Urue-Offong/Oruko is located in the south east of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and is a

Local Government Area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

created in September 1991. Urue-Offong/Oruko is one of the five

Oro language Oro (Oron) is a Lower Cross River language of Nigeria. The phonemes of Oron comprise seven oral vowels í, ε, e, a, o, σ, u, five plosive consonants b, kp, d, t, k, three nasal consonants m, ŋ, n, three fricative consonants f, s, h, two semi-vo ...

speaking Local Government Area bounded in the North West by

Okobo, Akwa Ibom Okobo is located in the South Eastern part of Nigeria and is a Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Following the local government creation exercise of the federal government in 1989 Okobo Local Government Area was carved out of Oron, Akwa Ib ...

Oron, Akwa Ibom Oron is a coastal city and Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. It is home to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria and the Oron Museum. It has an area of 70 km and a population of 156,461 at the 200 ...

in the North East, bounded in the East by Udung Uko, and in the South East by

Mbo, Akwa Ibom Mbo is located in the Points of the compass, South Eastern part of Nigeria and is a Local Government Areas of Nigeria, Local Government Area in Akwa Ibom State. Following the local government creation exercise of the federal government in 1989 Mbo ...

and also bounded by

Esit Eket Esit-Eket is a town and Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, southern Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a c ...

in the South West.

History

In September 1991, Urue-Offong/Oruko Local Government Area was carved out of

Local Government Area. Urue-Offong/Oruko is made up of six out of the nine clans (Afaha) of the

Oron people The Oron people or Örö people are a sub-ethnic group of the larger Ibibio people, that make up the Akpakip Oro or Oron Nation. The Örö are located primarily in southern Nigeria in the riverine area of Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States a ...

. Oruko was the economic

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the

it was a home to a huge market (Urue Oruko) in the 1800s where several traders from mainly

Hausa people The Hausa (Endonym, autonyms for singular: Bahaushe (male, m), Bahaushiya (female, f); plural: Hausawa and general: Hausa; exonyms: Ausa; Ajami script, Ajami: ) are the largest native ethnic group in Africa. They speak the Hausa language, which ...

Ilaje Ìlàje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbokoda. The Ilajes are a distinct migratory coastal linguistic group of Yoruba peoples spread along the coastal belts of Ondo, Ogun, ...

, and

Igbo people The Igbo people ( , ; also spelled Ibo" and formerly also ''Iboe'', ''Ebo'', ''Eboe'', * * * ''Eboans'', ''Heebo''; natively ) are an ethnic group in Nigeria. They are primarily found in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States. A s ...

came to sell their goods, an unfortunate event occur where several people died close to Sixty after a huge

ancestral An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from wh ...

tree fell and people died due to stampede in the late 1890s. Again in Urue Oruko, several hundred of Oron people (mostly traders and women) were killed during the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

in the late 1960s. This unfortunate event has been observed in Oron to be the most tragic in the history of the Nigerian Civil War.

Clans and Settlement

Afaha Ubodung clan which is the largest of all the clan now known as Mbodung District consist of twenty one (21) villages and Towns includes; * Abiak Elibi * Anai Okpo * Edok * Eyetong * Eyo Eyekip * Eyo Okwong * Eyo Ufuo * Eyo Uwesong * Eyo Uya * Eyobiasang * Eyokpifie * Eyulor * Oduonim Isong Inyang * Oduonim Oro * Okossi * Ubodung * Udung Eta * Udung Okpor * Udung Uwe * Ukuda * Urue Offong Town Afaha Ukwong clan also known as the Ukwong district, that make up the Local government area is the second largest clan in Urue-Ofong/Oruko is made up of five (5) villages or town namely * Ibetong-Eweme * Ikpe * Mbukpo-Eyo-Ima * Mbukpo-Eyakan * Mbukpo-Uko-Akai. Afaha Ibighi Clan which is known as Ibighi district comprises * Okuku Township * Oyuku Ibighi * Uya Oron *Eyubia anglicised ( Oyubia). Afaha Okuiso clan also known as Okuiso district in the local government is made up of * Atte Oro * Umume Afaha Ebughu Clan also known as Ebughu district has two villages in the Local Government Area namely * Elei * Ibetong Nsie And lastly the six Clan which is the Afaha Okpo clan also known as the Afaha District occupy two villages namely * Afaha Okpo Town * Uboro Oro

Geography

Urue-Offong/Oruko is in the tropical region and has a uniformly high

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

all the year round. The two main seasons are the dry which spans between October and April and wet season which starts around May and ends in September. There are also two prevailing winds – the South-West onshore winds which brings heavy rains and the North- East trade winds blowing across the

Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

, which brings in the dry season.

Natural Resources/People

The people are traditionally fishermen, traders and famers. Although very rich in sea-foods, palm oil and farm crops, the area is also rich in crude oil, much wells, it ranks among the richest in crude oil deposits found in Oro, Mbo, Okobo, Oron and Udung Uko. The other sister Local Government Areas in Oro nation are said to have 92, 86, 66 and 39 such wells respectively, even though actual oil exploration is going on in Mbo. The area also has a large deposit of clay and other solid minerals like gravel, fine stones, silica sand, etc.

Kingship

Ancient Urue-Offong/Oruko were governed by each Family head who settles every family issues among the family. And this family head in turns represent each family in the Village traditional court, and in turns a Village Head (Offong) is being chosen which is rotatory in the Village Court to represent their Village in the community setting. Today Traditionally, the Urue Offong people have one king that rules over the land. He is known as the Ahta Oro. The Ahta has all the Ofong (Ivong or Ifong) afaha and the paramount rulers as members of his traditional rulers council. Some high chiefs (for example, Ikpoto, Akpaha and Okete Okete) are also recognized by the Ahta's council. The President-General of the Oron Union worldwide is regarded as the administrative head of the Oron nation and second-in-command at the Ahta's traditional rulers council.

Prominent People

Sir (Ambassador) Etim Jack Okpoyo (First Deputy Governor of

, Engineer, businessman and politician). Late Elder Bassey Jack (Unanaowi) Okpoyo (First Electrical Engineer in Akwa Ibom State and the first man to own a Petrol or Fueling station in Old Cross River State) Late Comrade Edet Bassey Etienam MFR JP (Foremost Trade Unionist, Two Term Parliamentarian and Philanthropist) https://www.dawodu.com/award2006.htm. https://blerf.org/index.php/biography/hon-edet-bassey-etienam/

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urue-Offong Oruko Oron people Places in Oron Nation Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State