Commentary: Orumba North Local Government Area At 27

^{WRITTEN BY UDOCHUKWU OGBAJI}
The expediency for the creation of local government anywhere in the world stems from the need to facilitate development at the grassroots.

Orumba North is one of the 21 Local Government Areas in Anambra State and was created on August 27, 1991. Orumba North was part of Aguata local government until 1989 when Orumba local government was created with headquarters at Umunze.
It was later carved out of Orumba local government so that what remained became Orumba South.  Orumba North is in Anambra South Senatorial zone and forms a Federal Constituency with Orumba South. The national population census put its population at one hundred and seventy-two thousand people.
The local government is bounded by Aguata, Anaocha, Awka and Oji-River. It consists of sixteen communities. They are Ajalli, Amaetiti, Amaokpala, Awa, Awgbu, Nanka, Ndikelionwu and Ndiokolo. Others are: Ndiokpaleze, Ndiokpaleke, Ndiowu, Ndiukwuenu, Oko, Okpeze, Omogho and Ufuma.
Orumba North is a markedly fertile land for agriculture with prominent products around rice, yam, cassava and palm oil. Most of the people are subsistence farmers and traders. There is also a large student community as a result of the presence of the Federal Polytechnic, located at Oko.
Having placed high premium on education over the years, the area has produced many qualified men and women in the arts, sciences and other professions. Among the prominent men in the area are Professor Chukwuemeka Ike, an educationist, the first Nigerian Registrar of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the first Nigerian Registrar and Chief Executive of the Multinational West African Examinations Council and an internationally acclaimed Creative Writer, who hails from Ndikelionwu where he is now the traditional ruler. We also have Professor Humphrey Nwosu from Ajalli, who is a former Chairman of the National Electoral Commission and Late Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme, from Oko, who was a former Vice President of Nigeria. Orumba North citizens have also made significant contributions in business, the oil industry, banking, legal and medical professions, and in engineering design and fabrication.
With her vast arable land, hospitable, peaceful and resourceful people, Orumba North local government area, undoubtedly, possesses the enabling environment for investment, especially for those interested in agriculture. There are many plants that process these crops harvested from the farm.
We have the rice processing plants at Ufuma and Omogho, the oil processing plant at Ndikelionwu, Awa and Ufuma. Palm kernel oil mills at Ndikelionwu, Amaokpala and Ndiowu. Traders from within and outside the state come to these areas to buy these crops, which are sometimes resold at city centers. This has positioned this great area as one of the Food Baskets of Anambra State.
The local government is home to beautiful tourist attractions. Come and witness the mythical Odor River that appears and disappears at will. It is perhaps the first of its kind in the world. The ever quiet Obutu Lake; the beautiful Agho-mmili and Nama Rivers, with other small streams, made this area unique. Orumba North is endowed with some undeveloped tourist cum water resources such as Iyi-Ocha lake, Orizu Stream, Ivolo Stream, Nju-Oyi, and Nchioku Streams.
In addition, Orumba North Local Government Area is known for her rich cultural exhibitions like the popular masquerade festivals in all the communities in the area. Some call it Onwa Asato or Okponshi, while the Aro people in part of the area call it Ikeji festival. The Iri-Ji or Isi Ji or Otite, which is their New Yam Festival, holds between August and September of every year. This is yet another remarkable culture. There is also the famous Mgbedike masquerade, Agaba, Okwomma, Agbogho mmanwu, Ojojo Cultural Dance, Ncheteka cultural dance, among other traditional institutions. All these point to her ancestral origin.
Majority of the developmental projects like secondary schools, electricity and bore-holes are self-help, which probably accounts for why most governments in the past were apathetic to the needs of the people, except for the current efforts by Governor Willie Obiano through his community development initiative.