Akwa Ibom, my Akwa Abasi Ibom State is my beloved land of promise. I am a son of the soil. Iman Ibom by birth. Yes, eyen Afaha Iman in the Etinan Local Government Area is where I come from. Years ago I wrote some poetry collections for my beloved State, Poems About Akwa Ibom State.
Akwa Ibom, my Akwa Abasi Ibom State is my beloved land of promise. I am a son of the soil. Iman Ibom by birth. Yes, eyen Afaha Iman in the Etinan Local Government Area is where I come from. Years ago I wrote some poetry collections for my beloved State, Poems About Akwa Ibom State.
I crafted words on our culture, our hospitality, our personalities and some of the places that made our homeland the centre to behold.
These Poems About Akwa Ibom State are something you would love and want to be associated with. Akwa Ibom is on my mind and here we are doing it the Akwa Ibom way with these uniquely crafted nature poems about Akwa Ibom State.
Poems About Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom State is the land of promise rich in many natural mineral resources. It has amazingly accommodating people. The hospitality of AkwaAbasi Ibom State is second to none. If you desire good delicacies, certainly Akwa Ibom is the right destination.
Akwa Ibom
Akwa Ibom
Our land of promise
In you
We found our fulfilment.
Our precious land
That flows with milk and honey
In the abundant deposit of black-gold
Is the heritage of your soil rewarded.
23rd day of September 1987 was your birth
Even before that day, you were alive
In the heart of the people that you endeared
With the hospitality that you enthrone.
The land where the swing of hips is your glory
Your dialects a pride in the mouth of your own
How your delicacies are a delight in the celebration
Your land, I am proud to be a descendant.
Land of the earliest intellectuals
In abundance
You have produced pacesetters
That your land and beyond celebrates.
AkwaAbasi Ibom
Home to the Ibibios
Home to the Annangs
Home to the Ukpabangs…
Home to all who bear your root
For in peaceful co-existence, you reign.
Nsikak Andrew
25th September, 2007, 4th December, 2007 & 16th January, 2008
Ibom Connection
Hot afternoon,
The sky rejoices in its brightness
To celebrate your reign.
Calm evening,
The sparkle of lightening gathered
In praise of your beauty.
Every passing day,
Roll of cars, troupes of Okadamen
Beehive of feet…
All add praises to your towering might.
In evergreen pastures,
Species of nature cloths your nakedness
In a combined beauty of flower attires.
Roundabout your enclave
An ounce of nature’s water claps
To chant your victory
As the centre of connection.
Rejoice former Uyo Circuit
For the coming of Ibom Plaza
Has rechristened you – Ibom Connection.
Rejoice! Oh rejoice,
Centre heart of Akwa Abasi Ibom State
For you shall ever stand
As a symbol of unity in our land of promise.
Nsikak Andrew
5th November, 2006 & 10th January, 2007
Uyo is the State capital of Akwa Ibom State where Ibom connects our centre of peace. There is something magnificent about the Ibom connection, it connects near and wide. It is like the symbol of unity that brings about peace. There is no way you would enter Akwa Ibom State without passing through the Ibom connection. This nature poem is celebrating our centre of peace.
Ibom Connection
In the heart of Akwa Ibom State
You stool as the centre of unity
To difference routines
You are connected roundabout
As a springboard to every node
And crooner of our promised land.
Symbol of a magnificent edifice
In the hospitality of Akwa Ibom people
You are crowned as a symbol of our collective unity
And tolerant for a peaceful co-existence.
Nsikak Andrew
10th October, 2007 & 18th January, 2008
I love to craft words about our culture, our hospitality and the places that made our homeland a place to behold. Overlooking The River is a look at the Ikot Abasi women’s riot against colonialism and their victory is a source of joy to the history book till today.
Overlooking The River
From this route, they came
Women of vision… pride to behold…
The freedom fighter who mobilized to resist
That act of tax the colonial master bestowed
From here they came
The route of the river they follow
That history would bear them witness.
