ABOUT THE SOUTH EASTERN STATES OF NIGERIA
The Federal
Republic of Nigeria, is a federal
constitutional republic comprising 36 states
and its Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon
in the east, and Niger
in the north. Its coast in the south lies on the Gulf of
Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean. The three largest and most
influential ethnic groups in Nigeria
are the Hausa,
Igbo
and Yoruba.
Nigeria
is the most populous country in Africa and
accounts for about 18% of the continent's total population. The United Nations
estimates that the population in 2009 was at 154,729,000, distributed as 51.7%
rural and 48.3% urban, and with a population density of 167.5 people per square
kilometer. According to the United Nations, Nigeria has been undergoing
explosive population growth and one of the highest growth and fertility rates
in the world. By their projections, Nigeria is one of eight countries
expected to account collectively for half of the world's total population
increase from 2005–2050. By 2100 the UN estimates that the Nigerian population
will be between 505 million and 1.03 billion people (middle estimate: 730
million). In 1950, Nigeria
had only 33 million people.
According to current data, one out of every four
Africans is Nigerian. Presently, Nigeria is
the seventh most populous country in the world, and even
conservative estimates conclude that more than 20% of the world's black
population lives in Nigeria. Members of IGUMMA (Igbo Union of Memphis
Metro Area) hail from the Igbo-speaking areas of Nigeria
including Abia, Anambra, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu,
Imo and Rivers States. These states and surrounding
areas are located predominantly in the Southeastern parts of Nigeria (see
map below).
Map
of Nigeria
showing all the 36 States that make up the Federation
1. ABIA
Slogan: God’s Own State
Abia State was carved out of the former Imo State
in 1991and its citizens are predominantly Igbo people (95 % of the population).
It is one of the nine constituent states of the Niger Delta region, which
provides the vast majority of Nigeria’s Oil resources. The capital of Abia State is
Umuahia, although the major commercial city is Aba, formerly a British colonial government
outpost.
The name "Abia" is an abbreviation of
four of the state's densely populated regions Aba, Bende, Isuikwuato, and Afikpo. It is one
of the thirty-six (36) States that constitute the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Even
though the traditional language of Abia people is Igbo, English is widely
spoken and serves as the official language in governance and business. The
population of Abia's is estimated at 2.4 million people, and these are mainly Christians.
Politics
The State Government is led by a
democratically-elected Executive Governor (currently Chief Theodore Orji) who works
closely with an elected State House of Assembly. There are Seventeen (17) local government
areas (LGAs) in Abia
State namely:
Each Local Government Area is administered
by an elected Chairman and Councilors. The main duty is to cater for the well
being of the constituent local communities in their domain.
Education
The state has numerous elementary and secondary
schools in every town or village. Institutions of higher learning in Abia state
include Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State University Teaching Hospital,
Aba; Michael Okpara University Of agriculture ,Umudike; Abia State College Of
Education, Arochukwu; Abia State College Of Health Technology, Aba; School Of
Nursing , Amachara; Covenant Polytechnic, Aba; Gregory University, Uturu; Rhema
University ,Aba
2. ANAMBRA
Slogan: Light of the Nation
(formerly Home for All)
The name,
Anambra is derived from the Anambra
River which is a tributary of the
famous River Niger.
It is an anglicized version of the original 'Oma Mbala', the native name of the
Anambra River. The Capital and the Seat of
Government is Awka. Onitsha
and Nnewi are the biggest commercial and industrial cities, respectively. The
state's theme is "Light of the Nation". Boundaries are formed by Delta State
to the west, Imo State
and Rivers State
to the south, Enugu State to the east and Kogi State
to the north. Old Anambra State
was created in 1976 from part of East Central State,
and its capital was Enugu.
A further re-organisation in 1991 divided Anambra into two states, Anambra and Enugu. The capital of
Anambra is Awka.
The indigenous ethnic groups in Anambra state are
the Igbo\ (98% of population) and a small population of Igala (2% of the
population) who live in the North western part of the state. Anambra is the
eight most populated states in the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the second
most densely populated state in Nigeria
after Lagos State. The stretch of more than
45 km between Oba and Amorka contains a cluster of numerous thickly
populated villages and small towns giving the area an estimated density of
1,500–2,000 persons living within every square kilometer of the area.
