THE ADELEKE DYNASTY: A HERITAGE OF AWKETE, THE LINEAGE OF ESTHER NNENNA ADELEKE IN EDE BY OGELE OBINGWA

Akwete Ndoki is not just a town. It is a living museum of Igbo ingenuity, a bridge of cultures, and a pride of Abia State and Igbo land.

For centuries, Akwete has stood at the crossroads of commerce, craft, and community, where the Akwete cloth was woven not just with thread, but with identity. It is a cloth that speaks volumes of data about the people so blessed by God himself. A cloth that traveled from the creeks of Ndoki to the palaces of kings, from the markets of Aba to the precincts of numerous destinations in the diaspora and across West Africa.

That heritage of excellence did not end at the border of Abia. It has traveled miles far away and has multiplied into a prosperous lineage in the natural soils of Ede where it has bloomed and blossomed into a dynasty.

Today as Akwete is remembered by providence the world looks not just to see the loom, nor the fabric, but for the values it represents: diligence, industry, unity, determination and excellence. At various historical moments when it is imperative to stand out in dignity Akwete has always answered the call from the lush grounds of Ohuru – Mkporobe to water land of Azumini there’s a feeling of gratitude for Akwete in the whole of NDOKI that Ignites as sense of pride. Akwete has produced great sons and daughters who stand among the best in various human endeavours in Nigeria and the world at large, illustrious their chosen field of profession whether in governance, academia, law, medicine, engineering, business, the arts, and public service their names shine in boardrooms, universities, court rooms, and on the global stages. They are the living proof that Akwete does not just weave cloth alone but that Akwete weaves leaders and great men and women of repute.

At the heart of this story is Mrs. Esther Nnenna Adeleke (Akparah), a daughter of Akwete, Ukwa East LGA, whose life became the elixir to the glory of her people far from home.

She was the second and best-known wife of the late Senator Ayoola Adeleke a prominent politician from Ede, Osun State, who served as a Senator during Nigeria’s Second Republic. Their union was more than marriage. It was a national statement. Mrs. Esther Adeleke carried the three signature gifts of Akwete to Ede, her industry, integrity, and inter-ethnic grace, a symbol of the unity Nigeria desires. While in Ede, she did not abandon her roots. She became a bridge. She took the Akwete spirit of hardwork and hospitality to Yoruba land, building a home where Igbo resilience met Yoruba royalty. Her marriage dissolved ethnic lines and became a model of national unity in a most remarkable way. She became in her husband’s land not just a dutiful wife but the Mother of a perpetual Dynasty, from her womb came leaders who have shaped Nigeria and her immediate society. From Senator Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke the first elected civilian Governor of Osun State to Senator Ademola Adeleke, the current Governor of Osun State and of course the sage and doyen of enterprise Dr. Adedeji Adeleke, billionaire businessman, founder of Adeleke University, and father of global music icon Davido, the Adeleke family name continues to echo nationally and internationally in politics, governance, education, philanthropy, business and entertainment a living proof that the Akwete DNA of excellence is exportable and thrives anywhere.

Mrs. Esther Nnenna Adeleke with her marriage which resonated with the character of the Akwete cloth, to connect people, has today successfully woven Abia into Osun and the Igbo into the Yoruba.

Like the Igbos which have a saying: “Uzọdimma a ga ya ugboro abuọ” – If a road is good, you will go through it again and again. That road of peace which started with the bold decision of Senator Ayoola Adeleke to take his heartthrob, the delectable Mrs. Esther Nnenna Adeleke as wife has continued with her children, Governor Ademola Adeleke took a wife from the Southeast and Davido her grandson, who also took a wife, Chioma, from the Southeast because the first experiment from Akwete worked, that it is power of the yarn 🧶 which is seen as a mere thread 🧵 but weaves royalty and grace as exemplified by the regal Akwete fabric.

The ready lesson that successful people don’t do tribalism is once again re-enforced by the Adeleke family experiment which teaches us to marry from anywhere in the world so long as you find love and peace there. That is the Akwete spirit, that is the Abia spirit that is urgently needed in Nigeria for us to remain united.

Notwithstanding her demise a new chapter of Akwete beyond the threads continues. On Tuesday, July 21, 2026 at the Akwete Central School in Ndoki, Ukwa East LGA another great daughter of the Niger Delta and wife of the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Nigeria His Excellency Senator Dr. Remi Tinubu will visit Akwete. She will walk the lands of our heritage among our people, sit with the women of the loom, and get first-hand knowledge of their crafts at the Akwete weaving Centre.

Her mission which is two-fold will be to explore the prospects of commercializing Akwete Fabric beyond the weaving of the cloth for patronage at the national and global markets and to renew the ties that bind us as one people from the Niger Delta to the Southeast, from Abia to Aso Rock. It will be a great elixir into the potentials of NDOKI land as an economic belt for Abia State and Nigeria not just for the expansion of the indigenous textile but also for roads, schools, and other social amenities that will enhance the growth and development of Ukwa East LGA under the amiable leadership of Pastor Chibunna Akara, the metropolitan mayor of modern Ndoki land.

It will be another homecoming of purpose for a great daughter of the Niger Delta, our sister and mother Distinguished Senator Oluremi Tinubu and a beautiful reminder that the hands that weave Akwete also can weave the nation together.

The legacy of Mrs Esther Nnenna and her impact in the Adeleke Dynasty is a story of Akwete’s greatest export of people of character

Akwete have not only Nigeria a craft in the weaving the world-renowned Akwete fabric, a UNESCO-recognized intangible heritage in the making but also a Culture of trade, diplomacy, and inter-ethnic marriage that has built peace with a talent pool of men and women like Esther Nnenna Adeleke who raised governors, senators, billionaires, and global stars. Akwete embodies the History of a people who have never been confined by geography, plus an avalanche of sons and daughters who continue to lift the name of Ndoki land high across the world.

As we relish the benefits of this native bequest Abia State and Igbo land will continue to celebrate the peculiar ingenuity of Akwete women, we will continue to celebrate those who have carried Akwete cloth to destinations outside our territory and planted it there.

The Adeleke Dynasty is not just a family. It is the evidence that Akwete’s endowment is a national heritage and that one day beyond today’s limitation the looms of Akwete will move from the villa to the Senate chambers, to the Government Houses across Nigeria and to the world stage with style. Akwete will not only be a symbol of our national pride but will become the official native wear for the corridors of power in Abuja and capitals in Nigeria, the thread will never be broken.

Just like the yarn that weaves the glory of the cloth into ambiance, providence has remembered Akwete again.

“Ugbu a bu oge Akwete – Sitee na ngozi chineke Nyerere ala anyi Ka anyi ga eji akpa nganga”

This is the time for Akwete, it is from the blessings of God upon our land, that we be proud.

Ogele Obingwa