Stories of their conqueror
Are now told centuries thereafter
Women who fought the Ikot Abasi Women riot
But see how history seeks to place them wrong
Didn’t they say it was the Aba women's riot?
But where was it fought?
Come to Ikot Abasi
Ask about the Independence Park
From there you would see the Obelist
For the victims of the Women’s war of 1929.
Nsikak Andrew
22rd February 2008 & 4th March, 2008
Asan Ibibio
A bend from Ekom Iman Junction
There, a virgin land sprung with a virgin history
Here it was our forebears first set their foot upon
As they journey across from Usakedet in Cameroon.
Centuries have passed by
Yet our virgin land has not weathered away
But have become our virgin hope of birth
A rallying point for all the Ibibios.
Our sanctuary of strength
From here begins the spread of the Ibibio civilization
For in unity, our forebears found one voice
That voice that still preserved our values and heritage.
Arise, the descendant of the Ibibio race,
In hands let us join our Ifim Ibom Ibibio
Yes, our Supreme Council of Ibibio Traditional Rulers
That we shall build our treasure home – Asan Ibibio.
In our ancestral home – Ikot Oku Ikono
There, our Asan Ibibio would always stand
A collection of our ancestral artefacts would be housed
And the needed information about our race will be there.
Come let us join hands
Come let us extend love
Come let us build our treasure Asan
Come let us cultivate, nurture and practice -
Ima, Mboho and Eduek
That our children yet unborn would tell our story.
Nsikak Andrew
19th February 2008
Ifim Ibom Ibibio
Ifim!
The scare stool
That only our Royal Majesties could sit down
Ifim!
What does it symbolize?
The cradle of our civilization.
From the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria
Her descendants came in unity from wide and near
With a royal blessing, Ifim Ibom Ibibio was born -
The Supreme Council of Ibibio Traditional Rulers.
The hub of Ibibio unity
Our traditional custodians
We salute your brave courage
For in our roots, you have come to identify
That we shall build our treasure Asan
Where our children’s children will accord
The spread of our journey.
Show me a man with a future
Then I will show you a man that knows his root
Show me a man that knows his past
Then I will show you a man that knows his future.
Nsikak Andrew
24th September, 2006 & 19th February, 2008
The Ibibio
In the silent of nights
In the blossom of morning
In the harshness of the sun
In the coldness of evening…
Our forebears whelm the forest
Without a fear of the beast that governed.
Across the lakes
Across the mountains
Across the rivers
Across the narrow paths…
The feet of our forebears did not weary
A journey across the forest they migrate
In search of virgin land for their descendants.
From Usakedet in Cameroon, they set-forth
In Ikot Oku Ikono – Uyo their feet were not in vain
Posterity was the light that guides their path
For the land that flows with promise and fulfilment
They made their first home of rest
Today, you are the bride every tribe courts in envy.
Great achievers of Akwa Abasi Ibom State
The pride fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria
The first to agitate for state creation…
The land whose son was the first soldier in Nigeria
The first M.Sc holder in Agriculture
The first black Cardinal in Nigeria
The first black Prelate of the Methodist Church Nigeria
The Firstborn of Akwa Abasi Ibom State…
The first in virtually all spheres of life.
Your land is pride in black gold
Your soils are pastures that shame hunger
Your water is a blessing that breathes life
Heritages of your forebears you uphold in high esteem
Your maidens are pride that uphold the family values
None would ever fault your reign
For the globe, your descendants bestrode with might.
Descendants from Usakedet, the Ibibios we are.
Like a true son from the Ibibio tribe
I salute in the dialect of our ancestors
For it is said, a warrior greeted in the dialect of the warriors
Shall ever regain his strength as a warrior.
Ibibio isong o!
Ibibio isong o!!
Ibibio isong o!!!
Nsikak Andrew
9th August 2007
The Annang man is a brave and proud man. If you love raffia craft, Ikot Ekpene is the birthplace. Enjoy Ikot Ekpene the Raffia City, a nature poem just for the love of IK.
