Omu Okwei


Madam Okwei Opene, otherwise known as Omu Okwei of Ossomari, was a Nigerian queen merchant from Ossomari.

Life and career

Madam Omu Okwei-Anuenyi Opene was born in 1872 to Igbo Prince Osuna Afubeho Nzedegwu, an Ossomari native and one of his wives, a granddaughter of Abo king Obi Ossai. Her grandfather was HRH Atanmaya Nzedegwu I of Ossomari. He was the Lower Niger Valley Igbo king known for signing the treaty for the abolition of the slave trade and welcoming of western education in area.
At the age of 9, her mother sent her to live among the Igala with one of her aunts. She learned basic business practices, and traded fruits, yams and poultry. When she was 15, following the death of her father, she lived with her mother at Atani, a city on the Niger River.
In 1889, she married Joseph Allagoa, a trader from Brass. Her family disapproved of her choice and did not give her a dowry. The couple had a child, Joseph, and divorced the following year. She traversed the Niger River, selling clothing, pots, and lamps. She exchanged the merchandise for food which she then sold to Europeans. In 1895 she married Opene of Abo, and later had a second son, Peter.
The British colonial government formalized male institutions while undermining those of the women. Officials issued warrants to men that gave them the authority to sit in Native courts. Okwei was one of few women who were offered a warrant and served in the Onitsha Native Court from 1912 until the 1930s.
She was given the title of omu of the Ossomari in August 1935. In the traditional dual-sex government, the omu was the apex leader of the congress of women leaders, overseeing women's affairs and settling disputes.
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She was elected Market Queen, Chairwoman of the Council of Mothers after amassing a fortune. She was the last merchant queen before the British replaced the Council of Mothers' traditional role supervising retailing. Okwei died in 1943 in Onitsha, Nigeria.
Her nephew, HRH Robert Olisa. Nzedegwu II of Ossomari served as the Executor and Trustee of her estate and custodian of her tomb located at the Ugolo Village Ossomala. Additionally, she is the great great grandmother of Nigerian British singer Ikstarr.