The Origin of Ikot-Ekpene Day Celebrations: Putting the Annual Celebrations in Proper Historical Perspective.

Author: Tom U. Okure. Ph.D

The Context

Ikot Ekpene Day is a celebration that takes place shortly after Christmas and is celebrated annually by all the town’s inhabitants and original families that make up what is today called Ikot Ekpene or the Raffia City.  In the mist of the celebration, and in common with most celebrations, we tend to sometimes forget why we are celebrating and the origins of the celebrations.  It is therefore necessary to remind the younger generation of Ikot Ekpenians about the origins of this celebration and to put the record straight regarding this vital annual event.  

Map of Current Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area

For background, Ikot Ekpene is located between latitudes 5° 10` and 5° 30` North and longitudes 7° 30` and 7° 45` East. The town lies on the North-Western flank of the Nigerian state called Akwa Ibom. It’s unique position makes it one of the primary inland economic gateways into Akwa Ibom State. The town Ikot Ekpene bears its name from the village of Ikot Ekpene which originally was made up of ten families with a long and rich history. The village of Ikot Ekpene and the surrounding village of Ikot Obong Edong etc., served as the administrative center of the former British colonial government urban district council in 1914, Ikot Ekpene division in 1951, and Annang province in 1956.

Disharmony among the Village Family Groupings Comprising Ikot Ekpene Proper

In the early 1950’s there was not very much harmony among the various villages and the family groupings which made up what is today called Ikot Ekpene. Such disunity played into the hands of the colonial administrators that favored a method of ruling indigenous tribes called divide and rule. Essentially, British direct rule often used the strategy of “divide and rule” by which colonial administrators implemented governing policies that intentionally weakened indigenous power networks and institutions. One might suppose that this situation may have been at play in the the administration of Annang province of the late 1950’s. It is against this back ground that Ikot Ekpene day celebrations began.

Ikot Ekpene day celebrations did not just happen; it started because there was a need to arrest the disharmony among the villages and family groups which may have been purposefully fermented by the then British colonial administration in Ikot Ekpene. Research and interviews by this scholar indicates that the celebrations was started by the deliberate efforts of one of our Annang martyrs by the name of Late Hon. Chief Udo Udo Okure who in the 1960’s served as a Public Service Commissioner in the former Eastern Nigerian Government. Chief Udo Udo Okure was executed shortly after the end of the Nigerian civil war while in Nigerian military detention. The mystery surrounding his detention and eventual murder while in military detention in June 1968 has not been resolved. Chief Udo Udo Okure was born about 1914 to Late Obong Okure Umoton and Nne Okure of Nto Abatekpe family all of Ikot Ekpene village, Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State (then part of the former Old Calabar Provice of Eastern Nigeria). He was the third son in a line of more than six children of a traditional Annang polygamous family.  Not much historical credit related to Annang socio economic development has been accorded to a number of Annang heroes such as late Chief Udo Udo Okure mainly because of the revisionist writings of self-serving authors and  historical commentators. These revisionist writers  attempt to undermine or revise the major heroic achievements, contributions and sacrifices of Annang past heroes  in their writings, speeches and memorials revealing latent bias in favor of some present day politically favored Annang leaders .

Forging Unity of Purpose and Action

Shortly after returning to his hometown of Ikot Ekpene from the United Kingdom (UK)  after completion of his studies in the late 1950’s, late Udo Udo Okure realized that the various families that composed Ikot Ekpene were very divided  and even though they shared a common Annang language  and heritage tended to compete against each other rather than cooperate to achieve common socio economic goals.  The consequence of this competition was that they could not act as a unitary force in seeking a hearing or attention from the then colonial administrators for developmental purposes.  Each large family group (called epuk) acted independently in it’s governance and administration of its affairs. Each village and family group had its own rituals and celebrations which occurred independent of the others. For example Ata Essien , Ikot Udo Offiong , Ikot Abiekot, Nto Abiekwa and Nto Abatekpe family groupings acted independently in their dealings with the colonial masters and also conducted their celebrations independently.

Picture shows Minister I. U. Akpabio of Ukana, Ikot Ekpene (center) and Mrs Umo Essien Okure (right)
admiring the O.B.E. medal awarded to her husband Udo Udo Okure by the Queen of England

In order to unite the family groupings so that that they can better represent themselves as a united force to press their socio economic aspirations before the colonial administrative government, Udo Udo Okure decided to organize the disunited families by reaching out to the Chiefs of the various families regarding the need for unity of purpose in action. In order to bring the divided families together in one place, research shows that he bought a cow with his own money which he presented to Nto Abatekpe family group to be shared among the leaders of the other families in a planned gathering yet to be announced. He also bought ten very large bags of salt ( a very valued commodity at the time) and provided five bags to Ata Essien and five bags to Ikot Udo Offiong to be shared among the participants of those attending the unity meetings that was planned. Other gifts were solicited and obtained and brought to the unitary gathering for a unity celebration.  Prior to the main celebration event, Okure organized several meetings which were held initially between individual village leaders of the ten families that comprised Ikot Ekpene proper. When an accord was finally concluded it was agreed that the Cow, the ten salt bags and other gifts would be brought to the village square (fair ground) in Ikot Ekpene were a ceremony would be held announcing the unity and commonality of purpose henceforth of  the ten families that make up Ikot Ekpene proper. 

