Uyo Village, A Place Where Indigenes Cry

By UbongAbasi Ise

"Eat and remember the soil because it is human's brother' - Ibibio Proverbs

There is a distinct community amongst the 22 villages of Offot Ukwa Clan called Uyo Village. This is the village where Mr. Udom Emmanuel, as Akwa Ibom State governor, is having his office. This village hosts the state judiciary headquarters, Police "A" Division, Nigerian Prisons, Fire Service, State Library headquarters, Uyo local government council, Anchor Insurance, Ibom Plaza, banks, and motley of business organizations. This community is the root of Uyo metropolis, the seat of Akwa Ibom State government.

Ironically, this village has never had any indigene appointed as a commissioner into the state cabinet before. None of the indigenes has ever been a Permanent Secretary to any of the state ministries. They are not appointed into boards. They are also eluded by government contracts.

More shockingly, no indigene of Uyo village has ever been elected Chairman of Uyo local government council except Elder (Dr.) Okokon Etuk, a.k.a. Emco, who only served in acting capacity as a Chairman of Uyo Division in 1977 when Mr. Ita Etim of Iboko Offot, the substantive chairman, was sick. Etuk, till the time of this writing, remains the only Uyo Village indigene who had the privilege to be elected a two-term legislator in the old Cross River State House of Assembly. Till today, no indigene of Uyo village has ever got elected as a lawmaker to represent Uyo State Constituency, Uyo Federal Constituency or Uyo Senatorial District. Everything the community could ever gain from the modern political construct is always on a depressing negative. 

The story of Uyo indigenes is almost similar to the fate of America's Red Indians whose lands were forfeited by European white settlers. The Illinois Indians were forced to surrender their farmlands to the growth of Chigaco, a megacity they are no longer have a place. These natives were driven to settle at the backwater reservation in Oklahoma. The Cherokee Indians also saw their native land that was rich in gold deposits and fertile soil expropriated and cleared for Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte and other cities to grow. Today, they are referring to these cities as 'Nu na da ul tsun yi,' meaning, ' where they cried', following their removal between 1836 and 1839.

Similarly, a conscientious witness might have been caught in the vortex of emotion when the family of Nnung Akpayak in Uyo village was forcefully removed in 1950 from their ancestral land and farms in order to facilitate the building of government office which is now the present day former Ministry of Works. Similar situation was experienced by other locals during the early stage of urbanization of this community. Uyo became the place where indigenes cried.

Uyo village indigenes, like Indians have been stripped off their land resources. As if that is not enough, their only market that served as hotspot of their economic and social activities was shut down during the administration of Chief Godswill Akpabio. Focus was then shifted to Akpan Andem market in Aka community. The indigenes of Uyo village lost their economic power with the removal of their traditional nerve center of commerce. Traditionally, they are traders. Many of the families used to be engaging in trading at Uyo market for close to 100 years. Many of the shops at the market were owned by the indigenes of Uyo village. After the close down, some of them could no longer continue trading in the neighbouring community where Akpan Andem is sited.

The Uyo village indigenes are peace-loving; they are not contumacious, otherwise they could have stiffly resisted the removal of their market just like the locals in Calabar did when the Cross River State Government wanted to move Watt market away from the current location. The Uyo motor park which used to be providing the Uyo Village indigenes with means of income was also scattered and removed by Akwa Ibom State government. Some used to be serving as drivers, others as park officials. But today, the burden of urbanization has brought socio-economic disorganization and resultant loss of jobs to the indigenes of Uyo village.

The identity and traditional values of Uyo village which consist of three families of Nnung Uyo, Nnung Akpayak and Nnung Ikot Afia, has also been eclipsed by the vigorous forces of modernity. Even the village hall located at Akpakpan Street, is decrepit. Mr. Maurice Obot, a community leader and a respectable son of Uyo village, who resides in Houston, Texas in the United States, who by that virtue, represents Uyo Village in Diaspora, revealed through a media interaction with this writer that he became agitated by the fact that right from his childhood, the identity of Uyo as a distinct village in Offot Ukwa clan was always obscured. As a child, he was often reduced to a subject of mockery whenever he mentioned to outsiders that he was the indigene of Uyo Village. According to him, people would wonder whether there exist any community called Uyo Village. He discovered that the identity was already gone so he had to begin an awareness of letting people know that there is a distinct community called Uyo Village. Mr. Obot began a campaign called Uyo Village Awareness Project. He had to write a letter first to congratulate the then state governor, Obong Victor Attah, on his victory in the fight for the abrogation of the obnoxious onshore/offshore oil dichotomy and then seized the opportunity to request for a street after Uyo Village. Obong Attah, in his generosity, granted this request and constructed a new road in the community and named it ‘Uyo Village Road.’  Today, the road stands to remind both Uyo residents and visitors that there is Uyo Village, a nucleus of Akwa Ibom State capital.

Apart from Obong Victor Attah who did something to revive the identity of a forgotten community, Mr. Maurince Obot, said the current Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, has passion to bring out the village from the web of obscurity. Obot said, for the first time, a governor has recognized the traditional ruler of Uyo Village. He added that the day Anchor Insurance located at Anwa Itia in the community was commissioned, the Uyo Village head, Eteidung Aniedi Okon, addressed the event as the head of the community in the presence of the governor.  As gathered, it worried the governor on how Uyo Village indigenes are left out in the scheme of things.

Mr. Maurice Obot had uttered Ibibio proverb which says Adia mkpo ono isong koro isong edi eyen eka owo, meaning, "Eat and remember the soil because it is human's brother.' Other people living in Uyo and having juicy jobs should not merry and be forgetting the land owners because they have lost their land, their farms, their means of livelihood, and their identity. Therefore, they should be considered at every given opportunity. Government should carry them along by way of appointments and award of contracts. Mr. Maurice Obot has appealed to Governor Udom Emmanuel that he should consider the indigenes of Uyo Village in an event he is reconstituting his cabinet, because it is the village where he resides and work.

On the other hand, the Uyo village indigenes should also cooperate with the government to carry out awareness on their existence, cultural heritage and the need to preserve their identity because even government officials and others may not know that there is a typical community called Uyo village.

Yes! I am UbongAbasi Ise, for comment, please send SMS to 08189914609 | email: ubongabasiise@gmail.com

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