Location
Ibele is an autonomous community in Njaba Local Government
Area of Imo State, Nigeria. The town is located at the old Douglas road,
running from Afor-Umuaka west-ward in Njaba Local Government Area to Ukworji in
Eziama-Obiator of Mbaitoli local government area, then to Oguta.
Ibele community is bounded in the North by Ugbele-Akah community, in the east by Amaiyi-Akah community, in the west by Amazoano community all in Njaba Local Government Area while it is bounded in the south by Afara community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. It equally share boundary with Obeakpu and Amakor autonomous communities in Njaba Local Government Area and Eziama Obiator in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
Ibele community is bounded in the North by Ugbele-Akah community, in the east by Amaiyi-Akah community, in the west by Amazoano community all in Njaba Local Government Area while it is bounded in the south by Afara community in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. It equally share boundary with Obeakpu and Amakor autonomous communities in Njaba Local Government Area and Eziama Obiator in Mbaitoli Local Government Area of Imo State.
Origin
The origin of Ibele community was from the amalgamation of
people of like-minds who migrated from distant and diverse places to co-settle
in the present location called Ibele.
History proves that Ibele is a conscious effort of three
settlers who migrated into the area by close to four hundred years ago and
co-existed as one people.
The people or settlers that constitute Ibele community are
presently set as Ndiokwu, Okwudor, Oruh and Ndiuhu and this has been the order
of seniority from memorable period till the time of creation of Ibele as
autonomous community. During the creation, Ibele was gazetted with 21 Villages
which rendered four clan system to be irrelevant.
History prove that Ndiokwu and Nduihu communities originated from same ancestors called Nze Duruodu who migrated down to the present land from Omuhu-Okabia in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State. Okwudor community is equally inhabited by settlers that migrated to the land from Okwudor town in Njaba Local Government Area, while Oru land is occupied by people or settlers from Orodo in Mbaitoli local government area of same Imo State.
History prove that Ndiokwu and Nduihu communities originated from same ancestors called Nze Duruodu who migrated down to the present land from Omuhu-Okabia in Orsu Local Government Area of Imo State. Okwudor community is equally inhabited by settlers that migrated to the land from Okwudor town in Njaba Local Government Area, while Oru land is occupied by people or settlers from Orodo in Mbaitoli local government area of same Imo State.
The facts of the real seniority status amongst the
constituting communities has posed dangerous threat to the co-existence and
well-being of Ibele community in recent days. Legends have it that the first
settlers in Ibele town is the Okwudor people, Oru being the second to settle
while Duruodu people (Ndiokwu and Ndiuhu) were the last settlers.
Those claims did not in any way conform with the seniority
status that had existence since memorial past. Although, this claim is
widespread in the town , but there has never been proper explanation on the
dislocation of seniority order that misplaced
Okwudor to occupy the second position while Ndiokwu which by provision
of the legend is expected to be at rear of the order reversed to occupy the
foremost position.
The question to the regard of how the seniority status
changed had never been properly explained. When and how, the order changed are
totally unexplained by present people of the community.
Although the legend has never been disputed by elders in the
town, neither has the modern man unveil the reason of the dislocation. These are the patriarchs or ancestors of Ibele community- Nze
Duruodu, Nze Okparamalo, Duruokewuihe, Otankwu, Duru Abamibe, Achaziem,
Okwara-Ononaobi, Nwagwu, Arueze and Nwaosu.
Etymology
The name “Ibele” and its meaning has been misunderstood by
various account makers of the community or those surrounding it that referenced
it in their works.
The worst of those accounts are by those mischievous makers
who intend to perpetuate their stranglehold of Ibele community to their empire.
Those malicious accounts hold that Ibele is a person born by their concocted
father as one of his sons that constituted their empire. Instances are in many accounts of Akah people and their
history that submits that Ibele is one of the sons of Akah whose original name
was pronounced as “Ibe-Lee” meaning “Kinsmen To See”.
