Akwa Ibom State
Akwa Ibom State | |
---|---|
Nickname(s): | |
![]() Location of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria | |
Coordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5.000°N 7.833°ECoordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5.000°N 7.833°E | |
Country | ![]() |
Date created | 23 September 1987 |
Capital | Uyo |
Government | |
• Body | Government of Akwa Ibom State |
• Governor | Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (PDP) |
• Deputy Governor | Moses Ekpo |
• Legislature | Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly |
• Senators | NE: Bassey Akpan (PDP) NW: Chris Ekpenyong (PDP) S: Akon Eyakenyi (PDP) |
• Representatives | List |
Area | |
• Total | 7,081 km2 (2,734 sq mi) |
Area rank | 30 of 36 |
Population (2016)[1] | |
• Total | 5,450,758 |
• Rank | 15 of 36 |
• Density | 770/km2 (2,000/sq mi) |
Demonym(s) | Akwa Ibomite |
GDP (PPP) | |
• Year | 2007 |
• Total | $11.18 billion[2] |
• Per capita | $2,779[2] |
Time zone | UTC+01 (WAT) |
Dialing Code | +234 |
ISO 3166 code | NG-AK |
HDI (2018) | 0.604[3] medium · 17th of 37 |
Website | akwaibomstate |
Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, 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. The state takes its name from the Kwa Ibo River which bisects the state before flowing into the Bight of Bonny.[4] 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.[5] 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's 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.[6][7][8][9] Offshore, the state is also biodiverse as there are large fish populations along with various cetacean species including bottlenose dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, humpback whales, and killer whales.[citation needed]
Modern-day Akwa Ibom State has been inhabited by various ethnic groups for hundreds of years, primarily the closely related Ibibio, Anaang, and Oron peoples in the North-East, North-West, and Southern zones of the state, respectively. 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 become a British protectorate in 1884 as a part of the Oil Rivers Protectorate.[10] 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.[11]
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 Biafran forces as they were mainly non-Igbo.[12] 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 with western Cross River being broken off to form the new Akwa Ibom State.[13]
Economically, Akwa Ibom State is based around the production of crude oil and natural gas as highest oil-producing state in the country.[14] 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.[15][16][17]
History[edit]
The region of the state was created out of Cross River State on September 23, 1987 by the then Military Administration of General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.[18] 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.[19]
Although several Scottish missionaries arrived in Calabar in 1848, and Ibono in 1887, the British did not firmly establish control of the area until 1904. In that year, the Enyong Division was created encompassing the area of the current state of Akwa Ibom, with headquarters at Ikot Ekpene, an Annang city 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. This 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.[20] Nonetheless, some historians have wrongly pointed to the union to buttress their argument about the homogeneity of groups in the area.[21] The Obolo Union, comprising Ibono and Andoni stock, was another strong socioeconomic and cultural organization 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.[citation needed]
When Akwa Ibom state was created in 1987, Uyo was chosen as the state capital to spread development to all regions of the state.[22]
Governance[edit]
Politics in Akwa Ibom state are 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 between May 29, 2007 - May 28, 2015, the Annang people held sway, since the governor for those eight years was from Ikot Ekpene senatorial district.[23]
Ministries, Departments and Agencies[edit]
Here are the list of ministries in Akwa Ibom[24]
- 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
Local Government Areas[edit]
Akwa Ibom State consists of thirty-one (31) local government areas. They are:
Demographics[edit]
Ethnic groups[edit]
The main ethnic groups of the state are:
Religion[edit]
The people in Akwa Ibom are predominantly Christian.
Languages[edit]
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.
The following table lists languages of Akwa Ibom State and the local government areas in which they are spoken:[26]
Language | LGA(s) spoken in |
---|---|
Anaang | Abak, Essien Udim, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Oruk-Anam, Ukanafun,Etim ekpo, |
Obolo | Eastern Obolo |
Ekid | Eket, Esit Eket |
Etebi | Esit Eket |
Ibibio | Etinan, Ibiono Ibom, Ikono, Ikot Abasi, Itu, Mkpat Enin, Nsit Atai, Nsit-Ubium, Onna, Uruan, Uyo, Ini. |
Ibuno | Ibeno |
Ika Oku | Ika |
Nkari | Ini |
Itu Mbon Uso | Ini |
Idere | Itu |
Efik | Itu, Uruan |
Ebughu | Mbo, Oron |
Efai | Mbo |
Enwan | Mbo |
Oro | Mbo, Oron, Udung Uko, Urue-Offrong-Oruko |
Iko | Eastern Obolo |
Okobo | Okobo |
Ilue | Oron |
Khana | Oruk-Anam |
Education[edit]
The Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Education is tasked with monitoring the education sector of the state. The current region of Akwa Ibom State in old Calabar Kingdom was the first to encounter Western education in Nigeria with the establishment of Hope Waddell Training Institute, at Calabar in 1895, and the Methodist Boys' High School, Oron in 1905 as well as other top schools such as the Holy Family College at Abak and Regina Coeli College in Essene.
