What you don't know about Mbaise

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Mbaise is a region in Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. In the heart of Igboland, the region includes several towns and cities. It is a group of indigenous clans, connected by intermarriage. With a population density of over 1,000 people per square kilometer, Mbaise is West Africa's most densely-populated area; its 2006 population was 611,204.

The name "Mbaise" was derived from five clans: Agbaja, Ahiara, Ekwereazu, Ezi na Ihite and Oke Uvuru. The three local government areas of Mbaise cover about 404 km2 (156 sq mi); Aboh Mbaise covers 185 km2 (71 sq mi), Ahiazu Mbaise covers 111 km2 (43 sq mi), and Ezinihitte Mbaise covers 108 km2 (42 sq mi).

Mbaise came under British rule in 1902 during the Anglo-Aro War, when the British Aro Expeditionary Force subdued the Aro Confederacy in Owerri and Mbaise.[2] By 1906, at the conclusion of the operation, present-day Mbaise was united under British control with some local autonomy.

To supervise the clans, a native court was established in Obohia in 1907 and transferred to Nguru in 1909.[1] In 1929, the Nguru court was destroyed as a result of the Igbo Women's War. Regional courts were then opened in Obohia, Itu, Ife and Enyiogogu in response to the home rule movement of the 1930s. The region was united as a political and administrative unit in 1941. Councils were formed by 1945, loosely based on autonomous communities. It was from councils that The three local Governments were created from the councils. Ahiazu Mbaise was a merger of the Ahiara and Ekwerazu councils, and Aboh Mbaise was a merger of the Oke-Ovoro and Agbaja councils. Ezinihitte Mbaise remained by itself except for Isu Obiangwu and Umuohiagu, two small villages which joined the Ngor-Okpala from the Agbaja region.

Until Europeans arrived in Nigeria, Mbaise's main source of income was subsistence agriculture. In Igboland, government was based on kinship and customs. The village group (a weekly gathering of men) was the highest level of organisation.