Eket

Eket
LGA and town
Country	Nigeria
State	Akwa Ibom State
Government
• Governor	Godswill Obot Akpabio
Area
• Metro	83 sq mi (214 km2)
Population  (2005)
• LGA and town	803,242
• Metro	263,000
	estimated
Time zone	UTC+1 (WAT)

Eket is a major city and second largest in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria after Uyo, the state capital. The city itself has a population of 263,342 residents while the Eket LGA, including Eket Township, Ibeno, Qua Ibo and other small towns combined is over 800,000 in population. An industrial city, in recent years the city has became a conurbation, sprawling outwards to include former separate villages. Eket also refers to an ethnic group living in this region and their language.

Economy

An oil refinery is currently under construction in the outskirts of the city along the Oron road. The city has a stadium complex, an airstrip as well as other infrastructures of importance. It also has a number of hotels such as Villa Marina, Royalty Hotels,, Crystal Palace Hotel, Roseboom Hotels, and others.

Eket due to its industrial nature is a relatively expensive city. The government has plans of upgrading the city by the provision of further major roads in the city and the construction of housing estates.

In the 1990s, western environmentalists were concerned over the activities of oil exploitation in and around Eket, such as Shell and Mobil. The area is now newly "oil-rich" and Eket is the thriving hub of a new oil and gas business, with more than 250 companies providing support services such as catering, flights, and exports. However, this success has caused problems, especially a reluctance by local young men to engage in traditional work such as fishing. There are vocal local campaigns to increase the percentage of oil revenue that is given to the local community. Eket as a ethnic group comprise of Eket, Esit Eket, Ibeno and Onna L.G.As

Eket People

The Eket are a people who live in this region. They number around one million, and form a sub-group of the Ibibio people. Eket is also the name of the main sub-language that they speak, a Benue-Congo language. The Eket have a form of caste or class society, with the "Amama" being the highest caste, and these are notable for undertaking traditional potlach-like feasts in which the poorer people are fed en masse. In addition to the Amama, groups of "Ekpo Ndem Isong" class rule individual villages and towns, and their will is enforced by the "Ikan" class (traditional masked police) to which entry is by merit rather than birth.

The local religion is one of ancestor-worship, worship of Ala the "earth deity", and seasonal agricultural festivals. Water is abundant in the Niger delta, and the vegetation luxurious. However, over-farming and poor farming practices are depleting soil nutrients on many farms and plots.

External links

• Wikimapia
• Eket wood sculpture
• Eket masks