Etinan is located within the

South South The South South (often hyphenated to the South-South) is the one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria representing both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cros ...

part of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

and constitutes one of the Local Government Areas in the oil rich

Akwa Ibom State 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 Qua Iboe ...

. Known for its agricultural and arts craft products, the area forms one of the most peaceful locations in the

West African West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, ...

State of Nigeria. Etinan is also home to the famous Peacock Paints Industries and NIFOR zonal office. Within Etinan LGA, is the village of Mbioto, home town of the former

Akwa Ibom state 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 Qua Iboe ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Obong Akpan Isemin, the village of Ikot Udo Abia, which was part of the route of the

African slave trade Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean ...

. Ekpene Obom is a village in Etinan where Leprosy Hospital, Nigeria is located. Akwa Ibom Statete College Of Health Technology, is also located in Etinan.

Historical background

Following the recommendations of the Akilu commission of Inquiry into the administrative structure of the then

South Eastern State The Eastern Region was an administrative region in Nigeria, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its first capital was Calabar. The capital was later moved to Enugu and the second capital was Umuahia. ...

, Etinan Local Government was created in 1976 out of the former Uyo Division with Etinan as its headquarters.

People & Culture

The area is mainly inhabited by the Iman Ibom people who are characteristically dynamic, imaginative, industrious and intelligent. They generally speak

Ibibio language Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of Nigeria, belonging to the Ibibio-Efik dialect cluster of the Cross River languages. The name ''Ibibio'' is sometimes used for the entire dialect cluster. In pre-colonial times, it was writt ...

and have a rich cultural heritage. Some of the cultural societies found here are Ekpo, Ekong, Ebre and Idiong. A greater percentage of the people are Christians although some forms of

African traditional religion The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral rather than scriptur ...

are practiced by few people. Their culture is reflected and displayed through dances, arts, and crafts. The main occupation of the people centres around farming and petty trading. Crops cultivated include yams, cassava, cocoyam and maize. Small scale manufacturing is also carried out by the people. A number of the people also engage in

palm-wine Palm wine, known by several local names, is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, date palms, and coconut palms. It is known by various names in different regions and is common in vario ...

tapping, crafts-making, wood-carving,

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and baking.

Geographical Location & Climate

Etinan Local Government Area is located on latitude 05001’N and longitude 07054’E. It is 26 kilometres south of Uyo, the

capital and 24 kilometres north of Eket. It shares common boundaries with Onna, Nsit Ibom,

Mkpat Enin Mkpat-Enin is located in the South South region of Nigeria and is a town and a Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibom State. It sits at an altitude of approximately above sea level. Mkpat Enin LGA has an area of and it's the second largest lo ...

, Abak and Uyo Local Government Areas. The entire local government area lies in the tropical rainforest belt and has two distinct seasons – the rainy season and the dry season. The vegetation is evergreen.

Natural Resources

There are large deposits of mineral resources such as clay, glass, sand and sharp sand. Agricultural resources include palm produce, cassava and yam.

Commerce

Some of the most famous markets are Udua Etinan which is in the capital of the Etinan, Udua Mkpafi which is in Ikot Isong, along with other markets.

Population

According to the National Population Commission of Nigeria in 2006.

References

{{LGAs and communities of Akwa Ibom State Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State 1976 establishments in Nigeria