Nigeria recently just marked its 57th year as an Independent Nation, while some would argue that Nigeria hasn't lived up to its expectations as a 57 year old Nation, some others are of the view that we've come so far, so good.

Akwa Ibom State is arguably the fastest growing State in the country over the past decade and it boasts of being Nigeria's economic honeypot as it produces 31.4% of oil which remains Nigeria's greatest export resource.

Despite the separationism agenda cascading through the nation, Creative Photographers from Akwa Ibom state have taken to different social Media platforms to speak the minds of all Akwa Ibomites, reiterating  that we're solidly behind the #OneNigeria Project, they did this with stunning photos which depicted what we like to call #TheNigerianSpirit.

We'll leave you to gush over these photos and let them mean to you, what you would have them mean.
Happy Independence Nigeria, Long Live Nigeria, Long Live Akwa Ibom State.





Photography: Choszer Pictures
Location: Choser Foundation
Model: Royyale Models
Make up: ANNABELLEWW




Photographer: Ani Johnson
Headgear: @dachepearls
Makeup: @lovelydetailsmakeover
Model: @_mkpoikana





Photographer: Lyncon Jackson
Makeup: Tina Bassey
Model: Nana Essien
Art director: Richyadams Ekong




Photography: SlimCasualz
Female Model: Jenny Udofia
Male Model: Eze Uche
Make up: Alma Smart Inyang
Assist: Itz Ragnar



Photography: FliQ Media
Model: Sunday Ukafia
Creative director: BlaQ Obok
Location: Xpress Technologies





Photographer : Otuekong Akpaoto
Female Model: Moclassy
Male Model: Dominic Edemekong
Directed by: Natty Usoro
Make up: Senora Kome Abidde
Assisted by : Busy-brain Daniel Utomette & JoeWayne Nawa
Photo credit : Kanara Studios








Photography: Lebold Studios
Male Model: Edidiong Etuk
Female Model: Bea Uty Obot


Share what these photos mean to you.

More photos on http://ibompr.com/entertainment/nigeria-at-57-photos/

Indeed no one is above mistake, the essence of this campaign is not to condemn NTA but to educate Nigerians and the world on this.

Such a mistake being made on National TV goes ahead to prove the fact that lots of Nigerians still mistake Akwa Ibom people and that of Cross River.

Akwa Ibom - Uyo
Cross River - Calabar

clevadani:
Did I just read WWE boxing champion?

WBC.

Proudgorgeousga:



the person you quoted is actually right Clement Isong was once the central bank Governor but not the first, Aliyu mai borno is the first indegenous central bank governor.

Google it.

Yes that was corrected.
Check the comments and you will see a reply on that. Thanks

IBOM PR, on behalf of the good people of Akwa Abasi Ibom State, hereby wishes to most respectfully demand an apology from the Nigerian Television Authority for a rather disconcerting infraction.

While we celebrate Nigerian’s landslide victory in the match against Cameroon on 1st September, 2017, we wish to declassify our discontentment at the fact that the victory was reported on the Nigerian Television Authority as having been recorded in CALABAR, the capital city of CROSS RIVER STATE, whereas the said match was played at the GODSWILL AKPABIO INTERNATIONAL STADIUM, UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE, also known as THE NEST OF CHAMPIONS.

This mistake is not just awfully egregious for our national TV network; it hurts our ego as people of a distinct state, even though we are proud of and will always readily celebrate with CROSS RIVER, our sister state. The good people of AKWA IBOM have not and will not forget their political history as a state that was created from CROSS RIVER, but we retain the right to assert our identity as a different socio-political unit.

It is AKWA IBOM, not CROSS RIVER – UYO, not CALABAR! We demand an on-air apology and an immediate correction of this rather scandalizing mistake. We would be more than happy if the Nigerian Television Authority were to be swift in their response to our demands.

