Ikot-Abasi
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Ikot Abasi is located in the south west corner of
Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It borders Cross River State to the east, Rivers State and Abia State to the west and north-west, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The state ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria, 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 Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
. It is bounded by
Oruk Anam Oruk Anam is a Local Government Area located in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. The indigenous population is largely made up of Annang people, one of the minority tribes in Southeast Nigeria. It may be ranked as the largest LGA in Akwa-Ibom due to ...
Local Government Area in the north,
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 ...
and
Eastern Obolo Eastern Obolo (or Obolo agan̄ Mbum-ura in the native Obolo language) is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area (LGA) in southern Nigeria, with its headquarters at Okoroete. It is a coastal local government area in Akwa Ibom St ...
Local Government Areas in the east and the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
in the south. The
Imo River The Imo River (Igbo:Imo) is located in southeastern Nigeria and flows into the Atlantic Ocean. In Akwa Ibom State, the river is known as Imoh River, that is, Inyang Imoh, which translates to ''River of Wealth'' ( means ''river'' or ''ocean'', and ...
forms the natural boundary in the west separating it from
Rivers State Rivers is a states of Nigeria, state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria, Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo State, Im ...
. The Federal University of Technology Ikot Abasi is a federal government-owned university located in Ikot-Abasi.


People

The people of Ikot Abasi are made up of the Ibibio ethnic group with diverse cultural heritage and tradition. They speak the
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 written ...
. Ikot Abasi is made up of five clans namely: Edemaya Clan, Ikpa Ibekwe Clan, Ikpa Nnung Assang Clan, Ukpum Ette Clan and Ukpum Okon Clan.


Districts

Ikpa Ibkwe District #Ata Udo Usung #Ikong Ukpo Inwa #Ikot Aba #Ikot Abasi #Ikot Akpan Ata #Ikot Essien #Ikot Etetuk #Ikot Obong #Ikpetim #Uta Ewa Edemaya District #Atan Eka Iko #Atan Ikpe #Ediduo #Iboro #Ikot Aboa Ndia #Ikot Akpabo #Ikot Akpan #Ikot Efre #Ikot Eneni #Ikot Etenge Ndom #Ikot Eyen Imo #Ikot Ikara #Ikot Iyire #Ikot Ndien #Ikot Obio Akpan #Ikot Obio Ekpe #Ikot Oboro Enyin #Ikot Okpok #Ikot Ubo Akama #Ikot Ufot #Ikot Unya #Ikot Uso Ide #Ukan Ikpa Nung Clan #Ikot Imoh #Essene #Akpabom #Nduk #Ikot Etefia #Ikot Oboi Oko #Ikot Ada Udo #Nda Ekom #Ikot Edoho #Ikot Akpa Enin #Ikot Usop #Ikot Akpa Idiang #Ikot Uboh Ekpe


History

Because of its location at the break in the
mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withs ...
and rain forest of the eastern Niger River delta, it was a collecting point for slaves in the 19th century. Ikot Abasi, a community in then Calabar Province, for good reasons. Although Ikot Abasi was already on the world map before 1929, the women's uprising against Nigeria's colonial rulers in 1929 was to provide a further push into prominence for this town, then already popular as the site of a famous boat yard, seat of a British consulate. Three-quarters of a century ago, Ikot Abasi was the town whose women bravely took exception to what they considered exploitative excesses of the
British rulers This is a list of rulers and office-holders of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and predecessor states. Heads of state *List of English monarchs *List of Scottish monarchs *List of rulers of Wales *List of British mon ...
of the then non-independent Nigeria. In 1995, the year of that famed Beijing conference, the
National Gallery of Modern Art, Lagos The National Gallery of Modern Art, Lagos (NGMA) is a major art gallery in Lagos, the largest city of Nigeria. It is a permanent exhibition of the National Gallery of Art, a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orient ...
(NGA) put out a very important book, The women's revolt of 1929. The book, which features contributions from notable academics like Prof. Monday E. Noah, Prof.
Obaro Ikime Prof. Obaro Ikime (30 December 1936 – 25 April 2023) was a Nigerian historian. He was a published author. Obaro served as a president of the Historical Society of Nigeria. He also served as a priest at the Anglican Church in Nigeria. Biograph ...
and Chief N.U. Akpan, among others, reminds that one of the women killed by the colonial forces during the 1929 protest was the mother of a boy, Egbert. That lad would later grow into a famous jurist and administrator (Justice
Egbert Udo Udoma Sir Egbert Udo Udoma, KBE, (21 June 1917 – 2 February 1998)Reuben Abati"Book review: Udo Udoma: In The Shelter Of The Elephant Rock" Nigerian Village Square, 8 March 2009. was a lawyer and justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. He was ...
). Such was the impact of the reforms that trailed the women's protest that the March 8, 1933 issue of the Daily Times described the changes as "the great charter of liberty for the people" but the prize did not come easy. Prof. M. E. Ekpo, another of the book's contributors, revealed that in the Calabar Province alone, more than 53 people were killed beside over 50 others injured. Launched in 1989, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the uprising, The women's revolt of 1929 is an anthology of select papers from a national symposium on the subject, which took place in Port-Harcourt in 1982. According to Dr Paul Chike Dike, editor of the anthology, "An attempt by the (protesting) women to move nearer the colonial troops led to the order to shoot, in which over 24 women were killed".


