Aba, Abia

Aba is a city and a big trading center, upon the creation of Abia state in 1991, Aba was divided into two local governments areas namely; Aba south and Aba North. Aba south is the main main city center and the heart beat of Abia State, south-east Nigeria. It is located on the Aba River. Aba is made up many villages such as; Umuokpoji Aba, Eziukwu-Aba, Obuda-Aba, Aba Ukwu and other villages from Ohazu merged due to administrative convenience. Aba was established by the Ngwa clan of Igbo People of Nigeria as a market town and then later a military post was placed there by the British colonial administration in 1901. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River, and is at the intersection of roads leading to Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot Abasi.[2]The city became a collecting point for agricultural products following the British made railway running through it to Port Harcourt. Aba is a major urban settlement and commercial center in a region that is surrounded by small villages and towns. The indigenous people of Aba are the Ngwa. Aba is well known for its craftsmen. As of 2004 Aba had an estimated population of 1,020,900.

    * 1 History

    * 2 Economy

    * 3 Religion

    * 4 Education

    * 5 Transport

    * 6 Sports

    * 7 References

History

Aba as a City is made up of many villages namely; Umuokpoji-Aba, Eziukwu-Aba, Obuda-Aba and Aba-Ukwu but the villages in Ohazu have been merged with Aba so as to achieve administrative convenience. Hence the owners of Aba are often referred to as Aba la Ohazu indigenes. It eventually became an administrative center of Britain's colonial government. Aba has been a major commercial center since it became part of the old Eastern region.

In 1901, the British founded a military post in Aba, and in 1915, a railroad was constructed to link it to Port Harcourt, which transported agricultural goods such as palm oil and palm kernels.[2] In 1929 Aba was the site of a revolt by Igbo women, historically known as "The Aba Women's Riot", a protest of the colonial taxation policy.[3] During the height of Nigerian-Biafran War in 1967, the capital of Biafra was moved to Umuahia from Enugu. By the 1930's, Aba was becoming a large urban community with an established industrial complex.

Aba is the home of many distinguished families such as the popular Ogbonna family of Eziukwu-Aba, the prestigious Ichita family of Umuokpoji-Aba,the Omenihu family of Obuda-Aba, the Ugbor family of Aba-Ukwu, the Ugwuzor family Umuokpoji Aba, the Ukaegbu family of Aba-ukwu and so forth.

Economy[edit]

Aba is surrounded by oil wells which separate it from the city of Port Harcourt, a 30 kilometres (19 mi) pipeline powers Aba with gas from the Imo River natural gas repository.[2] Its major economic contributions are textiles, pharmaceuticals, plastics, cement, and cosmetics. There is also a brewery and distillery within the city. Finally, it is famous for its handicrafts.[2]

Religion[edit]

The city has played a lasting role in the Christian evangelism of the Southeast of Nigeria since the British brought the Church Missionary Society (CMS), an evangelism vehicle of then Church of England used to plant what today has become the Anglican Church of Nigeria. In 1923, the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA Church) was established [1]. The Seventh-day Adventists are well known for their Biblical faith, quality hospitals and good educational institutions.

St. Michael's Cathedral Anglican Church was founded in the late 1920s although St. James Parish on the city edge (Umule) is arguably the oldest church because the diocese's first mass was celebrated in 1916. [2] Most of the Primary and Secondary Schools mentioned above were founded by the CMS along with each of their Churches.

The Catholic Church was to follow and also created many churches; Christ the King Church (C.K.C), which for a long time was the biggest church in the city became its bishop's seat and its now known as Christ the king Cathedral.

With the arrival of the Pentecostal brand of Christianity (the evangelicals) in Nigeria, the city got an enormous share for itself. The Assemblies of God Church, being among the earliest, the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, etc. had massive following in the early 1980s. African Gospel church was found by most Bishop Ogudoro the Founder of African Gospel church. African Gospel church is divided into 10 districts. The present Bishop of African Gospel church is Bishop Uzoaru (2009).

In the late 1960s, a group of Nigerians discovered information on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and established branches [3], but the Utah based church did not establish any official presence until the late 1970s when blacks were allowed to hold priesthood authority [4]. Aba has several congregations and a temple.

Muslims and mosques are also present in Aba; the largest mosque is the Hospital Road Mosque. A Chief Imam is resident among the Hausa-speaking settlement in the heart of the city itself.

Education[edit]

The city has well over 90 primary schools, most running two sections of morning and afternoon. These sections, which are individual schools by themselves, operate 07:30Hrs - 12:30Hrs and 12:30Hrs - 17:30Hrs, all local time.

