Igwe Kenneth Onyeneke Orizu III (born 30 October 1925) is the 20thDr. John Okonkwo Alutu, Nnewi History (from the Earliest times to 1980/82),Fourth Dimension publishers Obi of

Otolo Otolo is a town in Nnewi North, Anambra State, Nigeria. Otolo is the premier quarter in Nnewi among the four quarters of Nnewi town. Others are Umudim, Uruagu and Nnewichi.This is true in terms of population, seat of political power and, apparen ...

and

Igwe Igwe (meaning ''"Sky"''), is a royal title or method of addressing traditional rulers that control autonomous communities in Igboland. In other words, Igbos approximate the term to the HRH style. An Igwe is therefore defined as a holder of a title ...

of Nnewi kingdom. He is the traditional supreme ruler and spiritual leader in

Nnewi Nnewi is a commercial and industrial city in Anambra State, southeastern Nigeria. It is the second largest and second most populous city in the southern part of the country. Nnewi as a metropolis has one local government area, which is Nnewi Nor ...

, an Igbo city in

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 of G ...

. He is a member of the Nnofo Royal lineage and the successor to his father

Igwe Josiah Orizu II Igwe Josiah Nnaji Orizu II (1902–1962) was the 19th Obi of Otolo and Igwe of Nnewi kingdom. He took the ofo of Nnewi in 1924 after his father's death. He is a member of the Nnofo Royal lineage and the successor to his father Igwe Orizu I ( ...

, his grandfather Igwe Orizu I, and great-grandfather

Igwe Iwuchukwu Ezeifekaibeya Igwe Iwuchukwu Ezeifekaibeya (1855-1904) was the 17thDr. John Okonkwo Alutu, Nnewi History (from the Earliest times to 1980/82),Fourth Dimension publishers Obi of Otolo and Igwe of Nnewi kingdom in the present day Anambra state of Nigeria. He is ...

. Unlike most Igbo chiefs, there were heads of

before the arrival of

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (20 ...

. In

Anambra State Anambra State is a Nigerian state, located in the southeastern region of the country. The state was created on August 27, 1991. Anambra state is bounded by Delta State to the west, Imo State to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi St ...

, Igwe Kenneth Orizu III is the vice chairman of the

House of Chiefs and one of the longest-serving tribal chiefs in the world.

Education and career

Igwe Kenneth was educated at Hope Waddell College,

Calabar Calabar (also referred to as Callabar, Calabari, Calbari and Kalabar) is the capital city of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in the Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and ...

and completed his education at New Bethel College,

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan area, metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industr ...

in 1942. Before his enthronement, Kenneth worked as a Representative of the then Eastern Nigerian Outlook Group of newspapers, in the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria and later moved to

Asaba Asaba is the capital city of Delta State, Nigeria. It is located at the western bank of the Niger River, in the Oshimili South Local Government Area. Asaba had a population of 149,603 as at the 2006 census, and a metropolitan population of ...

as the Commercial Manager for Mid-Western Region.. He was also a businessman in Kano.

Reign

Igwe Orizu III was instrumental in the clearing of the Agbo Edo forest. His Uncle, Prince

Nwafor Orizu Prince Abyssinia Akweke Nwafor Orizu (17 July 1914 – 1999) was a Nigerian of Igbo origin who served as President of the Nigerian Senate from 1963 to 15 January 1966, during the Nigerian First Republic. Orizu was also Acting President of Nige ...

was Nigeria's first republic

senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

and his grandfather,

Igwe Orizu I (Eze Ugbonyamba) Igwe Orizu I (Eze Ugbonyamba; born 1881–1924) was the 18th Obi of Otolo and the Igwe of Nnewi kingdom. He was the traditional supreme ruler and spiritual leader in Nnewi, an Igbo city in Eastern Nigeria. Eze Ugbonyamba was crowned the King of ...

was the first Igbo man to own and drive a

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

in the entire Eastern Region. The Ofala Nnewi is a

cultural festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival con ...

held every year to celebrate the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

of the

Cultural transformation

The Chief is the first of

Nigerian Chiefs The Nigerian Chieftaincy is the chieftaincy system that is native to Nigeria. Consisting of everything from the country's monarchs to its titled family Elder (administrative title), elders, the chieftaincy as a whole is one of the oldest contin ...

to abolish the Osu caste system, thus making everyone in the province of Nnewi free born. Kenneth also discouraged wastage of resources at traditional marriage and funeral ceremonies.

Social advocacy

The Chief dealt with a political crisis in Nnewi by allowing the town in a general assembly to choose a title for him to restore peace in the town. Thereafter, the community named him the GENERAL OF PEACE. His other title is, Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON). The Chief is a one Star Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International.

Education sector

The Chief was instrumental in the establishment of a Teachers Training College in Nnewi; now

Nnamdi Azikiwe University Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, also called UNIZIK or NAU in short is a federal university in Nigeria. It consists of two campuses in Anambra State. Its main campus is in Awka (the capital of Anambra State), while its other campus is in Nnewi ...

, Nnewi. He also advocated the siting of the College of Health Sciences of the University by encouraging Nnewi people to make significant financial contributions. He personally donated most of the land for the establishment of the school.

Business

The Chief facilitated the establishment of New Nnewi market and this market gave Nnewi prominence as one of the largest commercial cities in Nigeria.

References

External links

Official Nnewi WebsiteGuardianewsngr.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orizu, Igwe Kenneth Onyeneke, III Igbo monarchs Nnewi monarchs Nigerian traditional rulers People from Nnewi 1925 births Living people