ALL MEMBERS FROM OGUTA LGA WHERE ARE YOU?

Do you know Oguta is the richest Local government area of Imo State? As it stands now each indigene of Oguta should deserve the best allocation. They have the Oil in the state. The richest people also.

Originally, the people of Oguta (pronounced Ugwuta) belonged to the Ancient Kingdom of Benin before
they started to migrate. That was around the 16th Century. The migration became inevitable following the
series of wars in which the Benin Kingdom w as engaged for the purpose of extending their Kingdom and
wielding greater economic and political power. Furthermore, the iron handed reign of Oba Ewuare the
Great and his successor, Oba Esigie, precipitated the migration, which affected many other peoples.

LOCATION AND TERRITORY

Oguta is located in Imo State of Nigeria, and shares boundaries with Anambra, Delta and Rivers States. It
lies within the Lower Niger drainage basin.
Oguta is the headquarters of the Oguta Local Government Area and is one of the only two crude oil producing
Local Governments in Imo State.
Territory
Oguta is a socio-geographic community town with a surface area of approximately 2,025.75 square
kilometers, made up as follows:2
Oguta Ameshi Metropolis 63.75 km2 3.15%
Osemotor, Oguta 46.50 km2 2.30%
Kalabar Beach, Oguta 30.50 km2 1.50%
UBI – Oguta Farmlands 1,885.00 km2 93.05%

Oguta Ameshi itself comprises twenty-seven villages. This is not a mere numerical coincidence because
there is hardly any of the twenty-seven villages in Oguta that does not own a farmland. In fact during the
Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970}, a lot of Oguta people took refuge in these farm settlements where they
erected buildings with corrugated iron sheets. Right now, modern developments have turned these farm
settlements into residential areas. It is the dream of every Oguta man to get this 93% of our community
landmass economically revitalized at no distant future.
The Oguta Lake
The Metropolitan City of Oguta is blessed with a Blue Lake, which happens to be the largest natural lake in
Imo State and the second largest natural lake in Nigeria after Lake Chad. The Lake is of tremendous value
to the people of Oguta. It is the identity and pride of the Oguta man just as it is the pride of Imo State. The
Lake is constant supply of fresh fish, which constitutes about 80% of the protein of Oguta. During the old
Nigerian economy, the Lake was a port for the evacuation of palm produce, which accounted for more than
10% of the total produce trade in the former Eastern Nigeria.

FESTIVALS
There are two main festivals in Oguta, namely:
1. The OWU Festival and
2. The OMERIFE Festival

FUNERALS
By Oguta custom, the type of burial accorded to the deceased depends on the status of the person and the
circumstances of his or her death. The burial of the Ezeigwe and the other royal members of his Council of
Ndiche, as well as Osere, the Chief Priest of the Owu Institution, has already been discussed. This paper
will focus on other categories. Burial is generally conducted in two-stage -_Preliminary and Final
Ceremonies.
The Preliminary Stage covers the initial ceremonies leading to the actual interment. The Final Stage
involves the fulfillment of the rather expensive requirements prescribed by the various social strata within
the Society. Families with good financial background choose to tackle the two burial stages one
immediately after the other, except in the case of a deceased Village Head, Okpara, where a Regent must be
appointed for three native years equivalent to two calendar years.