Introduction to Akwa Ibom

Akwa Ibom State was created on the 23rd of September 1987 by the then Military Administration of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. The creation of the State brought to fruition years of prolonged struggle by the people that occupied the mainland part of the former Cross River State

Introduction

Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and to the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny. Akwa Ibom was split from Cross River State in 1987 with her capital Uyo and with 31 local government areas.

Of the 36 states, Akwa Ibom is the 30th largest in area and fifteenth most populous, with an estimated population of nearly 5.5 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is divided between the Central African mangroves in the coastal far south and the Cross–Niger transition forests in the rest of the state. Other important geographical features are the Imo and Cross rivers which flow along Akwa Ibom’s eastern and western borders respectively while the Kwa Ibo River bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny.

In the southeast corner of the state is the Stubb Creek Forest Reserve, a heavily threatened wildlife reserve that contains declining crocodile, putty-nosed monkey, red-capped mangabey, and Sclater’s guenon populations along with potentially extirpated populations of African leopard and Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee.

Offshore, the state is also biodiverse as there are large fish populations alongside various cetacean species, including bottlenose dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, humpback whales, and killer whales.

Modern-day Akwa Ibom State has been inhabited by various ethnic groups for hundreds of years, primarily the closely related Ibibio, Annang, and Oron peoples in the North-East, North-West, and Southern zones of the state, respectively.

Economically, Akwa Ibom State is based around the production of crude oil and natural gas as highest oil-producing state in the country. Key minor industries involve agriculture as the state has substantial cocoyam, yam, and plantain crops along with fishing and heliciculture.

Despite its vast oil revenues, Akwa Ibom has the seventeenth highest Human Development Index in the country in large part due to years of systemic corruption.

History

In the pre-colonial period, what is now Akwa Ibom State was divided into various city-states like the Ibom Kingdom and Akwa Akpa before the latter became a British protectorate in 1884 as a part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate.

Prior to the British colonization, no central government had existed among the people of what is now Akwa Ibom State. The various ethnic peoples were largely organized into clan communities, based on kinship and relations.

Several Scottish missionaries went to Calabar in 1848, and Ibono in 1887. The British government did not attempt to establish more control over the area until 1904. In that year, they organized the Enyong Division, encompassing the area of the current state of Akwa Ibom, with headquarters at Ikot Ekpene, a predominately Annang city. Noted Africanist Kaanan Nair, noted this city as the cultural and political capital of the Annang and Ibibio peoples.

The greater Southeast was largely dominated by the majority Igbo people. The creation of Enyong Division encouraged collaboration among the numerous minority ethnic groups in the area. They created the Ibibio Welfare Union, later renamed Ibibio State Union.

This social organization was first established as a local development and improvement forum for educated African persons and groups who in 1929 were still excluded from the colonial administration. It was dominated by British colonists and their appointees.

In the early 1900s, the British actually gained formal control of the area before incorporating the protectorate (now renamed the Niger Coast Protectorate) into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate which later merged into British Nigeria; after the merger, much of modern-day Akwa Ibom became a centre of anti-colonial resistance during the Women’s War and political activism through the Ibibio State Union.

After independence in 1960, the area of now-Akwa Ibom was a part of the post-independence Eastern Region until 1967 when the region was split and the area became part of the South-Eastern State.

Less than two months afterwards, the Igbo-majority former Eastern Region attempted to secede as the state of Biafra; in the three-year long Nigerian Civil War, now-Akwa Ibom was hard-fought over in the prelude to the Invasion of Port Harcourt while people from Akwa Ibom were persecuted by the Biafran forces as they were mainly non-Igbos.

At the war’s end and the reunification of Nigeria, the South-Eastern State was reformed until 1976 when it was renamed Cross River State.

Eleven years later, Cross River State was divided on 23 September 1987, by the Military Administration of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

This division resulted in the creation of the state of Akwa Ibom, Uyo was chosen as the state capital in order to encourage development in all regions of the state.

Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria named after the Qua Iboe river. It is located in the coastal South-Southern part of the country, lying between latitudes 4°321 and 5°331 North, and longitudes 7°251 and 8°251 East. The State is bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the South by the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost tip of Cross River State.

Akwa Ibom is one of Nigeria’s 36 states with a population of over 5 million people and more than 10 million people in diaspora. It was created in 1987 from the former Cross River State and is currently the highest oil and gas producing state in the country.

The state’s capital is Uyo with over 500,000 inhabitants . Akwa Ibom has an airport (Akwa Ibom International Airport) and two major sea ports on the Atlantic Ocean with a proposed construction of a world class seaport Ibaka Seaport at Oron.

The State also boasts of a 30,000 seater ultra modern sports complex. Akwa Ibom state is home to the Ibom E-Library, a world class information center. Along with English, the main spoken languages are Ibibio, Annang, Eket and Oron language.

Climate

Akwa Ibom has a tropical monsoon climate (Classification: Am) and is 42.58 meters (139.7 feet) above sea level. The city’s average annual temperature is -0.99% lower than Nigeria’s averages at 28.47 °C (83.25 °F). 342.56 millimeters (13.49 inches) of precipitation and 294.37 rainy days (80.65% of the time) are typical annual totals for Akwa Ibom.

The Akwa Ibom region regularly has tropical monsoons. All year long, there are high temperatures and a lot of rain. The region of Akwa Ibom has an average yearly temperature of 60 degrees and 672 inches of precipitation. The average humidity is 80% and the UV-index is 7. It is dry for only 52 days of the year.

The climate of Akwa Ibom is tropical with significant rainfall and a short dry season.

Demography

The people are predominantly of the Christian faith. The main ethnic groups of the state are:

  • Ibibio
  • Annang
  • Oron
  • Eket
  • Obolo

The Ibibio, Annang, Eket, who speak a dialect of the Ibibio Language, Oron and Obolo, comprising Ibono (Ibeno) and Eastern Obolo people, are the largest ethnic groups. The Oro [Oron] is an ethnic group similar to the Efik, which also speak a dialect of Ibibio language and predominant in neighbouring Cross River State, and found in five of the state’s Local Government Areas. Located at the Atlantic Ocean seafront are the Eket, Ibeno and Eastern Obolo people. The Ibono have similarities with the Oro and Obolos. The Igbo language is also spoken in Akwa Ibom in the northern and western land borders.

The Ibibio language belongs to the Benue–Congo language family, which forms part of the Niger–Congo group of languages. Despite the homogeneity, no central government existed among the people of what is now Akwa Ibom State prior to the British invasion in 1904. Instead, the Annang, Oron, Efik, Ibonos and Ibibio were all autonomous groups.

Although several Scottish missionaries arrived in Calabar in 1848, and Ibono in 1887, the British did not firmly establish control until 1904. In that year, the Enyong Division was created encompassing the area of the current state of Akwa Ibom, with the headquarters at Ikot Ekpene, an Annang city emerged described by the noted Africanist Kaanan Nair, as the cultural and political capital of Annang and Ibibio.

The creation of Enyong Division, for the first time allowed the numerous ethnic groups to come together. This further provided a venue for the creation of the Ibibio Welfare Union, later renamed Ibibio State Union. The social organization was first organized as a local development and improvement forum for educated persons and groups who were shut out from the colonial administration in 1929.

Nonetheless, some historians have wrongly pointed to the union to buttress their argument about the homogeneity of groups in the area. The Obolo Union comprising Ibono and Andoni stock was another strong socioeconomic and cultural Organisation that thrived in the region.

The Ibono people have fought wars to maintain their unique identity and territory in the region more than any other group. When Akwa Ibom state was created in 1987, Uyo was chosen as the state capital to spread development to all regions of the state.

Education

The current region of Akwa Ibom State in old Calabar Kingdom were the first to encounter Western education in Nigeria with the establishment of Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar in 1895, Methodist Boys High School, Oron in 1905 and other top flight schools such as the Holy Family College at Abak and Regina Coeli College, Essene.

