Awka is one of the earliest places where blacksmithing has deep roots. When a man from Ezeagu in the present day Enugu State called Nebechi Uzo visited Awka to ply his blacksmithing craft in the town, he met people already in the trade.
Awka was famous for metal works and its blacksmiths who were prized through the region for making farming implements, den guns for hunters, various farming tools and other fabrications. The Awka blacksmith makes implements of various shapes and sizes for school children, mothers, men and farmers who come from far and wide to patronize them.
In short, the Awka area in earlier times was the site of the Nri civilization that produced the earliest documented bronze works in Sub-Saharan Africa dated around 800 AD.
However, it should be noted that in pre-colonial times, the smiths of Awka took their trade far beyond the boundaries of Igbo land, rendering services to communities in Benin, Urhobo and Itsekiri to the West, the Igala to the North and the Efik and the Ejegam people to the East.
The Awka blacksmith is a master of the craft and they still enjoy the reputation of being able to forge a wide range of implements and instruments in addition to traditional farming and musical instruments. They were so famous that the Late Queen Elizabeth the second is said to have commissioned an Awka blacksmith, Nweke Uzoka, to build the gate of the Buckingham Palace in London, Great Britain, for her. Nweke Uzoka built and installed the gate by himself which still stands the test of time till today.
There is, therefore, the dire need for a blacksmith village in Awka. You may ask, why a blacksmith village in this modern day of science and technology? This is because no matter the new discoveries in the realm of science and technology, entrepreneurship of the Awka blacksmith still remains relevant. One cannot easily forget their crucial role in producing implements used in refining crude oil and producing coins for the Biafrans during the Nigerian Civil War. Today, the Awka blacksmith still produces keys and other steel and metal works.
In this period of unemployment in the country, the establishment of a blacksmith village can create job opportunities while providing a great platform for innovations and manufacturing.
Why Awka for a blacksmith village? The reason is not farfetched. Awka, the capital of Anambra State, is a fast-growing city and major administrative and academic centre. It remains a major centre of metallurgy having produced excellent smiths that provided the iron-working tools that revolutionized agriculture and propelled the population surge that made Igbo land one of the most densely populated areas of Africa even after the 400 years of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.
The Awka people have also not abandoned the craft – it has remained dear and sacred to them.
The existence of two tertiary institutions that is Nnamdi Azikiwe University and Paul University, a major market, branches of leading commercial banks in the country including Central Bank of Nigeria, Anambra Broadcasting Service and other major institutions, malls, and economic centres increase the potential of the blacksmith industry to thrive in the city as these institutions will provide needed support to boost access to technical research, credit facility, and promotion.
Notable persons including Eze Uzu Awka, Obi Gilbson Nwosu OON, Chief Jonathan Nzekwe and Chief Arthur Harris Eze, the curator of Awka Museum have also made repeated calls for the establishment of a blacksmith village in Awka for the craft to thrive and contribute to the speedy development of the state. Anambra state government should lead in heeding this call. Its technological importance.
cannot be overemphasized in view of the numerous implements and structures the blacksmiths can churn out for the development of the state which falls in line with the Solution government’s vision to promote made in Anambra products.
The Awka blacksmith can go nuclear if the government provides an enabling environment for it to thrive. The Awka blacksmith village will rekindle the inherent technological craftsmanship and industrial potential of the Awka people and Anambra in general.
Written by ABUCHI NWOZOR/
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