AZUMINI BLUE RIVER ROSE, NIGERIA

 

Azumini is located in south eastern Nigeria, about 15 miles south of Aba, a major trading center. It is bounded to the North by a village known as Akanu, on the west by the village of Umuogo which is across the Azumini blue river, and on the South and East by the Annangs.  The Annangs are positioned  east of the Aba-Azumini river which empties itself into the Imo River after a village called Akpala.

Azumini is a low-lying area, about 15 meters above sea level. The land surface is relatively flat but is well drained by the Aba-Azumini River which passes through it. Azumini has steep river valleys with gradients of about 1 in 20. Along the Aba-Azumini road, the gradient is not as steep (1 in 40). Aside from these topographical features, the land surface of Azumini is not characterized by any profoundly distinctive features or configurations. The river sides on the Aba-Azumini road are the only areas that give an impression of what may be called "hills".

The three stretches of Aba-Azumini river are from Aba to samanga, mini ogigo and mini obuaku. This river begins to acquire its initial aesthetic, scenic and tourist beauty, and dangerous rapidity at Azumini where it is called the "blue river". It is often said, and perhaps rightly so, that there is no other river in the entire country of Nigeria that is as blue and clear as the Azumini river. The Azumini river is so clear that fishes and gravels could almost be counted from the river’s bridge. The gravel and sand from Azumini river have recently been discovered to be unique in their brightness and clearness, and are now used as basic raw materials for the Aba glass industry.

Climatically, Azumini lies in the hot-wet region, or the tropical rain forest region. The temperature is between 24-28 degrees celcius, the lowest temperature being in May and the highest in December, despite the cooling harmattan effect. It has a humid climate with rainfall of 150cm-200cm, and the rains fall almost all year round with peaks in July and October. The existing trees are the silk cotton trees, but rubber plantations, oil palm plantations and until the 1930s cocoa trees were extensively grown. Other trees include the iroko, sappadellis, bamboo, and ohwee trees.  Snakes, monkeys, goats, rabbits, okwa, snails, mushrooms and, in the past leopards, existed in Azumini forests. Azumini is a typical border town, a situation which has thrust upon it the problems of boundary disputes with neighboring villages and towns. These disputes acquired momentum, and escalated after the Nigerian civil war, and did thwart or retard the town’s efforts to carry out development projects. In recent years, however, problems of border disputes seem to have been mitigated.