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 side’s 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.
Other small rivers which start as
springs include mini obu, mini arua, mini nkpukpu akanta, mini uku achara,
mini umuogor, mini de arie, mini de ogonnanta, mini akanu and mini
ogunwata. These streams run into the main Aba-Azumini river as small slow
flowing streams. The significance of these small streams in the life of
Azumini town folks is that they afford children the opportunity to practice
swimming in their growing years. This explains why children born and bred
in Azumini are good swimmers and divers. The small streams also serve the
utilitarian purpose of providing the town with water for drinking and other
domestic purposes. Azumini is mainly of alluvial sedimentary deposits along
the fertile river valley. In some areas, the soil is gravelly along the
river banks but the land is generally very fertile.
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, mushroom and, in the past leopards, existed in Azumini
forests.
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