Ogurugu Information Blog

Agwu, A. E. Ekwueme, J. N. and Anyanwu, A. C. (2008). Adoption of improved agricultural technologies disseminated via radio farmer programme by farmers in Enugu State, Nigeria. African Journal of Biotechnology, 7(9):1277-1286. Available online at   https://academicjournals.org/journal/AJB/article-full-text-pdf/7F631126268 Chika Omeje (2019). A Strong Case to Bring Back the Famous Ogurugu River Port. Available online at  http://www.journalngonline.com/2019/02/06/a-strong-case-to-bring-back-the-famous-ogurugu-river-port/ Ukwubile, C. A. (2012). Anti-Helminthic Properties of Some Nigerian Medicinal Plants on Selected Intestinal Worms in Children (Age 5-13) in Ogurugu, South East Nigeria.  Journal of Bacteriology   and Parasitology,  3(9), 1-3. Available online at  https://www.longdom.org/open-access/anti-helminthic-properties-of-some-nigerian-medicinal-plants-on-selected-intestinal-worms-in-children-2155-9597.1000159.pdf Bright Is...

A Strong Case to Bring Back the Famous Ogurugu River Port  By  Chika Omeje The first educated person to give us a glimpse of the economic outlook of Nsukka in modern history is the great Scottish explorer; Dr William Balfour Baike, in the 19th century. After sailing successfully up the River Niger and Benue in the Niger expedition of 1854; Baike celebrated his success in the following remarks: “We have discovered a navigable river, an available highway, conducting us into the very heart of a large continent. We have found these regions to be highly favoured by nature, teeming with animal life, and with fertile soils abounding in valuable vegetable products, and adapted by diversity of position, of elevation, and of character, for all the varied purposes of tropical agriculture. We have met on friendly terms with numerous tribes, all endowed by nature with what I might term the ‘commercial faculty,’ ready and anxious to trade with us, and to supply us with inexhaustible ...

OGURUGU AND THE TIME PAST. Permit me to open this discussion with the word of Paul Kagame, the current President of Rwanda, that “Life is best lived by looking into the future, but better understood by looking into the past.” Indeed, going by the quote above, one would better understand how far Ogurugu has come and consequentially appreciate the present, and definitely would keep the hope high for the future. Meanwhile, this brings me to my chosen topic “Ogurugu and The Time Past.” Using Ogurugu market as the center to xray the four cardinal points (geographically) of the community and you will understand with me that: *Adita – Opkotopu village, lay at the Eastern part. *Ukpale – Achanya village; to an extent, some part of Ukanu axis, lay at the Norther part. *Ukwaja village, which include down to Egah-Imabolo river axis, lay at the Western part; and of course, *Obatamu, down to Ofegbe – Ofeulogo village respectively, lay at the Southern part. Having expressed the four card...

THE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN OGURUGU Agricultural products and foods in Ogurugu Ogurugu people are majorly farmers. Historically, the ancients of Ogurugu were so good in agriculture that they use the product to build edifices that would be regarded as one of the best in their times. Some of those buildings survived until today. Ogurugu's farm products include such crops as rice, cassava, cocoyam, yam, beans, groundnut, palm tree, banana, plantain, corn, mango, orange, millet, etc. There are also hunters and fishers in Ogurugu who bring their fishes and animals to the Central Market that opens every two days, or to as far as Nsukka, Onitsha and other parts of South-Eastern Nigeria. some people come from far distant lands to purchase agricultural products like bags of rice, cassava/akpu, garri, red oil, smoked fishes and meats. These commodities are of high demands especially in big cities. If the Government can provide good roads networks and ...

The Challenges of Fulani cattle rearers to Ogurugu farmers The Fulani cattle rearers are some times a challenge to Ogurugu farmers. They go around eating our crops, defecating on the main roads. To address the challenge posed by the Fulani cattle rearers, Ogurugu can implement the following intervention strategies: 1. Dialogue and negotiation: Initiate dialogue with the Fulani community and their leaders to address the conflicts and find mutually beneficial solutions. Organize meetings and discussions to understand each other's concerns and work towards a peaceful coexistence. It is important to promote understanding, respect, and cooperation between the community and the Fulani herdsmen. 2. Legal advocacy:  Advocate for the enforcement of existing laws and regulations that protect farmers' rights and prevent the encroachment of cattle on farmland. Engage with local law enforcement agencies and relevant government departments to ensure the implementation of these laws. This m...

Stop weeping oh dearest Motherland !   "At a time like this and the near future, your children shall take care of thee oh desolate and forgotten town. You have suffered humiliation and negligence too  long, but your children have grown of age, so stop weeping for darkness, bad roads, lack of portable water, good health care, lack of education, intense poverty in your chills, non-representation and internal marginalization from your first children. Stop weeping oh dearest Motherland for your second children have come of age to wipe your tears." By:  Cletus Ukwubile ‎   to   Ogurugu, Uzo-Uwani LGA, Enugu State,  December 12, 2012

NEEDS ASSESSMENT The Ogurugu community has identified two key areas of need for their development and progress: quality leadership and government presence. 1. Quality leadership: The community recognizes that development goes beyond just infrastructure improvements such as good roads and amenities. They believe that the main issue hindering their progress is the lack of quality leadership. Ogurugu has experienced conflicts and disunity in their traditional institutions, making it difficult to conduct elections into important traditional offices. This has resulted in a long period of vacancy in the office of Igwe Ugomela. The community feels that without strong and effective leadership, it is impossible to achieve success. 2. Government presence: Another significant need for Ogurugu is the improvement of transport infrastructure. The Isi bridge, which connects Ogurugu with other communities like Adani, Igga, and Ojo, becomes impassable during the rainy season, cutting off Ogurugu from e...

