Umundugba is a town in Isu Local Government Area of

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

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 ...

, and is the headquarters of Isu LGA.

Location

Umundugba has been in existence since the 16th century. It is made up of nine autonomous communities. Most of the inhabitants are Christians. The town shares boundaries with the Isu Njaba,

Ekwe An Ekwe is an Igbo traditional musical instrument. The ekwe is a type of drum with rectangular cavity 'slits' in the hollowed out wooden interior. The ekwe is made out of wood and most commonly a tree trunk. The ekwe comes in a variety of sizes ...

, Amaigbo,

Amandugba Amandugba (or Amanduba) is a town in the Isu Local Government Area in Imo State, Nigeria. The community is inhabited by Isu people, a subgroup of the Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'' ...

, and Ezuisu autonomous communities.

Tradition

Umundugba is ruled by Umuezeala. Eze Isaiah Ugochukwu Anusionwu, Ezeahurukwe I of Amandugba was the father of Eze Onyegbuleonweya Christopher Ugochukwu, Ezeahurukwe II of Umundugba. The current traditional ruler is Eze Chukwuemeka Stephen Ugochukwu, Ezeahurukwe III of Umundugba. It is made up of two sub communities (Orori and Okwara). In Orori, are villages like Umuezeala, Okporo - Duru-aror, Okporo - Duru-njaba, and Umudike. While Okwara is made up of Umuokwara, Umuokebele, Umunwodor, Umuemeziem, and Umuokwara-oma. That's a total of nine villages. In Umezela, there are chiefs and Nze. Chief Akaraugo of Umundugba and Nze chiamaka who but hail from Umezela. In Umuokwara, also there're Chiefs and Ndi-Nze, like Chief Nwoke-iheoma-n'adi-mma, Nze-ako-n'obi, etc The town has maintained its traditions and customs passed down from generation to generation. Among them being the "Oghu" festival celebrated around June to August, and shared with neighboring towns, like Amandugba, Ekwe, Amurie and Umuaka. Following the Oghu festival is the "Emume" which is also called "Iri-Ji" (New Yam Festival) which is celebrated second week(Saturday) of September at the Eze's palace. The Eze (ruler) of Umundugba is the custodian of this ceremony, and worthy sons and daughters of Umundugba, and deserving friends and in-laws of Umundugba are conferred chieftaincy titles during the ceremony. Is also blessed with strong and amiable political stalwart Chief Odogwu Chukwuma, Having hosted major football tournament in Umundugba,

Recent times

One of the defunct Biafran refineries was located at the present day Umundugba during the Nigerian–Biafran civil war. The other refinery was located in Uzoakoli in present-day Abia State, Nigeria. Umundugba was among the first autonomous communities created during the time of Governor

Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe Samuel "Sam" Onunaka Mbakwe (1929 – 5 January 2004) also known as Dee Sam was an Igbo politician and first democratic governor of Imo State, southern Nigeria from 1 October 1979 until 31 December 1983. The Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport ...

, carved out from

town. Both Umundugba and Amandugba have suffered from an unreliable water supply from streams and brooks that often dry up, and that are breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes and sources of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, guinea worm, tape worm, and night blindness. A recent project by ''Africa We Care'', a charity, has started to develop a supply based on a bore-hole.

References

{{Populated places of Imo State Populated places established in the 16th century Towns in Imo State