Some educational institutes in the state are:
- Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic Ikot Osurua
- Akwa Ibom State University (Oruk Anam LGA and Mkpat Enin LGA)
- Federal Polytechnic, Ukana
- Foundation College of Technology Ikot Ekpene[27]
- Heritage Polytechnic, Eket
- Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron
- Obong University, Obong Ntak
- Ritman University
- University of Uyo, Uyo
![]() | This section contains embedded lists that may be poorly defined, unverified or indiscriminate. (February 2022) |
- School of Basic Studies, Abak[28]
- School of Nursing, Uyo, Eket, Oron, Ikot Ekpene, Etinan[29]
- Sure Polytechnic, Ukanafun[30]
- Topfaith University, Mkpatak[31]
- Trinity Polytechnic, Uyo[32]
- Uyo City Polytechnic Nduetong Oku[33]
Notable people[edit]
- Obong Victor Attah, former governor of Akwa Ibom State[34]
- Senator Godswill Akpabio, former governor of Akwa Ibom State, former Senate Minority Leader[35]
- Effiong Dickson Bob[36]
- Ini Edo, Nollywood Actress[37]
- Obong Ufot Ekaette, secretary to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007 under President Olusegun Obasanjo[38]
- Dominic Ekandem first cardinal in English-speaking West Africa. First Nigerian Cardinal to qualify as a candidate to the papacy.[39]
- Senator (Engr.) Chris Ekpenyong Former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State in the Victor Attah administration and current Nigerian Senator representing Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District in the 9th Assembly.[40]
- Engr. Patrick Ekpotu, former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State[41]
- Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State from May 2015 to date[42]
- Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant (Niger-Delta) to President Muhammadu Buhari[43]
- Vincent Enyeama, professional footballer (Goalie) and former Super Eagle captain[44]
- Mark Essien, entrepreneur and founder of Hotels.ng[45]
- Chief Donald Etiebet, former Minister of Petroleum[46]
- Nse Ikpe-Etim, Nollywood actress[47]
- Eve Esin, Nollywood actress[48]
- Etim Inyang, former Inspector General of the Nigerian Police Force (I.G.P) 1985 to 1986[49]
- Obong Akpan Isemin, elected governor of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria from January 1992 to November 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic[50]
- Clement Isong, second governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; first civilian governor of the former Cross River State[51]
- Emem Isong, multi-award winning filmmaker and CEO of Royal Arts Academy[52]
- Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke, the 11th Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and the Pioneer Speaker of the Nigeria Youth Parliament[53]
- Group Capt. Idongesit Nkanga, former military governor of Akwa Ibom State[54]
- Samuel Peter, world heavyweight boxing champion[55]
- Egbert Udo Udoma, from Ikot Abasi, former chief justice of Uganda[56][57]
- Ime Bishop Umoh, Nollywood actor[58]
- Professor Okon Uya was briefly chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), appointed by President Ibrahim Babangida after the presidential elections of 12 June 1993 had been annulled and his predecessor Humphrey Nwosu dismissed.[59]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
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- ^ a b "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
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- ^ "Population 2006-2016". National Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
- ^ Inemesit, Akpan-Nsoh (14 May 2018). "'Akwa Ibom primates on brink of extinction'". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Eniang, Edem A.; Akani, Godfrey C.; Amadi, Nioking; Dendi, Daniele; Amori, Giovanni; Luiselli, Luca (15 Jul 2016). "Recent distribution data and conservation status of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in the Niger Delta (Nigeria)". Tropical Zoology. 29 (4): 173–183. doi:10.1080/03946975.2016.1214461. S2CID 89244146. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Baker, Lynne R. (27 April 2012). "Report on a Survey of Stubbs Creek Forest Reserve, June 20 – July 5, 2003". WCS. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Ogar, Dave A.; Asuk, Sijeh A.; Umanah, I.E. (2016). "Forest Cover Change in Stubb's Creek Forest Reserve Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria". Applied Tropical Agriculture. 21 (1): 183–189. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 962. .
- ^ "About Akwa Ibom". Government of Akwa Ibom State. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ Omaka, Arua Oko (17 February 2014). "The Forgotten Victims: Ethnic Minorities in the Nigeria-Biafra War, 1967-1970". Journal of Retracing Africa. 1 (1): 25–40. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "This is how the 36 states were created". Pulse.ng. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ Akanbi, Festus (19 September 2021). "As Anambra, Kogi Join Oil-producing States". ThisDay. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Human Development Indices". Global Data Lab. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "The Gang of 43 breaks cover". Africa Confidential. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ ""Everyone's in on the Game"". Human Rights Watch. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "Brief History of Akwa Ibom State:: Nigeria Information & Guide". nigeriagalleria.com. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
- ^ "National Trade & International Business Center". ntibc.ng. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "The Akwa Ibom people are predominantly Christian. - Opera News". ng.opera.news. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "Overview of Akwa Ibom – Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group". Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "About Akwa Ibom | Akwa Ibom State Government". Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "Ibibio | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
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- ^ Igwenagu, Emmanuel (2020-12-12). "Schools of Nursing & Midwifery In Akwa Ibom State". Nigerian Informer. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ ".:: Sure Foundation Polytechnic | Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria | Official Portal ::". www.sfp.edu.ng. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
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