The relics of what was the living house of Lord Lugard and the “Amalgamation Building”

Surprisingly, In Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom state, the relics of what was the living house of Lord Lugard and the “Amalgamation Building” also located in the same premises have both been forgotten. No serious attention has been

paid to what should have been a Monument for Tourists/students of history and the general public.

Again, Ikot Abasi Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state was called upon to make another history for Nigeria. This same building used for the signing of the Amalgamation Treaty later, also hosted another historical event.

It was here that General Olusegun Obasanjo (the Commanding officer of the Nigerian Army) and General Philip Effiong of the Biafran Army signed the declaration of cease-fire that brought to an end the Nigerian civil war in 1970.

Those are not all. There is yet again another event that took place here. The Women's war of 1929 was also fought in Ikot Abasi. That war resulted in the loss of lives of many of our grandmothers and great grandmothers.

The rioting women led by Madam Udo Udoma, the mother of Sir Udo Udoma, were protesting the imposition of taxes on women by the British colonial government. As a result of the protest, the women were invited for a meeting by the District Officer (D.O). While the meeting was going on inside the office of the D.O, a mere shaking of the gate by the women outside who perhaps thought their leaders had been detained, infuriated the British police officers who instantly opened fire on the unarmed women. Mrs Udo Udoma was murdered along with other women by the British police in a shooting spree that ensued. Some other women trying to escape the police gunshots jumped into the nearby river and got drowned; some of their bodies were never recovered.

Today, it is only Ikot Abasi Local Government that marks this event every December 16.

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