Warri

Warri is a city in the southwestern part of the Niger Delta, in Delta State, Nigeria. It has a long history as a major city for the crude oil industry in the country.

Understand
Warri is a notable city in Delta State with an estimated population of 2 million people (2016). It is bordered by other communities within the state, such as Ughelli, Sapele, Okpe, Udu and Uvwie. Warri is one of the oil epicentres of the country.

Warri was the administrative capital of Delta Province during the colonial times. Now it has an extension Delta State Government House.

Warri City is a residence to four monarchs, namely the Olu of Warri (Itsekiri), Ovie of the Okere-Warri Kingdom (Urhobo), the Ovie of Agbarha-Ame Warri Kingdom (Urhobo) and the Pere of Ogbeijaw (Ijaw).

It was founded by Prince Ginuwa from Benin 60 miles (97 kilometres) north in the late 15th century. With time, the city grew to become the political and trading capital of the Itsekiri kingdom of Warri also known as Ouwerre. From the 15th to the 17th century, the obis, that is, kings, had considerable contact with the Portuguese, and several converted to Roman Catholicism. They later became quite active in the slave trade at that time. In 1884, the kingdom declined and its territory came under British protection in 1884. Nonetheless, Warri  switched to the export of palm oil and kernels in the mid-19th century.

For a long time, Warri has been the market centre for local produce and has also served as a port in the state. The town has also assumed new economic importance with the discovery of natural gas and petroleum in the area. With the establishment of a Petroleum Training Institute in 1972, and in 1978, Warri became the site of Nigeria’s second petroleum refinery and consequently, an oil-products pipeline flows from the refinery to Kaduna and Kano in northern region of Nigeria.

In addition, in 1981 at nearby Aladja area, an integrated steel plant, which was designed to make greater Warri one of the leading steel centres in the country, was established.

Warri City is a melting pot as it is a multi-ethnic city comprising primarily of Urhobo, Itsekiri & Ijaw ethnic groups. There is a large population of several other ethnic nationalities from across Nigeria such as Isoko, Anioma, Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. As a result of the increasingly high urban and commercial development of the area, Warri has witnessed an inflow of nonnatives, especially the Igbos.

The city has three local government areas. They are; Warri South Local Government Area, Warri North Local Government Area and Warri South West Local Government Area. Osubi, Ogunu, Okere, Agbarho and Okuokoko are the major neighbouring communities surrounding the city.

Other major surrounding towns such as Effurun, Ovwian, Aladja, Ekpan and the rest has since swollen the size of the area via development to become Greater Warri.

The economy of Warri is sustained by oil refineries and gas companies, and also the available raw materials. These raw materials include steel, silica, silicates which are necessary for the manufacture of different kinds of ceramics.

Talk
The unofficial lingua franca of the city is Broken (Pidgin) English which is understood throughout most of Nigeria. Warri is considered the crucible of the language as new vocabularies are fabricated for the rest of the country from the city.

Get in
The Warri town and port of Delta state lies along the Warri River in the western Niger River 30 miles (48 kilometres) upstream from the port of Forcados on the Bight of Benin.

By plane
The nearest airport to Warri is Benin City (BNI) Airport which is 90 km away. Other nearby airports include: Port Harcourt (PHC) 145 km away, Owerri (QOW) 161 km away, Enugu (ENU) 227 km away, and Lagos (LOS) 293 km away.

Transport by air into the city is through Osubi Airstrip (also known as Warri Airport) which is located in Osubi, a nearby town. There's also the presence of a smaller airstrip at Ugborikoko, which served as the only airport until a bigger airport was built at Osubi. Arik Air and Aero Contractors are some of the main airlines operating commercial flights on this route.

By road
Road transport is undoubtedly the most commonly used means of transportation in the country at large, especially for inter and intra-state movement.

There are several road transport company terminals in Warri city. Notable among them include:


 * God Is Good Motors
 * Bob Izua Motors
 * G. Agofure Motors
 * Sunny Eru Motors
 * Gtruck International Services
 * Eagle Line
 * Ameosa Motors

By boat
On the main Warri riverside are markets and jetties used by local traders, which act as a transit point for local transport and trade. There are also local boats which are used for movement from one location to another.

By rail
After decades of construction, a new railway line between Itakpe and Warri was completed in 2019. Primarily aimed at transporting goods from the steel mills at Ajaokuta to the port of Warri, the limited number of passenger trains on the route does not stop at major cities. One potential useful connection is with Agbor, which lies on the A232, a major east-west highway with plenty of connecting buses.



Get around
The major ways to move around are through public mass transit buses and tricycles (popularly called keke napep). Also, there are jetties for movement around waterways.

See
Some interesting places to visit in Warri include:

Also, Warri city has development establishments such as factories, skill acquisition centres and schools some of which include; furniture or olphostry factory, soft-drink factory, secondary and tertiary schools, trade schools, government hospitals, as well as handicraft centre.
 * Abraka Turf
 * Country Club.
 * Abraka Turf
 * Country Club.
 * Abraka Turf
 * Country Club.
 * Abraka Turf
 * Country Club.
 * Abraka Turf
 * Country Club.
 * Abraka Turf
 * Country Club.

Festivals
There are some fun festivals that usually take place within the city. These festivals include:



Buy
Some of Warri’s major markets include:


 * The Ibo market,
 * Uwie modern mark


 * Ugbolokoso modern market
 * Main Warri Market
 * Igbudu Market
 * Pessu Market
 * Shoprite.
 * Gem stone shopping mall

Eat
There are several nice spots for visitors and tourists in Warri town to relax and enjoy a good meal. Some of them include:

Radio

 * Rize 106.7FM


 * Melody FM Warri 88.6


 * Mega FM 89.1 Warri

Go next

 * Benin City
 * Nnewi
 * Port Harcourt
 * Oghara-Iyede
 * Ekrejegbe
 * Sapele