The Ikono elders in Akwa Ibom State have issued a seven-day ultimatum to an author to apologise over what they described as “wilfully associating us with the ill-fated project without our authorization” or be ready to face legal action.
The elders comprising the paramount rulers, chiefs, leaders of thought and stakeholders from Ikono and Ini have unanimously kicked against the book entitled IKONO- THE CRADLE OF IBIBIO NATION: A REFUTATION by Dr. Uwem Jonah Akpan, a lecturer in the Department of History and International Relations, the University of Uyo in Akwa Ibom.
The book published by Heritage Preservation Foundation, Uyo and officially launched on December 9, 2019, has 614 pages.
In the book, the Ikono and Ini people claimed, Dr. Akpan “alleges that we the undersigned royal fathers ‘lent (our) rich traditional insights to enrich this work.”
The royal fathers are the village heads of Nnung Ukim Ikot Etefia, Uyo Obio, Ediene Atai, Ikot Oku Ediene, Ikot Antem, Ikot Nseyen, Mbiakpa Ibakesi, Ukpum Ita and Ikot Idaha.
Addressing a press conference at NUJ Press Centre, Uyo on Friday, Eteidung Ntok E. Ntok, the village head of Ukpum Ita said: “We hereby state categorically and without any ambiguity that we were (and still are) not a part of this contrivance and concoction of lies aimed at disparaging us, our people and our royal heritage.”
According to him, “Therefore, by this public statement, we completely disassociate ourselves, individually and collectively, from Dr. Uwem Jonah Akpan’s ill-intentioned and self-seeking project, which is a complete distortion of facts in a desperate attempt to rewrite a well-known and time-honoured history of Ibibio people.”
Ntok said that the book has flouted known ethics and niceties of academic tradition and norms, rejecting the use of negative profiling of communities, negative stereotyping of groups of people, invectives, contemptuous and other negative words and phrases to describe persons, groups and places.
He cited the use of ‘so-called,’ ‘These non-historians,’ ‘Amateurish and overzealous writer,’ ‘liars who think that ‘a lie repeated often would come to be accepted as truth,’ ‘conjectured work of history by non-historians,’ ‘contents of the book which are certainly cheap, unfounded, imaginary, misleading, false information.’
The royal father said the author showed nauseating disdain to Ikono-Ini elders particularly Professor Jimmy Umoh, Ukpong, Akpan and Akang, roping nine Ikono-Ini royal fathers without their authorisation, and alleging that a pet project of Mboho Ndito Ikono ndo Ini was sponsored by ‘a tiny Ibiaku Ikono elite and beneficiaries of juicy political offices during the Arc. (Obong) Victor Attah’s administration, who wanted to elongate the opportunities through the false idea of ntippe Ibibio.”
Other distortions, according to him, include desecrating and degrading deity by alluding to it as “sub-Etefia” and taking photographs of its shrine for public display, situating Iso Etefia in Ikot Idaha instead of Nung Ukim Ikot Etefia and poh-poohing the authors of Ikono: The Cradle… and extolling the virtues of E.W.Amamkpa, a Geography Major/Teacher who taught in various secondary schools including Lutheran High School, Obot Idim.
The royal father appealed to the Vice-Chancellor and Senate of the University of Uyo to investigate these claims and call Dr. Uwem Akpan to order.
He also called on the public to ignore the work seen as a concerted attempt by a historian who does not know how to carry out research in his field of study.
“The status of the present Ikono and Ini local government areas as the cradle of Ibibio people has never been in doubt. This position was well documented by all the paramount rulers of Ibibio land and presented to the Federal Government through the Ali Akilu Commission in 1970 and to the late General Sani Abacha during the agitation for the creation of new states in the country.
“We know that rigorous scholarship can yield new information and results but eh effort of Dr. Uwem Akpan is intellectual terrorism, a serious minds-war against the people of Ikono in the two frontiers local government area of Ini and Ikono in Akwa Ibom State,” he submitted.
The book entitled IKONO- THE CRADLE OF IBIBIO NATION written by Dr. Martin Akpan, Dr. David Ukpong and Nnamso Akang- prominent sons of Ikono and Ini- has stirred the controversy allegedly refuted by the historian.
