Wilberforce Island is an island located in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, covering a total area of approximately 23,197.05 hectares. This area includes 446.76 hectares of water, with the remaining 22,750.29 hectares consisting of residential areas, landfills, beaches, forests, farmlands, and vegetation. [1]
The island hosts key facilities such as the Bayelsa International Airport and the Niger Delta University. While the airport is located on the island, it is not in Amassoma, where the Niger Delta University is situated. [2] [3]
Wilberforce Island stretches across two local government areas: Southern Ijaw and Yenagoa. It includes several towns, such as Amassoma, Agudama, Oguobiri, and others, contributing to the island's diverse landscape and communities.
The Ijaw people, also spelled Ịjọ, are an ethnic group found in the Niger Delta region in Nigeria, with primary population clusters in Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers. They are also have significant population clusters in Edo, Ondo and small parts of Akwa Ibom. The Ijaws are located in roughly 26 local government areas across Nigeria's 774 local government areas. The Ijaws occupy six Nigerian states and are considered one of the major ethnic groups in the Niger Delta region. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps and settlements in Benue, and Kogi states and as far west as Sierra Leone, Ghana and as far east as Gabon. As of 2023, Nigeria's Ijaw population is estimated at around 15 million accounting for around 6.9% of the country's 223 million people, positioning them as the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria. The Ijaws are one of the most populous tribes inhabiting the Niger Delta region, and one of the world's most ancient peoples.
Delta State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1991. Bordered on the north by Edo State, the east by Anambra and Rivers states, and that south by Bayelsa State while to the west is the Bight of Benin which covers about 160 kilometres of the state's coastline. The state was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991, but was later expanded to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Its capital city is Asaba which is located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the state, while the state's economic center is the city of Warri on the southwestern coastline.
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitical zone, one state (Ondo) from South West geopolitical zone and two states from South East geopolitical zone.
Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria. Formed on 27 May 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo and Anambra to the north, Abia and Akwa Ibom to the east, and Bayelsa and Delta to the west.The State capital, Port Harcourt, is a metropolis that is considered to be the commercial center of the Nigerian oil industry.
Bayelsa state is a state in the South South region of Nigeria, located in the core of the Niger Delta. Bayelsa State was created in 1996 and was carved out from Rivers State, making it one of the newest states in the federation. The capital, Yenagoa, is susceptible to high risk of annual flooding. It shares a boundary with Rivers State to the east and Delta State to the north across the Niger River for 17km and the Forçados River for 198km, with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean dominating its southern borders. It has a total area of 10,773 square kilometres (4,159 sq mi). The state comprises eight local government areas: Ekeremor, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Yenagoa, Nembe, Ogbia, Sagbama, Brass and Southern Ijaw. Bayelsa state is regarded as the least populous state in Nigeria with an estimated population of over 2,530,000 as at 2022. Being in the Niger Delta, Bayelsa State has a riverine and estuarine setting, with bodies of water within the state making the development of significant road infrastructure, quite difficult.
Yenagoa is a Local Government Area and capital city of Bayelsa State, Southern Nigeria. It is located at the Niger-Delta region of the country at coordinates 4°55′29″N6°15′51″E.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is a decentralised militant group in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. MEND's actions – including sabotage, theft, property destruction, guerrilla warfare, and kidnapping – are part of the broader conflict in the Niger Delta and reduced Nigeria's oil production by 33% between 2006-07.
Petroleum extraction in the Niger Delta has led to many environmental issues. The delta covers 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi) within wetlands, formed primarily by sediment deposition. Home to 20 million people and 40 different ethnic groups, this floodplain makes up 7.5% of Nigeria's total land mass, and is Africa's largest wetland. The Delta's environment can be broken down into four ecological zones: coastal barrier islands, mangrove swamp forests, freshwater swamps, and lowland rainforests. Fishing and farming are the main sources of livelihoods for majority of her residents.
The Mein tribe of the Ijaw people lives along the Forcados River in Delta State, Nigeria. The Mein trace their origins to Benin City, via parts of the central Niger Delta. Important Mein settlements include Ogobiri and Kiagbodo.
Southern Ijaw is a Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Southern part of Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Oporoma in the north of the area at 4°48′17″N6°04′44″E. The area has a coastline of approximately 60 km on the Bight of Benin.
Ogbia is a traditional Kingdom and Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The headquarters of both the Traditional Kingdom and Local Government is located in Ogbia Town at 4°39′00″N6°16′00″E.
The Urhobos are people located in southern Nigeria, near the northwestern Niger Delta. They are the major ethnic groups in Delta State found in two senatorial districts, they fully occupy Delta central senatorial districts and are also present in Delta south senatorial districts in Warri south and Patani local government areas. They are found in Bayelsa state occupying sagbama local government area and also in Edo state. The people in this ethnic group speak the Urhobo language. Their population is approximately 7 million.
The roots of Edumanom Forest Reserve trace back to 1970 when it was singled out as one of the proposed Forest Reserves by the Rivers State Government, a compilation encompassing 11 distinct regions. At that time, the Governor of Rivers State, acting under the authority vested by Section 28 of the Land Use Act, rescinded all prevailing Rights of Occupancy associated with the land enveloping Edumanom Forest Reserve. Subsequently, the Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, sanctioned by Section 8 of the Forestry Law Cap 55 of the Laws of Eastern Nigeria, 1963, officially labeled the region as a forest reserve. The forest reserve derives its name from the Edumanom family in Otuabagi, the entity possessing the largest segment of the reserve.
Niger Delta University (NDU) is in Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State in the southern part of Nigeria. It was established in 2000. It is a Bayelsa state government-funded university. In 2002, It was established by Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha, then governor of Bayelsa state. It has two main campuses, one in the state capital, Yenagoa, which contains the law faculty, and the other in Amassoma. It also has its teaching hospital known as Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) in Okolobiri.
Henry Seriake Dickson CON is a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He has been the Senator representing Bayelsa West since 2020 in the 9th National Assembly. He was the governor of Bayelsa State from 14 February 2012 to 14 February 2020. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 until 2012.
Ebikabowei "Boyloaf" Victor-Ben is former commander of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta.
The South South is one of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. It designates both a geographic and political region of the country's eastern coast. It comprises six states – Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers.
The Niger Delta swamp forests is a tropical moist forest ecoregion in southern Nigeria. It consists of freshwater swamp forests in the Niger Delta of the Niger River. This swamp forest is the second largest in Africa after the Congolian swamp forests. Although there are large cities just outside the ecoregion, the area has been relatively isolated by the difficulty of building roads across the swamps, although this is changing with development of oil and logging industries. Scientific surveys have only begun in recent years, and new species were being identified into the 1990s. Crude oil exploration and pollution has been a threat to forests in the Niger Delta region.
Amassoma is a community located in Ogboin North of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
Abraham Ayebakepreye Amba Ambaiowei was a Nigerian nationalist and advocate for minority rights. He was a medical practitioner and public servant, serving in various capacities at the State and Federal Government levels. He served as Commissioner for Education and Labour, Employment and Productivity in the Old Rivers State. He also chaired the National Board for Technical Education under President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ambaiowei was involved in the movement for the creation of Bayelsa State, serving as Chairman of the Bayelsa Forum and the Bayelsa State Creation Movement. After the state's creation, he became the founding Chairman of the Bayelsa State Founding Fathers Forum.