Background
Uwheru is one of the seven clans that make up the Ughelli Kingdom. The other clans are Ughelli (Otowodo), Orogun, Agbarha, Agbarho, Evwreni and Ogor. Uwheru was founded by a man named Amassuama in a quest for a fertile agricultural land.
Uwheru is located in Ughelli North Local Government Area. It is made up five Quarters which are Erovie Quarters, Ehere Quarters, Urede Quarters, Egbo Quarters and Ohoro Quarters.
Uwheru is popularly referred to as UK, meaning Uwheru Kingdom by the indigenes of Uwheru clan. The rulership of the clan is headed by an Odio Orode of Uwheru, the first Odio Orode of Uwheru is HRM Olori O. the current Odio Orode of Uwheru is HRM Omoyibo Peter.
Uwheru is an Urhobo speaking clan which lies within the tropical rain forest area of the Niger-delta. The region experiences high rainfall and high humidity most of the year. The climate is equatorial and is marked by two distinct seasons. The Dry and Rainy seasons. The Dry season lasts from about November to April and is significantly marked by the cool “harmarttan” dusty haze from the north-east winds. The Rainy season spans May to October with a brief dry spell in August.
Location And Demographics
Uwheru is a clan in Ughelli North North Local Government Local Government in Delta State. It is located latitude of 5.24oN and longitude of 6.01oE and at an elevation of 132 meters above the sea level. Uwheru has an estimated population of about 5,000 people.
Culture And Custom Worship And Beliefs
The people of Uwheru are an admixture of Christianity and traditional religion. Majority of the people are Christians while some of them practice African traditional religion. This religion is carried out according to the directives of their fore-fathers.
Language
Urhobo language is the major language spoken by the people of Uwheru. Some of the people also used English Language especially in communicating with non-indigenes and between youths in the community.
Festivals
Emagbo (Uwheru annual wrestling festival) is the major festival celebrated by the people of Uwheru. In this wrestling festival, representatives from the five quarters participate by representing their quarters in the wrestling match.
Food
Garri, yam, plantain and starch are the major food by the people of Uwheru. The best delicacies of the People of Uwheru are fresh fish banga soup or Owo soup with starch.
Dressing
Women of Uwheru dress by tying two wrapper and a blouse with head tie with beads round their neck and wrist while the men tie one big wrapper with a lace shirt with hat and hold a walking stick and a small purse.
Occupation
Farming is the major occupation of Uwheru people is farming and they cultivate groundnut, pepper, potatoes and cassava which is the specialty of the women. There are also people who are also involved in fishing especially the men. Trading is also done by the people of Uwheru mainly on their farm products.
Housing
The houses in Uwheru are a mixture of mud houses made of mud and brick houses made of cement block and corrugated roofing sheet.
Taboos
The people of Uwheru forbid cocoyam. It is believed that during the ancient times when there was war, the cocoyam saved the people of Uwheru when they are been pursued by their enemies that when their enemies stepped on the cocoyam leaves, they fell down and the people of Uwheru escaped.
Factors Affecting Health In The Community
- Harmful Traditional Beliefs: There some harmful traditional beliefs by the people of Uwheru which are detrimental to the health of the people, for example, special preference is paid to the male child to the detriment of the female child, practice of female genital mutilation, etc.
- Teenage Pregnancy: As a result of lack of proper awareness, the cases of teenage pregnancy in Uwheru clan are very widespread and this exposes the teenage girls to several health complication and also burden in taking care of their children.
- Poor Road Network: Poor road network in Uwheru clan makes the people to pass through various difficulties in the transportation of their farm produced to the market and this is associated with people go through strenuous conditions in a bit to transport their goods at the detriment of their health. There also conditions where so many agricultural produce will get spoilt before they can transport them to the market.
- Environmental Pollution: As a result of poor farming techniques such as bush burning, the environment is always polluted especially during the dry season where bushes in the community are burned by people after clearing their farms or by hunters in a bit to kill animals. This greatly affects the people in the community by the occurrence of disease such as cough, lungs diseases, irritation of the eye, etc
Resources Available In The Community
- Schools: Uwheru has two government owned school which are the Uwheru Primary School and Uwheru Secondary School. Apart from these, there are other schools both primary and secondary school owned by private individuals. These schools contribute in the education of youths and children on how, when and where to assess health care when they are sick.
- Health Facilities: Uwheru health care facilities include a primary health care, private hospitals and clinics, traditional birth attendance, pharmacies, etc. which help the people to care for their health challenges such as sicknesses and child birth.
- Police Station: There is a police station in Uwheru town which help to ensure that the people in the community are law abiding. This help in punishing offenders and settling of disputes among people in the community with the cooperation of the traditional rulers and all other people in position of authority in the community.
- Market: Uwheru market holds every four days. In this market, farm products are sold by the people in the community and neighbouring community. Apart from farm products, other things are sold by the traders in the market. Things like clothes, household properties, etc.