Okpekpe

Okpekpe

Okpekpe is a town in Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. It is located about 25 km North East of Auchi. It has a population of 3155 inhabitants.^[1] Its people belong to a large homogeneous group of people, called the Afemai

Geography
Okpekpe is located at a latitude of 7.2 (7° 12' 0 N) and a longitude of 6.47 (6° 28' 0 E), about 354 kilometers south west (209°) of the approximate center of Nigeria and 240 kilometers south west (209°) of the capital Abuja. Okpekpe, also called North Ibie, belongs to a large homogenous group of people, the Ibie found in Afemai land, which is at the northern part of Edo State. The Ibie are bordered by River Niger to the east, Etsako West to the west, Auchi to the south, and Kwara State & Kogi State to the north.
Okpepke is surrounded by other towns and villages like Imiegba,Itsukwi, Imiakebu, Ebelle, Ukhomedokhai, Okeko, Ikphelli, Ukho, etc. The population of the Ibie people has been estimated to be about a 100,000 people according to the 2006 population Census.

History
The Okpekpe people are said to have migrated to their present location from the old Benin Kingdom during the ‘tyranny' of Oba Ewuare, the great, the then Oba of Benin. Oral history has it that, the reason for the migration was because the Oba had decreed that all communities within the Kingdom must mourn the death of his (Oba Ewuare) son for a long period, without going to farm or hunting. This led to starvation and death among the okpekpe people, thus forcing them to migrate to their current location, a mountainous topography that could serve as defence against any likely invasion by the Oba.

Culture
Every society has its own culture, which is its way of life. Okpekpe people are no exception.

Language: The people of Okpekpe speak the "Ibie Language", an homogeneous language generally spoken by the "Ibie" people. Most English words have Ibie variants, where such English words are not readily available, phrases are used to described them or caricature version is coined e.g. ‘motor' becomes ‘imoto' or ‘bicycle' becomes 'ibasiko', and 'aeroplane' becomes 'Anupalay' etc.

Justice: Minor cases are settled by family elders from both contending parties. Cases may also be settled by members of the age grades. While major cases are settled by the chief and his council of advisers.

Religion: The people are predominantly traditional religion worshippers, but a significant number of them have embraced Christianity and Islam.

Village Head: The village head and "clan head" is called Onwueweko of Okpepke. The current Onwueweko is HRH (APA) Peter Abalume Osigbemeh.^[2]

Education: They have one primary school, "Otsele primary school" which was founded in 1914 and one secondary school, "Okpekpe Grammar School" which was founded in 2002.

Economy: The Okpekpe people are mostly subsistence farmers producing crops like yam, cassava, cocoa and rice. Some are engage in hunting games and fishing

Marriage: Marriage is usually contracted by the families of the spouses and it is mostly done during the marriage season which is during harvest when there is plenty of food.

Festivals: They have several festivals notably the New Yam Festival locally called Ukphakpha. It marks the beginning of the harvest season. Another notable festival is the Okpekpe National Day celebration.^[3][4]

References

1. ^ "Edo State Population, World Gazetteer, 2010.". WikiMapia.org. http://wikimapia.org/16403640/Okpekpe. Retrieved 2011-06-17. 
2. ^ "Okpekpe Community Marks Maiden National Day.". The Nigerian Observer. http://www.nigerianobservernews.com/08042010/news/insideedo/indexnews1.html. Retrieved 2011-06-17. 
3. ^ "Attend Okpekpe National Day.". The Nation. http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/36331/1/Attend-Okpekpe-national-day/Page1.html. Retrieved 2011-06-17. 
4. ^ "Nigeria: FCT's Okpekpe Indigenes Urged to Unite". AllAfrican.com. http://allafrica.com/stories/200312280073.html. Retrieved 2011-06-17. 

External links

• okpekpe