Today’s reality
in Ikot Abasi
By MAURICE ARCHIBONG
Thursday, August 12, 2004
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•Statue commemorating
the 1929 women’s revolt in Ikot Abasi. Photos: MAURICE
ACHIBONG
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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Are you one of those who think that occupants of traditional
stools have nothing to worry about in terms of material or
monetary needs? Then you don’t know what some of these
crowned heads have to endure.
It is true that in certain settings, people would stop at
nothing to become the local monarch, for the belief is strong
that some thrones are conduits to milk and honey, not to talk
of the money. After all, some traditional rulers can be counted
among the nation’s league of moneybags. But, are all
royal fathers really rich?
His Highness Udo Jerome Utuk-Ubom had this to say: "It
is not easy to really say that the throne is appetising, in
our area". This chief should know, for he is clan head
of Mkpum-Okon, one of the five clans that make up Ikot Abasi
in Akwa Ibom State.
Obong Utuk-Ubom was installed Clan Head in 1989. Prior to
his enthronement, the chief had worked as a manager of two
tobacco company giants; Philip Morris and International Tobacco
Company. At some point, Chief Utuk-Ubom’s monthly salary
was N12, 000. But, he gave up all that to become a traditional
ruler with a monthly stipend of less than N1, 000.
Asked to comment on his experience as a traditional leader,
and as to the pecuniary aspects of his throne, the chief recalled:
"In the past, things were different. People revered the
royal fathers to the extent that, if the monarch had nothing
at home to entertain a visitor, he could order the slaughter
of some wandering chickens or goat, which would then be prepared
as refreshment for the guest. But, if you do so, today, you’d
be called a thief!
"When I took over the throne, my stipend was less than
N1, 000 a month". This was apparently peanuts compared
to the N12, 000 take-home, he used to get as an employee of
a tobacco company. So, why did he take the job of traditional
ruler, if it meant such a steep drop in his income?
Obong Utuk-Ubom again: "I was compelled to ascend this
throne. The entire community pressured me to assume this office.
Then, there was also the issue of terrible repercussions against
anyone that shunned the oracle’s call to service".
With regard to the current state of affairs, the chief admitted
that the stipend has been raised somewhat.
"I am not saying that we are where we ought to be or
that where we are now is the best. But it is certainly better
than what we inherited". We thank God for the Obong (Victor)
Attah Administration", the crowned head remarked. Although,
Obong Utuk-Ubom would not disclose how much raise traditional
rulers got, "the current stipend is enough to give you
something to eat without tears". Which is a good thing,
to avoid a situation where traditional rulers give out chieftaincy
titles to any Tom, Dick or Harry with enough money to buy
one.
As to the marital rites in Ikot Abasi, the Obong said that
in ancient times, it was taboo for a groom to go looking for
a bride, himself. That lot fell on the lad’s parents.
When they found a girl that in their view would make a good
life-partner for their son, the parents commenced courtship
process through an exercise called Isin isip k’usan.
This involved paying a visit to the prospective bride’s
parents. On that first introductory visit, the parents would
place some palm kernel in a bowl and present this to the girl’s
family. If this offer was not rebuffed, it meant that the
prospects were bright. Consequently, no other suitor would
approach that family seeking the hands of the same maiden
in marriage.
And how old would the girl be, when this exercise took place?
Utuk-Ubom again: "O, those days things were different.
These things were done when the girl was around eight years
old. After the exercise, the groom waited till the girl was
of age. However, she moved into her future husband’s
family long before puberty. This was to enable her know that
family thoroughly, in the course of growing up. Before the
girl was put in the family way, she had to undergo an additional
rite called Mbopo, a sort of grooming and fattening process,
according to Chief Utuk-Ubom.
Now, this: Did you know that female genital mutilation (a.k.a.
circumcision) is taboo among the people of Ikot Abasi? Obong
Utuk-Ubom revealed: "Circumcision has never been part
of our culture, even though we knew that it was being practised
elsewhere. Now, the medical people, who know better, have
vindicated us by educating everyone about the dangers of circumcision".
