Umunumo is a name of an Igbo person who lived in a town called Abaa. He had two wives. The first wife gave birth to five sons - Ofeke, Agbaja, Osha, Ogwara and Shima and this Clan occupy the Afor side of Umunumo. After the birth of Shima, she stopped procreation and Numo married his second wife. This second wife gave birth to five sons that now occupy the Nkwo side of Umunumo. Ibeafor and Ibenkwo make up the geopolitical entity called Umunumo. Each of the two sides is made up of five villages - Ibeafor with its five villages being senior to Ibenkwo. Numo had a daughter who was married to Uboma and the marriage gave rise to Nsu . This assertion is presently being researched.

History has it that the 7th son of Numo (Anunu) from the second wife ran foul of the tradition of Abba by roasting a cow in fire (barbecuing). As a result the high priest of Abba demanded an appeasement sacrifice to the goddess of Abba. Being a non-conformist - not prepared to appease the gods, Anunu decided to leave Abba - having now been ostracized. All the sons of Numo could not leave their brother alone and so decided to leave Abba with him. It is worth mentioning that Numo's senior brother OSU had earlier left Abba and settled at their present geographical location. Numo's younger brothers NZEREM and IKPEM joined. Their first place of settlement or rest is the present Afoebu. Here they built sheds and rested. As a symbol of their first settlement, they planted a tree here and regarded here as a translocated god they worship in Abba - EBUNMIRI

This departure from Abba was not easy for Umunumo and his children. They fought several wars before they came to settle in Umunumo. After reaching the promise land, NUMO died and his first son Ofeke took over. It was under the leadership of Ofeke that Umunumo acquired the landmass we live in today. Ofeke fought the Aro ida war and defeated them. He chased the Aros out of Umunumo. After the invaders were defeated, Anunu challenged Ofeke and wanted to lead Umunumo. Ofeke was mad and asked Anunu to take his brothers and leave. Anunu took the five brothers, crossed Oyibo and settled at their present location - Ibenkwo. (more coming soon!)

(By Chief F.O Igbokwe)