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In the early 1960s, before the Nigerian Civil War (see also Biafra), the population was officially recorded as 76,000, and the town was distinctive in a number of dimensions; the great Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe (born and raised in the contiguous town of Ogidi) characterized it as harboring an "esoteric region from which creativity sallies forth at will to manifest itself," "a zone of occult instability" (see "Onitsha Matters" ). Though it experienced great suffering during and after the civil war, by virtue of its still-strategic geographic position Onitsha has continued to develop, and by 2001 had an estimated population of 511,000 with a metropolitan population of 1,003,000. It is currently one of the fastest growing cities in the world. The indigenous people of Onitsha are Igbo and speak the Igbo language, but have often sought to separate themselves from the Igbo identity that characterizes the large majority of people living in the contemporary city. It is here worth noting that Onitsha should not be confused with the local municipality of Onicha lying further east in Nigeria. Onicha-Uboma, Onicha-Uburu, Onicha-Nwenkwo are just some of smaller Onicha scattered across southern Nigeria. |