Aba

About Aba

Aba is a city in southeastern Nigeria. It lies along the west bank of the Aba River and is at the intersection of roads leading to cities such as Port Harcourt, Owerri, Umuahia, Ikot Ekpene, and Ikot-Abasi.

Aba was established by the Ngwa clan of the Igbo people in Nigeria as a market town. Later, a military post was placed there by the British colonial administration in 1901. The city became a collection point for agricultural products following the construction of a British-made railway running through it to Port Harcourt. Aba is a major urban settlement and commercial centre in Abia State, which is surrounded by small villages and towns. The indigenous people of Aba are the Ngwa. Aba is well known for its craftsmen, and as of 2016, Aba had an estimated population of 2,534,265, making it the biggest city in southeastern Nigeria.

The city was initially a trade centre, which eventually became an administrative centre of Britain's colonial government. Aba has been a major commercial centre ever since it became part of British Nigeria.

The Aro Expedition, which was part of a larger military plan to quell anti-colonial sentiment in the region, took place in the area of Aba...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.