Akwa Ibom: The Land of Promise at 25

Did you know that?

Akwa Ibom State was named after the Qua Iboe River and 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. It is bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers and Abia states, and on the South by the Atlantic Ocean and the southern-most tip of Cross River State.

Akwa Ibom State was created in 1987 from the former Cross River State and its capital is Uyo. The state has an airport – Akwa Ibom International Airport – and two major sea ports on the Atlantic Ocean, with a proposed construction of a world class Ibaka Seaport at Oron.

Along with English, the main spoken languages are Ibibio, Annang, Eket, and Oron.

Akwa Ibomites are homogenous group of people believed to have originated from a single ancestral stock. As such, the state enjoys a relatively homogenous ethnicity, with the inhabiting ethnic goups of Ibibio, Annang, Oron, Ibeno, and Eket.

Language similarities exist among the ethnic groups and they readily express similar customs.

It is also believed that a common heritage exists among the various ethnic groups, hence the prevalence of customary solidarity among them.

The state governor, His Excellency, Chief (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio, CON, underscored this when he said, “The similarities in language, music, values, art, styles, literature, family life, religion, rituals, food, naming, public life, and material culture are evidence of the historical fact that our people have pursued common social, cultural, political, and economic relationships.”

In terms of natural resource potentials of the state, Akwa Ibom yields a wide variety of agricultural and industrial mineral products, from which raw materials can be sourced locally. For example, the oil palm serves as the source of raw materials for palm oil and palm kernel oil. In addition, the extensive forest plantations in nearby Cross River State provides a source of raw materials for the establishment of the Oku lboku Paper Mill industry, as well as other smaller paper mills established in the state.

There are large deposits of oil and gas, both on- and off-shore; plus other mineral resources such as limestone, clay, gold, salt, coal, silver nitrate and glass sand.

The climate of the state allows for favourable cultivation and extraction of agricultural and forest products such as palm produce, rubber, cocoa, rice, cassava, yam, plantain, banana, maize, and timber.

At the beginning of his administration on May 29, 2007, Governor Akpabio said, “The present administration in the state is desirous of changing the situation as rapidly as possible. In this endeavour, we have dreamt big and we intend to actualise this dream in our generation.”

Indeed, giant strides made by Akpabio’s administration in the last five years evince that the state government has not looked back since 2007.

As Akwa Ibom marks its Silver Jubilee, many events have been lined up to celebrate the success and triumphs of a state aptly named The Land of Promise.

Among such events was that hosted by Golden Innovations and Akwa-Cross entertainers on Monday, known as ‘Sak Sio,’ at the Muson Centre, Lagos.

The event brought together, not just Akwa Ibom indigenes, but also people from other states.

Another group, the Usem Akwa Ibom Project, expressed its readiness to mark the occasion by creating awareness about the different ethnic accents that existed in the state and also to show how young people were utilising the power of social networking platforms to inspire positive change in their communities, thus fostering peaceful co-existence, unity and love among the people.

One of the top musicians scheduled to grace the occasion at the state capital today, 12-year-old music star of Akwa Ibom origin, Kamsee Ekpeyong, has this to say: “I am proud of my home state and especially the incumbent governor, Godswill Akpabio, who is performing wonders in the state. The governor has really transformed the state from what it used to be to one of the most beautiful states in Nigeria. He built an airport in my father’s village, and also constructed the village road.”