Okpe
Encyclopedia
Okpe is a kingdom in Delta State
Delta State
Delta State may refer to:*Delta State, a state in southern Nigeria.*Delta State , a Canadian animated television series.*Delta State University, a public university located in the U.S. state of Mississippi....

, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. Its capital is Orerokpe
Orerokpe
Orerokpe is the headquarters of Okpe LGA in Delta state, Nigeria....

. The kingdom plays host to the Warri Airport
Warri Airport
Osubi Airstrip , also known as Warri Airport , is located at Osubi, a town near Warri in Delta State, Nigeria. It has a runway of about and is about 5 minutes drive by car from the city of Warri....

, which is actually located at Osubi and the Delta State Trade Fair Complex.

History

The Okpe kingdom was established as early as the 17th century. It has a traditional ruler with the title Orodje of Okpe.
The Okpe people are known to have migrated to found the present day Sapele
Sapele, Nigeria
Sapele is a city in Delta State, Nigeria, on the Benin River just below the confluence of the Ethiope River and Jamieson River. It was originally a small village of the Urhobo or "Okpe" people....

 and the Orodje of Okpe still exercises authority over the land of Sapele.

The illustrious kingdom of Okpe as history recalls had four sons: Orhue, Orhoro, Evwreke and Esezi. These four Okpe ruling houses later decided to adopt a rotational system to produce a ruler for the kingdom. This has helped to stabilize peace and social equality in the kingdom till date.

The first king produced by this system was H.R.M. Esezi I, Orodje of Okpe whose sovereignty was around the period of 1770-1779.

H.R.M. Esezi II became the second Orodje of Okpe. A visionary and highly idealistic monarch who believed in the system of democracy. As a pioneer advocate of democracy in the land of okpe, he also was pivotal to Nigeria. He was amongst delegates of Kings that attended the 1957 Lyttelton Conference held in London in order to seek the Nigerian independence from the indirect government of the colonial master. He ruled the kingdom around the period of 1945-1966.

H.R.M Orhoro I, the third Orodje of Okpe ruled the kingdom from around the period of 1972-2004. He was educated at a catholic school and also served in the Nigeria police force. He later earned a Business Administration Diploma in the United Kingdom.
His early life experience served him well as a springboard for establishing and becoming a director of a company, the New Africa Industries Limited. He was a worthy and peace loving monarch that held several other public post.

H.R.M Mujakperuo Orue I Orodje of Okpe is the forth and current king of Okpe. He is a worthy monarch that served his nation as a high ranking ex Major General in the Nigerian Army. There is great expectations of the greatness his monarchy will add to the already illustrious history of the kingdom of Okpe.

Notable people

  • Joseph Karakitie Azigbo
    Joseph Karakitie Azigbo
    Chief Joseph Karakitie Azigbo, the Olorogun of Okpe Kingdom, was born in Orereokpe on December 29, 1918. He worked with the United African Company UAC in Jos, Plateau state before establishing his mining business . He soon became very successful in the mining field and became one of the richest men...

  • Anthony Bayagbon
  • Mideno Bayagbon (Editor Vanguard newspaper
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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