When it comes to naming a child, the chief revealed that there
is no prescribed period after a baby’s birth for the
child to be named. "This can be done, whenever it is
convenient for the parents", said Obong Utuk-Ubom, who
hails from Ubom Village in Mkpum-Okon. He told Daily Sun that
his great-grandfather founded Ubom, and his great-great-grandfather
was founder of the entire Okon settlements in Ikot Abasi.
Digression
The last time, work took us to Ikot Abasi, we went to look
at the misfortunes of a once-prosperous company, The Opobo
Boat Yard, whose remains reek metaphoric of the Nigerian macrocosm
of which this dilapidation is a part. Apart from the degeneration
of the boat yard, another annoying development in Ikot Abasi
would, expectedly, force-in itself as adjunct to our mission.
This had to do with the demolition of an antique bridge along
Ikot Obong Road on the way to Urua Ukpike. Since the bridge
was erected before World War 1, some members of the community
had hoped that the structure would be developed into a tourist
attraction, someday.
Unfortunately, in the quest to build a new bridge, the authorities
had sent in a squad, which roughly melted down the ancient
structure. Thus evaporated the community’s hope of turning
their antique bridge into a money-spinner.
Back to the boat yard: The place is struggling to stage a
comeback, having been privatised. Interestingly, decades after
the collapse of the boat yard threw Ikot Abasi economy into
the doldrums, the town got what seemed to be more than a mere
shot in the arm with the establishment of the Aluminium Smelter
Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), there. Ever since ALSCON berthed
at Ikot Abasi, it has become more or less impossible to talk
about this settlement without some reference to that multi
billion-dollar project.
Reason: In recent years, Ikot Abasi economy has been akin
to one that catches cold, whenever ALSCON and other multi-nationals
there sneeze.
Barely a decade ago, Ikot Abasi inhabitants enjoyed a dizzying
spell of prosperity while ALSCON, Ferrostaal, Selcon, Julius
Berger, Hi-Tech, Silver Ball, among others, thrived. Now,
things have been on the dull side for a year too many. For
some idea of how much the above-named outfits buoyed the locals’
welfare, let’s take a look at the nightlife of Ikot
Abasi.
Although Ikot Abasi nightlife has more or less cooled following
the downturn in the fortunes of Selcon, Alscon, Ferrostaal
and so on, a number of leisure sports remain active, here.
But let’s start from what used to be the plateau of
this town’s fun spots: Hill Top.
Hill Top opened for business in 1982. By the late 1980s Hill-Top
was where to go looking, for these searching for chilled drinks,
good bites and live music. In 1998, for example, Hill-Top
hosted top artistes like Ras Kimono and Blackky. But, barely
a year later, the place was running at a loss. It is particularly
noteworthy, for the place closed shop less than 12 months
after the plant at Alscon was shut down.
But not all leisure outfits here have folded up. Fun spots
currently holding out in Ikot Abasi include Flamingo and Charly-hills.
Charlyhills stands along Hospital Road and was floated in
July 1997.
Acording to Charlyhills’ proprietor, Charles Ben Siah,
the spot offers games, music video shows, drinks and snacks.
Mr. Ben Siah, 40, told Daily Sun: "The story of Charlyhills
is fantastic". It has to be, for the current naira-spinner
evolved from a combination of accident and design. In the
beginning, Ben Siah used to be records dealer. To engage visitors
to his records shop, he provided games like chess, monopoly,
scrabble, checkers and so on. While playing, some of his guests
would send for beer and other drinks. Occasionally, some needed
snacks.
After a while, Ben Siah began to stock drinks and provide
snacks and voila! He was in business. But then, Charlyhills
was operating from inside a shipping container. Fortunately,
for this entrepreneur his outfit has blossomed tremendously,
ever since. During our visit, we found out Charlyhills has
spread far beyond its original compact confines, spilling
over to include a viewing hall and garden.
The viewing hall became necessary because of the multitude
of people, who throng Charlyhills to watch football matches.
"We have DSTV, and a 29-inch TV, here. Since we also
have a big generator, very often people prefer to come here
to enjoy sports, news and entertainment", he enthused.