Geography

Until the 1970s, the ancient
Opobo Kingdom Opobo is a community in Rivers state, South South region of Nigeria that was founded in 1870 . The people of Opobo are a mixture of the Ndoki tribe, Ndoki clan of the Igbo people and the Ibani clan of the Ijaw ethnic group. Their native languages ...
was part of then South Eastern State (later re-Christened Cross River). However, a boundary adjustment exercise split Opobo. Opobo Island was made part of Rivers State while the mainland part was seeded to the original owners who are the Ibibio People within Cross River. That area, renamed Ikot Abasi, now lies in present-day Akwa Ibom State. Sources say ancient Ikot Abasi referred to smaller settlement but the name has assumed a more or less generic dimension in recent times. In the larger sense, today's Ikot Abasi comprises five clans: Ikpa-Ibekwe, Ukpum-Ette, Ukpum-Okon, Edem-Aya and Ikpa Nnung Asang. The palace of the paramount ruler of Ikot Abasi is within Ukpum okon clan . Ikot Abasi once hosted a
British Consulate This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, excluding honorary consulates. The UK has one of the largest global networks of diplomatic missions. UK diplomatic missions to capitals of other Co ...
, which is how one of the major streets here, Consulate Road, came by its name. At the roundabout leading to Consulate Road, the tourist would notice a statue of the late Justice Udo Udo Udoma, the first Nigerian to bag a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in law. The deceased legend's other achievements included his appointment as Chairman, Constituent Assembly (1977–1979), Chief Justice of
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
(1963–1969) and Governor-General of that
African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes (; ) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. The series includes Lake Victoria, the second-largest freshwater lake in the world by area; Lake Tangan ...
country in 1963. Sauntering down Consulate Road, the wayfarer is likely to find one or two decent eateries not long after walking past Beracah Chambers, a law office. Further down this road, stands the Local Government Secretariat. Overlooking the river, which separates Ikot Abasi from Opobo Island, are a number of quaint bungalows. One or two of these blocks serve as offices of the Ikot Abasi Traditional Rulers Council. Opposite these chiefs' secretariat, across a narrow asphalt lane, is a monument that was unveiled on December 16, 1985 by Justice Udoma. The spot, where the sculpture has been installed, is believed to be the place that some of the brave women were martyred in 1929.


Tourism

The area is dotted with tourist attraction centres. Her beautiful beach front at Uta Ewa, the Berger Jetty along Uta Ewa creek and the coastline create attractive tourist resorts.


Natural resources

The abundant gas and
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
deposits have attracted many establishments to the area. The oil fields include, Utapate (onshore). Adna (offshore) and Asabo


Agricultural resources

Arable agricultural produce include cassava, yam, sweet yam, taro and maize while cash crops are not limited to oil palm, coconut, raffia, rubber and palm kernel. There is an abundant forest reserve for timber and wild life while commercial fishing thrives in the area. Although known for boat-building, a sand bar partially blocks the entrance to its port from the
Gulf of Guinea The Gulf of Guinea (French language, French: ''Golfe de Guinée''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez i ...
. Ikot Abasi is also a home to Alscon, the biggest aluminium smelter plant in Africa.


References

{{Cities in Nigeria Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State