The state is also rich in natural gas, crude oil,
bauxite, ceramic and has an almost 100 percent arable
soil. In the year 2006, foundation laying ceremony for the first Nigerian
private refinery Orient Petroleum Refinery (OPR) was made at Nsugbe-Umuleri
area. The Orient Petroleum Resource Ltd, (OPRL) owners of OPR, was licensed in
June 2002, by the Federal Government to construct a private refinery with a
55,000 b/d capacity. Furthermore, Anambra state is a state that has many other
resources in terms of agro-based activities like fishery and farming, as well
as land cultivated for pasturing and animal husbandry. Currently, Anambra
State has the lowest poverty rate in Nigeria.
With an annual population growth rate of 2.21
percent per annum, Anambra State has over 60% of its people living in urban
areas making it one of the most urbanized places in Nigeria. The major urban centres of
Anambra state are Onitsha
including Okpoko, Nnewi\, and Awka. Awka and Onitsha
developed as pre-colonial urban centres with Awka as the craft industrial
centre of the Nri hegemony; and Onitsha the city
state on the Niger
and a river port and commercial centre.
Onitsha is a
fast-growing commercial city, and has developed to become a huge conurbation
extending to Idemili, Oyi and Anambra East LGAs with one of the largest markets
in West Africa. Nnewi (the Taiwan of Nigeria)
is a rapidly developing industrial and commercial centre; and Awka, by becoming
the state capital is, as it were, regaining its pre-colonial administrative
eminence.
Education
Major educational institutions include the Nnamdi
Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka with a College of Medicine situated at Nnewi;
The Anambra State University, formerly known as Anambra State University of
Science and Technology (ASUTECH), with two campuses, one in Uli, and another at
Igbariam; the Federal Polytechnic, Oko; Nwafor Orizu University of Education
(formerly known as the Nwafor Orizu College of Education), Nsugbe. Private
Universities include The Tansian University, Umunya and Madonna University,
Okija.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
There are 21 local government areas in the state:
Important
Historical Context
During the Nigerian/Biafran war, a relief
airstrip was constructed by Biafran Engineers in the town of Uli/Amorka (code named
"Annabelle"). Extremely dangerous relief flights took off from Sao Tome
and other sites loaded with tons of food and medicine for the distressed
Biafran population. Uli/Amorka airstrip was the site where brave American
pilots like Alex Nicoll, and scores of others, made the supreme sacrifice in
the service of humanity, delivering tons of relief supplies to the Biafran
population.
Disgusted by the suffering and mounting death toll in Biafra from starvation as
well as the continuous harassment of the relief planes by the Nigerian Airforce,
Carl Gustaf von Rosen resigned as a Red Cross
relief pilot and helped Biafra to form an Airforce of five Minicoin planes Malmö MFI-9
stationed at the Uga airstrip. He named his tiny but effective air force "Babies of Biafra" in
honour of the babies who died via starvation inside Biafra.
3. EBONYI STATE
Slogan: Salt of the Nation
Ebonyi
State is a mainland south-eastern
state of Nigeria,
inhabited and populated primarily by Igbo
of south eastern Nigeria.
It is one of the six new states in Nigeria
created in 1996 by the Abacha government; Ebonyi was created from the
old Abakaliki division of Enugu State and old Afikpo division of Abia State.
Abakaliki
is both its capital as well as largest city. Afikpo is the
second largest city. Other major towns are Edda, Mgbo, Onueke, Ezzamgbo, Nkalagu,
Uburu, Onicha, Ishiagu
(location of the Federal College of Agriculture),
Ukawu, Amasiri and Okposi.
The state has an area of about 5,935 square
kilometers and an estimated population of 2.3 million with thirteen Local
Government Areas. The state is bounded on the North by Benue
State, on the East by Cross River State, on the West by Enugu
State, and on the South by Abia State
(see Fig. 1 below). About 25% of the population of the state lives in urban
areas while the rest are found in the rural areas. Agriculture is the mainstay
of the people of Ebonyi
State with more than 75%
of the people engaged in farming and related activities. The farmers cultivate
yams, rice, maize, and cassava and other crops in large quantities and these
bring income to the people and the State.
The state is also endowed with many natural
resources and solid mineral deposits. Mining activities have been going on in
some parts of the state for more than eighty years following the discovery of
large deposits of limestone, copper, coal and lignite, lead and zinc ores, and
other associated mineral deposits like barites and salt. Colonial geologists
and mining engineers were very active in this area of the country in the years
preceding Nigeria's
independence from Britain Mining activities in different parts of the state
have left their imprint on the landscape of various places and this clearly is
an issue that would need to be firmly addressed. The advent of the oil boom in
the country in the 1970s adversely affected the growth and development of
almost every other sector in Nigeria,
particularly the mining and agricultural sectors.
Politics
The state is governed by Chief Martin Elechi,
who was elected State Governor in 2007. The current Deputy Governor is Prof.
