Akwa Ibom State - Demography

Demography

The people are predominantly of the Christian faith. The main ethnic groups of the state are:

• Ibibio
• Annang
• Oron
• Obolo

The Ibibio, Annang, who speak a dialect of the Ibibio Language, Oron and Obolo, comprising Ibono (Ibeno) and Eastern Obolo people, are the largest ethnic groups. The Oro is an ethnic group similar to the Efik, which is predominant in neighbouring Cross River State, and found in five of the state's Local Government Areas. Located at the Atlantic Ocean seafront are the Ibeno and Eastern Obolo people. The Ibono have similarities with the Oro and Obolos. The Igbo language is also spoken in Akwa Ibom in the northern and western land borders.

The Ibibio language belongs to the Benue–Congo language family, which forms part of the Niger–Congo group of languages.

Despite the homogeneity, no central government existed among the people of what is now Akwa Ibom State prior to the British invasion in 1904. Instead, the Annang, Oron, Efik, Ibonos and Ibibio were all autonomous groups.

Although several Scottish missionaries arrived in Calabar in 1848, and Ibono in 1887, the British did not firmly establish control until 1904. In that year, the Enyong Division was created encompassing the area of the current state of Akwa Ibom, with the headquarters at Ikot Ekpene, an Annang city emerged described by the noted Africanist Kaanan Nair, as the cultural and political capital of Annang and Ibibio. The creation of Enyong Division, for the first time allowed the numerous ethnic groups to come together. This further provided a venue for the creation of the Ibibio Welfare Union, later renamed Ibibio State Union. The social organization was first organized as a local development and improvement forum for educated persons and groups who were shut out from the colonial administration in 1929. Nonetheless, some historians have wrongly pointed to the union to buttress their argument about the homogeneity of groups in the area. The Obolo Union comprising Ibono and Andoni stock was another strong socioeconomic and cultural Organisation that thrived in the region. The Ibono people have fought wars to maintain their unique identity and territory in the region more than any other group.

When Akwa Ibom state was created in 1987, Uyo was chosen as the state capital to spread development to all regions of the state.