A CLARION CALL Ogurugu youths have the potential to bring about a sustainable transformation in our land.  We must find a means of investing in our youths because they are the leaders of tomorrow. Many people who are rich today and have not impacted on any youth's lives in Ogurugu will be surprised that they will regret not investing their money in our youths. I suggest the following pathways which will help make Ogurugu as a whole to benefit from the youth: 1. Train up the  children with the right value system and the fear of God. 2. Give the youth sufficient education that will enable them to be useful to themselves and the community. 3. Encourage the youth to acquire vocational skills that will make them employable or employers of labour. 4. They should be made to love Ogurugu and contribute to its development. 5. There is a need to create a youth-friendly environment that will make the youth not to run away from home and also attract the homecoming of our youths, espec...

A PRAYER FOR OGURUGU:     May the sun shine on you oh beautiful land of green.  May the showers descend and wet the fields for our crops to blossom and our barns to overflow with abundance.  May our heart long for your good, though in far away shores we abide.  May our people flourish like the palm tree in all their endeavours.  May we be willing to sacrifice our time, treasures and talents for the advancement of your glorious course.  May our elders' grey hair mean nothing but wisdom.  May our youths be pr osperous in all their undertakings, be successful and strong.  May we sing the great redemption song on your beautiful hills.  You shall receive pardon for all your sins from the Lord your Saviour.  Your children are now grown, it is time for you to reap the fruit of your labour.  We shall rejoice in you and sing "blessed is that land whose God is the LORD". God bless Ogurugu! By Obiechina Ekene Moses A ...

RESTORING THE GLORIES OF OGURUGU'S PAST OGURUGU WAS MORE PROSPEROUS THAN NSUKKA BEFORE 1960 One cannot but lament at the situation of Ogurugu after reading this, as I did when I read in a scholarly research paper. According to the paper, I quote: "Before 1960, Nsukka was a relatively unknown town, overshadowed by the then more prosperous Ogurugu, which became a major exporting centre (on account of its location along the River Niger coast) and Ibagwa, which had a flourishing horse market. After 1960, all these changed with the establishment of the University of Nigeria..." (Okoy e, 1978 cited in Nweze, 2002 ).  In: "SOCIAL CAPITAL (PILOT) SURVEY IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA BY NOBLE J. NWEZE, Centre for Rural Development and Cooperatives, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. To confirm this fact, click on this link and read pages 3 and 4 that talks about Nsukka:  http://siteresources.worldbank.org/…/EnuguStatePilotRpt-Sho…   This helps us to understand the reason why a major...

ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE PAST Gone are those days in Ogurugu before the coming of internet and social media. In the full moon. When it is shinning with it brightest radiance. Every born and bred child of Ogurugu will remember their sweet childhood days in Ogurugu. Those good old days, the children usually gather in a village square or meeting points in the nights after evening meals for socialization. The children participated in a hide and seek game called "okubele". Prior to this time parents or elderly ones would have narrated some "osala" (stories) to the children. At this children meetings some of the children would rete ll these stories. Some of the stories were so frightful to extent that some fearful children would be afraid to sleep in the dark for fear of "ojiji" (fear monsters).The stories are in forms of legends, fables, fairy tales and folklores passed down to the children by forefathers of Ogurugu. These stories were full of wisdom and moral less...

OGURUGU: OUR STAND FOR THE SEASON. _________________________ In a conventional view, it is believed that the taste of soup brings about the query of the cook – this, whether the soup is sweet or otherwise. In other word, each time I had the opportunity to post on this platform, one remarkable feeling always takes possession of me: An Excited Feeling of having Great Resourceful sons and daughters of Ogurugu, endow with good progressive conscience. Therefore, my frequent post on this platform is often propelled by your unrelenting sense of love and unity as sons and daughters of Ogurugu. In truth, I commend and always celebrate each and every one of you. Gracias…thank you! However, I have chosen this time around, once again to write to you. This time, to welcome you to the eleventh hour of the year, 2019. Not only that, having made to the last month of 2019, reminding ourselves about the uniqueness of the season remains empirical. Indeed, we should…we should be able to remind...

THE NEW FACE OF OGURUGU GRADUATES. Let me start by wishing everyone Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year. “Behind Every Reality, There Exist An Idealism.” Evidently, the idea to get Ogurugu drives on the lane of unity and continuous progress is getting real every single day. Hence, the reality is getting real on the ideal kind of Ogurugu one should be proud of. Moreover, these realities are getting real due to certain factors – education, which is one of the paramount! Undoubtedly, education is greatly winning and steadily gaining root, and then getting solidified in Ogurugu community. This claim is not contested as the number of graduates in Ogurugu increases each year geometrically. However, this is against the backdrop of the educational situation we had before now. Being sensitive to history, Ogurugu is considered to have had just a single Primary School which was known as St. Francis Catholic Primary School (under the tutelage of the Missionaries). Thereafter, it ...

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS IN OGURUGU Christmas and New Year celebrations in Nigeria as a whole are seasons of great joy when families get together and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas season is arguably the most celebrated season in Nigeria because most people gather to celebrate the Yuletide season. People start shopping for Christmas by early December. Nigeria, with its traditions, glamour, and extravaganza, adds to the Yuletide spirit during the end of December. While Christmas is a lot of fun, the days before Christmas are usually filled with a lot of stress for Ogurugu people traveling to villages from various places like Badagry and Ijanikin in Lagos, Onitsha, Nnewi in Anambra, Portharcourt in Rivers State, Abuja FCT, oversees (Outside Nigeria), etc. Traffic and transport fares rise because of the many people traveling back home. Despite these occurrences, celebrating Christmas in Ogurugu has never come without the exchange of gifts and family...