We feel hurt that thirty years after our state was created, we Akwa Ibomites are still being viewed, not as people of our own, but as some kind of sub-people under CROSS RIVER.

It is on this note that we would like to re-list some of the grounds on which we have been cheated:

• The 1914 Amalgamation Declaration was done in the present-day Ikot Abasi Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria began to exist as a single, even if incoherent, political entity from Akwa Ibom. We have Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard’s residence here, which should have, by now, become a national tourist attraction. Nigeria’s Centenary Celebration should have been done here in Akwa Ibom, where it all began. But it was not.

• The famous women’s riot of 1929 which lead to a micro-war against taxation in the entire south eastern region began in Ikot Abasi. The panel that sat thereafter to investigate the matter only did so in Aba. But till today, that riot is still fallaciously referred to as the Aba Women’s Riot. Nigerian history textbooks carry this historical distortion.

• Akwa Ibom produced one of Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor – Clement ISONG.

• Akwa Ibom produced one of Nigeria’s first legal luminaries – Justice Udo UDOMA, first Chief Justice of Kenya.

• Akwa Ibom produced Nigeria’s first Nigerian WBC Boxing Champion – Samuel OKON Peter.

• Akwa Ibom has produced the likes of INI Edo, IME Bishop, Emem ISONG, etc., who are contributing their quota to make Nigeria a country to reckon with in the global movie sphere.

• Akwa Ibom has one of the first Prelates of the Methodist Church – Bishop Sunday MBANG.

• In literature, Akwa Ibom has produced Uwem AKPAN, Anietie ISONG, etc., whose works have won laurels.

• Akwa Ibom is also the number one producer of oil in the nation.
• The list is endless.

Akwa Ibom merits recognition on the grounds of her own solid personal achievements. The mistake by the Nigerian Television Authority exemplifies the tendency to overlook the independence of Akwa Ibom and to describe her in relation to another state, and not as a state on her own. And we, IBOM PR, on behalf of every Akwa Ibom citizen, would like for this to end. Identity is important.

The easiest way to kill a person is to create an identity conflict for him or her. Constantly viewing us through the eyes of another state is tantamount to suggesting that we do not exist, when we actually do. It is tantamount to creating for us a conflicting identity! We most respectfully demand that this come to an end. And we believe that an apology from the Nigerian Television Authority will set the ball rolling.

We anticipate a positive response from the authorities of the Nigerian Television Authority.

cc: Lalasticlala, Mynd44, OAM4J

markfemisgay:

The first governor of central bank was alhaji mai borno. His picture is on the 1000 naira note. Op your post is full of lies and it doesn't worth front page.

Full of lies? why not point out the lies? Pull out your 1000 naira note and check the name of the man at the right hand side. Thanks

Clement Nyong Isong, CFR was a Nigerian banker and politician who was governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
Source: Wikipedia

Please help us spread this message

Mynd44, OAM4J, Lalasticlala

Tolexander:
NTA is still dwelling in the pre 87 era when Calabar was the capital of Cross River state still having Uyo as one of the towns in the state.

Little wonder Channels, AIT, Silverbird, TVC et al have surpassed NTA in terms of relevance.

Its a shame. They need to understand Its #UyoNotCalabar

A state that has existed for 30 years is not a small state. An Akwa Ibom boy/girl is not a Calabar boy/girl.

Akwa Ibom - Uyo
Cross River - Calabar

xcommando:
May be because of the believe that akwa ibom speaks calabar language,

Akwa Ibom does not speak Calabar language. Calabar (Cross River State) speaks Efik while Akwa Ibom majorly speaks Ibibio. Yes, some part of Akwa Ibom does speak Efik but the major language is Ibibio.

For more info on the campaign, please visit>> http://ibompr.com

On September 1st, 2017, a rather interesting match was played at the Nest of Champions, Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions. Fortunately, Nigeria thrashed the Lions with a four goals to nil score line. The country has since been in high spirits. However, the immediate hosts of the match, the good people of Akwa Ibom state, are hurting.