Currently various institutions for higher education have sprung up and spread across the state. Some Educational Institutes in the state include:

  • University of Uyo
  • Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron
  • Akwa Ibom State University
  • Obong University, Obong Ntak Inyang
  • Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic
  • Uyo City Polytechnic
  • Apex Polytechnic
  • Heritage Polytechnic, Eket
  • School of Nursing; Uyo, Eket, Oron, Ikot Ekpene, Etinan
  • Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit
  • School Of Basic Studies
  • College of Arts & Sciences, Nnung Ukim

Politics

Politics in Akwa Ibom state is dominated by the three main ethnic groups, the Ibibio, Annang and Oron. Of these three, the Ibibio remain the majority and have held sway in the state since its creation.

Government

Politics in Akwa Ibom State are dominated by the three main ethnic groups: the Ibibio, Annang, and Oro. Of these three, the Ibibio remain the majority and have held sway in the state since its creation.

Ministries, Departments and Agencies

The list of ministries in Akwa Ibom State include the following:

  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Justice
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sufficiency
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Account and Finance
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Works
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Education
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Environment
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Transport & Petroleum Resources
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Lands, Town Planning & Survey
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Information & Strategy
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Science & Technology
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Women Development and Social Development
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Youth & Sports
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Administration & Supplies
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Economic Development Labour and Manpower Planning
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Investment, Commerce and Industries
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Culture and Tourism
  • Akwa Ibom State Bureau of Political/Legislative Affairs and Water Resources
  • Akwa Ibom State Bureau of Rural Development & Cooperatives
  • Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Power and Petroleum Resources
  • Akwa Ibom state Ministry of Internal Security and Water ways

Demographics

Ethnic groups

The main ethnic groups of the state include: Ibibio, Anaang, Oro and Obolo.

Religion

The people of Akwa Ibom are predominantly Christians.

Pioneer Qua Iboe Church Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State 976,791 Catholics (2020) in the two dioceses of Uyo (1989) with 74 parishes under Bishop John Ebebe Ayah (2014), and Ikot Ekpene (1963) with 53 parishes under Bishop Camillus Raymond Umoh (2010), both suffragans of the Archdiocese of Calabar.

The Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Uyo within the Church of Nigeria is Prince Asukwo Antai (2014)

Languages

Like their Efik neighbors of Cross River State, people of Akwa Ibom speak various dialects of the Ibibio-Efik languages, which belong to the Benue–Congo language family, forming part of the Niger–Congo group of languages.

Transportation

Federal highways
  • A342 east from Aba (Abia State) via Uyo to Oron,
  • A4-1 east from A342 at Utu Ikot Ekpenyong to Cross River as the Ekot Ekpene-Calabar Rd.

Other major highways include:

  • the Ikot Akan-Deyor Chara Rd across the Imo River at Kalaoko to Rivers State,
  • the Nto Obo-Obon Ebot Rd west to Abia State at Azumini,
  • the Umuahia Rd north from A342 at Ikot Ekpene to Abia.

Conclusion

Akwa Ibom State, located in the South-South region of Nigeria, is a state of immense natural beauty, rich cultural heritage, and significant economic potential. Known as the “Land of Promise,” Akwa Ibom is blessed with abundant resources, including oil and gas, which have positioned it as a key player in Nigeria’s economy. The state’s capital, Uyo, is a rapidly developing urban center, reflecting the state’s commitment to modernization and infrastructure development.

Akwa Ibom is also a hub for tourism, boasting attractions such as the Ibom Plaza, the Ibom E-Library, and the serene Ibeno Beach. The state’s cultural festivals, such as the Leboku New Yam Festival, showcase its vibrant traditions and attract visitors from across the country. Additionally, the state has made significant strides in education and human capital development, with institutions like the University of Uyo and Akwa Ibom State University contributing to its intellectual growth.