The Akunakuna are an ethnic group of Nigeria and Cameroon, closely related to the Efik, Bahumono and Ibibio people, [1] mostly inhabiting the area around the Cross River. Recent figures have indicated there are over three hundred fifty thousand Akunakuna people. [1] [2]
The Igbo word akwünaakwüna, originally referring to a town where the Akunakuna people live, was Anglicized to Akunakuna. [3] This exonym takes no account for what the Akunakuna people actually call themselves in the Gwune language, agwaGwunɛ, though, they are related. [4] According to the book New Dimensions in African Linguistics and Languages, During World War I, married and unmarried women were recruited to serve in the West African Frontier Force and later in the Expeditionary Force into Igboland as cooks and as soldiers' comfort. Ever since then, the word akwüna, shortened from akwünaakwüna, has referred to a prostitute. [3] The name akunakuna can be alternatively spelled as Agwa'agune, [5] Akuraakura, or Akura:kura. [4]
In 1846, the Umon attacked some Akunakuna canoes on the Cross River that were going to trade with the Efik, who had previously traded for European luxury goods. [5] This was used by the Akunakuna as a Casus Belli to go to war with the Umon. Though the war lasted for years, the Akunakuna eventually lost. Under the negotiation of the Efik, the result was as follows, the Akunakuna had to pay an annual tribute to the king of Umon, in return for "keeping peace over the river". [6] In 1888, a treaty was written with Akunakuna leaders giving the British full control to their land. [7]
The Anaang are a Southern Nigerian ethnic group whose land is primarily within 8 of the present 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom State: Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam, Ukanafun in Akwa Ibom State,and 3 of the 17 Local government areas in Abia State: Ugwunagbo, Obi Ngwa,and Ukwa East of Abia State. They were formerly located in the former Abak and Ikot Ekpene Divisions of the Anaang Province, as well as part of the former Opobo Division of Uyo Province, in the former Eastern Region of Nigeria. The proper name for the Ika of Akwa Ibom is Ika-Annang. Based on 2018 estimates, there are about 4 million Annang speakers in Akwa Ibom,Abia state and over a million speakers living outside these states.
Southern Nigeria was a British protectorate in the coastal areas of modern-day Nigeria formed in 1900 from the union of the Niger Coast Protectorate with territories chartered by the Royal Niger Company below Lokoja on the Niger River.
Mary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Nigeria. Once in Nigeria, Slessor learned Efik, one of the numerous local languages, then began teaching. Because of her understanding of the native language and her bold personality Slessor gained the trust and acceptance of the locals and was able to spread Christianity while promoting women's rights and protecting native children. She is most famous for having stopped the common practice of infanticide of twins in Okoyong, an area of Cross River State, Nigeria.
Calabar is the capital of Cross River State, Nigeria. It was originally named Akwa Akpa, in Efik language. The city is adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers and creeks of the Cross River.
The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of them are extinct. Nigeria also has over 1150 dialects and ethnic groups. The six largest ethnic groups are the Hausa and Fulani in the north, the Igbo in the southeast, and the Yoruba predominate in the southwest, the Tiv people of North Central Nigeria and the Efik - Ibibio. The Edo people are most frequent in the region between Yorubaland and Igboland. Many of the Edo tend to be Christian. This group is followed by the Ibibio/Annang/Efik people of the coastal south southern Nigeria and the Ijaw of the Niger Delta.
The Eastern Region was an administrative region in Nigeria, dating back originally from the division of the colony Southern Nigeria in 1954. Its first capital was Calabar. The capital was later moved to Enugu and the second capital was Umuahia. The region was officially divided in 1967 into three new states, the East-Central State, Rivers State and South-Eastern State. East-Central State had its capital at Enugu, which is now part of Enugu State.
Egusi is the name for the fat- and protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants, which after being dried and ground are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine.