The match, like all events of such magnitude, was reported on National TV. NTA however, had it that the match was played in Calabar, Cross River State – a rather egregious error for a national TV station. And this little mistake is the reason why Akwa Ibomites are hurting: the fact that Uyo was elided for Calabar, or that Uyo was subsumed under Calabar.

This obvious mistake seems quite a trifle for an entire people to pine over, and it’s definitely something that can be overlooked. But it seems that it has become a norm; at least it has become so commonplace as to be carried on national TV! Since Akwa Ibom was created from Cross River state thirty years ago, and given the relative cultural uniformity of both states, it seems that in the minds of people, Akwa Ibom is yet to exist. So, a lot of people just say Calabar (the capital city of Cross River), when they mean to say Uyo (the capital city of Akwa Ibom). An NTA scrollbar advert during yesterday’s news even said that the match was played in Calabar. But IT’S UYO, NOT CALABAR; IT’S AKWA IBOM, NOT CROSS RIVER.



Even though the people of Akwa Ibom very readily identify with those of Cross River, it is outrageous to see Akwa Ibom through the eyes of Cross River, to put it that way. It’s a slight on the pride of Akwa Ibomites as a socio-political unit.

A state that is 30 years old is not a small state. And even if age doesn’t count, solid personal achievements cannot be ignored.
Akwa Ibom has recorded the following achievements and must be given her pride of place amongst other states:

· The 1914 Amalgamation Declaration was done in the present-day Ikot Abasi Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State. Nigeria began to exist as a single, even if incoherent, political entity from Akwa Ibom. We have Sir Fredrick Lord Lugard’s residence here, which should have, by now, become a national tourist attraction.

· The famous women’s riot of 1929 which lead to a micro-war against taxation in the entire south eastern region began in Ikot Abasi. The panel that sat thereafter to investigate the matter only did so in Aba. But till today, that riot is still fallaciously referred to as the Aba Women’s Riot.
· Akwa Ibom produced one of Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor – Clement ISONG.

· Akwa Ibom produced one of Nigeria’s first legal luminaries – Justice Udo UDOMA, first Chief Justice of Kenya.

· Akwa Ibom produced Nigeria’s first Nigerian WBC Boxing Champion – Samuel OKON Peter.

· Akwa Ibom has produced the likes of INI Edo, IME Bishop, Emem ISONG, etc., who are contributing their quota to make Nigeria a country to reckon with in the global movie sphere.

· Akwa Ibom has one of the first Prelates of the Methodist Church – Bishop Sunday MBANG.

· In literature, Akwa Ibom has produced Uwem AKPAN, Anietie ISONG, etc., whose works have won laurels.

· And to add to all these, Akwa Ibom is also the number one producer of oil in the nation
And, for a lot of those who do not know, the Efik people of Calabar migrated from the now Uruan Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom.

Till today, whenever the Obong of Calabar dies, it is an Uruan man that crowns another. The Efik people as we know them today are ethnic children, more or less, of the Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom state.

The essence of this campaign is not to spread bile between these two sister tribes. It is just to set records straight. Indeed, as it is said, you bale the water while it is still at the knees. If such a scandalizing error can be made on national TV, the water has indeed come to the ankle. Every people have the right to self-assertion. Surely any well-meaning Nigerian can understand that, especially looking at our multi-lingual, multi-ethnic nation.

We want Nigerians and indeed the entire world to know that there is Uyo, just as there is Calabar, and that there is Akwa Ibom, just as there is Cross River. We are Akwa Ibomites, not Cross Riverians, and this needs to register in every mind!

We are of the opinion, that NTA should tender an apology to the Akwa Ibom people and we've gone ahead to create a petition to that regard. Sign the petition here, if you share in our opinion>

Join the campaign: #UyoNotCalabar; #AkwaIbomNotCrossRiver. It might not bother you today, but someday it might.