Akwa Ibom: Home of leisure

“Travelling: – It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta

BY MIKE BALOGUN

For the first time in a long time, I find it difficult to know where to start this story of my recent Akwa Ibom tour.

How can I adequately describe the hospitality, the food, the nightlife, the breathtaking destinations, the amazing historical landmarks which includes the Biodiversity Preservation Centre owned by the brilliant and enigmatic Professor Edem A. Eniang. The story of the Professor is even a whole chapter on its own.

Day 1: Our take off time on this three-day familiarization tour of Akwa Ibom State was by 10am on Friday the 11th of December. Put together by gurus of our tourism industry and the Honorable Commissioner of Tourism Akwa Ibom, Rt Honorable Orman Esin, this trip promised to be an exciting one.

Ibom Air was the airline for this three-day adventure. The flight took off as scheduled with all due protocols observed and touched down safely at the Victor Attah International Airport. Our team was welcomed and received by the Honorable Commissioner of Tourism Mr. Orman Esin and Mrs. Shalom Asuquo, the CEO of Travel Lab Nigeria Ltd.

Our first port of call was a courtesy visit to the COO of Ibom Air Mr. George Uriesi. After our meeting and discussions on moving the tourism sector of Akwa Ibom State forward, we had a group photography session and jumped on to our waiting bus to our next destination.

We headed out to our very first taste of Akwa Ibom at a popular local buka where I had some mouthwatering fisherman’s soup with pounded yam. A variety of other delicious soups were ordered by the rest of the team. Once we had filled our tummies, we hit the road again and drove straight to the Biodiversity Preservation Centre (BPC), home of Professor Edem A. Eniang.

Professor Eniang told us a lot about his works and international achievements with a really special one being the naming of a gecko with his name. The West African zebra gecko, otherwise known as Hemidactylus eniangii, is named in his honour for being the first person to collect the rare species of gecko nine years ago.

A short tour of the centre showcased many of their rare animals – From civets and alligators, to a python and parrots amongst many others. All these animals, which even included rescued ones, were all very well kept. We were then treated to refreshing and delicious palm wine from the traditional gourds. A group photograph was taken and then, wearied after many hours flying and on the road, we headed for our hotel to rest and refresh ourselves. @officalbpcnigeria

Our first experience of the night life was at a place called the Christmas Village. The Christmas look and feel was palpable as I could literally smell Christmas in the atmosphere. The various colourful lightings and the many vendor stands made it look like a theme park abroad. Good security was present and the people went about merrily from place to place enjoying the music blasting from the centre stage speakers. The food here again was another chapter for me. The array of all sorts of delicious looking dishes left one spoilt for choice, and I eventually, like the rest of the team settled for the coconut rice which was out of this world.

We left the Christmas Village quite late and as we were driven back to our hotel, I was thinking just how wonderful a day it had been. Unfortunately the night was short as we had to hit the road the following morning really early for our second day’s tour.

Day 2: “Lord, the task is impossible for me but not for Thee. Lead the way and I will follow.” – Mary Slessor.

Our second destination was the famous Mary Slessor Chapel and the highest point in Akwa Ibom.

Mary Mitchell Slessor was a Scottish Presbyterian missionary. Once in Nigeria, Slessor learned Efik, one of the numerous local languages. Through her teaching, Slessor gained the trust and acceptance of the locals and was able to spread  Christianity while promoting women’s rights and protecting native children.

She is most famous for having stopped the common practice of infanticide of twins in Okoyong, an area of Cross River State, in Nigeria.

Our first stop was at the sea front – what I have come to call the Queen’s landing. This was where Queen Elizabeth II got off the ship when she came to visit and lay a wreath at the grave of Mary Slessor in 1956. I have to say the advanced engineering at work was mind blowing. It was amazing to see the very prominent track that ferried cargo from the ship to the top of the landing. There was also a staircase made out of boulders that stands solid to this day.

Then we took a very crazy boat ride to the confluence. This was coordinated by our Ambassador and team leader Mr. Ikechi Uko (crazy because we were desperate to make that ground breaking trip to the confluence without a safety jacket).

Back from the confluence, we jumped back on our bus and took a drive up what looked like a hill until we got to a place called the highest point in Akwa Ibom. What a breathtaking view to behold! The view will definitely leave your mouth agape. This is a photographer’s haven if you ask me.

After taking several photos we proceeded to our main destination, the Mary Slessor Chapel, on the right was an old Church Bell first installed by Mary Slessor and to the left of it still stands the Chapel built by this courageous woman who came on a mission as a 27 years old. The Chapel sits majestically on a high ground overlooking the villages down the never-ending slopes. Here we savoured the moment after several photographs were taken and journeyed back to our hotel to end our second day tour of Uyo.

Day 3 of Our Akwa Ibom State Familiarization tour. The Amalgamation House

The road leading looks airy like you still hear the voices of the Colonial masters back in three days. The Amalgamation House, located in  Ikot Abasi L.G.A.

This building holds so much historical value, this was the house in which Lord Lugard declared the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in 1914, thus creating present-day Nigeria.

It is also the building in which General Olusegun Obasanjo (the former commanding officer of the Nigerian Army) and General Phillip Effiong of the Biafran Army signed the declaration of cease-fire that ended the Nigerian civil war in January 1970.

When you step into this iconic building you literally travel back in time. From there, we visited the Bridge of No Return, like we have the Point Of No Return here in Badagry. This place got everyone of us emotional and I had to climb into the holding cell just to experience what the slaves waiting for the merchant ships had to face.

Day 3 evening at Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort:

What a journey it has been from the very first day we touched down at the Victor Attah International Airport to all the amazing destinations and landmarks we visited and our last stop was a buffet dinner by host the commissioner of Tourism Akwa Ibom Hon Orman Esin and the Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort.

Briefly after getting off the bus, we met with our wonderful tour guide for the Hotel, Mr. Ime, who welcomed us and took us on the tour of this breathtaking Hotel grounds which included one of the best golf courses have ever since in Nigeria. The landscape is out of this world and I can imagine a pre-wedding shoot here with the greenery as a backdrop. According to Mr. Ime the Ibom hotel and Golf Resort has been in existence for over 18 years while he has worked with the brand for 13years so trust me when I say he knows this place very well.

The Hotel alone can serve as a destination for ecotourism and the golf course as a sport tourism destination. So you can say the Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort is a one stop destination for domestic tourism in Nigeria. We had a climb to the highest point of the golf course and one a second it looked like a place in Obudu Mountain Resort. The Hotel has 3 different ways to get there, either by the marina, helicopter or by road.

The landscape is out of this world and I can imagine a pre-wedding shoot here with the greenery as a backdrop. According to Mr. Ime the Ibom hotel and Golf Resort has been in existence for over 18 years while he has worked with the brand for 13years so trust me when I say he knows this place very well.

After soaking up the beauty of the golf course, it was time for my favourite part, the culinary tourism of the prestigious Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort. We met with the new sales manager and the group was introduced to him by the Honorable commissioner himself. We had so much to eat and talked about till it was time to say good night to our host.

Akwa Ibom State has just won me and my colleagues over for good. I look forward to our next visit. Like they say, I have been Ibomited.

After our lovely dinner with the commissioner of Tourism and our team we left for our hotel to rest for our flight back to Lagos. I guess the hardest part of travelling is saying Goodbye. Akwa Ibom State is now a part of me, a Lagos boy.