Where is Aguleri Located?
Aguleri is a prominent town located at the the southeastern part of Nigeria. Archealogists had estimated that the first settlement and urbanization of the area began as far back as 30 BC. It is situated approximately at 6.3 degrees towards the north and 6.8 degrees towards the east. Scientifically identified as a tropical climate, it has an annual rainfall of 1729 mm and an average temperature of 26.8 degrees centigrade. One of it's major features or landmarks is the Great Omabala River. Thanks to this river, Aguleri had been named "A Land Boiling Rivers" by major national publications like Sunnewsonline and Brand Afric. The Omabala River is just a tributary of River Niger - the third biggest river in Africa. A lot of historical sources and oral tradition had supported the claim that they are the cradle of Ndi Igbo.Who is the Founder of Aguleri?
The founder and the legendary cultural head of Aguleri is said to be Eri. According to the Bible (Genesis 46:16), Eri is the 7th son of Gad while Gad is the son of Jacob.There's an archaeological evidence which shows that Eri migrated from the south of Nile and moved down the Omabala River to begin a kingdom that will later become a race - Igbo.
This archaeological proof of Eri supports the theory made by historical scholars that he must have wandered away from other tribes of Israel during the Jewish captivity. His travel path was from Egypt to Sahara desert, from Sahara desert to Igala and from Igala to the present Eri aka.
If Eri is from Israel, that means that Agulerians can as well be called Isrealites.
However, Agulerians themselves have a completely different tale as to how the person who built their kingdom from scratch came to be. Local folk tales had it that Eri came from the sky. According to them, it was part of the grand master plan of God to build the Igbo race.
Growth and Diversification of the Children of Eri
Eri historically married two wives. Their names were Onono and Oma. Nono gave birth to a total of seven children - six sons and a daughter. The sons were Agulu (the first born of Eri), Igbariam, Nteje, Nsugbe, Menri, Amanuke, and Adamgbo. The oral history of Aguleri had it that Adamgbo gave birth to Nando, Umuleri, Awkuzu and Ogbunike without getting married in her father's house.The other wife of Eri named Oma had only one son, Onoja. It was because of this that she began to make moves ahead of time before Eri died. This is to make sure that her son wouldn't be cheated in the long run. Through her request, Onoja was sent away to start his own settlement. He is the founder of some parts of the modern day Igala people.
When Eri finally joined his ancestors, all of his sons except one left home to start up a new community or village. Agulu who is the first son inherited the most important and valuable properties of his father like the Ovo. This is in accordance with the traditions of the people of Aguleri. For reference purposes, people began to add his father's name to his first name. Hence the name Agulu + Eri became Aguleri.
The Occupation of Ndi Aguleri
Aguleri people are farmers, hunters and fishermen. They also produce very high quantities of staple foods like cassava, rice, maize, yam and coco-yam. The presence of large bodies of water in most of the farm lands encouraged farming.They also have the Omabala river, streams and lakes which normally have a lot of edible fishes in them. To a great extent, this influenced the number of people who are fishermen. As a result, Aguleri is popular for the available of fresh fish.