Ikot Ekpene The Raffia City
Ikot Ekpene
Land of the Annangs
Centre of raffia craft.
Ikot Ekpene
Land of skilled craftsmen.
In the beauty of slopes
You surround yourself.
In the richness of culture
Your heritage is blessed.
Land of the Annang’s
The main centre of Raffia craft
A town within the land of promise
Skilled craftsmen preserved your heritage.
In the extract of raffia palm frond
The hands of your craftsmen
Have amazed the world.
Raffia belts, hats
Raffia shoes, handbags…
Are the skilled hands of your craftsmen.
Ikot Ekpene! You are called by name
But by `Raffia City', your alias is known
In the tradition of your ancestors, I greet.
Annang mma!
Annang mma!
Annang mma mma de-o.
Nsikak Andrew
19th July 2007
Ibibio and Efik are one tribe you would always fall in love with in how they dance. The dance of our maidens is to display the rich cultural heritage of this unique tribe. Here we are with this nature poem for the delight of all who respect the values and customs of their land.
Dance Of Our Maidens
Every season awaits our maidens
For the pride of womanhood
Shall unveil her true colour
Colour of her swinging hips
Colour of her moving hands
Colour of her moving lips…
Yes… colours that tell her story
Of whom she is and where she comes from.
Mboppo dance shall unveil her colours
So shall Ndok Ufok Ebe add hers
Asian Ubo Ikpa shall be there
So shall Asian Mbre Iban
These, Akwa Abasi Ibom shall rejoice.
Mboppo dance shall unveil her colours
On Udua Mboppo day she shall come to town
Her confined freedom she must celebrate
That the men folks would take a look
For a life partner, they would choose.
Ndok Ufok Ebe shall add hers
For once in a year she would choose her date
In folk songs of dance and complain
She would alert the entire community
The plight of maltreatment by her husband
Asian Ubo Ikpa shall be there
So shall Asian Mbre Iban
In combined colour of songs and dancing
They would share in a united purpose
A word in songs they came to remind
We are beautiful and eligible
Let the unmarried young men take a look.
Dance of our maidens, guided in our cultures
The colour of our dance, displayed in its richness
Our maidens have found their unique voice
To tell our heritage in the pride of their displays
Just the way it is.
Nsikak Andrew
19th July 2007
Come enjoy the splendid serenity of Ibom Hotel, Golf and Resort, Nwaniba in Akwa Ibom State. Terrain At The End is a thoughtful nature poem about the hospitality that this environment gives to peace of mind. We shall be glad if you would love this poem.
Terrain At The End
Your glory song sang
Sang beyond our shore
A promise of the good life is guaranteed
How we await thy magnificent completion.
Hotel of our collective dreams
The joy of our fulfilled hope
Seated at thy vest terrain
Are mouths full of nature’s paradise.
Our new holiday resort
Nature is your towering glory
For your land is full of evergreen slopes
That Tiger Wood shall rejoice to pot some holes.
Ibom Hotel, Golf and Resort
At the old trade beach of Nwaniba, you sat
How your glory song sang aloud
For pre-colonial reign, you nurtured your domain.
Our history mixed in the colour of modernization
Come share this wonder of Ibom hospitality
Le Meridien Hotel is the place to be
For truly, our true dream is realized.
Nsikak Andrew
16th July 2007
The culture of any region should be respected. It has to show the way of life of such people. Ekpo Masquerades are part of Ibibio's traditional heritage of their forebears.
Ekpo Masquerades
Spirit of our ancestors
Rekindled in the living being
Among the raffialites you evoked your root
That the womenfolk would dare not your superiority.
Living the sacred culture of our forebears
He whose birth is guided in mystery
Among our ancestral beliefs, you were founded
For death, your belief is not the complete end of life.
Ekpo… ancestral spirit of our forefathers
In the image of a dreaded mask, you’re covered
With the bared painting of charcoal, you’re clothed
That he who sees you will fright with terror.
