Akwa Ibom State

Akwa Ibom State
—  State  —
Nickname(s): Land of Promise
Location of Akwa Ibom in Nigeria
Coordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5°N 7.833°E / 5; 7.833Coordinates: 05°00′N 07°50′E / 5°N 7.833°E / 5; 7.833
Country	Nigeria
Date created	23 September 1987
Capital	Uyo
Government
– Governor (List)	Godswill Akpabio[1] (PDP)
– Senators
– Representatives
Area
– Total	7,081 km2 (2,734 sq mi)
Area rank	30 of 36
Population (1991 census)
– Total	2,359,736
– Estimate (2005)	4,805,451
– Rank	9 of 36
– Density	333.2/km2 (863.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)
– Year	2007
– Total	$11.18 billion[2]
– Per capita	$2,779[2]
Time zone	WAT (UTC+01)
ISO 3166 code	NG-AK
Website	aksgonline.com

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

Major cities

Uyo is the capital city of Akwa Ibom State. Eket, Ikot Ekpene, Oron, Abak, Ibeno, Ikot Abasi, Mkpat-Enin, Ukanafun, Etinan, and Ika are a few of many prominent cities.

Administrative areas

Akwa Ibom is divided into 31 Local Government Areas:

LGA	Website
Abak	[1]
Eastern Obolo	[2]
Eket	[3]
Esit-Eket	[4]
Essien Udim	[5]
Etim-Ekpo	[6]
Etinan	[7]
Ibeno	[8]
Ibesikpo-Asutan	[9]
Ibiono-Ibom	[10]
Ika	[11]
Ikono	[12]
Ikot Abasi	[13]
Ikot Ekpene	[14]
Ini	[15]
Itu	[16]
Mbo	[17]
Mkpat-Enin	[18]
Nsit-Atai	[19]
Nsit-Ibom	[20]
Nsit-Ubium	[21]
Obot-Akara	[22]
Okobo	[23]
Onna	[24]
Oron	[25]
Oruk Anam	[26]
Ukanafun	[27]
Udung-Uko	[28]
Uruan	[29]
Urue-Offong/Oruko	[30]
Uyo	[31]

History

The people of Akwa Ibom state arrived in what is now Nigeria between 1200-1500 BC.^{[citation needed]}

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:

• Ibibio
• Annang
• Oron

The Ibibio, Annang, who speak a dialect of the Ibibio Language, and Oron are the largest ethnic groups. The Oro [Oron] is an ethnic group similar to the Efik, which is predominant in neighbouring Cross River State, and found in five of the state's Local Government Areas. Located at the Atlantic Ocean contiguous to Oron are a group of Ibibio of Eket origins. 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, and Ibibio were all autonomous groups.

Although several Scottish missionaries arrived in Calabar in 1848, 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.^{[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.

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. 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
• Herritage 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.

References

1. ^ http://www.godswillakpabio.com/
2. ^ ^{a b} "C-GIDD (Canback Global Income Distribution Database)". Canback Dangel. http://www.cgidd.com. Retrieved 2008-08-20. 

External links

• aksgonline.com: Official website of the Akwa Ibom State Government
• Satellite Map of Akwa Ibom State on Google Maps World Gazetteer
• akwaibomnewsonline.com: Akwa Ibom State News from Various News Sources
• ibomvillagesquare.com: Akwa Ibom Village Square Portal