JAMB - Government (1998 - No. 22)

The Aro system in Igboland was a powerful economic organization that dominated the region before British colonization. The Aro Confederacy, centred in Arochukwu, played a major role in trade.

• The Aro people controlled a vast network of trade routes
• They used their influence through oracles, especially the Ibini Ukpabi oracle (Long Juju Shrine), to legitimize their power and settle disputes.
• The system also facilitated the transatlantic slave trade, with Aro merchants serving as middlemen between European traders and local communities.

While the Aro system had economic and religious elements, its primary function was commercial.