Agenebode is a historical water-side town located by the banks of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

in Edo State,

South South The South South (often hyphenated to the South-South) is the one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross R ...

part of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. It is the headquarters of Etsako-East local Government Area, the host of the local council and the traditional capital of

Weppa Wanno Weppa Wanno is a Kingdom in present-day Etsako East local government area, in the South- South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is the homeland of Uwano people in under Etsako East local council administrative authority. Today, the people are tra ...

Clan/Kingdom.

Location

Agenebode is bounded by Ivioghe,

Egor Egor is a Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Uselu. Egor is one of the Local Government Areas that are part of the larger metropolitan area of Benin City. It has an area of 93 km and a popu ...

, Emokweme villages, and the

River Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, ...

. Agenebode city is the ancestral home city of all Weppa and Uwanno people, both at home and in the diaspora. There’s a general market at the center of the city and people attend every five days to buy fresh groceries. People are friendly and content in Agenebode. Agenebode is divided into different quarters, which are called Ighaewo, Egbado, Otoukwe, Igegbode (upland). The main areas of growth for the town are towards Emokweme, Egor and Ivioghe villages, Iviebua Igbagba and Agiele.

History

Agenebode was the regional headquarters of the

Royal Niger Company The Royal Niger Company was a mercantile company chartered by the British government in the nineteenth century. It was formed in 1879 as the ''United African Company '' and renamed to ''National African Company'' in 1881 and to ''Royal Niger C ...

, a mercantile company owned by the British Colonialists and currently the headquarters of Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Educational institutions

Educational institutions at Agenebode are the College of Agriculture and Fisheries, St. Peters Grammar School, Progress Secondary School, Providence Secondary School, Army Day Secondary School, Sacred Heart College, Catholic Junior Seminary School, and so many other secondary and primary schools. Agenebode house a Nigerian Supply and Transport barracks of the

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

, and a Division of the

Nigerian Police Force The Nigeria Police Force is the principal law enforcement and the lead security agency in Nigeria. Designated by the 1999 constitution as the national police of Nigeria with exclusive jurisdiction throughout the country, as at 2016 it has a ...

. The King of the Weppa Wanno Kingdom is called the ''Okumagbe'' which is translated as the unifier, and his palace is situated at Agenebode Upland. The stool of the Okumagbe is rotated among the five kinship groups. Presently (Dr) George Oshiapi Egabor, JP, PhD, OON a chartered accountant and industrialist from the Iviokpisa kinship group, is the current Okumagbe of the Weppa Wanno; his title is OMOAZE 1. Residents of Agenebode are predominantly

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

as the first catholic mission in Mid-Western Nigeria was located at Agenebode in 1882. There are also

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and traditional worshippers.

Facilities

Interesting sites in Agenebode are the post office, built in 1930, the Colonial Court on Mission Road, the Sacred Heart

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the Local Council office, The Army Barracks, General Hospital, Niger Valley Farms, the River Niger banks, the Notre Dam Hospital, and the Convent. The main means of transportation in Agenebode is by

motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

, buses and cars. Canoes, boats and

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

transport people across the River Niger to

Idah Idah is a town in Kogi State, Nigeria, on the eastern bank of the Niger River in the middle belt region of Nigeria. It is the headquarter of the Igala Kingdom, and also a Local Government Area with an area of 36 km. Idah had a population ...

Kogi State Kogi State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the west by the states of Ekiti and Kwara, to the north by the Federal Capital Territory, to the northeast by Nasarawa State, to the northwest by Niger State, to t ...

. Traditional occupations are

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

, fishing and canoe-building. Local agriculture produces

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

, nuts, groundnuts, sorghum, rice, vegetables, potatoes,

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, Yam, fruits etc. The local cuisine are-Corn Soup (Omi-ukpoka), peanuts soup (omi-sagwe), melon soup (okotipio), fresh fish soup (omi-esegbomi) etc.; these soups can either be eaten with pounded yam, Eba, Fufu etc.; Agenebode people drink locally made gin (ukakai) and fresh palm wine.

References

{{reflist Populated places in Edo State