I want to go home
I'm from AkwaIbom
Incase you don't know
AkwaIbom ayaya
You can enter motor
Or fly for aero
And land for Uyo
You should come with me
I'm missing the love at home!
Who knows this song?!!😅 Everything I need to tell you about my hometown is in this song.
Hello Hivans, I am super excited to talk about my hometown today. It's one of the things I'm most proud of about myself. My birth name is Edidiong which means blessing 😊. I was born and brought up in the beautiful and amazing city of Uyo in AkwaIbom state.
AkwaIbom state as a whole and the capital I live in is the home of exquisite beauty, mouth watering delicacies, peace, skillful citizens and what not.
We're rich in food, palm oil, garri etc
I'm most interested in our dishes. My state is a place a normal individual will long to be. Youth corp members are mostly always praying to be posted there. Our meals are top notch! We are the owner of the popular known and loved Afang soup and Edikan Ikong. Other tasty delicacies of ours are Ekpang Nkukwo - a dish made out of the wrapped mixture of grated water yam and cocoyam, Ato-Mboro - Banana porridge, Asa Iwa - Cassava porridge etc.
Apart from the dishes, AkwaIbom state is an extremely clean state. If you browse about the cleanest states in Nigeria, you'll find my state among the first five. This is something worth being proud of. I'm not implying that we do not have ghetto areas, we do but over 50% of the state is neat.
We have great transportation roads, bearable traffic and good security in my hometown. Yes, there are still cases of theft and other crimes but they are at a minimum. My hometown is peaceful, there's hardly ever a reason to run helter skelter.
We have absolutely beautiful places. Amazing eateries like Crunchies, Pepperoni, Chicken Republic, Food Affairs, Oliver Twist, Domino's Pizza, Sir Monty, Par Creams etc., airport, stadium, e-library, parks and a stunning mall.
We speak the Ibibio language in my hometown. A lot of people mistake AkwaIbom for Calabar and this is so wrong. Calabar is in Cross River State and they speak the Efik language. We share a boundary but we're different. AkwaIbom state was borne out of Cross River, I guess this is where the misconception originated.
Our foods, cleanliness, language and skills are what makes us stand out. We have so much value for education. There are various schools with qualified teachers and we practice the free educational system for government primary schools and a few secondary schools as well. We also have a major market called "Itam Market". We have rotational days every week which we declare as the big market day and it's called Etaha. On this day, traders from neighbouring states like Abia come in to sell their wares.
The people in my hometown are passionate about their work. Everyone is up and doing. Market women, chefs, carpenters, dry cleaners… I am an evidence of the fact that we're hardworking and good entrepreneurs. Even as a slay queen, I join my parents during palm oil procession, garri procession, farming and cultivating of farm produce. All of which I've written about in the past. We are not known for laziness at all.
Slay queen at work
The people of my hometown are loving as well, respectful and kind. I'm not even going to pretend that bad things do not happen in my hometown, it does but the good things supersede the bad ones. It's such a pity that I'm not at home right now to give you all an accurate pictorial representation of my hometown. Maybe sometime this year, I'll make an intentional blog about my hometown.
I'm invitingg you all to visit AkwaIbom state, the city of Uyo and experience "home away from home".
All images used in this post are mine except stated otherwise
About The Author
I am a witty, adventurous and nicheless writer who loves to sing, take pictures, teach and travel. I am currently an English Education student at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. I am also a young children's teacher who homeschools kids during holidays. I love to share my life experiences through writing with the hope of inspiring as many people as possible on the Hive space.