16/10/2025
The Forgotten Igbo of Akwa Ibom: Silenced Voices in Nigeria’s Ethnic Politics
Nigeria’s fraudulent political structure has always thrived on the manipulation of identity and history. One of its cleverest tricks was how it quietly erased the true identity of some Igbo-speaking communities in Akwa Ibom State, merging them into an artificial “South-South” bloc, and pretending that these people never spoke or shared ancestry with the Igbo nation.
But history and tongue never lie. Language remains the oldest DNA of a people and in Akwa Ibom State especially in Ika Local Government Area and some border villages of Ini, Essien Udim and Ukanafun, that DNA still speaks loudly in Igbo dialects.
1. The Ika People: Igbo by Tongue and denied by geopolitics
The Ika people of Akwa Ibom are among the most outspoken victims of Nigeria’s ethnic manipulation. Their villages such as Ikot Udo Ika, Urua Inyang Ika, Ikot Obio Inyang and Ikot Okoro still speak an Igbo dialect that shares deep linguistic and cultural similarity with the Ika of Delta and Edo States.
Yet, because they were trapped inside a politically drawn boundary, they were rebranded “Annang” or “Ibibio.”
These are the same people whose naming patterns, traditional titles, market names (Eke, Orie, Afọ, Ǹkwọ), and age-grade systems mirror those of their Igbo kinsmen in Abia and Delta. It is historical amnesia that allows Nigeria to pretend they are not Igbo.
2. The Border Communities: Ini, Ukanafun and Essien Udim
Move north toward Ini Local Government Area, and you will meet border communities like Ikpe Mbak Eyop, Ikpe Ikot Nkon and Ikpe Ikot Obong, whose older generation still understand the Igbo language.
In Ukanafun and Essien Udim, oral traditions tell how their ancestors migrated from Abia and Imo centuries ago, crossing rivers and forests to settle where they are today. Many of these people are now bilingual; speaking both Ibibio/Annang and Igbo but their folklore, names and ancestral festivals still trace directly to the eastern Igbo heartland.
3. The Linguistic Proof: Igbo Words that Never Died
Linguists have long documented that the Ika and some Annang dialects of Akwa Ibom are Igboid languages, not pure Ibibio. Even after decades of forced assimilation, you still hear pure Igbo words in these communities:
Nne = mother
Nna = father
Ụlọ = house
Mmiri = water
Afọ = year or market day
These words have no Ibibio roots, they are Igbo and their survival proves that language cannot be silenced by colonial borders.
4. The Political Deception
When Nigeria was created, the British and later the Nigerian elite deliberately split the Igbo nation into East Central State, Rivers, Cross River and later Akwa Ibom to dilute the numerical strength of the Igbo people.
Communities that had long identified as Igbo suddenly found themselves under new names, new states and new ethnic classifications.
That is why today, the Igbo of Akwa Ibom are a lost tribe politically detached but spiritually connected to their roots.
The people of Ika, Ini, Ukanafun and Essien Udim must rise to reclaim their heritage. Being Igbo is not a crime; it is a history of resilience, civilization and pride.
When Nigeria divides people by boundaries, the wise rebuild unity through culture and truth.
Akwa Ibom may politically sit in the so-called “South-South,” but within its soil beats the heartbeat of Ndigbo, silenced for decades but waiting to roar again.
The above Igbo communities in Akwaibom State are the ones I know. There might be more yet to be discovered by me. But, carefully study the map, it will help you a lot.
This does not in anyway mean that it is only the Igbo speaking communities that are Biafrans, the whole of Akwaibom State and it's people are Biafrans.
✍️ Historical Facts