Chigozie N. Ogbu. The state also has deposits of untapped crude oil
and natural gas
Ebonyi is primarily an
agricultural producing region. It is a leading producer of rice, yams,
potatoes,
maize,
beans, and cassava.
Rice and Yams are predominantly cultivated in EDDA. Ebonyi also has several
solid mineral resources, but little large-scale commercial mining. The
state government has however given several incentives to investors in the
agro-allied sector. Ebonyi is called "the salt of the nation" for its
huge salt deposit at the Okposi and Uburu Salt Lakes.
There are nine major first
languages (Igbo Languages) spoken in Ebonyi
State: Afikpo, Mgbo,
Izzi, Ezaa, Ikwo, Kukele, Legbo, Mbembe, and Oring. These languages are all
subgroups of the Igbo language like Ikwere, Abakaliki, Etche etc. spoken by all Igbo people of south eastern
Nigeria.
Education
Ebonyi state, just like many
other south eastern states of Nigeria
has elementary and secondary schools. In addition to this, there are five
tertiary educational institutions in the state, namely the Akanu Ibiam Federal
Polytechnic, Unwana, the Federal School of Agriculture, Ishiagu, the Ebonyi
State College of Education, Ikwo, and the Ebonyi
State University,
Abakaliki and the Federal
University, Ndufu-Alike
Ikwo (FUNAI).
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ebonyi is divided into 13 LGAs namely:
4.
ENUGU
STATE
Slogan:
Coal City State
ENUGU STATE, South-East of Nigeria, is one of the thirty-six
States constituting the Nigerian Federation. It came into being on August 27,
1991 when the administration of President Ibrahim Babangida finally acquiesced
to the long agitations of Waawa people for a State they could truly call their
own.
Enugu State derives its name from the capital city, ENUGU (top of the hill) which is regarded as the oldest
urban area in the Igbo speaking area of Southeast Nigeria.
The city owes its geopolitical significance to the discovery of coal in 1909 by
a team of British geologists. The discovery of the solid mineral in the area
brought about the emergence of a permanent cosmopolitan settlement which
influenced the construction of a railway line to link the Enugu
coal fields with the sea port in Port
Harcourt for the export of the mineral.
In fact, by 1917 Enugu had acquired township status and
assumed strategic importance to British interests. Foreign businesses began to
move into Enugu, the most notable of which were
John Holt, Kingsway Store, United Bank of West Africa
and United Africa Company. By 1929, Enugu
had become the capital of the former Eastern Region, and has since then
retained its old status as the regional industrial and business hub as well as
the political capital and rallying point of the Igbo people.
Enugu State shares borders with Abia State and Imo
State to the south, Ebonyi State to the east, Benue State to the northeast, Kogi
State to the northwest and Anambra State to the west.
Enugu, the capital
city of Enugu State,
is approximately 240 Km (150 miles) away from Port Harcourt,
a major commercial city in Nigeria.
Enugu is also located within an hour's drive
from Onitsha, one of the biggest commercial
cities in Africa and 2 hours drive from Aba,
another very large commercial city, both of which are trading centers in Nigeria. The
average temperature in this city is cooler to mild (60 degrees Fahrenheit) in
its cooler months and gets warmer to hot in its warmer months (upper 80 degrees
Fahrenheit) and very good for outdoor activities with family and friends or
just for personal leisure.
Enugu
has good soil-land and climatic conditions all year round, sitting at about 223
metres (732 ft) above sea level, and the soil is well drained during its
rainy seasons. The mean temperature in Enugu State
in the hottest month of February is about 87.16 °F (30.64 °C), while the
lowest temperatures occur in the month of November, reaching 60.54 °F
(15.86 °C). The lowest rainfall of about 0.16 cubic centimetres
(0.0098 cu in) is normal in February, while the highest is about 35.7
cubic centimetres (2.18 cu in) in July.
Economically, the state is predominantly rural
and agrarian, with a substantial proportion of its working population engaged
in farming, although trading (18.8%) and services (12.9%) are also important.
In the urban areas trading is the dominant occupation, followed by services. A
small proportion of the population is also engaged in manufacturing activities,
with the most pronounced among them located in Enugu, Oji, Ohebedim and Nsukka.
Politics
The State Government and the Local Government are
the two levels of government in Enugu State and in all other states of Nigeria. Mr. Sullivan Chime is the
current executive governor for the whole of Enugu State.
