Okoro Idozuka, born Mazi Okoli Idozuka, was a 19th-century leader and warrior in the

Arondizuogu Arondizuogu (Aro-ndizuogu) is a town inhabited by the Igbo subgroup, the Aro people in the Imo State of Nigeria. The Arondizuogu community is believed to have migrated from Arochukwu in the present Abia State, to their current settlements in across ...

area of what is now

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 ...

. He was a senior advisor to the founder of Ndiakunwanta Uno Arondizuogu village and also a leader in his own right, expanding Arondizuogu's boundaries. He was a wealthy slave trader like

Izuogu Mgbokpo Chief Izuogu Mgbokpo of Amankwu, Arochukwu was an 18th-century warrior in the Aro Confederacy. He was a slave trader and commander who fought his most famous battle on Ikpa Ora. Chief Izuogu and his ally, Chief Iheme, were the founders of the king ...

Life

Idozuka was born in the

Awka Awka () is the capital city of Anambra State, Nigeria. The city was declared capital on 21 August 1991, after the creation of Anambra and Enugu state, which moved the capital from Enugu to Awka (an administrative center since pre.-colonial times). ...

area, but moved to

in the early 19th century. He later changed his birthname, brother Okoli, to its

Aro ARO (short for Auto Romania) was a Romanian off-road vehicle manufacturer located in Câmpulung. The first ARO vehicles were produced in 1957, and the last in 2003. For a short while, Daihatsu-powered AROs were sold in Spain and produced in Portu ...

equivalent.

Hardships

About the year 1819, in order to discredit Okoro Idozuka, some people accused him of abduction of some human beings. To salvage his honour, he consented to take the highest oath obtainable in the land in those days. This was the so-called seven big oaths. Here a person was required to swear to the gods on his own head but he had also to join the fate of six other people closest to him to underline his innocence. Should the accused be guilty, the gods would not kill only him but also all those joined in the oath. Mazi Okoli Idozuka's relatives were defined to include those from his immediate household and all male children born in Akunwanta soil. When Mazi Okoro Idozuka was ready to take this big oath, he looked for six more males to join him to make up the required number seven. Unfortunately, he could not find the sixth male person from among members of his immediate household. By this time, Mmelonye, had married Mmaku, a girl from Neni. He rescued Okoro Idozuka from this difficulty by offering that his son, Agosi, just born in his land of immigration be among those to take the oath. Agosi thus became the sixth person to be added for the big oath. Since his accusers were not able to substantiate their allegations, the charges against Okoro Idozuka were dropped. He is the father of

Nwankwo Okoro Nwankwo is a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Nwankwo Kanu, OON (born 1976), Nigerian footballer *Nwankwo Obiora (born 1991), Nigerian footballer *Nwankwo Tochukwu (born 1986), Nigerian footballer Surname ...

Legacy

Okoro Idozuka is remembered as one of Arondizuogu's greatest leaders and warriors and remains an Aro legend until this day.

References

*{{cbignore, bot=medic https://web.archive.org/web/20060429055818/http://frasouzu.com/Seminar+Papers/Ambience.htm cf. Asouzu, Innocent I. (2004), The Method and Principles of Complementary in and beyond African Philosophy, Calabar University Press; Asouzu, Innocent I. (2005), The Method and Principles of Complementary Reflection in and beyond African Philosophy, Lit Publishers, Münster, 2005. Aro people African slave traders People from Imo State 19th-century Nigerian businesspeople