This account is totally deceptive and fraudulent as Ibele was
never a person, neither was he born by
any person that found any empire. Rather, Ibele is a name of a vast parcel of
land that lye along old Douglas road that run from Afor-Umuaka westward to
Ukwuorji in Eziama Obiato in Mbaitoli Local Government Area as I earlier said.
The name Ibele was given to the portion of land by early hunters who migrated
from Oru axes of present day Oru Local Government Area of Imo State. When the
hunters from Oru crossed over the Njaba river, they disvirgined the forests
that run across the present Umuele, Ibele and Ugbele lands.
Those forests were filled of antelope as a major animal. And
as hunters and fishermen, they began to identify the forests with Antelopes. At
the mouth or shore of Njaba river, they encountered young or siblings of
antelope and they name the river mouth and its close forest as “Umu-Ele” which
means- “Offsprings Of Antelope”.
When the Oru- hunters advanced into the forest, they were
thrilled by flock of antelopes and they named the area as “Ibe-Ele” which means
“Home Of Antelopes”. At the left flank of the forest, they named it “Ugbe-Ele”
which means “Route Of Antelope”. Those became identical
or remarkable names for those various parts of the forests as they carried out
their hunting businesses. Those three names for those communities are never names of
any person and cannot be traced to be sons of one father as alleged by
truth-twisters.
The name Ibele did not take off or grew along the communal
activities of the early settlers since all settlers bore along names of their
traditional homes.
The word, “Ibele” was culled from Oru dialect. For more
explanations, the word is a combination of two words as thus- “Ibe” and “Ele”.
The term “Ibe” generally, means- “Kinsmen” in Igbo language.
But the Orus and the communities adjoining them uses the term- “Ibe” or “Mbe”
to depict or mean “Home”, “Plaza” or “Station”. Majority of communities in old
Anambra state uses the word “Ibe” as to mean “Home” as the Oru people do. This
may be connected to their proximity
because the Orus are close to the communities that fall into Anambra State.
Both words “Ibe” that means “kinsmen” in Ibo language and “Ibe” that means “house”
to Oruh people are pronounced differently.
For example, the ending alphabet “E” in the word “Ibe” with
the meaning “Kinsman” in Ibo land is pronounced in a more humbler and cooler
tone and that prompted the Ibo grammatic scholars to add “H” as a prefix to
identify it especially when it represent a name of a person.
While the same term- “Ibe” as used by Oru people to mean
“Home” has its ending character “E” pronounced in a more faster tone. Both terms represents similar interest in Ibo grammatic
setting. For example: Ibe means kinsmen, it equally means home and can be under
changed with the term “Ikwu”.
The next term that made up the Ibele is “Ele” which is simply
a name of antelope in Ibo language. So the combination of “Ibe” and “Ele” when
contracted gives birth to “Ibele”.
The name- “Ibele” wholly mean- “The Home Of Antelope” and was
not a name of a particular human being as alleged. The proof of the name as for
parcel of land is not far fetched. The community consists of three original
settlers. Both settlers came from different and distant communities and to
amalgamate as one at the vast parcel of land otherwise known as Ibele. So, the
word Ibele will be rightly explained as a name of a portion of land or a
territory.
Early Rulership In Ibele
Igbo had three methods of ancient administrative systems.
First was the priest kingship that was captained by Ozo title holders. Second
was the Monarch kingship in which kings were chosen amongst people or families.
The last was the republican model of elder's council that was captained by the first
male of any administrative level. Ibele operated as a kingdom captained by a
priest king who sat at the throne of governance. The priest king was both
spiritual and temporal. His administration was supported by Ozo title holders
who formed the “Izu-Ndi-Ozo” meaning Council of the Ozo title holders.
