By Onyeka Oga
For years, some have attempted to trace the ancestry of Anioma, Ikwerre, and Onicha people to Benin. But historical evidence and cultural logic do not support such claims.
Traditionally, a Benin chief would never give his male child a non-Benin name. It is therefore implausible that a man regarded as a true Bini chief would give his own son an Igbo name. From every credible historical account, Eze Chima was never of Benin ancestry; he was a pure-blooded Igbo chief who once lived in Benin and later returned home after a conflict with the Oba of Benin and his brother, Gbunwala.
Eze Chima was a powerful native doctor from Arochukwu — a man deeply rooted in Igbo spirituality. According to historical records, including Michael Crowder’s “Story of Nigeria”, Chima had initially travelled from Arochukwu to Benin as an Aro agent of the Long Juju Oracle, responsible for facilitating spiritual consultations and slave trade transactions.
Upon arrival in Benin, as was customary for a visiting native doctor, he presented himself to the Oba of Benin. Impressed by Chima’s spiritual prowess and magical expertise, the Oba made him a chief in the royal palace. That was how the humble Aro priest became known as Chief Chima or Eze Chima.
With time, his influence grew. He invited his brother, Ekensu, and other relatives from Arochukwu to join him, forming a vibrant Aro settlement in Benin. His fame spread far beyond the kingdom — even reaching the Urhobo and Itsekiri lands in the Niger Delta.
One of Eze Chima’s most remarkable cultural influences was the adoption of the Igbo four-day week — Eke, Orie, Afo, and Nkwo — by the Benin people, who had observed how Chima’s spiritual practices revolved around these sacred days. To this day, the Binis retain those same names for their traditional week.
According to Benin historian Mr. Wellington Igunbor, Eze Chima’s original settlement was in the area around present-day Siliku Street in Benin City. Over time, the population grew, and his people became an inseparable part of Benin society, living on equal terms with the natives.
However, a bitter incident changed everything. The Oba’s mother, Asije, once entered a farm belonging to Chima’s people and gathered firewood without permission. When confronted, she was beaten by Chima’s men. Upon returning home, she reported the matter to her sons — the Oba and his brother, Gbunwala, who was the kingdom’s warlord. Enraged, Gbunwala led an attack on Chima’s settlement, killing several of his people and seizing their property.
Faced with repeated harassment, Eze Chima decided to leave Benin and return eastward, seeking refuge among his Igbo kinsmen.
This migration story has been preserved for over a century and was even documented in the early Igbo school textbook “Azu Ndu,” approved by the Education Department of the former Eastern Nigeria.
On their journey out of Benin, some of Chima’s followers stopped and settled at Agbor, about 44 miles away. Others went further to Isele-Uku, Onicha-Olona, Onicha-Ugbo, and Obio. Those who reached the west bank of the River Niger crossed over to Aboh, while Eze Chima’s eldest son, Oreze, led the rest across to settle among the Oze people — the original inhabitants of what is now Onitsha (Onicha).
Michael Crowder estimated that this migration — the return of the Umu Eze Chima clan from Benin — occurred in the 17th century.
Having spent years in Benin, Eze Chima and his people brought with them aspects of Benin chieftaincy traditions, blending them with existing Igbo customs. Likewise, the Benin people also absorbed elements of Igbo spiritual life, such as the four-day calendar system.
In essence, the cultural exchange between the Binis and the Igbo was mutual — not a case of ancestry or origin. Eze Chima and his descendants were never Binis by blood but Igbo by birth and heritage, who only lived in Benin for a time before returning home to shape part of the historical identity of Onitsha, Anioma, and the West Niger Igbo.