For the historical record, it is that singular action of “community organization” spear headed by Udo Udo Okure that resulted in the first ever recorded celebration of Ikot Ekpene day which occurred towards the end of the late 1950’s. In recognition of his community and outstanding government service to Nigeria and the former British Colonial Government, Queen Elizabeth 11 of England awarded Late Chief Udo Udo Okure the high honor award of OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). The Order of the British Empire recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services outside the Civil Service and work with charitable and welfare organizations of all kinds.

Conclusion

The exact year when the first Ikot Ekpene Day Celebration took place could not be ascertained at the time this research was conducted in January 1983. Nevertheless, the historical significance of this first united celebration may have been lost over the years in the foray of annual celebrations which followed. One thing is clear, the original intent of the celebration was designed to reaffirm the unity of the  original ten families that make up Ikot Ekpene proper.  Since then, the celebrations called Ikot Ekpene Day has become an annual ritual of the whole Ikot Ekpene town and has now assumed great significance of its own.  One might ask why it is necessary to expatiate on this historical annual event. As stated earlier, there is a lot of historical revisionism taking place in the writings about Annang Nation today. This article is written to set the record straight before our Annang revisionists writers distort the historical facts pertaining to this important annual event by putting a political spin on the historical facts.

Source: Interviews conducted by Dr. Tom Okure in 1983 among family elders in Ikot Ekpene.

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All rights reserved by Tom Okure, Ph.D President and CEO of Inter-Continental Mgt. Systems, Inc (or ICMS, Inc). The information included in this article may not be used, reproduced, transmitted, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written permission of ICMS, Inc. The author Dr. Tom Okure is President of ICMS, Inc, a multifaceted business and management consulting firm with its head office in Albany, New York. Dr. Okure is a writer, author, business/management consultant, public policy advisor and commentator and a change advocate.

Manilla: The first documented modern form of money used in trade in Nigeria

Manillas are the first documented modern means of exchange used in Nigeria

ICMS, Inc Reports
By Tom Okure, Ph.D.
May 29, 2017

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The typical Manilla form used in Southern part of Nigeria

Manillas are the oldest documented form of money used by Europeans in trade with West Africa including for the purchase of slaves from slave dealers.

Manillas were widely used in Southern and Western Nigeria especially among the Efiks, Ibibios, Annangs, the Igbos and the Yorubas tribal groups and served the significant monetary functions of convenience, transportability and wealth display by the well to do in Nigerian traditional communities. In Annang communities, bridal price (or dowries) for women was paid with Manillas called "Apkogo" in Annang language. In Efik (Calabar) language it is called "Okpoho."Before the introduction of Manilla, the most common dowry used for marriages were animals consisting of four types: goats, sheep, pigs and cows. The dowry could be paid to the bride’s family with a combination of the four domesticated animals or many of either of the group of animals. But at the beginning of the Second World War, it was becoming fashionable to add turkey to the group. The economic status of the bride’s family was always the deciding factor regarding the quantities and species of animal demanded for in the dowry. The end of World War II saw the slow decline in the use of animals as dowry in many parts of Africa. 
Manillas were made in different forms, sizes, texture and thickness. A traditional husband to be could be required to pay anyway between 10 to 25 or even more manillas in traditional Annang marriage as dowry price and settlement to his father in-law for the good upbringing of his wife to be. The British colonial administration paid for services and bought and sold goods utilizing the manilla. Since there are many sizes and forms of the manilla that was used as a means of exchange, one can suppose that a large size mannilla was equvilaent to a smaller number of manillas. This brass bracelet-shaped objects featured prominently in our culture and was the principal means of exchange from about the 16th century to the late 1930s. Manilla was mainly used in the Annang/Ibibio heartland of the present Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria along with other less renowned local monies. On the Oron coastline of the state, a variety of other currencies such as cowries was widely used.

Variant forms and sizes of
manilla money used in West Africa

Originally made in Europe, perhaps based on an African original design, there were various variants of the manilla form used and accepted either as money or jewelry everywhere in Africa. Manillas though monetary objects, were very desirable and valuable objects. It was not uncommon to see wealthy chiefs use them for body ornamentation in some parts of colonial West Africa. 