Around the waist, you ring a bell
Guided by an enclosed knife you tight
A band of blackened rags shield your nakedness
For in raffia ferns, you covered your head and torso.
In a wild twist, you move about
Like a fury wind, you roared
Casting fear in the heart of onlookers
As you swing those mysterious aesthetic steps.
Ekpo… ghost of our ancestors
Roared with a Matchet at hand
Savour the mysterious drums of your initiates
For in the guided mystery of our forebears
Your appearance shall always rekindle.
Nsikak Andrew
16th July 2007
Ekpe Masquerades
In the galaxy of mixed colours
He swirls his costume
Within a circle
He moves from side to side.
Like a possessed goddess
He found his gyrating foots
As the drums of the initiates
And their chanted songs
Evokes the spirit of its ancestors.
Suddenly, he turned right and left
Then like a wounded bull he charged.
Around his waist, a bell is fastened
For each sound his swinging waist rungs
Are messages only the initiates could interpret.
On the ground, on the wood
Even on the body of the initiates
Her sacred secret writing – Nsibidi is written.
For every singing, dancing, walking
Or the movement of the body made by an initiates
Are signs only a highly-ranked member could read
And interprets what the message meant.
In his hands, he holds a bunch of leaves – Oboti
To the sky, he waves as a sign of respect
That he might reverence the Almighty
As the Supreme Being above all begins.
The sacred traditional institution of our forefathers
In the olden days, you served as an instrument
That enforces our traditional authority laws
And order you carry like a guided light
To teach the moral value of our traditional heritage.
Your oath of secrecy is sworn to by members
To keep the rules and regulations in secrecy
Defaulters are not found in your midst
For fear of repercussion is better imagined than said.
Nsikak Andrew
4th June, 2007 & 26th June, 2007
Ekpe
From the Leopard skin, you derived your name
For your masks and masquerades are fashioned
To look like the skin of a Leopard.
Every day is no day
For seasons are your times of rising
On Christmas days
On traditional coronation
During the demise of a faithful member
Or on the day of new initiates
Your sacred display is fashioned in steps
That arisen your ancestral valour.
Your initiates are in their festive best
Spotted in the wrapper they tie
Adorned in a white tail-shirt
With a staff and cap to match
Taboos are the wearing of trousers!
Around and around they sang
Dancing and rejoicing in their secrecy
That has become a way of life
For the riverine dwellers.
Ekpe masquerades…
The sacred prestige of the Efik and Ibibio
Glow in your towering glory
For centuries to come shall always feel your presence.
Nsikak Andrew
4th June, 2007 & 26th June, 2007
Ibibio Delicacies
Blessed people of a blessed tribe
Him whose strength is a symbol of her delicacies
Celebrated in their diverse sumptuous meals
That other tribe seems to envy with pride.
Great descendants from Usayedet
I tapped into the strength of your love
My mouth couldn’t resist a taste of your strengths
No wonder they say you have the key to a man’s heart.
For the sake of posterity, I shall unveil your secrets
That others who seek wisdom would benefit
For the efficacies spiced in your delicious delicacies
Are lessons whose aroma prolongs life.
If you must learn their guided secrets
Then tap your feet to her traditional coronations
Let your eyes witness their Usoro Udo
For there, a gathering of Ibibio delicacies is on display
As an old maiden unveiled their efficacies to the body.
Afang Soup – Weekend’s special
Prepared from shredded afang and water leaves
Spiced with fresh pepper and assorted ingredient
That a plate served is a call for another.
Edikang Ikong – Everyday blood tonic
Cooked in a combination with pumpkin and water leaves
For those who seek revitalization, a sure recommendation
Now a global recipe served in major restaurants around the world.
Abak Soup – Aroma of our old-maidens
Made from cooked oil palm fruits
With the addition of Atama leaves
Her traditional strength is arose
She is a major test a maiden must pass
If truly she must be certified fit for marriage.