In attendance at the press conference were the Paramount Ruler of Ikono, Edidem Nyong Obop; Obong John Inyang Akpan, a clan head who represented the Paramount Ruler of Ini, Obong Sunday Udo Akpan, a one-time state commissioner for Finance; Emmanuel Akpanobong, a medical practitioner and a one-time secretary of Ibibio Elders Forum; and Dr. Martin Akpan, the chairman of Akwa Ibom state Primary Health Care Services.
Others were Elder George Akpabio, a retired Permanent Secretary; Christopher Ekpenyong, a medical practitioner; Dr. Udeme Nana, a chief lecturer in Akwa Ibom Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua; and Barr. Samuel Akpan, a lecturer at the University of Uyo.
However, Dr. Akpan in reaction wrote “My attention has been drawn to the current acts of intimidation of those individuals from Ikono and Ini Local Government Areas, who freely volunteered information during the period of the extensive research I conducted to enable me refute a non-historical book entitled Ikono the Cradle of Ibibio Nation: Historical Origin and Cultural Heritage, which was sponsored by a socio-cultural organisation known as Mboho Ndito Ikono Ndo Ini, written by three non-historians, namely: David Ukpong, Martin Akpan and Nnamso Akang, and published in 2001.
“My counterpoise is entitled, Ikono the Cradle of Ibibio Nation: A Refutation. It was presented to the public on the 9th of December 2019. It should be recalled that when my book came into the public space, David Ukpong, the lead author of the refuted book, became incensed and embarked on a series of direct threats against me. For instance, one of the messages he sent to me was that “If I do not withdraw the book from circulation, I will regret my action”. His action is of public knowledge and the matter is being investigated by the relevant security arm of government. Consequently, the scenario should not detain us.
“The intimidation by David Ukpong and some Ikono elite, in conjunction with Ikono Traditional Rulers Council, first started with the issuance of a traditional injunction against the chiefs from Ikono not to attend the public presentation of the book. Subsequently, the issue escalated to an extent that they threatened the informants, having already compiled their names, summoned the informants to appear before a disciplinary panel of the Ikono Traditional Rulers Council to sign an already prepared document recanting the information they volunteered which I used to corroborate the extensive written evidence and ethnographic data in the course of my research.
“The signed document, I have been reliably informed, is intended to be published in a newspaper in a no-distant future with the intent of weakening/diluting the robust historical evidence contained in my book. In fact, they have threatened to influence the withdrawal of the certificates of recognition of the village heads whose names appear in my book should they fail to sign the document.”
Continuing, he said: “Their latest action has justified my claim in the book that the policy thrust of the sponsors and authors of the refuted book was “empire building”, the foisting of “cultural hegemony” and projection of a section of Ibibio as primus inter pares over the rest. This action clearly violates the fundamental human rights and the basic principles of freedom of expression of these innocent Ibibio.
“Indeed, if their conjectured book was accepted as the true reflection of the origin, migration and settlement of the Ibibio, the Ifim Ibom Ibibio would have adopted that version and used same in the programme of the coronation of Oku Ibom Ibibio, the Patriarch of Ibibio and President-General of the Supreme Council of Ibibio Traditional Rulers, His Eminence, Ntenyin Solomon Ekpo which took place on the 31st of December 2018. Rather the correct origin, migration, and settlement of Ibibio were culled from the book, The Proceedings of the Ibibio Union: 1928-1937 (pages 64-68), written by Monday Efiong Noah, an Ibibio Professor of History of blessed memory. The thesis of my book is in line with the accepted version of the Ibibio nation.”
“It should also be pointed out that their book has been in circulation for almost two decades and nobody has threatened or intimidated their informants as they are now doing to my informants. Their action as noted earlier is against freedom of expression and is not acceptable in scholarship. I hereby call on the public and the security agencies to rise and caution David Ukpong and his associates and protect the status and personality of my informants against further assaults.
“I advise David Ukpong and his supporters to invest their time wisely and look for other ways they can develop Ibibioland and desist from engaging in anti-intellectual and un-constitutional acts as they currently do. Meanwhile, I stand firmly by my thesis, which has not been punctured and does not have any apology for contributing significantly to the development of my race in the area of my competence. I will defend my thesis at any level.”