Even as late as the 1940’s Manillas continued to serve as money and decorative objects in many traditional contexts. Traditionally, the Manilla is called by different names (Apkogo in Annang land) depending on which part of Nigeria. The proliferation of names throughout Africa is perhaps the result of tribal and regional customs rather than the manufacturing practices for the object.

In terms of historical context, manillas are mostly connected with the Atlantic slave trade Manillas were used by the Europeans for the purchase of slaves. This monetary artifact are increasingly hard to come by these days but are still available in specialized outlets for purchase by tourists and collectors in many parts of Nigeria as memorabilia or momentous.

Celebrating Exemplary Annang Public Servants of Ikot Ekpene Descent of the Past

Celebrating Exemplary Annang Public Servants of Ikot Ekpene Descent of the Past

Featuring Chief (Hon) Udo Udo Okure, OBE

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Chief Udo Udo Okure of Nto Umoton Abatekpe

Chief (Hon) Udo Udo Okure of Nto Umoton Abatekpe family group of Ikot Ekpene was a Public Service Commissioner in the former Eastern Regional Government of Nigeria (1960-67) with its capital in Enugu. He was a top government administrator, adviser and policy maker in the Eastern Nigerian Government.

As Public Service Commissioner, he traveled extensively abroad to recruit and bring back many highly qualified Eastern Nigerians who were living or studying abroad. He recruited, hired and mentored some prominent and renowned public administrators from Ikot Ekpene such as Mr. Asuquo Ekanem of Urukuso and Mr. Isang of Abiakpo etc. who later took up the mantle of top administrators and policy makers in former South Eastern State of Nigeria which later became Cross River State of Nigeria. 

In recognition of his outstanding public service to Nigeria and the former British Colonial Government, Queen Elizabeth 11 of England awarded Chief Udo Udo Okure the high honor award of OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). The Order of the British Empire recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services outside the Civil Service and work with charitable and welfare organizations of all kinds.

After the military coup of January, 1966, which brought an end to civilian rule in Nigeria, Okure was reassigned and appointed as the First non-white Chairman of the then newly created Calabar Cement Company (CALCEMCO) by the then Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu.

Shortly after the liberation of the mainland portion of South Eastern State of Nigeria, Chief Udo Udo Okure was also appointed by the then military Governor of the state, Governor Esuene to serve as the Chairman of the Rehabilitation Committee for Ikot Ekpene. This was the last public service post that Okure held prior to his death. As a result of a conspiracy to get rid of influential Annang tribesmen, Chief Okure and a number of prominent Annang heroes were arrested and detained during a rehabilitation plenary meeting. Okure was subsequently executed while in Nigerian military detention under the instructions of the area military commander Benjamin Adekunle (also known as Black Scorpion during the Biafra Nigerian civil was). 

After the South Eastern State of Nigeria was liberated, tribal and ethnic sentiments and rivalry between Ibibios and Annangs which had laid dormant during the war resurfaced. Competition for dominance resulted in the plot by Ibibio politicians to eliminate many prominent Annang elites using the military as a vehicle to eliminate opponents. Those who had access to the military field commanders like Benjamin Adekunle employed their services to victimize and murder those considered as potential political rivals.

The essence of Adekunle as a willing murderer solder was well known during the Nigerian civil war. In an interview he gave on August 1977 with a Vanguard newspaper correspondent Mr. Muyiwa Adetiba several weeks before his death, Adekunle appeared to have regretted his image as a legalized murderer soldier. Excerpts from the interview reveals his attitudinal change and regrets as follows:

 ‘’My killing days are over” …. ‘’Hitherto I had been labelled as a legalized murderer by the society called Nigerians …… Right now, I will do any job that will lead to the saving of souls of fellow Nigerians. Not that I regret my period as a soldier, or my killing days as some people would like to refer to it. But there are certain times when you need to do some reassessments. To be a soldier can be a curse in that you are branded. People look at you as if there is no good in you, as if you are just a blood-thirsty cannibal’’.

Read More About Brigadier Benjamin Adekunle

Benjamin Adekunle popularly known as “Black Scorpion” during the Nigerian Civil War, was Commander of the 3^rd  Marine Commando of the Nigeria Military troops during the civil War. Prior to his dead and over a period of more than five years, he had been particularly suffering from various debilitating ailments according to his son, Abiodun Adekunle, but most especially from memory lapses.

Follow this Link: My killing days are over – Benjamin Adekunle

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All rights reserved by Inter-Continental Mgt. Systems, Inc (ICMS, Inc). The information included in this publication may not be used, reproduced, transmitted, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written permission of ICMS, Inc.