Primary schools in Aba

    * Aba-Owerri Road Primary School

    * Asa Road Primary School

    * Asa Triangle Primary School

    * Constitution Crescent (Santa Maria) Primary School

    * School Road Primary School Aba

    * Cameroun Barracks Primary School

    * City Primary School

    * Township Primary school

    * Umuagabai Primary School

    * Golf Course Primary School

    * St Bridget Primary School

    * Abayi Umuocham Primary School

    * Ndoki Road Primary School

    * Danfodio Road Primary School

    * Ehere Road Primary School

    * Azikiwe Road Primary School

    * Tenant Road Primary School

    * Market Road Primary School

    * Cameroun Road Primary School

    * Hospital Road Primary School

    * Okigwe Road Primary School

    * Omuma Road Primary School

    * College primary School

    * Living Stone Int'l Christian Primary School, Ogbor-Hill Aba, Abia State

    * lilac primary school ogbor hil,aba

    * International Early Learning Centre, Umuodu, Abayi Aba

Secondary schools in Aba

    * Ngwa High School (NHS) or (NAHISCO)

    * (Ibo) National High School (NACO)

    * Girls' Technical College

    * Sacred Heart College Eziukwu Aba (SAHACO)

    * Eziama High School(Apostolic Grammar School)

    * Wilcox Memorial Comprehensive Secondary School, Ogbor hill Aba

    * Community Girls Secondary School

    * Secondary Technical School

    * Nigerian Christian Seminary School

    * Boys Technical College [BTC]

    * Girls High School, Ogbor Hill.

    * Ninlan Demonstration Secondary School.

    * Ovom Girls High School, Ovom

    * Nneise Community Secondary School, Umuezu.

    * St. Joseph College Aba

    * Iheorji Secondary School Aba

    * Osusu Secondary School Aba

Private schools in Aba

    * Premier International Secondary School

    * New Breed International Schools

    * Evangel Seminary

    * Alberto Model School

    * Dority International Secondary School (Hosts SAT and Toefl Exams for foreign colleges)

    * St Bridget High School

    * Living Stone International Christian Secondary School, Ogbor-Hill Aba, Abia State

    * Living Word Academy Secondary, Abayi, Aba.

    * D-nals High school,opobo Rd Aba.

    * Rich Devos International High School, Aba.

    * Presbyterian secondary school,Ehere.Aba.

    * Awesome International Model Secondary School, Abayi Aba.

    * Infotech Demonstration School Aba.

    * stella maris secondary school aba.

    * merit base international Christian school aba

    * St. Joseph College Aba

    * Intellectual Giants Christian Academy

    * Modern Child College Aba

    * St. Augustine's Model Academy, Ogbor Hill, Aba.

    * Lilac Comprehensive Secondary School, Ogbor Hill, Aba

    * Hawics International School

Tertiary schools in Aba

The tertiary schools are:

    * Abia State University Teaching Hospital

    * Abia State Polytechnic

    * Covenant Polytechnic

    * School of Health Technology

    * Redemtion College of Education (privately owned)

    * Rhema University,Aba Take-off site(also privately owned by Living Word Ministries)

    * Infotech College of Technology (privately owned)

    * Cyberspot Institute of Information Technology (Privately owned)

    * Living Word Institute of Information Technology (Privately owned)

Transport

Aba is served by a station and a halt (mini station) on Nigerian Railways. Aba is also a major hub for road transport in the region - a large number of transport companies operate coaches that transport people daily to various parts of the country. The city is second only to Onitsha in mass transportation daily volume in the eastern part of Nigeria. Commercial motorcycles ("Okada") have been banned - replaced by commercial tricycles ("Keke NAPEP").

In 2012, a monorail system has been proposed. [4]

Sports.

Enyimba International F.C., popularly called The Peoples Elephant, is the town's most popular football club. Enyimba FC's winning track-record is among the richest of all Nigerian football clubs. With 2 CAF Champions League Trophies, six Nigeria Premier League titles and a pair of Federation Cup trophies, the club is currently ranked 2nd in the CAF Club Rankings.

References

   1. ^ "Nipost Postcode Map". Nigerian Postal Service. Retrieved 2010-05-08.

   2. ^ a b c d "Aba". Encyclopedia Britannica. I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 2010. p. 6. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.

   3. ^ Canby, Courtlandt. The Encyclopedia of Historical Places, Vol 1 (New York: Facts on File Publications, 1984) p. 1

   4. ^ http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11361046-s75.htm

Coordinates: 5°07′N 7°22′E / 5.117°N 7.367°E / 5.117; 7.367

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