Ebenebe

Ebenebe
Town
Ebenebe Ebenebe in Nigeria
Coordinates: 6°20′02″N 7°07′45″E / 6.33389°N 7.12917°E / 6.33389; 7.12917
Country	Nigeria
State	Anambra State
LGA	Awka North
Government
• Type	Traditional[1]
• Igwe[1]	Christopher Nnaegbuna[1][2]
Population (2006)
• Total	45,897
• Ethnicity	Igbo 97%>, Others
• Demonym	Onye Ebenebe (singular) Ndi Ebenebe (plural) (Igbo)
Time zone	WAT (UTC+1)
Postcode	420117[3]

Ebenebe (English: Places and Places)^[4] or Amago Ebenebe^[5][6] as referred to by many is a town in Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria with an estimated population of 45,897 as of the 2006 Nigerian Census. It is made up of seven villages^[7] with each village comprising many hamlets.

Ebenebe is the town while Amagu is one of the villages that made it up. So referring to her as Amago-Ebenebe is like calling United States of America by the name of her city such as Los Angeles-United States of America, Israel as Tel Aviv-Israel, Britain as London-Britain, Republic of Ireland as Shannon-Ireland etc.

Ebenebe is 25 km from Awka,^[8] the capital city of Anambra State and its rich soil^[9] makes it one of the highest producers of agricultural commodities in Anambra State. Ebenebe was the capital of then short-lived Ezu Local Government Area during the regime of Gov. Samson Omeruah.

Ebenebe is bordered by Amansea to the south, Odoli River and Mgbakwu to the west, Ugbenu to the north and Agbaja to the east.^[10]

Villages

Eight villages comprise Ebenebe:^[7]

• Obuno
• Okpuno
• Umuajana
• Umuji
• Umuogbuefi
• Umuoye (Amagu)
• Uwani

 Umuaba

Umuoye village was formerly known as Amagu village. It is located in the centre of Ebenebe. The name: Amago-Ebenebe may have originated from it with the fact that everything that Ebenebe has as a town is located in Amagu village. Three churches in Ebenebe are St. Thomas Anglican Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church,^[11][12] and Blessed Iwene Tansi (aka St. Anthony's) Catholic Church.^[12] Oye market, major primary schools: Community Primary School and Central School are all located in Amagu village.

Climate

Like all cities and towns in Anambra State, Ebenebe is in the tropical zone of Nigeria and experiences two distinct seasons brought about by the two predominant winds that rule the area: the southwestern monsoon winds from the Atlantic Ocean and the northeastern dry winds from across the Sahara desert. The monsoon winds from the Atlantic creates seven months of heavy tropical rains, which occur between April and October and are followed by five months of dryness (November - March). The Harmattan, also known as Ugulu in the Igbo language, is a particularly dry and dusty wind which enters Nigeria in late December or in the early part of January. It is characterized by a grey haze limiting visibility and blocking the sun's rays.

The temperature in Ebenebe is generally 28–32.8 degrees Celsius between June and December but rises to 32–34 degrees between January and April, with the last few months of the dry season marked by intense heat.

Education

Ebenebe has numerous kingdergarten, primary, and secondary schools such as:

• Community Secondary School (Government)
• Favour of Grace International School (Private & Government Approved)
• Signs & Wonders Secondary School (Private & Government Approved)
• Holy Spirit Secondary School (Private & Government Approved)
• Community Primary School (Government)
• Central School (Government)
• Irunese Primary School (Government)
• Obuno Primary School (Government)
• Umuogbuefi Primary School (Government)
• Umuji Primary School (Government)

Markets

Ebenebe like most Nigerian cities is defined by large rudimentary open-air markets where everything from basic food produce to clothes and cosmetics are sold.

The largest market in the town is Oye Ebenebe, named after one of the four market days in Igboland (see Igbo calendar). Located adjacent to the St. Joseph's Catholic Church cemetery in Amagu village, the center of the city, Oye Ebenebe on every Oye market day, attracts residents from the surrounding towns such as Ugbenu, Ugbene, Agbaja, Amansea, Achalla, Oba-ofemmili, Ugwu-oba, and most times, people from Awka and Onitsha come and the cheap farm produce so as to resell them at a better and higher value in Eke Awka and Onitsha Main Market.

Hospitals

Ebenebe has a few hospitals but the major one is the Mobile Hospital, which provides the best medical care in Awka North since it opened. It was conceived on the initiative of the Düsseldorf children's psychiatrist Dr. Eugen E. Jungjohann. The Samuel Foundation was involved in a project to provide basic medical aid for Ebenebe in 1991, when the community had 20,000 citizens. Ihe Samuel Medical Foundation Ebenebe was founded and financed the construction of a hospital with an out-patient facility as well as an in-patient area with 20 beds and an operating theatre. The hospital was equipped with a mobile unit in order to serve the villages in the surrounding area. It spared older and infirm citizens and mothers with children from having to walk the many miles to the hospital. The Mobile Hospital is located in the boundaries of Umuji village and Amagu village called Ugwu Iyi-ocha. The hospital was finished and officially opened in 1992. Two years later, it was also subject to a project under the supervision of the Samuel Foundation: a further building extension was carried out which also integrated a school for nurses with space for 8 students. Artists from Düsseldorf helped finance the hospital—some of the investment costs were covered by an auction of artworks donated by the artists for this purpose.^[14]

Other health centres and clinics are:

• Dike Medical Centre
• Ebenebe Health Centre

Postal Service

The Nigerian Postal Service operates one post office in an area of Amagu (Umuoye) village called Ugwu-agbangwo, just a few meters from Oye market, and a postal agency located in Obuno village.

Rivers and water sources

Ebenebe has numerous springs and rivers such as Omuzo, Omuzo Umuonicha, Iyi-ocha, Iyi Agbangwo, Ezu Odoli and Ezu Ajali. Omuzo and Omuzo Umuonicha are both located in Amagu village. They originated from two different places but joined each other farther down the riverbed and stretches till they flows into the Ezu Odoli river. Ezu Odoli and Ezu Ajali are two different rivers with two different colours but flow in one riverbed. Ever since the natives of Ebenebe can remember, they have never mixed and always stay on their own side of the bank. Gov. Peter Obi commissioned a bridge on the Ezu Ajali River at Umuji village in 2012 being the boundary of Ebenebe and Amansea. Both rivers Odoli and Ajali formed a bigger riverbed in Agbangwo area of Amagu village and there, making it the boundary of Ebenebe and Mgbakwu. The bridge on this part of the river leads to Mgbakwu where the people of Umuegbe hamlet in Amagu (Umuoye) village are said to have originated centuries ago.

References

Anambra State
State capital: Awka
LGAs	Aguata Awka North Awka South Anambra East Anambra West Anaocha Ayamelum Dunukofia Ekwusigo Idemili North Idemili South Ihiala Njikoka Nnewi North Nnewi South Ogbaru Onitsha North Onitsha South Orumba North Orumba South Oyi