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Ibibio And Igbo Historical & Political Sameness by tonychristopher: 11:10am On Oct 27, 2015 |
Secrets 23 of 1985 promulgated by former President Ibrahim Babangida to adjust the boundary between former Cross River and Imo States said to be the cause of incessant communal clashes in Akwa Ibom and Abia State. By Obong Akpaekong Decree number 23 of 1983, which adjusted the boundary between former Cross River and Imo States, may have complicated border problems in Akwa Ibom and Abia States carved out of the two states. The decree divided many border villages into two, with one section in Abia and the other in Akwa Ibom. This also affected the communities’ shrines, barns and totems In Ika local government area of Akwa Ibom State, communities affected by such arrangement include Ikot Udo Ika, Urua Inyang, Ikot Inwang, Effen Okoro, Immaman, Ikot Ekong, Ikot Akpan Anwa, Ikot Ikara and Ikot Uko. Abiaka, in Ibeme community, Azumini and Iwukem are also well known examples of such communities in Ukwa East Local Government Area, Abia State. The decree compounded the problem of Ikot Udo Ika more than it did in other villages. Ikot Udo, a once closely knit family with about 3,000 inhabitants, was split into two groups. One of the groups is claiming that its people are indigenous Akwa Ibomites while the other, a smaller number, insists that they are Igbo. Although all the people spoke the local Annang dialect of Akwa Ibom, those who preferred to belong to Abia adopted “Akirika Obu” as their village name. But there is no boundary between the two groups. With time, some of those claiming Igbo nationality changed their names to suit their new posture. They were said to have preferred being Igbo in protest of years of neglect by the then Cross River State administration. The decree which former president Ibrahim Babangida promulgated in November 1985 excised the pro-Igbo side, said to be a third of the entire village into Imo State, while the rest was to be administrated by Cross River State. When new local government areas were created by General Abacha, the Annang went to Ika local government of Akwa Ibom while the pro-Igbo group (Akirika Obu) went to Ukwa east local government area. The promulgation of the decree said to have been influenced by Paul Omu and Ndubuisi Kanu, former governors of Cross River and Imo States, predictably, worsened the rift between the two brethren. There have been one class after another between the people since then. The most destructive of the clashes between them occurred on February 7, 2000. Over 50 houses were torched. The houses which included storey buildings, were infact the best in the locality and belonged to prominent persons in the community. One of the houses belonged to E.E. Ekpenyong, former secretary to Cross River State government. Other include those of Marm Ichara, a professor of petrochemical engineering and a former Shell official, Sunday E. Akpan, general manager in charge of audit in Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, Abuja, Young Ekpenyong, an avionics engineer with Nigeria Airways and Samuel Adam, a retired teacher. The houses of Godwin Nwagbose Nwulu and Michael Thompson Nwambaha said to be leader of the pro-Igbo were also burnt. The incident was triggered off by pro-Igbo youths who a caterpillar grader operator working on one of the roads in the village. He was sent to do the job by Francis Udoikpong, chairman of Ika local government area. Witnesses said when some youths on the Akwa Ibom side saw the grader operator attacked, they went to help him out but were equally attacked. This led to serious fighting and rioting which climaxed in sporadic gun fire. The mobile policemen from Azumini, Abia State, moved in to contain the situation but they were accused of taking sides with the pro-Igbo elements. Chrysantus Efep, vice-chairman of Ika council area, said police in Azumini were used to intimidating, harassing and arresting the Annang in Ikot Udo in favour of the pro-Igbo group. Many people including Jumbo Ukpongette, village head of Ikot Udo, Ika, and Thompson Abia, a prominent pastor in the area, were among many the police arrested. The arrest, burning and looting forced many families on both sides to seek refuge in neighbouring villages. When Newswatch visited Ikot Udo recently, the village had been largely deserted. The few people around belonged to the village security team. To them, every unfamiliar face was a possible enemy. The village hall located in the centre of the town was used as a base for the vigilante group. Many of the group’s members carried locally made rifles. While many others (the youths) were seen sporting in the bush. They were said to be waiting for waiting for their enemies. Many burnt