Ibusa
| Igbuzo | |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s): Igbuzo-Isu, Isu Na Mbagu, Isu Fulu Ogu Ju Nni | |
 Igbuzo
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| Coordinates: 6°11′0″N 6°38′0″E / 6.18333°N 6.63333°E | |
| State | Delta state |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Emmanuel Uduagha |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 566,310 |
| Website | http://www.ibusa.net/mysite/aboutibusa.html |
Igbuzo, also known as Ibusa and "Isu", is a town in Delta State, Nigeria, with an estimated population of 566,310 people in 2009. The people speak the Enuani dialect of the Igbo language family. The name of the community is more commonly and officially known and written as Ibusa. The community forming the process of Ibusa can be linked to the first wave of the movement of Igbo migrants into the West Bank of River Niger, this adventure which took place in the 15th century resulted in the settlement of Ibusa people led by Edini from Nshi (Nri). The second of the two waves of the migrations that resulted in the formation of Igbuzo was led by Umejei from Isu.
The name "Ibusa" is an Anglicization of Igbuzo and/or Ibuzo "Igbo bi na uzor" or "Igbo Uzor" meaning the Igbos that live by the wayside or "Were you the first to settle here?" (Ibuzo). Interestingly, all the names that community bear today were foisted on them by other people. "Igbuzo" was a name used to describe the settlement by the Igbos of the South-East, "Ibuzo" by Ogwashi-Uku, Asaba, Oko, Ilah and Okpanam, who are the community's immediate neighbours, and "Ibusa" by the early European missionaries who found it difficult to effectively pronounce the name of the community.
Igbo historians such as Emeka Esogbue (of Ibusa origin) and C. N. Ugochukwu (Nnewi origin) share the opinion that groups who left Benin with Ezechima and journeyed Eastward might have settled in Igbuzo considering the geographical location of the town. The implication of this therefore is that this new set of settlers could have been sick or generally lacking in interest in furthering their journey, this could also have resulted in their final settlement in not too distant Onitsha. This new group of settlers in Igbuzo might have become assimilated by the Umejei and Edini groups.
Ibusa is a federation of two units known as “the Umejei and Ogboli settlements. According to the oral history of the town, Umejei Nwa Eze Isu (Prince Umejei of Isu) killed his opponent in a traditional wrestling bout, an act considered “Alu” (Abomination) in the land and punishable by death. However, his death was commuted by his father who was also Eze Isu) the king of Isu and he was encouraged to go on exile with a gourd prepared and given to him by his father. Umejei was emphatically instructed to settle wherever the pot dropped, he thus set-off with friends, relations and sympathizers who accompanied him. The gourd however dropped at the present site of Ani-Oshe in Omeze (Umueze) where he founded Igbuzo.
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Wikipedia