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.
[3] Before Igbo arrival in the Aro territory, a group of proto Ibibio migrated to the area and established the Ibom Kingdom during the Bantu expansion.
This proto Ibibio group originally came from Usak Edet (Isanguele), a segment of the Ejagham in present-day Southern Cameroon.
The war was initially a stalemate and the Eze Agwu group eventually invited a priest named Nnachi from the Edda clan of northeastern Igboland.
The Eze Agwu/Nnachi faction decided to help Akakpokpo attempt to overthrow his brother king Akpan Okon.
The Akpa forces led by Osim and Akuma Nnubi, helped the rebellious group capture the rest of the area.
[5][6] These migrations, influence of their god Ibini Ukpabi through priests, and their military power backed up by alliances with several related neighboring Igbo and eastern Cross River militarized states (particularly Ohafia, Abam, Abiriba, Ihechiowa, Afikpo, Ekoi, etc.)
However, Aro economic hegemony was threatened by the penetration of Europeans, mainly British colonists in the wake of the 20th century.
They gloried in war conquests, and participated much in mercenary and military policing duties across Eastern Nigeria.
They were contracted across Igboland and beyond for defence purposes, on behalf of communities that were under oppression or annihilation from their neighbouring or far away enemies.
Clans like Ohafia, Abriba, Edda, Alayi, Igbere, Ihechiowa, Ututu etc also developed this warrior culture and they all, including Abam built a regional military power bloc that the whole of Igbo land dreaded.
Abam has a large expanse of fertile land, which makes it a food basket of Abia State.
Ihechiowa is an autonomous Igbo speaking community in Arochukwu Local Government Area, Abia State.
Ihechiowa is among the Igbo population that may have, therefore, been part of waves of migration across the Niger and back, these include Ohafia, Abam, Ututu and so on.
Although no archaeological research work was undertaken to validate the people’s traditions of origin, migration, and settlement; nonetheless oral evidence supports the assertion that the ancestors of Ihechiowa, together with those of Abam, Edda, Ohafia, and Ututu share cultural and linguistic relationships.
The geographical area known as Ututu described above is named after the founder of the Clan Mazi Otutu Ezema.
They gloried in war conquests, and participated much in mercenary and military policing duties across Eastern Nigeria.
They were contracted across Igboland and beyond for defence purposes, on behalf of communities that were under oppression or annihilation from their neighbouring or far away enemies.
Clans like Ohafia, Abriba,Abam,Edda, Alayi, Igbere etc also developed this warrior culture and they all, including Ututu built a regional military power bloc that the whole of Igbo land dreaded.
[9][15][16] In Arochukwu, the amount of cloud cover is basically constant throughout the summer, with an average of 81% of the time the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy.
The likelihood of a wet day in Arochukwu increases quickly throughout the summer, from 80% at the beginning of the season to 86% at the end.