Not only that. Apparently, a lot of people are also attracted
to Charlyhills because of the opportunity to read the latest
issue of newspapers and magazines for free. Another plus for
Ben Siah’s place must be the absence of "moths".
While the famous billion-dollar businesses thrived in Ikot
Abasi, residents witnessed an invasion of their community
by commercial sex workers. While the going was good, everyone
had a good time but when the bubble burst, most of the flesh
merchants left town. However, a few hopeful ones have tarried.
But Ben Siah said they couldn’t come to his place.
"We don’t allow call-girls to come around and hang
out, here. We discourage that", he remarked, frowning.
However, Ben Siah disclosed: "When the place (Charlyhills)
started, Ferrostaal was still booming and there was a higher
population of tourists in Ikot Abasi".
Interpretation: Like Hill-Top, which went under after Alscon’s
plant ground to a halt, Charlyhills was ostensibly busier,
when Ferrostaal was functional. With regard to Flamingo, fun-loving
inhabitants of Ikot Abasi all agree this is a great spot.
"In fact", it is the most popular", enthused
a 21-year-old damsel, who craved anonymity. Flamingo might
be two years old but there is no doubt "the place is
a nice nightclub", as Ben Siah put it. Flamingo stands
opposite Ferrostaal Camp, close to another spot, known as
Ballerman.
Ballerman used to be very popular but since January 2003 the
place witnessed a downward slide, after the proprietor, Mr
Equere Essien, went into politics, Mr Essien, a former Peoples
Democratic party (PDP) member, had decamped to the NDP upon
losing nomination to vie for office of LG Chairman. When the
NDP did not yield the platform he sought, Mr Essien moved
to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and became that party’s
flag bearer in the councils’ polls earlier slated for
mid-2003.
With the fortunes of this town’s hospitality industry
workers more or less tied to the apron strings of the multinational
corporations operating here, you can be sure that those who
can’t wait to see ALSCON, for example, back on its feet
are not just the investors and governments. Also keeping their
fingers crossed are the streetwalkers and hustlers. Come to
think of it, ALSCON, Ferrostaal and Julius Berger are German
concerns. Thus, many of the Europeans that came to work in
Ikot Abasi were Germans. If, as reports have it, Alscon now
lands in the lap of a Russian company, this means the new
set of foreigners would be East Europeans. But this should
be no problem, at all, to the "butterflies", who
would soon prove that they are as much at home with either
lager beer or vodka. Away with trivia: We returned to Ikot
Abasi in celebration of something far from banal.
Amazonia
The likes of Mrs Margaret Ekpo and the late Mrs Funmilayo
Ransome-Kuti are known to have permanently etched their names
on Nigeria’s history through their nationalist struggles,
especially during the colonial era. But, did these women draw
inspiration from antecedents? Of course, they did. They apparently
got the liver from dozens of other women, who rose against
the British colonial authorities in 1929. The women’s
revolt, erroneously dubbed Aba Women’s Riot, actually
took place in a concerted manner across several towns. Ikot
Abasi was one of those settlements. Thus, we are revisiting
Ikot
Abasi, a community in then Calabar Province, for good reasons.
Although Ikot Abasi, formerly part of the famed Opobo Kingdom,
was already on the world map before 1929, the women’s
uprising against Nigeria’s colonial rulers in 1929 was
to provide a further push into prominence for this town, then
already popular as the site of a famous boat yard, seat of
a British consulate and part of the late King Jaja’s
area.
Three-quarters of a century ago, Ikot Abasi was one of a number
of towns in both Calabar and Owerri provinces, whose women
bravely took exception to what they considered exploitative
excesses of the British rulers of then non-independent Nigeria.
In 1995, the year of that famed Beijing conference, the National
Gallery of Art (NGA) put out a very important book, The women’s
revolt of 1929. The book, which features contributions from
notable academics like Prof. Monday E. Noah, Prof. Obaro Ikime
and Chief N.U. Akpan, among others, reminds that one of the
women killed by the colonial forces during the 1929 protest
was the mother of a boy, Egbert. That lad would later grow
into a famous jurist and administrator (Justice Udo Udo Udoma).