The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, in the southern part of Cross River State. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a Benue–Congo language of the Cross River family. Efik oral histories tell of migration down the Cross River from Arochukwu to found numerous settlements in the Calabar and Creek Town area. Creek Town and its environs are often commonly referred to as Calabar, and its people as Calabar people, after the European name Calabar Kingdom given to the state [in present-day Cross River State. Calabar is not to be confused with the Kalabari Kingdom in Rivers State which is an Ijaw state to its west. Cross River State with Akwa Ibom State was formerly one of the original twelve states of Nigeria known as the Southeastern State.
Nsibidi is a system of symbols indigenous to what is now southeastern Nigeria that are apparently pictograms, though there have been suggestions that some are logograms or syllabograms. Early forms appeared on excavated pottery as well as what are most likely ceramic stools and headrests from the Calabar region with a range of dates from at least 400 AD, to 1400 AD. Nsibidi was used to decorate the skin, calabashes, sculptures, and clothing items, as well as to communicate messages on houses. There are thousands of nsibidi symbols, of which over 500 have been recorded. They were once taught in a school to children. Many of the signs deal with love affairs; those that deal with warfare and the sacred are kept secret. Nsibidi is used on wall designs, calabashes, metals, leaves, swords, and tattoos. It is primarily used by the Ekpe leopard society, a secret society that is found across Cross River State among the Ekoi, Efik, Igbo people, Bahumono and other nearby peoples.
Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in Eastern Africa, with its capital at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi), and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.
Adiele Eberechukwu Afigbo was a Nigerian historian known for the history and historiography of Africa, more particularly Igbo history and the history of Southeastern Nigeria. Themes emphasised include pre-colonial and colonial history, inter-group relations, the Aro and the slave trade, the art and science of history in Africa, and nation-building.
Biase is a Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Akpet Central. It has an area of 1,310 km2 and a population of 169,183 at the 2006 census.
Italian Eritrea was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1869, which came under government control in 1882. Occupation of Massawa in 1885 and the subsequent expansion of territory would gradually engulf the region and in 1889 borders with the Ethiopian Empire were defined in the Treaty of Wuchale. In 1890 the Colony of Eritrea was officially founded.
Professor Eme Awa was chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (NECON), appointed by President Ibrahim Babangida. He held office from 1987 to 1989, when he resigned due to a disagreement with Babangida.
Akwa Akpa, known to European colonists as Old Calabar or Duke Town, was an Efik city-state that flourished in the 19th century in what is now southern Nigeria. The City State extended from now Calabar to Bakassi in the east and Oron to the west. Although it is now absorbed into Nigeria, traditional rulers of the state are still recognized. The state occupied what is now the modern city of Calabar.
The Imo River (Igbo:Imo) is in southeastern Nigeria and flows 240 kilometres (150 mi) 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. Its estuary is around 40 kilometres (25 mi) wide, and the river has an annual discharge of 4 cubic kilometres (1.0 cu mi) with 26,000 hectares of wetland. The Imo's tributary Rivers are the Otamiri and Oramirukwa. The Imo was cleared under the British colonial administration of Nigeria in 1907–1908 and 1911; first to Aba and then to Udo near Umuahia.
Ibibio (proper) is the native language of the Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom State, 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 with Nsibidi ideograms, similar to Igbo, Efik, Anaang, and Ejagham. Ibibio has also had influences on Afro-American diasporic languages such as AAVE words like buckra, and buckaroo, which come from the Ibibio word mbakara, and in the Afro-Cuban tradition of abakua.
Sir Walter Egerton, had a long career in the administration of the British Empire, holding senior positions which included the Governorships of Lagos Colony (1904–1906), Southern Nigeria (1906–1912), and British Guiana (1912–1917).
Efik proper; Efik.Ikɔ Efik) is the native language of the Efik people of Nigeria, where it is a national language. It is the official language of Cross River State in Nigeria.
The Hope Waddell Training Institution (HWTI) is a school in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria founded by missionaries from the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1895. It is named after the Reverend Hope Masterton Waddell.
