Oguta Lake is the largest natural lake in the Imo State

Imo State

Imo State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria and lies to the south of Nigeria with Owerri as its capital and largest city.-History:Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been...

 of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

. Located within the equatorial rainforest

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 region, it is of enormous importance to the local population (the people of Oguta

Oguta

Oguta is a city on the east bank of Oguta Lake in southeast Nigeria. Oguta was one of the first territories used by the British to advance into the Igbo hinterland...

, Orsu

Orsu

Orsu is a LGA and tribe in the Imo State of Nigeria. Orsu is also the name of the dialect of this people. They are an Igbo sub-group located west of Orlu town to south of Ozubulu, north of Oguta and in the general areas around Oru, Orsu, Orlu, Njaba, Ihiala, Nnewi south and Oguta LGAs.Over the...

, Nkwesi

Nkwesi

Nkwesi is a village in southeastern Nigeria. Also, it is located near the city of Owerri....

 and Awo

Awo, Nigeria

Awo-Idemili is the headquarters of Orsu Local Government, Imo State in southeastern Nigeria. It is located near the city of Orlu.Imo state Governor, chief Achike Udenwa, announced the creation of autonomous community Awo-Awo Idemili broke into five autonomous communities:1. OKWU-AMARAIHE...

) as a source of water, fish, tourism and also as an outlet for sewerage

Sanitary sewer

A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...

. Uhamiri is the goddess of Oguta Lake.

Oguta Lake served as a Biafra

Biafra

Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in south-eastern Nigeria that existed from 30 May 1967 to 15 January 1970, taking its name from the Bight of Biafra . The inhabitants were mostly the Igbo people who led the secession due to economic, ethnic, cultural and religious...

n army marine base during the Biafran War of 1967-1970

Nigerian Civil War

The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Nigerian-Biafran War, 6 July 1967–15 January 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra...

.