Such was the impact of the reforms that trailed the woman’s
protest that the March 8, 1933 issue of the Daily Times described
the changes as "the great charter of liberty for the
people". But the prize did not come easy. Prof. M. E.
Ekpo, another of the book’s contributors, revealed that
in the Calabar Province alone, more than 53 people were killed
beside over 50 others injured.
Launched in 1989, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary
of the uprising, The women’s revolt of 1929 is an anthology
of select papers from a national symposium on the subject,
which took place in Port-Harcourt in 1982. According to Dr
Paul Chike Dike, editor of the anthology, "An attempt
by the (protesting) women to move nearer the colonial troops
led to the order to shoot, in which over 24 women were killed".
Geography
Until the 1970s, the ancient Opobo Kingdom was part of then
South Eastern State (later re-Christened Cross River). However,
a boundary adjustment exercise split Opobo. Opobo Island was
made part of Rivers State while the mainland part remained
within Cross River. That area, re-named Ikot Abasi, now lies
in present day Akwa Ibom State. Sources say ancient Ikot Abasi
referred to smaller settlement but the name has assumed a
more or less generic dimension in recent times. In the larger
sense, today’s Ikot Abasi comprises five clans: Ikpa-Ibekwe,
Ukpum-Ette, Ukpum-Okon, Edem-Aya and Ikpa Nnung Asang. The
palace of the paramount ruler of Ikot Abasi is within Edem-Aya
while Ikpa Nnung Asang hosts the famous Catholic Secondary
School, Regina Coelli.
Ikot Abasi once hosted a British Consulate, which is how one
of the major streets here, Consulate Road, came by its name.
At the roundabout leading to Consulate Road, the tourist would
notice a statue of the late Justice Udo Udo Udoma, the first
Nigerian to bag a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in law. The deceased
legend’s other achievements included his appointment
as Chairman, Constituent Assembly (1977 to 79), Chief Justice
of Uganda (1963–69) and Governor-General of that East
African country in 1963. Sauntering down Consulate Road, the
wayfarer is likely to find one or two decent eateries not
long after walking past Beracah Chambers, a law office. Further
down this road, stands the Local
Government Secretariat.
Overlooking the river, which separates Ikot Abasi from Opobo
Island, are a number of quaint bungalows. One or two of these
blocks serve as offices of Ikot Abasi Traditional Rulers Council.
Opposite these chiefs’ secretariat, across a narrow
asphalt lane, is a monument that was unveiled on December
16, 1985 by Justice Udoma. The spot, where the sculpture has
been installed, is believed to be the place that some of the
brave women were martyred in 1929.
Bottom line
Mr. Inyang Udosen, a barrister, is co-founder of the PDP in
Ikot Abasi. Mr. Udosen, who spoke to Daily Sun inside his
Beracah Chamber office, rued: "What has happened to ALSCON,
Ferrostaal and so on, is all due to politics in Nigeria: Wrong
policies and lack of interest. What is happening is happening
because we are part of the nation’s minority ethnic
groups". Udosen had told Daily Sun, long before his appointment
as chairman of the care-taker regime that held forte until
the March 29, 2004 councils’ polls, that should he find
himself in power, his priorities will include pestering relevant
authorities till ALSCON was brought back on stream. It is
not clear to what extent his efforts contributed to the recently
held auction of the aluminium smelter company.
"If ALSCON, Ferrostaal and others were functional, you
won’t find the people so downcast", the barrister
reckoned. Agreeing that while the good health of these multi-nationals
translate to a better life for the community, Udosen added
that the people have decided not to put all their eggs in
one basket. At the local government level, that the diversification
now includes an agricultural push and investment to boost
tourism via cultural displays.
Udosen again: "We have energised tourism through support
for cultural activities. But more than this, we also embarked
on skill acquisition programme". That programme, whose
acronym ends up as SAP, is supposed to equip 3, 000 youth
with various trade skills within three years. Given the lean
purse, consequent upon the paltry internally generated revenue,
it remains a mystery how the skill acquisition project is
being financed.
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