houses dotted the town hall area. One of them belonged to Sunday Elijah Oyomete, councilor representing Achan II ward in Ika local government. Ikot Udo Ika is in the ward. Oyomete told Newswatch that many pro-Igbo people voted for him during the elections. It was because of this that the Ika council area decided to grade the road and do other things for the people. Those who attacked the grader said the area was not in the control of Ika but Ukwa East in Abia State. Ukpongette, also spoke to Newswatch from his hideout. He said since the police released him, he had not been in the house for fear of fresh attack by their pro-Igbo brothers. He told Newswatch he was happy that despite all the destruction, no life was lost. Udoikpong said his belief that the creation of Ika local government was to bring development to the people explained why he asked the grader to carry out the work which unfortunately resulted in the ugly incident of February 7. Youths in the pro-Igbo side had attacked the grader operator because, according to them, the area was not under Ika administration. Udoikpong said the people were lured by Ukwa East local government into saying they were not Akwa Ibomites so as to garner votes from them. He accused Ukwa council area of trying to annex the area which, he said, was 60 kilometres from Akwete, Ukwa council headquarters. Ikot Udo is two kilometres from Urua Inyang, Ika council headquarters. Udoikpong also explained that whereas Ikot Udo was one village in Achan II, a ward of eight villages which Oyemete is representing, it was a ward in Ukwa East council area. Another reason he gave for Ukwa East’s interest in Ikot Udo was the gas deposit Shell was said to have discovered, in the village. The deposit, he said, was awaiting exploration. He told Newswatch, “but I will resist the efforts of anybody who wants to annex Ika community to Abia” adding “if any of Ikot Udo people wants to belong to Abia State he should migrate there”. Udoikpong said decree 23 of 1985, which put part of Ikot Udo in Imo and part in Cross River was full of anomalies which made its full implementation difficult. He said “Akrika Obu” was merely a nomenclature given to Ikot Udo by the Igbo for political reason. He reasoned that Ikot Udo was surrounded by Ika Annang villages of Ikot Otuko, Ikot Akpan Offiong, Ikot Inyang Udo, Nto Mfung and Urua Inyang and did not even share boundary with Ukwa East local government of Abia State. He called for the abrogation of decree 23 of 1985. Over the years, Ika community has been making representations to the nation’s various boundary commissions on how to resolve the problem. The bodies include Irefeke panel (1975), Justice Mamman Nasir commission (1976), presidential commission (1983) and the National boundary commission. In their letter to the chairman, creation of states, local governments and boundary adjustment committee, Abuja, dated April 29, 1996, on the issue, they argued that Ikot Udo had neither cultural nor linguistic affiliation with Ukwa East. They asked for amendment of the decree “so that all affected Akwa Ibom villages erroneously carved into Abia State would be returned”. The letter signed by 10 persons among them community leaders also called for return of all venerated areas carved into Abia State and the return of any part of Ibeme in Obioma Ngwa local government, that may have been put in Akwa Ibom. On August 10, 1999, Ikot Udo Youth Association, wrote to the chairman of Ukwa East council area on the need for peaceful co-existence between Ikot Udo people and Ukwa East. In the letter, they accused some of the pro-Igbo people of making false claims and presenting fabricated history to curry favour from Ukwa local government area. The letter asked why “Akirika Obu” was the only Ndoki village in Ukwa East council area speaking Annang dialect. It accused some of them of dropping their Annang names for Igbo. Those accused of this included prominent villagers such as Dick Samuel Essien who allegedly changed to dick Samuel Nwankwo; James Akpan Abia now known as James Nna Abia, Michael Ekot now Michael Kalu and Monday Udo Ekpenyong who answers Monday Ama Kalu. Newswatch learnt that the issue of name change is not new in the Ikot Udo case. In April 1976, Dick Emuchay, the then chairman of Imo State public service commission and leader of the Ndoki people, told the Justice Nasir commission on Boundary Adjustment that the names of some Annang people and communities in the then Abak division were changed during the civil war to suit their relationship with Igbo. Emuchay claimed that all the disputed villages were Igbo and were descendants of the same forbearer, Eze-Ndoki who, he said, founded the area in the 12 century. His descendants, he claimed, founded Akpala and Azumini. But Benson