Ibeakpu or Obeakpu: Which is correct?
2 min read
Obeakpu Autonomous Community used to be one of the villages in the former Umuaka Municipal Council of Njaba LGA Imo State. For centuries, the community has always be referred to as “Obeakpu” but recent trends Umuaka Times came across last week, showed that the name has been pronounced and spelt erroneously over the years. From what Umuaka Times gathered, the correct name is “Ibeakpu” and not “Obeakpu”. The ancestral father of the community according to the findings from Umuaka Times had the same parents with Ibele and that was why the word “Ibe”, appeared in the two names of the two communities.
From the context of Igbo grammar and language, the meaning of “Ibe-akpu” can easily be found while the meaning of “Obe-akpu” is still unclear to many, including those who spoke with Umuaka Times on the subject last week.
Umuaka Times was reliably informed about the existence of two umbrella organizations in the community; one is for the sons and daughters of the community in Diaspora while the other is for the entire community both home and abroad. The one for those in Diaspora is called “Ndibeakpu in Diospora” while the general assembly is called Ndi Ibeakpu. The name “Obeakpu” was never used in the two organizations.
The source that spoke to Umuaka Times also disclosed that in Umunnoha town in Mbaitoli LGA, has a community in the area known as Ibeakpu. From his findings, the Ibeakpu community in Umuaka Municipal Council does not marry from the Ibeakpu community in Umunnoha and vice versa. The reason according to the source is because the two communities have consanguineous relationship from the onset.
This is just the beginning of the “inquest” about the correct spelling and meaning of the community in question. More publications will be focused on this subject in the subsequent editions of Umuaka Times.
