Mkpukes
The family traditional group.
The Five Mkpukes
Mkpuke is an anthropological term that shows familial relationships through motherhood and family lineage traced through marriage and living together in one house or compound. The children from one wife constitute one Mkpuke. In a polygamous family, there will be as many Mkpukes as there are wives. The practice of wife inheritance which was the norm then made it common for some Mkpukes to have rubbery or flexible boundaries and membership.
Today, there are five Okigbo family groups (Mkpuke) which are derived from the direct or inherited wives of Eze Okigbo. In terms of the ages from the oldest member, these five family groups (Mkpuke) are:
Nnebue Okigbo
James & Patrick Okigbo
Ben & Edward Okigbo
Sammy & Nnajiofor Okigbo
Sylvanus, Madubuko, Nwokedike, & Obiegbunam Okigbo
Nnebue Okigbo
Chief Nnaebue Okigbo was born in the last quarter of the 19th Century in Ireh village in Ojoto which is the cradle of Okigbo dynasty. He was the eldest of many children born to Chief EzeOkigbo who was a paramount Chief and founder of a famous dynasty.
James Okigbo
James Oligolu (known as Papa Asaba). He was a school headmaster, Schools Inspector and Catechist at St Odilia’s Parish in Ojoto Unoh. He was the translator and interpreter at Mass, and he made it possible for the congregation to know what the white priests said during Mass. He was the man who gave birth to two geniuses, Pius Okigbo, the renowned economist, and Christopher Okigbo, the poet.
Patrick Okigbo
Patrick Ezeafulukwe Okigbo. He was the younger brother to James Oligolu Okigbo, whom he respected and adored. Eze Okigbo sent him to CMS School in Obosi, and he later became a very successful carpenter, rising to the rank of Foreman in the Public Works Department of the colonial government. Later in life, he became a successful timber dealer. He developed an interest in agriculture and cooperatives, and he had the first cocoa and cashew plants in Ojoto.
Ben Okigbo
He was a magistrate in a customary court in Ogidi until he was retired by the military during the first Military Coup in Nigeria.
Edward Okigbo
He is the brother to Ben Okigbo
Sammy Okigbo
He is the brother to Nnajiofor Okigbo.
Nnajiofor Okigbo
Nnajiofor Okigbo (Ezeugbor) was the last child of Eze Okigbo. The father died when he was a year old. He married Nwudafor Rebecca from Okoye-Ogbolo (Onyae) family from Anaogu village, Umuoji. They had nine children.
Sylvanus, Madubuko, Nwokedike and Obiegbunam Okigbo
Sylvanus is the son of Eze Okigbo.
