EXPLORING THE IKOTABASI AND MKPATENIN LGAs OF AKWAIBOM STATE!

A day at Ibio Ette!

At the interiors of MkpatEnin, a LGA in AkwaIbom State.

During our time at Mkpat Enin, we visited an interior village that was located at the outskirt of MkpatEnin standing on the boundary of Ikot Abasi and Mkpat Enin.

This village was a little and very small home of some ancestral siblings who settled there. According to our informer, the village named Ibio Ette, (meaning: Short man) was named after a hunter who usually hunted and killed Elephants. (Mkpat Enin meaning the footprints of Elephants had been said to be an area in the state that had alot of elephants and you could always find their footprints around)

This man was said to be very short and would slide under the elephant piercing his sword on its stomach, running all through the stomach and the animal would run away in pains only to end up dead at another end.

This was the mysterious story of why the village was named 'Ibio Ette' and that was confirmed by the village head.

On our journey to Ikot Abasi, the other LGA that had the boundary but wasn't legally owners of the viallge, another information was given that the viallge was a small part of one of their clans 'ETTE'. And where Ibio meant small, that village was a small part of the clan. It was claimed by the chiefs that the land was given to them to farm, hunt and bear children thereby forming a constituency but because of the externality of the location, the people were barely carried along in community activities as they claimed their distance was very far from the centred thereby creating a closeness with the Mkpat Enin people.

This was a clash, and a serious case between these two LGAs, as they both had reasonable and sensible reasons why the village belonged to them but the MkpatEnin people luckily won the case because of their closeness to the people of Ibio Ette.

This is an historical happening that has never been recorded and could fade away in years time due to lack of documentation.

There's alot of stories and real happenings ongoing in the communities here in AkwaIbom State, Nigeria, we need to dig deep into our homes and find out some stuffs so our children's children will have a story to hear and history to study.

Below are pictures of the village Ibio Ette and their inaccessible roads.

Another day at Odoro Afia Ntan!

Then we crossed the waters, to the island of Odoro Afia Ntan, a village in Ikot Abasi LGA with villagers who basically survive by fishing and farming.

This village was another big adventure as they had only two entrance to their lovely mini-kingdom; A bush track and the river.

The bush track was created to help those who had phobias for big rivers.

It was a beautiful experience here and alot of jnformation was gotten especially the information of their fishermen being attacked by pirates who burnt their boats, took their equipment and left the fishermen on the heart of the big river to die.

We also learnt that this same pirates came from a community that Ikot Abasi LGA at large had accommodated a long time ago and gave them a good portion of their lands for them to farm, harvest and earn a living. But the viallge outgrew and are now enemies.

Below are pictures taken at the village.

Itoro Archibong, explores!