Nsukka
Nsukka is a town and a Local Government Area in Enugu State, Nigeria. Nsukka shares a common border as a town with Edem, Opi (archaeological site), Ede-Oballa, and Obimo.
Nsukka | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 View of Nsukka from a neighboring hill | |
  Nsukka | |
| Coordinates: 6°51′24″N 7°23′45″E | |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| State | Enugu State |
| Government | |
| • Local Government Chairman | Walter Ozioko (PDP) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2,141.08 sq mi (5,545.38 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,410 ft (430 m) |
| Population (2006 Census)[1] | |
| • Total | 309,633 |
| Time zone | GMT+1 |
| 3-digit postal code prefix | 410 |
| ISO 3166 code | NG.EN.NS |
| Climate | Aw |
The postal code of the area is 410001 and 410002 respectively referring to University of Nigeria Campus, and Nsukka Urban.[2]
History
Nsukka is made up of Mkpunano, Nru, and Ihe'n Owerre. Presently, there is an erroneous trend of referring to all the towns under Enugu North Senatorial Zone as Nsukka. This trend could be as a result of Nsukka housing the headquarters of the now defunct Nsukka province under the colonial rule.
Nsukka is also a local government area and comprises several towns including Nsukka the host to the first indigenous university in Nigeria, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Nsukka is an agricultural-trade centre for the yams, cassava (manioc), corn (maize), taro, pigeon peas, and palm oil and kernels produced by the local Igbo (Ibo) people. Weaving is a traditional local craft. Coal deposits have been discovered east of Nsukka around Obolo, a town on the main Onitsha-Makurdi road.[3]
People in Nsukka speak central Igbo and Nsukka dialect, a sub-dialect of larger Igbo language.
The influence of Nsukka people was felt as far as Idah, the Achadu Oko Attah clan in Idah historically migrated from Nsukka.
Nsukka's ancient wars
Nsukka in the 18th and 19th century had one of the best fighting forces in what is present-day Enugu-North which they employed in waging war against their neighbours in order to gain more territories for their rising population and for other purposes.[4] Each community that made up the town of Nsukka had stationed in them a fighting force made up of people from that community.[5]
Nsukka's numerous wars with her neighbours were usually successful such that some surrounding communities requested help from Nsukka to protect them from their attackers.[5]
Another instance of Nsukka's expansionist bid was the war with Ejuona-Obukpa (a community in Obukpa) which eventually ended in the annexing of a part of Ejuona-Obukpa. According to D. C. Ugwu, this war should not be viewed as one between Nsukka and the entire Obukpa as Ejuona (the involved community) refused the assistance of the rest of Obukpa.[6]
By the time the war ended, Nsukka succeeded in taking parts of Ejuona-Obukpa, almost wiping out one village (Umugboguru) of all its inhabitants in the process.[7]
Nsukka is the second largest town in Enugu state.[8] The people of Nsukka are deeply religious and most of the indigenes of this geographical area are traditional religion adherents.[9] They celebrate a popular masquerade festival known as "Omabe festival" every year.[9] The essence of[10] the festival is show the indigenes' reverence for their Chi (i.e. Personal god). Also, the Omabe festival enables them to strengthen the relationship between different communities that made up of this geographical area.
The Omabe is notable for its magical and stylistic displays.
Climate
| Climate data for Nsukka | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.1 (97.0) |
36.9 (98.4) |
37.8 (100.0) |
36.7 (98.1) |
35.0 (95.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
32.8 (91.0) |
34.4 (93.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
37.8 (100.0) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 33.5 (92.3) |
34.9 (94.8) |
34.7 (94.5) |
33.6 (92.5) |
32.0 (89.6) |
30.5 (86.9) |
29.5 (85.1) |
29.6 (85.3) |
30.2 (86.4) |
31.2 (88.2) |
32.6 (90.7) |
32.9 (91.2) |
32.1 (89.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
28.3 (82.9) |
27.4 (81.3) |
26.6 (79.9) |
25.5 (77.9) |
25.0 (77.0) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
25.3 (77.5) |
26.0 (78.8) |
25.6 (78.1) |
26.0 (78.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 20.3 (68.5) |
22.8 (73.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
22.6 (72.7) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.3 (72.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
22.3 (72.1) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.0 (68.0) |
22.3 (72.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 12.8 (55.0) |
12.8 (55.0) |
16.1 (61.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
19.4 (66.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
14.4 (57.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
12.2 (54.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 18.8 (0.74) |
15.4 (0.61) |
70.3 (2.77) |
130.1 (5.12) |
217.2 (8.55) |
251.9 (9.92) |
241.9 (9.52) |
237.1 (9.33) |
292.0 (11.50) |
200.9 (7.91) |
12.1 (0.48) |
7.7 (0.30) |
1,695.4 (66.75) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 6.8 | 12.2 | 13.7 | 15.6 | 15.3 | 17.8 | 12.2 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 102.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) (at 15:00 LST) | 34.3 | 37.4 | 45.6 | 56.4 | 63.6 | 68.5 | 71.3 | 70.8 | 70.3 | 66.4 | 50.5 | 38.7 | 56.1 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 186.0 | 173.6 | 182.9 | 183.0 | 186.0 | 153.0 | 117.8 | 117.8 | 123.0 | 173.6 | 219.0 | 217.0 | 2,032.7 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 6.0 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 7.0 | 5.6 |
