Uzo-Uwani
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)
Postal code	411111
Climate	Aw

Umulokpa is a town in Uzo-Uwani in Enugu State, Nigeria. It serves as the headquarters of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area (LGA) in Enugu State,^[1] and has a population of over 150,000.

Description and geography[]

It is made up of the villages of Akiyi (Enugwu, Enugwu-Uwani, Imama, Nkwelle, Ukpali, Uwani, Uwenu), Amagu (Obinagu (Okacha nma), Obinuno), Eziora (Amofu, Amulu, Ukpatu, Umuezeugwu) and Ogbosu (Odida (Obodoukwu), Mgbugbo (Umueze), Umunaji, Umunaogene, Umuomasi (Umuoma) etc.

Umulokpa has boreholes which give access to geothermal water with a temperature between 39 and 49°C.^{[citation needed]}

Umulokpa is predominantly rural and agrarian. The town has rich agricultural lands as a result of its location within the tropical rainforest and savannah belt; Over 85% of the population are farmers growing food crops such as rice, cassava, maize, yam, black bean, banana, plantain, etc. and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Cash crops grown include oil palm, pineapple, cashew, orange, mangoes and irvingia gabonensis^{[citation needed]} (ogbono),^[2] they are also produced in large quantities. Excellent climatic conditions exist for poultry, piggery, goat, sheep and other livestock productions. The major market in Umulokpa is the "Eke Akiyi" Market.^[3] Various farm products are traded in the market on wholesale and retail basis every four days. Many of the people take their farm produce to sell in the market in exchange for other commodities they cannot produce. People from the neighbouring towns including Onitsha and Enugu urban also patronize the traders in this market especially for cassava flakes (garri),^[4] palm oil,^[5] plantain and vegetables.

Brief History[]

Umulokpa became the headquarters of Uzo-Uwani Rural District Council (RDC)^[6] also known as "County Council" in 1951. At the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970, the East Central State government embarked on the re-organization of the local government system in the area. The outcome was the introduction of a local government system known as the Divisional Administration Department (DAD), which was a fusion of divisional administration and government field administration. The state was carved into 35 divisions and 640 community councils. The system sought to integrate indigenous social community organizations into the state administrative framework. In 1976, Local Government Reform which coincided with the creation of new states in which Nigeria was divided into nineteen states, Umulokpa remained the Headquarters of Uzo-Uwani LGA as Nigeria's primary objective of the reform programme was to update the existing local government structure and to bring it in line with what was obtainable elsewhere, as well as to bring about uniformity in the country’s local government administration under the then first Military Governor of old Anambra state Lieutenant Colonel John Atom Kpera^[7] and military head of state for Nigeria General Olusegun Obasanjo at the time Anambra State was created from the old East Central State of Nigeria.^[8] The town is called a food basket due to its agrarian nature. Umulokpa is closely related to Olo.^[9]

Religion[]

Prior to the coming of Europeans, Umulokpa people practiced traditional religion with the worship of various deities like other Igbo people. However, they had since embraced Christianity over a century ago. Today, there are more than 90% Christians in the town. The major Christian faiths are the Catholic^[10] which its current church building is built in 1923^[11] and Anglican^[12] denominations. Some other churches, especially of the Pentecostal faith, have emerged in Umulokpa in the past forty years.

Education[]

There are many schools in Umulokpa which include:

• Kindergarten schools (Government & Private)
• Primary schools (Government & Private)
• Secondary schools:(Girls' Secondary School, Umulokpa, Boys' Secondary School, Akiyi, Umulokpa & Community Secondary School, Ogbosu, Umulokpa)
• Government Technical School, Umulokpa.
• National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp in Umulokpa (Government)

Tourism potential[]

The "Ibone" (Mmanwu) festival is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Umulokpa community. It is a yearly masquerade festival that lasts for eight days in Umulokpa. Various kinds of masquerade display, perform and entertain visitors. The visitors and spectators are held spellbound by the entertaining masquerade and other participants. Duu River^[13] (Ezu) which stretches to almost the whole villages that make up Umulokpa, Mmirioku^{[citation needed]} (Hot water) "spring" in Akiyi-Umulokpa and, another Mmirioku (Hot water) in Unity Primary School, Akiyi with temperature between 60 and 90°C, Ishi Obala spring water in Ugwu Adogwu, Amunyi Uwenu which separates itself from another water when mixed/poured together. Live crocodiles are seen moving around without hurting people, Kpatango Amufe, Nwata Akonyi Imama for it chilling, Eje Ukpatu, Ichekwuluonu Amulu, Ngene Ude, Awaha river, Iyi Oji, etc.

References[]