Editing Onitsha (section)

== Urbanization ==
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, Anambra State|Ogidi]]) characterized it as harboring an "esoteric region from which creativity sallies forth at will to manifest itself,"  "a zone of occult instability" (see [http://www.amightytree.org "Onitsha Matters"]).

Indeed, Onitsha has played a creative role in the transformation to urban life in Eastern Nigeria famous as the setting for [[Onitsha Market Literature]] and as one of the hubs for the financing and distribution of [[Nollywood]] films.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Madichie|first1=Nnamdi|last2=Nkamnebe|first2=Anayo|date=2010-11-01|title=51 Iweka Road (Onitsha, Nigeria): Could this single African address redefine business cluster development?|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227441280|journal=World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development|volume=6|issue=3|pages=229–243|doi=10.1504/WREMSD.2010.036677}}</ref>

However, infrastructure has not kept pace with urbanization and haphazard building practices without zoning regulations has left in its wake a chaotic and congested city rife with lawlessness. The [[World Health Organization]] Global Urban Ambient [[Air Pollution]] database's 2016 update indicates that Onitsha is the most polluted city in Africa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://datadriven.yale.edu/2016/06/06/a-new-air-pollution-database-is-good-but-imperfect/|title=A New Air Pollution Database Is Good, but Imperfect {{!}} Data-Driven Yale|website=datadriven.yale.edu|access-date=2016-11-25|archive-date=2016-11-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126064843/http://datadriven.yale.edu/2016/06/06/a-new-air-pollution-database-is-good-but-imperfect/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://undark.org/article/air-pollution-lagos/|title=Amid Staggering Pollution, Nigerians Struggle to Catch Their Breath|last=Cunningham|first=Anna|date=October 22, 2018|website=Undark|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-27}}</ref>

In recent times with the encroachment of neighboring communities, the Onitsha people have been involved in disputes over land ownership in the surrounding area with the people of Obosi and Nkwelle Ezunaka.<ref>Vincent Ujumadu (June 17, 2013). [http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/06/17-injured-bus-burnt-as-onitsha-obosi-youths-clash-over-land/ "17 injured, bus burnt as Onitsha, Obosi youths clash over land"]. ''Vanguard''. Retrieved September 2, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.ezunaka.com/node/27 Nigeria: "Nkwelle-Ezunaka Battles Onitsha Over Land"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502033103/http://www.ezunaka.com/node/27 |date=2014-05-02 }}. ''Nkwelle Ezunaka Union USA''. Retrieved September 2, 2014.</ref> Fegge, Awada, and 3-3 are Onitsha metropolitan areas being disputed by the communities of Obosi and Nkwelle Ezunaka, respectively.[[File: Onitsha City View.jpg|thumb|Onitsha Skyline]]