Cross River State (Cross River State)
Of the 36 states in Nigeria, Cross River state is the nineteenth largest in area and 27th most populous, with an estimated population of over 3.8 million as of 2016. Geographically, the state is mainly divided between the Guinean forest–savanna mosaic in the far north and the Cross–Sanaga–Bioko coastal forests in the majority of the interior of the state. The smaller ecoregions are the Central African mangroves in the coastal far south and a part of the montane Cameroonian Highlands forests in the extreme northeast. The most major geographical feature is the state's namesake, the Cross River, which bisects the state's interior before forming much of the state's western border, and flowing into the Cross River Estuary. Other important rivers are the Calabar and Great Kwa rivers, which flow from the inland Oban Hills, before flanking the city of Calabar and flowing into the Cross River Estuary as well. In the forested interior of the state are several biodiverse protected areas including the Cross River National Park, Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mbe Mountains Community Forest. These wildlife reserves contain populations of Preuss's red colobus, African forest buffalo, bat hawk, tree pangolin, grey-necked rockfowl, and West African slender-snouted crocodile, along with some of Nigeria's last remaining Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, drill, African forest elephant, and Cross River gorilla populations.
Modern-day Cross River state has been inhabited by several ethnic groups for hundreds of years, primarily the Efik of the riverside south and Calabar; the Ekoi (Ejagham) of the inland south; the Akunakuna, Boki, Bahumono, and Yakö (Yakurr) of the central region; and the Bekwarra, Bette, Igede, Ukelle (Kukele) of the northern region. In the pre-colonial period, what is now Cross River state was divided between its ethnic groups with some joining the Aro Confederacy, while the Efik founded the Akwa Akpa (Old Calabar) city-state. The latter become a British protectorate in 1884, as the capital of the Oil Rivers Protectorate; but it was in the early 1900s that the Britons gained formal control of the entire area. Around the same time, the protectorate (now renamed the Niger Coast Protectorate) was incorporated into the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, which later merged into British Nigeria. After the merger, much of the modern-day Cross River state has become a center of anti-colonial resistance during the Women's War and trade,through the international seaport at Calabar.
After independence in 1960, the area now regarded as Cross River state was a part of the post-independence Eastern Region until 1967, when the region was split and the area became part of the South-Eastern state. Less than two months afterwards, the Igbo-majority of the former Eastern Region attempted to secede as the state of Biafra; in the three-year long Nigerian Civil War. Calabar and its port was hard fought over in Operation Tiger Claw, while the people from Cross River state were persecuted by the Biafran forces as they were mainly non-Igbos. At the war's end and the reunification of Nigeria, the South-Eastern state was reformed until 1976, when it was renamed Cross River state. Eleven years later, Cross River state was divided with western Cross River being broken off to form the new Akwa Ibom state. The state formerly contained the oil-producing Bakassi Peninsula, but it was ceded to Cameroon under the terms of the Greentree Agreement.
As an agricultural state, the Cross River state's economy partially relies on crops, such as cocoyam, rubber, oil palm, yam, cocoa, cashews, and plantain crops, along with fishing. Key minor industries involve tourism in and around the wildlife reserves along with the historic Ikom Monoliths site, Calabar Carnival, and Obudu Mountain Resort. Cross River state has the joint-thirteenth highest Human Development Index in the country and numerous institutions of tertiary education.
Cross River state derives its name from the Cross River, which passes through the state. It is a coastal state located in the Niger Delta region, and occupies 20,156 square kilometers. It shares boundaries with Benue state to the north, Ebonyi and Abia states to the west, to the east by Sud-Ouest Province in Cameroon, and to the south by Akwa-Ibom and the Atlantic Ocean. The state is made up of 18 Local Government Area Councils.
Map - Cross River State (Cross River State)
Map
Country - Nigeria
Flag of Nigeria |
Nigeria has been home to several indigenous pre-colonial states and kingdoms since the second millennium BC, with the Nok civilization in the 15th century BC, marking the first internal unification in the country. The modern state originated with British colonialization in the 19th century, taking its present territorial shape with the merging of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate and Northern Nigeria Protectorate in 1914 by Lord Lugard. The British set up administrative and legal structures while practising indirect rule through traditional chiefdoms in the Nigeria region. Nigeria became a formally independent federation on 1 October 1960. It experienced a civil war from 1967 to 1970, followed by a succession of military dictatorships and democratically elected civilian governments until achieving a stable democracy in the 1999 presidential election. The 2015 general election was the first time an incumbent president failed to be re-elected.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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NGN | Nigerian naira | ₦ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |
HA | Hausa language |
IG | Igbo language |
YO | Yoruba language |