AKWA IBOM STATE, THE BEST TOURIST DESTINATION IN NIGERIA

By Anietie Essia

Aesthetically, tourists attractions in Akwa Ibom State, like the Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort, the Marina Resort with amazing natural waterfront as well as the historical sites in Ikot Abasi, among others, Akwa Ibom towers high as the best destination for tourists.

As a tourist state, fun-seekers and those who believe in love look out for places of interest for relaxation during Valentine’s and Christmas season, Akwa Ibom presents itself as the best option with an array of amazing natural habitats to savor and bask by lovers and tourists.

Such places of interest include: the sprawling sandy Ibeno beach with the longest coastline of over 129 km, the 2-room cottage amalgamation house where Sir Lord Laggard signed the treaty for the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1900, the women war museum with the relics of the 1929 Women Riot, triggered off by the colonial masters taxation of women and the “bridge- of- no-return”, the final voyage point for slaves during the era of slave trade, all historical sites located in Ikot Abasi local government area of the state.

It’s worthy to note that the 1929 Women Riot war which was allegedly said to take place in Aba, from antecedent, the event actually took place in Ikot Abasi where a statute of the brave woman who broke the gun of the colonial masters has been erected and a museum set up to custody the relics of that “Ikot Abasi women riot” of 1929.

Akwa Ibom also boasts of the first Qua Iboe Church building constructed in 1887, the famous Blue river in Ukanafun where at the confluence the white and blue tributaries can never mix, the scenic panoramic rolling hills of Itu as well as the relics of the Scottish Missionary, Mary Slessor, who fought for the abolition of the killing of twins in this part of the country.

As the only state named after God, Akwa Ibom people are God-fearing, warm and hospitable to visitors with a God-fearing leadership that has enthroned Peace as well as put in place sufficient security for the safety of lives and property.

His Excellency Governor Udom Emmanuel is vigorously working to ensure that Akwa Ibom remains the preferred tourists’ hub and investors’ haven by providing the enabling environment and fixing critical infrastructures to boost the sectors such as: good telecommunication systems, power supply, good network of roads, state-of-the-art health facilities as well as investment friendly policies.