Ogwa

Ogwa is a town in Edo State, Nigeria. It is among the constituent communities of Esanland. The people of Ogwa speak the Esan language. The language of Esan people shares the same name as the name of the land itself. Esan and Ishan are interchangeably used to refer to the same place, language and people. Ishan is the anglicized variant for Esan. The Ogwa people in Edo State proudly identify themselves as Esan or Ishan people.

Ogwa is naturally an agrarian society. However, events of the last part of the 20th century and the developments of 21st century so far have seen Ogwa drifting towards an academic town. Ogwa Grammar School, Edo State and the Samuel Adegboyega University,[1] Edo State are both located in Ogwa, Ishan.

Ogwa has a population of roughly 100,000 people. It is surrounded by other Ishan towns, namely Ujogba, Amaho, Ugun, Ebele, Ugbegun and Igueben.

Ogwa is the second largest community after Ekpoma in the Esan-West Local Government Area of Edo State.

The people of Ogwa are mostly Christians. The majority of the people are Catholics. However, the Apostolic and other church denominations also have large members in Ogwa.

The current Onogie of Ogwa is His Royal Highness (HRH)Victor A. Ehizogie II.

The name Ogwa is used to identify more than one place in Nigeria. To avoid confusion, it is better to identify it with their region. Hence, Ogwa, Esan.