DESCENDANTS OF IMHAKHENA

THE HISTORY OF THE OKHOGHIEMHE FAMILY BY GILBERT ODIOR

The History of the Okhoghiemhe Family Based on elder interviews and personal experiences growing up in Ogbona, this documentation uncovers our family’s rich history. Iyere and Anogho were brothers and lived in Ivhiokhile in the present day Fugar. Iyere had Oloede, Ototo, Apo and Otsegbemhe in Fugar among several other children. Anogho gave birth to Okhoghiemhe and Okhaishe among several others. Okhoghiemhe, Oloede, and Ototo moved to Ogbona and Ototo became the OKPHE UKPI from 1908 to 1914. Chief Anyai (OKPHE UKPI) from Ivhiorevho was handed over to Ototo when he was imprisoned for his role during the Dogbonoba War of 1908. Enakhumhe from Ivhiobore (Warrant Chief) was appointed by the British Administration in 1914 to take over from Ototo due to his non-compromising stand on trade with the British and other slave issues. It all began with Okhoghiemhe Snr, a strong-willed patriarch, and his beloved wife, Anogho. Their union bore four remarkable children: Okhoghiemhe Jnr, Okhaishe, Omoighie, and Ogbho. The siblings grew up under the watchful eyes of their parents, learning the values of unity and strength. Okhoghiemhe Jnr followed his mother, Anogho, to settle in Ogbona after a tragic event. He had avenged his younger brother, Okhaishe, death by killing Adokhuru, the perpetrator. The lineage of Okhoghiemhe Jnr flourished in Ogbona. Okhoghiemhe gave birth to Odior, Onwumah, and Ifaorumhe, among several other children who carried forward the family’s legacy. Okhaishe progeny, Ikaga, Ukhokho, and others, continued the tradition. Omoighie descendants, Anamhomhe, Igwemoh, and others, also made their mark. Ogbho children, Atsebamho, Okhaishe, Ogbiko, Ighiebo, and Akhagbhai, completed the family’s expansive tree. We were informed that Onwuma had 19 children, but only 2 were still alive during our upbringing, and she lived to be over a hundred years old. One of the two daughters, Mrs. Eghieobo Alabi, married Alabi Epi from Okotor and had 8 children. Among them are Ogiebo Basel Agbaza Alabi, Jeremiah Alabi, Mrs. Arobuye Umagor, Bacon Alabi, Ikuoya Uwora, John Damisa Alabi, Mary Momodu Abu, Queen Onovogbe Philip Ikoko, and Oduevho Didi Michael Alabi, the only surviving son. The second daughter, Ebuade, married into the Okozi family and gave birth to 4 children, Mrs Maria Iguegiemhera Oshiomogho, Agbavhuokha Okozi, Ekhazuno Okozi, and Etafia Okozi. Etafia is the father of Chief Richard Okozi. One of the sons of Onwuma was Mochi who had 7 children, including C.U. Mochi and Mrs. Cecilia Eleta. Pa Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe: A Life of Faith, Tradition, and Enterprise Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe, an early Christian convert, balanced his faith with traditional practices. Our family deity, Ugbokomheva, required regular sacrifices of fowl and goats, which we’d roast and share among the family. Odior’s expertise in herbal medicine was renowned. His potent malaria remedy, a secret blend of herbs and sometimes alcohol, was boiled and fermented for days. A single sip would spread warmth throughout the body. A savvy farmer and entrepreneur, Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe acquired vast lands in