History, Origin, Culture and Traditions of Akpo Town in Anambra state

 
The Akpo community, located in the Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State, is facing neglect and abandonment by the government. Despite its rich cultural heritage, Akpo is at risk of fading into obscurity due to a lack of government intervention. The seven villages that make up Akpo—Agbaenu, Uhuala, Ogbor, Umueze, Amaife, Udoh, and Ivoro—have been left without any significant federal or state government presence. The community has had to rely on self-help initiatives through the Akpo Development Association since its inception.

Akpo has been relatively unknown, to the point where many people have difficulty distinguishing it from Akpu, a neighboring community in Orumba. However, through the tireless efforts of the community association, Akpo has become more accessible and visible to the outside world.

Despite these efforts, the community has not been fortunate with government-funded projects. Other than a Small Town Water Scheme by the United Nations Development Project (UNDP), the lack of infrastructure and social amenities in Akpo is dire. The situation can be compared to a state of emergency, as the community urgently needs government intervention. The President-General of the Akpo Development Association, Godwin Ezeno, lamented, “I can’t recall any project in this community that was brought in by the government. It has always been the Akpo Development Association that initiated and funded these projects. From electricity to the community secondary school and even the maternity hospital, all of it has been our doing.”

Ezeno continued, “We have roads, but they were built by our own people. The Amesi-Ogboji Road, which urgently needs attention, was constructed in 1947, but it still hasn’t been tarred.”

In 2016, Akpo became the first community to invite Governor Willie Obiano, where they declared their full support for the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and endorsed him as their candidate for the 2017 Anambra Gubernatorial Elections. During this visit, the community presented the Governor with a Certificate of Endorsement, and for the first time in 2017, APGA won all the votes in Akpo.

Ezeno further shared that it was during this visit that Governor Obiano promised the community a developmental project. Unfortunately, this promise has not been fulfilled. Ezeno stated, “I want you to highlight the fact that the four water projects initiated for Akpo community have not provided a single drop of water. We have expressed our dissatisfaction about the lack of government presence and our continued state of darkness, despite the electricity project we initiated in 1987. We cannot do everything ourselves. These are the kinds of things the government should handle, but because of our commitment to progress, we took matters into our own hands.”

He went on to explain that the community had requested additional transformers to improve the electricity supply. The Governor had promised that this would be an easy fix, describing the installation of transformers as a “low-hanging fruit.” Akpo applied for eight transformers, but only four were approved. However, even those four transformers have yet to be installed since the application in 2016.

The situation in Akpo remains a stark reminder of the community's continued struggle for basic services and government attention.