AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY JOUNAL OF ARTS

The question of Uruan’s identity has in recent time become debatable; consequently, two schools of thought have emerged. The first school which views Uruan as an Ibibio group is supported by oral tradition, colonial and missionary sources as well as the writings of Ibibio historians. The second school of thought views Uruan as a distinct group who are only neighbours to the Ibibio. This view has recently been adopted as the “official tradition”. Within this context, Uruan is considered as a monolithic group whose forebears once occupied a place known as Uruan Akpeh in the South West Cameroon area and later migrated to settle in Akani Obio Uruan in the Cross River estuary, from where they accessed Ibibio land. Based on the above conflicting accounts, it became necessary to undertake a study of the origin, migration and settlement of the 12 villages in Northern Uruan area from an inside-out perspective using an interdisciplinary methodology. The study discovers that the Uruan people are of Ibibio stock and their forebears migrated in waves to settle in their present abode. Thus, the novel contrary view of non-Ibibio origin of Uruan is based on political considerations and a response to the emerging desire for self-identity among some Ibibio groups.

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