Okotor and Agbha. His Okotor orchard boasted diverse fruits and economic trees, including kolanuts, avocados, and oranges. The extent of his landholdings remains impressive:- Over ¼ of the land in the Okotor quarter and Notable neighbors: Odogbo, Idode, Esi, Ikoko, Ifaorumhe, and Ilega Patrick’s industrious nature transformed seemingly unproductive lands into thriving farms, leaving a lasting legacy. Some questions remain such as how did Patrick Odior acquire his vast lands? Unraveling these mystery will deepen our understanding of our family’s history. Descendants of Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe lived for over a hundred years and died in 1970. He was married to four wives: Idede, Asana Omutu, Oreghokpe, and Asabi. His first wife, Idede, gave birth to Egbekhoze, Imulemu, Imhana, and Imhatamhana. Only Imhatamhana is alive today. Despite their names, they did not have an Islamic upbringing but rather practiced the African traditional religion. It’s interesting to note that Egbekhoze married Apemheyie Asekomhe and they were one of the first couples to wed in the Catholic faith in Ogbona in the 1930s. Asana Omutu Odior (née Achemho) was from Iraokhor and had several children. Among them are Pa George Kadiri, Iyama, Asabi, Raphael Nasamu, Inayi, Lucy Uwodu, and Jacob. They were all Christians. Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe and Oreghokpe (the younger sister of Oshiomogho Aleghe of Okotor) had 2 children, but only one survived to adulthood. Her name is Animah. She got married in Ivhiorevhor and had 5 children: Daniel, Onona, Anake, Ochema, and Remilekun. When we were growing up, Animah returned to the family house with all her children. The final wife of Patrick Odior Okhoghiemhe was Asabi from the Okozi royal family of Ogbona. Asabi was previously married in Iraokhor and had several children there before marrying Odior. She had only one son, Sunday, with Odior. However, Sunday got married multiple times and had several children. Among his children are Folake, Felix, Imhonikhe, Stephen Sunday, and Grace Ivhagbha. The Odior family house was the biggest in our immediate environment and one of the largest in Ogbona. It was a very long building with a lot of apartments. Passing through that compound to other houses in the neighborhood was frightening because of the number of people that lived there. George Kadiri Odior George Kadiri Odior, the first child of Odior Okhoghiemhe and Asana Omutu Odior, never received formal education but acquired literacy skills. George Kadiri Odior married Elizabeth,(Eliza) from the Odogbo family, and took her to Lagos. The father-in-law, Robert Odogbo, who was a Catholic Church catechist, insisted that they get married in the church. However, Uncle Kadiri refused, and the marriage was dissolved after only one child, Akhi Catherine Odior. George Kadiri remained unmarried for a long time. Finally, his father and his brothers decided to find a wife for him. They encountered an issue during the process, and they ended up marrying another woman, Juliana from a neighboring village called Imiava, for him. Soon afterward, the issue with the first woman was resolved, and there was no other option but to marry both women at the same time. Mrs. Juliana Odior, the