| Source 1: NOAA[11] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes)[12] | |||||||||||||
Cultural practices
Eshu (cow) funeral rituals
Eshu is an Igbo breed of cow used in a funeral rite in the Nsukka cultural area of Igboland. Many factors influence if someone will receive funeral rites, such as how and when they die, their marital status, and if they performed the same rites for their own parents. If someone qualifies, then the rite is performed to ensure that the dead can rest peacefully and to lift them to a higher position within the spirit world. There are many animals which can be used and each animal has a different significance. The cow is the highest ranked among those used in the ritual.[13]
Ndishi tradition
In traditional Igbo society, men's dominance was total. Women were to be seen but not to be heard: it was a man's world. Whether in the day to day governance, economic activities, religion, among others, women played a peripheral role in the society. A man could marry as many wives as he wants. The younger wives could be the age mates of his first set of children. Whether the husband is virile enough to satisfy the innumerable wives is hardly taken into consideration. To check marital infidelity on the part of the women in this polygamous society, the Nsukka Igbo instituted the Ndishi/Nna tradition. The Ndishi/Nna tradition connotes a spiritual avowal among the Nsukka people which origin is embedded in myth. The tradition forbids any married woman from engaging in any form of extra-marital affairs or assisting the relations without express permission of the husband. Women from other parts of Igboland who are married to the men of this area are usually forewarned about the efficacy of this tradition. It is the general belief among the people that any such act attracts the wrath of the gods, which results to instant madness for the transgressor. Employing qualitative approach which includes, participant observation, indepth interviews and oral tradition, the researchers explored the potency of this tradition in checking marital infidelity. Enugu-Ezike, Obollo, and Imilike communities which have distinct cultural practices among Nsukka people were selected for the study. Johannes Andenaees's theory of punishment and deterrence would be applied.[14]
Masquerade
Nsukka is known to be rich in tradition and it is one of the Igbo communities that still upholds her traditional practices especially the masquerade festival.[15] These masquerades comes in different colors and shapes, some are beautifully made while some are tattered.[16] The Nsukka masquerade assumes different names in different communities. In Obollo Afor, it is called Akatakpa; in Igbo Etiti, it is known as Odo; in Orba it is known as Ogede; in Nsukka, it is called Oriokpa or Omaba.[16] In olden days, masquerades were a rallying point as they performed different functions ranging from entertainment to peace making, social control, and it was also used for security purposes.[17]
Sports
Sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.
References
- Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (15 May 2007). "Legal Notice on Publication of the Details of the Breakdown of the National and State Provisional Totals 2006 Census" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
- "Post Offices- with map of LGA". NIPOST. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2009.
- "Nsukka | Nigeria | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- Nigeria, Media (21 April 2022). "History Of Nsukka LGA, Enugu State". Media Nigeria. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- "The Death of Arua Ugwuoke and Nsukka's War with Ede-Ọbara". Ekene Ugwuanyi. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- Ugwu, D. C. (1985). This is Obukpa: The History of a Typical Ancient State. Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers. p. 3. ISBN 9789781562884.
- Ozioko, M. A. (2005). Obukpa: Past and Present. Enugu: De-Adroit Innovation. pp. 55–56.
- "Enugu State Government". www.enugustate.gov.ng. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- Uwaegbute, Kingsley Ikechukwu (2 January 2021). "Christianity and Masquerade Practices Among the Youth in Nsukka, Nigeria". African Studies. 80 (1): 40–59. doi:10.1080/00020184.2021.1886049. ISSN 0002-0184. S2CID 233413569.
- Telegraph, New (10 February 2022). "After 25 years, Omabe Festival returns to Enugu community". New Telegraph. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- "Enugu Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- "Klimatafel von Enugu / Nigeria" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
- Ossai, Anayo Benjamin (2016). "Cow(Eshu) ritual in the funeral rite: the significance in the Nsukka cultural area of Igboland". Journal of Religion and Human Relations. 8 (2): 35–54. doi:10.4314/jrhr.v8i2 (inactive 1 August 2023). ISSN 2006-5442.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2023 (link) - Ngozika Obi-Ani; Chiemezie Atama; Charity. N. Onyishi (2016). "Ndishi/ Nna Tradition among Nsukka Igbo: Crude Tool in a Man's World". University of Nigeria. doi:10.13140/RG.2.1.2576.1529.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "IGBO CULTURE IS SUPERB: WATCH NSUKKA MASQURADE (Oriokpa)". YouTube.
- Ikem, Felix (30 January 2019). "Masquerades of terror in Nsukka". The Sun: Voice of the Nation.
- "How Masquerade Brought Mayhem in Nsukka Community". Bell News Online. 22 May 2022.
- "Nsukka Sports Club - Enugu". Infoisinfo. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
- "Nsukka sport clubs". ng-check.com. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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