Attractive Variety of Natural
Landscapes
Across the state, especially as you move from the coastal south to the elevated
north, you will find an attractive variety of natural landscapes, offering breath-taking
views. They range from the moody mangrove swamp and picturesque vegetation island,
to flat land of secondary vegetation and pockets of thick tropical forests, palm
groves and vegetable land to rugged valleys on the slopes of gentle rolling hills.
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I promised the people that if they elect me as governor, their lives will not be
the same again and I am doing it, I have several other lofty plans for residents
of the state. I am not one of those whose coming to power was fortuitous, I prepared
for it and I know that God will assist me achieve my vision for the state.
- Akpabio
Ibom Entertainment Centre
- 5-Star Hotel with 250 rooms, Int'l Standard Theme/Water Park
- Galleria with Multiple Cinema Hall, 10,000 Seater Dome
- Shopping Mall
- Complimentary Services with Monorail
Historic Sites
These relics are characterized by architectural designs, squat masonry district
offices and government guest houses with elevated zinc pan roofs, open-walled and
steep-roofed native court buildings, iron bridges and cottage styled masonry houses.
A visit to the state will present one with nostalgic feelings of colonial presence
and occupation.
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Oron National Museum & Beach
At the beautiful river bank next to the old trade beach from which land boats carry cargoes from upriver area of the Niger delta coast towards Cross River, Cameroon
and Fernando Po stands the Oron museum, encapsulated by the clear flowing waters
of the Oron River.
The museum was established by K.C Murray in 1959 as a treasure house for the preservation
of several hundred Ekpu Oro (ancestral spirits of Oron), wood carvings believed
to be the oldest and
finest wooden sculptures in Africa, which were preserved at
the decaying ancestral shrines in the town. Apart from the Ekpu carvings, the museum
is also the home of unique skin- covered and horned head masks; the powerful Obasi
Njom masquerade from upper Cross River area, old manilla currency, water spirit
masquerade relics, traditional raffia and metal works, the traditional pottery and
metal works provide a visitor with a cultural voyage into the world of creativity.
By its location, it offers both recreational and aesthetic facilities to tourists
with its sprawling river and beach view.
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Uyo Museum
The museum at Uyo preserves all the relics of the Military Administration of the
State as well as the State’s heritage of arts and culture. It is located at the
Wellington Bassey Way end of Governor’s Office.
The Uyo museum is another tourist site to behold. It is an embodiment of the historic relics of the state. It also contains cultural artifacts and administrative offices
used by both the colonial and post colonial administrators of the state. The museum
which stands on undulating landscape bordered by the captivating ravine presents
a beautiful scenery and serenity. Surrounded by greenish courts and lined on either
side by whispering pines and fruit trees it presents a monument that is close to
nature.
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Cenotaph of the Women War of 1929
Women of Ikot Abasi, then a part of Opobo were actively involved in the famous women
riot of 1929 over taxation and in protest againt colonial rule which culminated
into the Aba Women riot of 1929. It was alleged that the protest was as a result
of the new tax regime introduced by colonial officials in then Eastern Nigeria.
Women protesting against their inclusion in the head tax mobilized themselves from
all parts of the region, some coming in canoes singing and chanting.
On landing
at the colonial administrative office they started chanting war songs. To quell
the riot, the British officials asked the colonial police to open fire on the singing
unarmed women which led to the death of scores of women.
To commemorate the bravery of these women who stood their ground and died for a
just cause, a statue was erected in front of the Ikot Abasi Local Government secretariat
which was then the administrative headquarters of the British colonial government.
on every December 16, each year all Akwa Ibom women gather at the sight to commemorate
the selfless sacrifice of these women.
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The Slave Dungeons and The Bridge of no Return
At the bank of the Imo River estuary, a walking distance from the Amalgamation house
and colonial offices is a jetty and a bridge designed to enable free movement to
and from the river, to enable embankment into boats and canoes. This was the famous
Bridge of No Return, a name given to it by the locals. Slaves were walked down this
bridge to the canoes for onward movement to the slave ships that lay anchored at
the middle of the high sea waiting for their human cargoes for onward journey through
the Atlantic Ocean to the vast plantations in Europe and Americas. No slave that
walks down the bridge ever returns and this inormed the name “Bridge of No Return”.
Also at this bridge are the slave dungeons made up of containers of cast concrete
with two tiny holes at each end to enable occupants receive air. This is where the
most stubborn slaves were kept before shipment for the purpose of weakening their
resolve. The Dungeons have partitions, so that each cubicle holds one slave. Apart
from the dungeons, there are warehouses for goods that were later turned into slave
warehouses. This was where the slaves were kept in preparation for their shipment.
