Current Time in Ikot Ekpene, Nigeria

Ikot Ekpene lies in the south-east of Nigeria, in Akwa Ibom State, on the low, well watered land between the Cross River and the Imo River. It stands at a natural crossroads where roads from Uyo, Aba, Umuahia and Calabar meet, a position that has shaped its character for more than a century. The countryside around it is green throughout the year, planted with oil palm, raffia palm, cassava and yam, and the rainy season lasts from March to October.

The town and its local government area are home to roughly two hundred thousand people, most of them Annang, one of the principal peoples of the region, whose language and customs give Ikot Ekpene a strong local identity. It is universally known as the Raffia City, because the fibres of the raffia palm have been woven here for generations into bags, hats, mats, fans and furniture. Cane and rattan workshops line the approach roads, producing chairs and tables sold across Nigeria, and the craft has become the emblem of the town. Trade, agriculture, small manufacturing and government offices supply the rest of the local economy.

The settlement was already an important market when British colonial administration reached the interior in the early twentieth century, and it was made a divisional headquarters, giving it schools, courts and a hospital earlier than most towns in the area. It became a centre of missionary activity and of early western education, producing many of the region's teachers, civil servants and politicians. The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s brought severe disruption, but the town recovered its role as the commercial hub of the Annang country, and it has been discussed repeatedly as a potential capital of any new state carved from the region.

The central market, held on the traditional cycle of market days, is the largest in the district and the place to see raffia work, palm produce, pottery and textiles. The Raffia City Stadium hosts football and public events, and the cathedral of the Catholic diocese, established here in 1963, is a prominent landmark alongside numerous churches of other denominations. Masquerade traditions, above all the Ekpo and Ekpe societies with their carved wooden masks and costumes, remain an important part of ceremonial life, and the annual raffia and trade fair draws visitors from across the state.

Local food is based on seafood, palm oil and soups such as afang and edikang ikong, and hospitality is a matter of pride. Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic and other colleges nearby give the town a student population, while the state university and larger institutions in Uyo, some forty kilometres away, are easily reached. Roads are the only practical transport, but they are good by regional standards, and the town is served by long-distance buses and shared taxis, with airports at Uyo and Calabar within reach.

Ikot Ekpene is important as the cultural capital of the Annang people and as the centre of the Nigerian raffia and cane craft industry.