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HISTORY OF ASEKOMHE EKHAEGBAI DYNASTY BY WILSON ASEKOMHE

This Abridged History Of The Asekomhe Dynasty was written By Wilson Asekomhe Based On Oral Tradition/Findings HISTORY OF ASEKOMHE EKHAEGBAI DYNASTY Pa Asekomhe was the first son of Pa Ekhaegbai, whose father, Pa Ereghi, was the patriarch of today’s Asekomhe Dynasty. Pa Ereghi, or his father, is believed to be a direct offspring of the great Imhakhena, the legendary founder of Ogbona. For clarity, it is important to give a little background information to authenticate this great historical link before coming to the specifics. The Asekomhe Dynasty alongside it’s associated families, is known today in Ogbona as the Oghie Descendants (Apoghie, meaning origin). According to history, Imhakhena, upon his relocation from the sacred Utorokhiye groove, settled in an ancestral home that he built at the site of the present-day Asekomhe family compound. There he lived and died. An indisputable proof of that ancestry was the remarkable Covenant of Stones, popularly called Azido, which Imhakhena made with his siblings, Arua Unone and Uralo. It would be recalled that a bitter feud had brewed among them arising from some irreconcilable disagreements. Principal among these was Imhakhena’s effrontery to migrate from Fugar to Ogbona with their mother, Aleukoko. As if that wasn’t enough, he single-handedly buried her at Ogbona when she died, without their consent, which explains why the totemic mother-Alokoko is permanently domiciled at Ogbona. Remarkably, the Azido that followed was performed in front of the modern day Asekomhe family compound. The historic covenant-stones were buried at the front of the Asekomhe compound, adjoining the Ilega Orvini’s, at a spot that is still discernible till date. THE DESCENDANTS OF ASEKOMHE Pa Asekomhe mantle of royalty was Imhakhena’s symbolic blessing which he directly bestowed on Erekhi. Pa Asekomhe was said to be a prominent hunter and commodity trader, who was feared by his subjects for his closeness to colonial slave masters. Pa Asekomhe Ekhagbai was a great popular herbalist and was prominent in healing people bitten by snakes and a Seer. He bequeathed these skills to his firstborn son Pa Itsisor, skills he practiced till he passed on to the great beyond. He was also a seer and power broker whose towering influence robbed on several traditional and customary matters. His legendary role in the palace of the then Okphe-Ukpi of Ogbona, the great Pa Okozi readily comes to mind. CHILDREN OF ASEKOMHE: Pa Asekomhe gave birth to seven surviving children among whom were five sons and two daughters. They were: Pa Itsisor, who was his first son, followed by Pa Ikhane, Pa Imhonikhe, Pa Apemheye and Pa Charlie. The two female children were Uwomha Ikhuenena, mother of Samuel Okomilo and Uwomha Ebepogwa (aka Nwanwa) first daughter Asekomhe, who got married to the Oluwe royal father in Iraokhor. PA ITSISOR’S DESCENDANTS Pa Itsisor was a great farmer, hunter, native doctor, and herbalist. He was famous for his efficacious treatment of snake bites for which patients were brought to him from across the village and beyond. Pa Itsisor was the pioneer custodian of the traditional costumes used by the ILO Ebatutu masquerade of Ivhiobore. The native doctor cum herbalist married three wives: Uwomha Eladi Amiebamhe of Ivhiagboghidi quarters, Iraokhor, Uwomha Aminetu from Dunia family in Ivhido, Ogbona, and Uwomha Adishetu Oyomhi (Maami) from Ileile family, also in Ivhido. Pa Itsisor had 7 Children with his First Wife Eladi. Namely, Madam Omholua, Pa James Itsisor, Enemhiaka, Anayibo, Titilayo, Itsabuma, and Isaac Pa James is the present Otadi and Oghie-Ebo of Apoghie and is the first Pentecostal pastor to be ordained in Ogbona way back in the early sixties. He is also the pioneer pastor of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Ogbona. Pa Philip Itsabuma was a renowned tobacco farmer and trader, as well as Eramha Isaac, who lived all his productive life in Benin City. The marriage between Pa Itsisor and Uwomha Aminetu produced Pa Peter Inaughe, an oil magnate who retired as a Depot Manager in Total Oil, serving last in Ore, Ondo State. Madam Sabiti was Uwomha Aminetu’s only daughter, followed by Eramha Raphael Uloghobu. Raphael, before his death, was the Deputy National Co-coordinator (Special Marshal) of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Baba’s other wife, Adishetu gave birth to twin-brothers: Eramha Jacob Odior and Johnson Omoh, who in their latter days became famous apostles of Christ. Eramha John Enezuno, the third son, is an aluminum roofing specialist who retired in 2002 from Aluminium Manufacturing Company (ALUMACO Plc) where his elder brothers, Johnson and Raphael had also worked. The other children are Madam Ekpedotse, married to Chief Osimhega Ogah, Madam Rhoda Onosuaimhe, and Madam Grace Adomo. Pa Itsisor died in 1968 and was buried in the ancestral family compound. PA IKHANE’S DESCENDANTS Pa Ikhane was the second son of Asekomhe. Ikhane left the shores of the village early in life. He was trained in the early 50s as a civil engineer and worked with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC). He served in Offa, in today’s Kwara State, Ibadan, Oyo State, and Minna, Niger State. In the course of his career in the NRC, his path crossed with that of a prominent son of Ogbona, Pa James Odalumhe, both of whom worked together at the NRC. Ikhane children and Odalumhe children; Pa Augustine and Eramha Raphael grew up together in the Railways residential quarters. But for that privileged relationship, Ikhane children would never have had a reunion with their siblings back home, especially as he died prematurely at the age of 48 years. His wife, a princess from the Ibadan royal house had discouraged the children from bonding with the extended family. Pa Ikhane marriage produced seven children among whom was Dr Francis Apeakhuye. Francis, who graduated in 1966, was the first university graduate in Asekomhe family. He was also one of Nigeria’s delegates to the popular Aburi Accord in Ghana, which was Nigeria’s botched attempt to broker peace in the build-up to the 1967-1970 Civil War. Pa Francis was one-time Principal, School of Business Studies, Midwestern Polytechnic, Benin City campus from 1970-1977. Ikhane”s other children included Uwomha

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