The Eket are a people who live in Akwa Ibom State,
south-east Nigeria, Africa. They number around one
million, and form a sub-group of the Ibibio people.
Eket is also the name of the main sub-language that
they speak, a Benue-Congo language. Eket is also the
 name of their main town. The Eket have a form of caste or class society, with the "Amama" being the highest caste, and these are notable for undertaking traditional potlach-like feasts in which the poorer people are fed en masse. In addition to the
Amama, groups of "Ekpo Ndem Isong" class rule individual
 villages and towns, and their will is enforced by the "Ikan"
class (traditional masked  police) to which entry is by merit
rather than birth. The local religion is one of ancestor-worship, worship of  Ala the "earth deity", and seasonal agricultural festivals. Water is abundant in the Niger delta, and the vegetation luxurious. However, over-farming and poor farming practices are depleting soil nutrients on many farms and plots. Some fishing is engaged in  In the 1990s western environmentalists were concerned over the activities of oil exploration companies in and around Eket, such as Shell and Mobil. The area is now newly "oil-rich" and Eket town is the thriving hub of a  new oil and gas business, with more than 250 companies providing support services such as catering, flights, and exports. But this success has caused problems: in terms of a demand for brothels, a rise in the general cost of
living in Eket town, and a reluctance by local young
men to engage in traditional work such as fishing.
There are vocal local campaigns to increase the percentage
of oil revenue that is given to the local community.

Opobo
Opobo is a city in Rivers State, southern Nigeria.
As of 2007 Opobo had an estimated population
of 131,579. A key centre of the palm oil trade, Opobo
 was founded in 1869 by Jaja, an Igbo slave-boy who
had risen to become a powerful Bonny merchant prince.
 Under Jaja, Opobo briefly dominated the region's palm
oil market, but was removed by the British in 1887 for
 blocking British access to Nigeria's interior. After Jaja's
arrest and exile to Saint Vincent in the West Indies,
Opobo rapidly declined in power. Opobo town was formerly
 under the Bonny local government area. After the creation
 of more LGAs, Andoni/Opobo LGA emerged with Andoni
 (Ngo) been the headquarters. With further development,
Opobo/Nkoro LGA was created Legg-Jack being the
chairman. Opobo town is the home of our present
Deputy Governor, Sir Gabriel Toby.

EKET

OBIO IBIBIO

HISTORY  PAGE

The Annang (Also spelled by non-natives Anang or more
 erroneously Anaan) is a cultural and ethnic group that lives
 within southeast Nigeria. The Annangs are found in the former
Abak and Ikot Ekpene Divisions, subsequently forming the
Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara,
Oruk Anam and Ukanafun Local Government Areas of Akwa
Ibom State of Nigeria. Their society is patriarchal.  Individuals
locate their place in the social world as being from Idip, literally
translated as, stomach. Thus a brother/sister from the same Idip
 means that they can trace their origin to the same mother or father.
Since polygamy is practised in the society those who can so trace
their ancestry to the same parents form Ufok (literally a house or
compound) Several ufoks make up Ekpuks or extended family and
several Ekpuks (extended families) make up the village and several
villages make up the clan. Leadership at the family, lineage, village,
or clan level remains the prerogative of the men. And lineage ties
extends to women even after marriage. There are many societies
and associations (Nka) for men and women which are very important
in traditional village life. Individuals are measured by both the number
and types of memberships in Nka's and by the achievements of one
 or more Nkas. Governance is done by elderly males who act as the
legislative arm called Afe Ison, directed by the Obong or Obong Ison
(Village Chief and Clan Chief) who is the head and the chief executive
 but without the authority beyond what the Afe Ison gives. A chief
 can be appointed by the Afe or can be an inherited office. The strength
 of any individual, family (or group for that matter) is typically based
upon a consensus of the village or clan through this complex social
system. Very little was written in the European papers about this group
 before the middle of the nineteenth century. The first recorded mention
of the group is in Wilhelm Koelle's account of liberated slaves in Sierra
 Leone about a liberated slave named Ebengo who hailed from Nkwot in
 Abak. He was captured and sold to the Portuguese but was subsequently
 freed by a British warship and later settled in Waterloo, Sierra Leone.
The British  soldiers listed the languages spoken by the slaves in that
captured ship as "Annang" (Koelle, 1854). The second mention is in the
description of what is known as the Ikot Udo Obong Wars. The British
 described the killings of the Annangs by King Jaja of Opobo as a
punishment for the Annangs defying his orders and trading in palm oil
directly with the British merchants
instead of going through the "king". In the war that ensued, the British
intervened and with the help of the Annangs captured King Jaja and
sent him to the West Indies.The British established a military post at
Ikot Ekpene in 1904 and then in Abak. The Annangs have a historical
reputation for their fearlessness and the ability of villages and clans to
bind together to fight a common enemy. This is perhaps
why they were able to thrive so close to Aro-Chukwu and also why
the British created the first local area government unit in Nigeria
at Ikot Ekpene. The Annangs suffered genocide during the Nigeria
Biafra war 1967 - 1970 and lost a significant number of its people.
The front between the Nigerians and Biafrians went from one end
 of Annang to the other at least 3 times. This did not happen in
other areas and has been ignored in most current  thinking.

  References : Ekanem, J. B. (2002) Clashing Cultures: Brussels. Peter Lang.
Enang, K. (1987) Some Key Religious concepts of the Annang.

ANNANG