ONITSHA city has for ages remained the hub of commercial activities in the eastern part of Nigeria. While Awka enjoys the status of the capital of Anambra State, the commercial city remains the ‘oil bloc’ of traders. It shares boundaries with Asaba, Delta State, with the River Niger as the dividing line.
The city has before now produced prominent Nigerians, including the first Nigerian President, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe; former Administrator of Eastern Nigeria, Ukpabi Asika and Chief Louis Mbanefo, among others. Onitsha, which before now had harboured many robbers and other anti-social elements, is being transformed into a model city.
Onitsha is divided into two Local Government Areas, namely Onitsha North and Onitsha South, with their headquarters at Awka Road and Fegge. It is a one-community local government with the indigenes residing mainly in the North, while the non-indigenes are concentrated in the southern part.
One of the sub-villages called Okpoko, which boasts the largest population, is reputed as a den of armed robbers. But according to Mr. Bonny Nwigwe, a resident of Nkpor, one of the bubbling parts of Onitsha, the issue of robbery and kidnapping in the city has become a thing of the past. He commended the new administration in the state for the development.
A major characteristic of Onitsha is the resourcefulness of its residents, even though the real indigenes are believed to have preference for white collar jobs. The only industry a core Onitsha person knows is education, which is why they say Onitsha no dey do boy-boy (an Onitsha indigene would never be a servant). But a lot has gone wrong with Onitsha in recent years. The city which used to boast of amusement parks is now left without any. A visitor to the city would be reminded of the famous Denis Memorial Grammar School, (DMGS), Christ the King College (CKC) and the popular Girls School (QRC) attended by some famous Nigerians, including Senator Joy Emodi.
At the heart of the busy city, the imposing compound of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe greets one, just as the popular Upper Iweka Junction stands out. The only feature that is missing in the commercial city is night life, which makes other cities like Lagos, Kano,
Uyo, Calabar and Enugu tick. But fast food centres in the city are as many as those of other famous cities. They iclude Crunchies at Oguta Road and Mr. Biggs, which has two outlets at Limca Road Nkpor and Upper New Market Road.
As for restaurants, they are almost uncountable. The famous ones include Mary-Joe (Nwanyi-Awka Etiti) close to Elite Club on Onitsha-Enugu Expressway; Busy Bee at Awka Road and Madam Social, close to Koka Filling Station, Limca Road. There are also others like Five Star on Awka Road by Pacific Plaza, with branches at the Young Plaza at the Main Market and Enugu-Onitsha fly over, Nkpor.
The Onitsha Main Market, which prides itself as the biggest market in the sub-Saharan region, is located in Onitsha North Council Area, while others like Ochanja, Electronics Market, and Ogboefere are all located in Onitsha South Council Area.
Residents of Onitsha are predominantly traders, which some say is the reason for high rate of alcohol consumption and other promiscuous acts in the town.
There are also magnificent hotels like Lumen Christy at the Government Reserved Area (GRA), Amen Ridge, Bigger Villa and Ben Gee. Others are Top Ranks at Fegge, Nkisi Palace Hotel owned by the late popular traditional ruler of Anam, Igwe John Emeka; Dolly Hills, Precious Hotels and Safety Hotels behind OANDO Filling Station and Niger Heritage at Omagba, among others. On assumption of office, Governor Obiano’s first assignment was to chase away the hoodlums who had sworn not to allow the residents sleep with their two eyes closed as gunshots kept them awake.
A resident of Onitsha, Engr. Tony Nweke, told The Nation that Onitsha is now safe for business, adding that foreigners are now trooping into the city because of its conducive nature. “We have never heard it so good. People are walking freely in the city and discussing freely without fear of bad people. This city is born again,” he said.
For Mr. Bonny Nwigwe, “it is a dream come true to see Onitsha compared to cities like Lagos, Calabar and Enugu. It is what the bad boys have done in this city that made a lot of people to relocate to Enugu or Asaba, leaving our businesses to suffer serious setback.
“Although business has not started booming again, people are now sleeping with their two eyes closed. It is difficult now to see people being attacked or robbed.’’
Chief Gilbert Obi Nwasike, who had lived in Onitsha for many years, said that most residents of the city would not live elsewhere. The businessman commended the Obiano administration for what it has done in the area within the short period of his administration. He noted, however, that former governor, Mr. Peter Obi, also did well in Onitsha in terms of road construction, while praising Senator Chris Ngige for exposing residents of Nkpor to life by building Nkpor old road.
He said: “Our past governors did well but we are grateful to Obiano for making Onitsha safe again. Before now, people were living in fears. We were always on our toes. Honestly, we cannot believe what we are witnessing today.” Onitsha is one of the big cities in Nigeria without a higher institution. The only higher institution close to it is Nsugbe College of Education. The city has a rich vein of culture with Agbogidi as the traditional ruler at the helm, surrounded by Otu-Odu Women, the Ozo and Agbalanze societies, among others.
In Eze Goes to School, a novel written by Onuorah Nzekwu, first Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Eze’s mother describes Onitsha as a dangerous city full of kidnappers. She advised her son (Eze) not to go near the River Niger. But today, those fears have been wiped out by the Anambra State Government. The only problem remaining is the ‘planless’ nature of the city with the highest number of three, four or fivestorey buildings in the country. Be that as it may, the commercial city has started bubbling again without fear of attacks in broad daylight.
