AWA TOWN, ORUMBA NORTH L.G.A, ANAMBRA STATE

AWA TOWN, ORUMBA NORTH L.G.A, ANAMBRA STATE

About Awa Town
Awa is an autonomous community in the present day Orumba North LGA, Anambra State. It prides itself as one of the most popular towns in the local government, being blessed with abundant bounties of nature necessary for luxuriant living and development.

Awa can properly be described as an island community for it is bounded by rivers. This is, perhaps, the most distinctive physical feature of the town. By road, through the bush, or by any other means of movement, one must cross a body of water before entering the community. Beyond these waters are the neighbouring communities: Akpugoeze town by the East, Ndikelionwu by the west, Ndiukwuenu by the north and Ufuma by the south.

There are four motorable road entrances into the town. These include:

1. Ufuma - Awa road through the southern part and  crossing  Ofii  River.
2. Umuonyiba-Ufuma - Awa road also through the southern part and crossing the southern portion of the  Ofii River.
3. Okporoto - Obinagu-Awa road through the south- western part and crossing the Okporoto River.
4. Ndiukwuenu -  Awa road through the south-west and crossing Mmamu River.

AWA TOWN in the map of Orumba North LGA, Ananmba State

Four different rivers serve these natural boundaries of the town. The Ofii River, coming from the South-eastern part and flowing towards the west, bounds the community with the neighbouring Ufuma town. At a point towards the west the stream branches into the town, specifically through Obinagu end of the town, while part continues as a stream adjourning into Ezegwu-Okporoto stream .
The Okporoto stream trickles into Ahommiri River which flows from Ndikelionwu at the Western part towards the Northern part of Awa. Somewhere within the North-west the Ahommiri River conferences with Mmamu River which itself flows from the North-eastern part and separating the neighbouring Akpugoeze from the town.

These rivers, one adjourning to the other, form a periphery round the town with the characteristic rainforest. The resulting effects are very fertile land and luxuriant forest rich in all manner of herbs, shrubs, twines, palm tree, raffia palm, timber and bush meat. The rivers themselves provide a sizable body of water for fishing and fetching for domestic use.

Beside these rivers mentioned above, there are other several streams in Awa. In fact, almost all the villages have a number of streams which serve various uses including fermenting and washing of cassava products, bathing, washing of clothes and fetching for domestic use. Fishes are also available in them though a few of them are believed to be possessed by deities which forbid catching of their fishes. Example of the streams in Awa include Iyi-ocha and Ogba gere-gere,

Awa also has large expanse of arable land. It is so large that other communities come to lease land from the owners for farming. For this reason, so many families from other communities, especially from Aguata and Awka areas have Awa to thank for their survival especially during and after the Nigeria civil war in the seventies. Indeed, Awa is the food basket of the old Aguata zone of Anambra State.

Oral tradition has it that Awa originated from one man name AWADIKE. He settled in the town as a farmer and gave birth to two sons - Ezi and Ifite. Ezi gave birth to Agbaraokwe and Ekwulofia while Ifite gave birth to Nagu and Obinagu. These first generation sons kept multiplying, leading to the emergence of the present twelve villages in the town. The twelve villages in alphabetical order are:
Agbada, Agbaraokwe, Ajango, Amaoji, Egbeagu, Ekwulofia, Eziobi-Ikpa, Eziobi-Uno, Ndiokpo, Obinagu, Okofia, Umuefu.

Members of each village have common descent and thus form a conglomeration of Umunna. Regularly, they meet at their village squares to deliberate on the socio-cultural affairs of the village. Leaders from each village represent them at the town level where matters concerning the whole town are deliberated.

Okey Okoli Emmanuel

(Editor)