Efere Etike – Sample of a spider net
Spiced from Okro Fruits and pumpkin leaves
A quick drop feeds a hungry stomach
But be careful or else you stain your cloth.
Efere Ikon – Yellow mixture
That extract from the melon seeds
An addition of bitter leaves
Gives a bitter-sweet taste
That puts vinegar to shame.
Afia Efere – Holder of traditional ceremonies
That chilly combination of spices served with pounded yam
Now makes her the toast of traditional ceremonies
Surely, an August visitor would always remember you.
Iwuk Ukom – Nine months evidence
Cooked from unripe plantain and pumpkin leaves
Served with a splash of palm oil
Sure energy booster, the men folk knows thy reward
For you set the tone of laughter that puts Viagra to shame
Now our maidens could coin sweet names…
Ekpan Nkukwo – Replenisher of our nursing mothers
From the tubers of coco-yam and coco-yam leaves you are made
An addition of periwinkles swells your aroma
For you revitalized the body of our nursing mothers
And restore their shapes for all eyes to see.
Iwuot Ebot – Pride of fun seekers
You’re our local salad made from goat head
Your chilly smell is an appetizer that runs our nose
Surely the ladies know thy worth
For no fun is complete without a taste of you…
How could I forget you – Iwuk Edesi
The joy of our hinterland children
Our own local jollof rice you are
For, in combination with crayfish
And palm oil, you are cooked
That, what they missed in fried rice
Are the health strengths they harbour in you.
How my journey is about to end
But I can’t go without giving out our appetizers
That would hold down the heart
As our revitalizing delicacies smoke from the cooking pot.
Edita Iwa our appetizer made from cassava tubers would do
Do not forget the Ukana seed, a gift from the Ukana tree
Who would forget Ibong, our own African Kola
For he who brings him, they say brings life.
The little our hands could touch we have learned
Let him that must know, knows
For no one tree makes a forest our wise elders would say
The Ibibio are blessed, for their delicacies are their pride
If you must have the key to a man’s heart
Go, learn this secret “Good cooking”.
Nsikak Andrew
25th June 2007
Eka Ibim
Eka Ibim!
The mother of all drums
Calved from the hardest wood
And covered by the thickest animal skin.
Eka Ibim!
Companion of the town-crier
Your re-echoed beats
Announces the King’s message.
Eka Ibim!
Cultural dancers, traditional masquerades…
All need your rhythmic praises
To detect their choreographic steps.
Eka Ibim!
Modernization has stolen your ancestral root
That your fame has gone beyond our shores
Now your beats are heard in every song that is sang
That all might come to embrace you as the giver of beats.
Eka Ibim, Oh Eka Ibim…
Forever carry yourself with pride
And let every piece of your heartbeat
At all times define the line of a song
That we shall always celebrate you as the mother of all beats.
Nsikak Andrew
1st February, 2007 & 18th May, 2007
Light Out Of The Tunnel
(Tribute To Chief The Hon. Nyong Essien, 1892 – 1976)
In the dark age of colonialism
A candle lit in the tunnel
As a guiding light to emancipation.
In the robe of our nationalist dream
A candle rode among our great nationalists
With one voice to seek our independence.
A true son of Uruan Inyang Atakpo he was
He whose roots couldn’t deter
Who says the Ibibio are minorities?
For when his peers were far asleep
He arose like a towering Iroko tree
With a foresight that buried colonialism.
Father of Nigeria Legislature
The power of laws you uphold
That we shall ever be one entity.
Founder of Ibibio State Union
Our land you filled with the educated
For your thoughts, we have seen the light.
First President Eastern Regional House of Chiefs
Our traditional customs and values, you supersede
That our past, we shall always tell in the future.
The Nsom of Uruan
Among your people you accepted their honour
For an illustrious son, they say
Is known by the honour in his land of birth.
A true son of your father’s land,
Akwa Abasi Ibom says sung sung-o
Nigerian says thank you
For the faith you kept makes us one nation.
Nsikak Andrew
9th January, 2007 & 25th June, 2007
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