Iyang Udo and Raymond Orok, two Annang leaders, in their evidence at the commission said Azumini, originally called “waterside,” was a Cross River trading post. They claimed that Ikot Udo was one of Annang villages the Igbo tried to rename Akirika Obu. On February 25, 2000, the people of Ikot Udo wrote to Chris Ekpenyong, Akwa Ibom deputy governor and chairman of the state’s boundary committee, asking him to assist in resolving the boundary crisis. Their requests included abrogation of Decree 23 of 1985, allowing the whole of Ikot Udo/Akirika Obu to remain in Ika, bringing pressure on the federal government to release a white paper on the 1997 boundary adjustment commission R.D. Mohammed. The letter, signed by Oyomete and nine other leaders of the villages asked for a re-establishment of a police station in Ikot Udo and a federal government’s involvement in infrastructural development of the village to discourage the people from political harlotry. The village also sent a save-our-soul letter to Akwa Ibom State government, February 10, asking it to prevail on the federal government to send neutral policemen to the police station in Azumini, as well as send relief packages to those badly affected by the February 7, incident. Ekpenyong, who was visited the community after the incident, condemned the wanton destruction of property in the village and appealed to the youths on both sides not to act in a way that will inflict more pains and injuries on the people. He asked the federal government to consider all cultural, historical and political antecedents before taking a decision affecting Akwa Ibom and other states. Others who visited the village since the incident include Akwa Ibom indigenes in the national assembly and A.A.Oyakhire, assistant inspector-general of police, AIG, in charge of zone 6. Various steps have been taken to resolve the Ikot Udo conflict over the years. In 1994, Yakubu Bako, Temi Ejoor and Gregory Agboneni, then military administrators of Akwa Ibom, Abia and Cross River States well as top officials of the national boundary commission met in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State capital, to find a lasting solution to the problem. Successive chairmen of Ika and Ukwa East have also been working together to resolve the crisis. On July 30, 1999, Ukwa council chairman visited Urua Inyang to hold discussions with his Ika counterpart on how to end the conflict. But also their efforts seem to have once to naught as hostilities continues in the area. https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/soc.culture.nigeria/KM67pNMl |
Re: Ibibio And Igbo Historical & Political Sameness by afanide: 11:35am On Oct 27, 2015 |
First it was Igbo and Rivers. Later Igbo and Yoruba, Now it is Igbo and Ibibio. Please count Ibibios out of this Comparison shit..... 1 Like |
Re: Ibibio And Igbo Historical & Political Sameness by kemdaniels: 11:59am On Oct 27, 2015 |
Ibos always seem to loose touch with reality whenever they talk about their perceived alliance with akwa ibom on biafra.i only always laugh at their naiveity and foolishness,because its only obvious that there is no love between us and them. 1 Like |
Re: Ibibio And Igbo Historical & Political Sameness by fineguy11(m): 12:04pm On Oct 27, 2015 |
stay the f*uck away,,f*cking land grabbers...from ijaw now it akwaibom.....dont trespass or else................ 1 Like |
Re: Ibibio And Igbo Historical & Political Sameness by scholes0(m): 1:00pm On Oct 27, 2015 |
LoooooooL LoooooooLer LoooooooLest 1 Like |
Re: Ibibio And Igbo Historical & Political Sameness by glacswhite: 3:14pm On Oct 27, 2015 |
Those. Calling us Land Grabber are from Yoruba...because I can Proudly tell you that their is no hatred existing in the Heart of Ukwa,Obioma,Ohambele(Akwa ete) and the Akwa Ibom as of now because they inter-marry,interchange Goods and are peaceful people...I know a lot of Woman From Akwa ibom Married into Ukwa,Obioma,Akwaete ...Ngwa and Akwa ibom do not have any Rift the little issue with Ngwa and Akwaibom is that those in Akwaibom are Given free hand to trade on the palm fruits in Ngwaland of which they're now stealing those palm fruits and are ready to fight who stops them...from History of Ngwa People right from Mbaise I was Told they Do not Steal as they punish those that steals and they always welcome Visitors which include giving out free Foods,Lands Etc.....Goto Ugep in Cross River state and see how peaceful our Igbos are with people of Yakur although they speak different languages which they themselves(cross rivers) can't fully understand....Some LGA in Cross Rivers like Biase but esp Ugep do speak ''Ota Dike'' which in Igbo we say ''Oka dike'' meaning it is still Strong or it is still hard |
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