Mazi Azubike Okoro

Perspectives on Aro History & Civilization Mazi Azubike Okoro

The African experience is a compelling theme that will continue to inspire great books of this nature. From Mali, Kanem-Bornu, Sokoto, Benin, Opobo to Arochukwu the stories are the same, of empires and kingdoms systematically broken up and destroyed by the West and ultimately rendered puerile and irrelevant. For centuries, Africa was mindlessly plundered and impoverished by the West. It is a historical fact that while the slaves from Africa were used to power the industrial revolution in Europe and the high yields in the plantations of the Americas, African societies remained neglected and plundered so much so that up to the present time they still manifest all the vagaries of underdevelopment. Aro kingdom had attained great height prior to the monumental destruction, trauma and dislocation occasioned by the British expedition of 1902 and several other problems arising from slavery and colonialism.