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Amalgamation House
Off the road from the hall of fame is the house in which Lord Lugard the colonial
governor of Northern Nigeria Amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates
in 1914, making Nigeria one geographical entity. It was also in this historical
edifice which continues today to serve as an administrative office in Ikot Abasi
Local Government, that General Olusegun Obasanjo the commanding officer of the Nigerian
Army and General Phillip Effiong in January 1970 signed and declared a cease-fire
that brought the Nigerian-Biafran civil war to an end.
Originally, the building itself belonged to the Royal Niger Company, the merchant
traders who were given the Royal Charter to govern Nigeria on behalf of the British
crown till 1900. This building served as their administrative headquarters. The
building stands on short concrete pillars with brick walls and hardwood. Its corrugated
iron roof sheets are still intact to this day.
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Mary Slesors's Residence & Office
The present Government Secondary School at Ikot Obong, Ibiono Local Government Area
is a remodeled version of the Old mission school built by Mary Slessor in the late
19th century to cater for the
educational needs of the indigent children. The old
structures have been combined with new ones but the old walls are as strong as they
were built. Within the school premises are the ruins of Mary Slessor’s former office.
The concrete steps leading to the office and her safe which recently was moved by
the Presbyterian Church for safe keeping are still intact. Behind the school premises,
one can find the ruins of the house where Mary Slessor lived for many years. Her
water tank and the concrete foundations of the house are all that remain of this
historical monument, as the house being made of clay has long been destroyed by
the elements. It was in this site that Mary Slessor died in 1915, and from where
her body was moved to Calabar, the then capital of the region for burial.
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Onna Museum
The museum at Ikot Udo Essang in Onna Local Government Area has personal collections
of Cross ethnic works of arts and ethnographic, numismatic, traditional royal regalia
of late Chief (Dr.) Clement Nyong Isong, the first Nigerian Central Bank Governor
and first Civilian Governor of Cross River State before the creation of Akwa Ibom
State which he donated to his State of origin. The museum and monument are available
for research, for both youths and adults.
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Government Hills, Itu
The “Government Hills” at Itu, Uyo and Abak, which till date retains the feature
of 20th century colonial administrative centres complete with the mangos and pear
tree that are silent witnesses to the historical events and personalities that shaped
the history of the era. This is also reflected in the local street names like Barrack
road, hospital road, Brooks street, Liverpool street etc.
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Luggard's House
Opposite the Amalgamation house is the one-storey cottage where Lord Lugard lived
during the amalgamation period. It is said that the site was the first administrative
headquarters of the region before it was relocated to Calabar.
Apart from the solid structure that is still comparable with modern structures,
there were several colonial buildings in this area that served as courts, offices,
residential houses and recreational centres. All these facilities are still intact
as when they were built. One significant historical fact is that the area is situated
at the bank oImo River estuary, a tributary from where King Jaja of Opobo was shipped
into exile.
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Slave Master's lodge and Warehouse
The Itu River was a renowned slave trade route and the old jetty still stands. There
are a number of old prison-like warehouses where slaves were kept to await shipment
via the Itu River. The main lodge was the residence of the white slave merchants
who occupied the area. This is a one-story house, much complex and beautifully constructed.
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Mary Slessor's Cabin
This is a monument erected on the site of the home built by Mary Slessor “the white
Queen of Okoyong” as a shelter for twins and their mothers, whom she rescued from
the evil forest where they were cast away. The floor of the old house is still intact
and there is a long column of steps leading up to the site which is located on top
of the Okoyong hill.
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Qua Iboe Church
The Qua Iboe Church architecture at Atan Offot, Uyo which still stands in its aesthetic
splendour is a relic representing the missionary zeal of self-supporting efforts
of the people. The church was built through the efforts of local workers and contributions
made by the people to ensure that evangelization along the Qua Iboe river basin
and beyond was accomplished.
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Royal Niger Boat Yard
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Hall of Fame
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Abandoned Settlement
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The boat yard is found after Lugard’s house, behind the administrative building
of the former Royal Niger Company premises. It is a large boat yard where merchant
ships were built and repaired. There exist some old boats and canoes of all sizes
in the yard which is an indication of the extensive businesses carried out in the
area in the past.
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This is another monument built in remembrance of the brave women who were killed
in the 1929 women riot at the consular beach, Egwang Opobo now Ikot Abasi and elsewhere
in the State. The commemorative marble plaque inside the building contains names
of twenty-three women that died at Ikot Abasi; three that died at Etim Ekpo and
another thirty-three at Abak. Also listed alongside their names the names of their
towns of origin, which on close examination shows they came from all over the former
Eastern Region and Niger Delta areas.
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These include old battle grounds at Esuk Odu, Ibiaku Uruan, Ekpene Ukim, Okat and
Ikot Ibiok (Eket) and abandoned settlement sites of the obliterated five-mile-radius
Ubium settlement twice burnt down and the 17 destroyed Qua Iboe villages all bore
memory of resistance of the people against colonial rule. Local stories described
the battles as unequal, a battle of men and women with bare hands and songs against
machine guns of numerous military and punitive expeditions.
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