He was elected by the people of Enugu
State in April 2007 and
was sworn into office on May 29, 2007. The governor is above a group of
commissioners who he has placed as heads of ministries that oversee various
portfolios such as Health and Housing; both the governor and the commissioners
form the Executive Council of Enugu State. Government House, Enugu is where the government of the state is
based.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
There are 17 Local Government Areas in Enugu State including:
Education
Every community in Enugu State
has at least one Elementary school and one Secondary school, funded and run by
State Government. There are also large numbers of private nursery, primary and
secondary schools in Enugu
State. Nigeria's first indigenous university, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN),
is located in Enugu
State. The state also
hosts the Enugu State
University of Science & Technology (ESUT), Institute of
Management and Technology (IMT), Federal
Cooperative College, Oji River (FCCO), Enugu State College of
Education Technical, Enugu, Caritas University, Amorji-Nike, Renaissance University, Ugbawka; Federal Government College Enugu,
Federal
School of Dental Technology & Therapy.
5. IMO
Slogan: The Eastern heartland
Imo
State
, named after the
Imo
River
, came into existence in 1976
along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military
ruler of
Nigeria
,
Murtala
Muhammad. The state was previously part of the East-Central State, which was created in 1967.
Part of it was split off in 1991 as Abia State,
and another part became Ebonyi State. The main cities in
Imo
State
are Owerri, Orlu and Okigwe. The Orashi River has its
source in this state. The local language is Igbo and Christianity is the
predominant religion. The estimated population of Imo state (as of 2010 Census)
is 4.8 million and the population density varies from 230-1,400 people per
square kilometer. Imo state is a predominantly Igbo
speaking state, with Igbo people constituting a majority of 98%.
Imo
State lies within
latitudes 4°45'N and 7°15'N, and longitude 6°50'E and 7°25'E with an area of
around 5,100 sq km.[4]
It is bordered by Abia State on the East, by the River Niger
and Delta State
on the west, by Anambra State to the north and Rivers State
to the south. Besides Owerri, Imo State's major towns are Isu,
Okigwe,
Oguta,
Orlu, Mbaise, Mbano, Mbieri, Orodo and Orsu.
The state is rich in natural resources including crude oil,
natural gas,
lead, zinc. Economically
exploitable flora like the iroko, mahogany,
obeche,
bamboo,
rubber tree
and oil palm
predominate. However with a high population density and over farming the soil
has been degraded and much of the native vegetation has disappeared.
This deforestation has triggered soil erosion
which is compounded by heavy seasonal rainfall that has led to the destruction
of houses and roads.
Politics
The state has a three tier administrative
structure: State, Local and Autonomous community levels. The three arms at
state level are the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The executive
arm is headed by an elected Governor (currently Owelle Rochas Okorocha) who is
assisted by a deputy governor, commissioners and executive advisers.
The legislative arm is headed by the Speaker of
the State House of Assembly who is currently speaker Goodluck Nanah Opiah. The
remainder of the house is made up of elected legislators and is the lawmaking
body of the state.
The judiciary is made up of the high court of
justice and customary court of appeal and is headed by the Chief Judge of the
state.[11]
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Imo
State is made up of
twenty-seven Local Government Areas:
Education
In addition to abundant opportunities for
elementary and high school education, there are also several institutions of
higher education with some being run by the state government and others being
owned by the federal government. Recently, the state government has also
embarked upon an ambitious plan to provide free education at all levels to all
citizens of Imo state. Education is of high priority in the state. In the1996
school year, Imo State primary school enrolment was
561,214. There are currently 2,040 primary schools, 305 secondary schools, 75
private secondary schools, 4 Technical Colleges and 65 approved private vocational/commercial
colleges in Imo State. Total enrolment for secondary
school in the 2003 school year was 486,026. Enrolment in technical colleges and
vocational/commercial colleges for the same year was 122,650. Total number of
teachers in both primary and secondary for the same was 96,711.There are five
institutions of higher learning in the state namely: Imo State University, Owerri, Alvan Ikoku College
of Education, Owerri; Federal University of Science and Technology, Owerri,
Michael Okpara College of Agriculture, Umuagwu; and Imo State Polytechnic,
Nekede.
References
http://www.enugustate.gov.ng/aboutenugu.php (Accessed Feb 23, 2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enugu_State
(Accessed Feb 23 & 24, 2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abia_State
(Accessed Feb 23 & 24, 2013)
http://www.abiastate.gov.ng
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://www.anambrastate.gov.ng/home.html
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anambra_State
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebonyi_State
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://www.ebonyionline.com/index.html
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imo_State
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://www.imostate.gov.ng
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://www.funai.edu.ng/about-ebonyi-state
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)
http://www.ngex.com/nigeria/places/states/imo.htm
(Accessed Feb 24, 2013)