The position of the first or senior sons or settlers was
never a criteria for choosing of royalty. Successions were hereditary and in
accordance with the order of seniority in the council. The first son of the
priest king will succeed his father when he successfully undertake or carry out
the required traditional burial right of his father. If he is unwilling, any of
the sons that was capable can u undertake the assignment and will stand as the
successor of the priest king.
In Igbo custom, when a man joins his ancestors, it the duty
of his first son to arrange and carry out the traditional burial activities of
the dead person. In the case of a commoner, the custom provides that when the
first son is unwilling to carry out the immediate required funeral rites, the
body of the person will be committed to the mother earth. The funeral rite will
wait pending the time the first son, any of the siblings or his grand children
became capable to accord such befitting burial rites to the translated father.
Also, in the case of a common man, any of the siblings that carried out the
burial rites will be awarded with some certain rights that were traditionally
meant for the first son. Those rights can be retrieved by the first son when he
pays back all necessary expenditures that were invested in the funeral rite to
the person that carried it out.
In the case of Ozo title holder, the tradition does not have
such patience to wait for eternity before according of the traditional funeral
rites to the translated Ozo title holder. The reverend person must be buried
quickly with all required funeral rites.
In this case, the first son is under mandatory to accord his
father with the befitting burial rite or to allow any of his capable brothers
to do so. In the case of the first son's inability to bury his father, his
capable or buoyant brother may choose either to help or sponsor the first son
to carry out the responsibility or to present himself as the one burying his
father. If he presented himself as the one burying his father, him
instead of the first son will appear before the Ozo Council and be paraded and
presented at all the stages in the burial rites. All customs, covenants,
legalism that includes sacrifices, prayers, rituals, aspersion, propitiations
must be done or laid upon the one burying. All souvenirs and staff of office
with associated rights and entitlements would be handed to the one burying as a
worthy successor of the Ozo.
At the event, the son that buried will possess all rights
related to the Ozo title while the first son who did not bury inherits the
rights of the translated Ozo that were not relative to his title. At this
point, the first son cannot retrieve the staff from the one that buried. After completion of settlements of all compositing clans that
made up the Ibele community, the covenant and custom of its community was laid
down. By that custom and usage, the early settlers in Ibele community adopted
Nze Duruodu as their foremost leader based on the exalted position as the first
Nze title holder in their midst. The issue of chronology of natural age or
settlement was not considered. All covenants that set Ibele community and those
they reached with other communities empowered Nze Duruodu to be at the fore of
Ibele affairs.
All people were satisfied by such arrangement. Nze Duruodu in
his appreciation of the reception and honour awarded lesser grade of Nze
titleship as Ozo-Okwara and Mgburichi upon all founders or fathers that
constituted all houses that made up Ibele community. By this conferment, all recipients regarded Nze Duruodu as
their natural leader and he received the first portion, right or privilage in every issue that concerned Ibele
community. By this honour bestowed upon him, Nze Duruodu settled
peacefully and extended the Nzeship conferment upon peoples from outside Ibele
community.
All Nze title holders in all communities that later made up
“Ama-Ozo-Ano” community received their titles from Nze Duruodu of Ibele
community. He and his subsequent successors occupied the first slot in Nze
title holders council in the Amazoano community till this moment.
Structure
Adage says that a river does not flow backward. By the new autonomous status of Ibele community, the town was
divided into twenty-one villages. Each of the villages is represented in the
council of chiefs by its appointed paramount chief.
The villages of the Ibele autonomous community and their order of seniority are follows:
1. Eloka
2. Echekwuaku
3. Ononaku
4. Ekwunna
5. Ohaukwu
6. Anorue
7. Umunwekeukwu
8. Umu-mgbaba
9. Okpuromelu
10. Okewuihe
11. Otankwu
12. Abamibe
13. Okwara-Ononaobi
14. Omagwu
15. Arunnwa
16. Emechara
17. Ojiobi
18. Enwere
19. Nwannaeri
20. Ojiagwu
21. Nneji
21. Nneji