Elijah Akpan Okon

Who is Elijah Akpan Okon?

Born 1913, into a royal family with a line of great leaders and chiefs in Ikot Mbon Ikono, Uyo, in the present Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria; his father chief Nsentip Ekown, a prominent, and an awesome Ruler of Ikono and the suburbs, named him Ukpong Nsentip Ekown. At his school age, there were no schools in the whole of Uyo division, and it was difficult to establish any, because of strong opposition by Ibibio people, in and around Uyo. Prior to his birth, his father Chief Nsentip Ekown had signed a treaty with the British Consul – Sir Robert Brooks which established Uyo as a British Colonial Administrative station. Chief Nsentip Ekown was a Paramount Ruler amongst his people. He was thus confirmed, honoured, with this title, and crowned as the first Warrant Paramount Ruler of the area through the Consul by King Edward VII in 1902. Chief Nsentip Ekown, in conjunction with Chief Udo-Ekong Umana Ekam of Abak, led the British to establish the Government School at Abak. As a Warrant Ruler, Chief Nsentip Ekown played a prominent role by assisting the British to subdue Essien Inyang Ide of Abak whose parcel of land the school was established. It would be quite unsafe for anybody linked with the name Nsentip to attend the school; hence Ukpong Nsentip Ekown had to adopt the name Elijah Akpan Okon to acquire education at the Abak Government School. This was also an era, which the early missionaries and the colonial teachers in Nigeria preferred to, and renamed the Nigerian students with biblical and European names other than African.