Akwa Ibom

Akwa Ibom
State
Nickname(s): Land of Promise

Location of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria
Coordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5.000°N 7.833°E / 5.000; 7.833Coordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5.000°N 7.833°E / 5.000; 7.833
Country  Nigeria
Date created 23 September 1987
Capital Uyo
Government
 • Governor
(List)		 Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (PDP)
Area
 • Total 7,081 km2 (2,734 sq mi)
Area rank 30 of 36
Population (1991 census)
 • Total 2,359,736
 • Estimate (2005) 4,805,470
 • Rank 15 of 36
 • Density 330/km2 (860/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Akwa Ibomite
GDP (PPP)
 • Year 2007
 • Total $11.18 billion[1]
 • Per capita $2,779[1]
Time zone WAT (UTC+01)
ISO 3166 code NG-AK
Website akwaibomstate.gov.ng

Akwa Ibom is a state in Nigeria. It is located in the coastal southern part of the country, lying between latitudes 4°32′N and 5°33′N, and longitudes 7°25′E and 8°25′E. 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 seaports 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 ultramodern sports complex. Akwa Ibom state is home to the Ibom E-Library, a world-class information center.[2] Along with English, the main spoken languages are Ibibio, Annang, Eket and Oron language.

Major cities

Uyo, Eket, Ikot Ekpene, Oron, Abak, Ikot Abasi, Ikono,[3] Etinan, Esit Eket and Uruan

Local government areas

Akwa Ibom State consists of thirty-one (31) local government areas. They are:

History

The region of the state was created out of Cross River State on September 23, 1987.

Demography

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

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 are:

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. For the past eight years, the Annang people held sway since the governor for those eight years was from Ikot Ekpene senetorial district.

References

  1. 1 2 "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  2. ↑ http://www.ibomelibrary.org/
  3. ↑ Ikono - the cradle of Ibibio nation

External links

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