Brief History of Cross-River State

Cross River State is a coastal state in South Eastern Nigeria, named after the Cross River, which passes through the state. Located in the Niger Delta, Cross River State occupies 20,156 square kilometers. It shares boundaries with Benue State to the north, Enugu and Abia States to the west, to the east by Cameroon Republic and to the south by Akwa-Ibom and the Atlantic Ocean.

During the European scramble for Africa, Queen Victoria signed a Treaty of Protection with the King and Chiefs of Akwa Akpa, known to Europeans as Old Calabar on 10 September 1884. This enabled the United Kingdom to exercise control over the entire territory around Calabar, including Bakassi. The territory subsequently became de facto part of the Nigeria, although the border was never permanently delineated. However, documents released by the Cameroonians, in parity with that of the British and Germans, clearly places Bakassi under Cameroonian Territory as a consequence of colonial era Anglo-German agreements.

Government
Cross River State was created on May 27, 1967 from the former Eastern Region, Nigeria by the General Yakubu Gowon regime. Its name was changed to Cross River State in the 1976 state creation exercise by the then General Murtala Mohammed regime from South Eastern State. The present day Akwa Ibom State was excised from it in the state creation exercise of September 1987 by the then regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Its capital is Calabar. Its major towns are Akamkpa, Biase, Calabar South, Ikom, Obubra, Odukpani, Ogoja, Ugep, Obudu, Obanliku and Akpabuyo.

The state has been previously governed by many governors and administrators including Udoakaha J. Esuene, Paul Omu, Tunde Elegbede, Clement Isong, Donald Etiebet, Daniel Archibong, Ibim Princewill, Ernest Atta, Clement Ebri, Ibrahim Kefas, Gregory Agboneni, Umar Faoruk Ahmed, Christopher Osondu and Donald Duke. The current governor Liyel Imoke served from May 29, 2007 to July 14, 2008 and from August 26, 2008 to the present.

People & Culture


The state has an estimated population of about 2.89 million people (2006) who have a rich and unique cultural heritage. Ejagham and Efik are major languages of this state, but the Igbo tribe and language are also present in its western land borders. Forty percent of the estimated population constitutes the active population that is engaged in various economic activities; ranging from subsistence agriculture to urban commerce and transport business.

Geography
Covering a total of 20,156sqkm land area, Cross River State shares boundaries with Benue State to the north, Enugu and Abia States to the west, to the east by Cameroon Republic and to the south by Akwa-Ibom and the Atlantic Ocean. The Cross River, with a catchment area of 53,590 sq. km, delivers more sediment load to the coast, than the present Niger Benue drainage system. The Niger delta shoreline is therefore undergoing erosion on account of sedi ment starvation. The strength of the Cross River deltaic sedimentation derives from the Cameroun Mountain which is the most active sediment source area along the West African coast. Cross River State map

Weather/Climate
Cross River State belongs to tropical rainfall belt where rainfall is usually seasonal and at times very heavy. Humid tropical climate of about 1300 3000mm rain fall and 30°C mean annual temperatures prevail over Cross River State, except on the Obudu Plateau, where the climate is subtemperate, with temperatures of 15°C 23°C. The vegetation ranges from mangrove swamps, through rainforest, to derived savannah, and montane parkland. Just as its rocks are diverse, so also are the mineral resource potentials of the State.