Agwu Inobia or Eze Agwu was one of the founding fathers of the city of

Arochukwu Arochukwu Local Government Area, sometimes referred to as Arochuku or Aro Oke-Igbo, is the third largest local government area in Abia State (after Aba and Umuahia) in southeastern Nigeria and homeland of the Igbo subgroup, Aro people. It is ...

, the third largest city in Abia State in southeastern

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 powerful blacksmith and leader of his clan. Eze Agwu is said to be the descendant of Nna Uru. Nna Uru was related to the founders of neighboring communities

Abiriba Abiriba pronounced E`biriba`/is an ancient Enuda kingdom in Abia State, in southeastern Nigeria, traditionally an Igbo speaking region. It is in the Ohafia local government area. History The origin of the Abiriba people is not as speculati ...

and

Edda people The people of Eddaland, known as the Eddics, are often misconstrued a sub-group of the Igbo people in south-eastern Nigeria. The land and people of Eddaland have been constitutionally designated the present day Afikpo South Local Government Ar ...

. Edda and Abiriba traditions state that their ancestors founded Arochukwu. Eze Agwu's clan settled in an area now known as Amanagwu city-state. As new settlers, the Eze Agwu clan was resisted by the regional power Obong Okon Ita which led to the start of the Aro-Ibibio Wars. The war initially became a stalemate. Both sides arranged a marriage between the king of Obong Okon Ita and a woman from the Eze Agwu clan in an attempt for a peaceful coexistence. The marriage eventually failed to bring peace but eventually played a decisive role in the war. King Agwu Inobia invited Priest

Nnachi Nnachi is one of the founding fathers of the city of Arochukwu, one of the largest cities in Abia State in southeastern Nigeria. During the conclusion of the 17th century, he was a Dibia (priest-doctor) from the Edda people near Afikpo. The Eze Ag ...

from the Edda group to help him break the stalemate and win the war. When he arrived, Nnachi and Eze Agwu allied with prince

Akakpokpo Okon Akakpokpo Okon was an Ibibio prince from the Ibom Kingdom around 1690-1720. He was the son of the marriage between the king Obong Okon Ita and an Igbo woman from the Eze Agwu lineage. Akakpokpo Okon lead a successful coup against his brother Akpa ...

of the Ibibio kingdom of Obong Okon Ita. Akakpokpo Okon was the son of the marriage between the Igbo women of the King of Obong Okon Ita. The Eze Agwu/Nnachi faction decided to help Akakpokpo attempt to overthrow his brother king

Akpan Okon Akpan Okon was the last ''Obong'' (king) of Ibom Kingdom around 1690-1720. He was overthrown by his brother Akakpokpo Okon with the support of groups such as the Eze Agwu, Nnachi Ipia, and the Nnubi dynasty in the final phases of the Aro-Ibib ...

and the coup was heavily resisted. Nnachi called on an Eastern Cross river group known as the

Akpa The Ibom Isi also known as the Akpa are one of the three main lineages compromising the Aro people. They are centered in Ibom, Arochukwu in Nigeria. This Aro lineage is originally from the present day Akwa Ibom State in Southeastern Nigeria. Dur ...

for help. The Akpa are said to have possessed guns and are credited for introducing the weapon to the region. Princes

Osim and Akuma Nnubi {{Short description, 17th century tribal dynastic period in West Africa Osim and Akuma Nnubi were brothers and merchant princes of the Akpa people from the east of the Cross River in the late 17th century. The Akpa people were trading allies with t ...

led Akpa soldiers to help fight against the Ibibios. The alliance between Eze Agwu, Nnachi, Akakpokpo Okon, and the Akpa eventually defeated the Obong Okon Ita forces (1690–1720) under the leadership of Osim Nnubi. As a result of the Aro-Ibibio Wars, the alliance formed the Arochukwu kingdom. Akuma Nnubi was appointed king of Arochukwu in the place of his brother Osim Nnubi who died during the end of the war. Prince Akakpokpo died and the

Ulu Okon Obong Okon Ita was an Ibibio king of Ibom Kingdom with its seat of government in Obot Okon Ita. His kingdom was located between present day Abia and Akwa Ibom states in Southeastern Nigeria. He is the father of Akakpokpo Okon and Akpan Okon who ...

dynasty was assimilated into the Eze Agwu lineage. The Amanagwu was incorporated as the first of the 19 city-states of Arochukwu and Eze Agwu became one of the three lineages of Arochukwu.

External links

*http://www.aro-okigbo.com/history_of_the_aros.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20081121232256/http://www.aronetwork.org/others/arohistory.html *http://www.aronewsonline.com/origincivilization.html *http://abiribaenachioken.com/about-us/index.php?page=History-of-Abiriba *http://www.ebonyionline.com/edda-migration/ Aro people {{Nigeria-bio-stub