CROSS RIVER STATE
T
HISTORICAL
DEVELOPMENT
AT A GLANCE
he state was created on May 27, 1967 from the former
Eastern region, by the General Yakubu Gowon regime,
its name was changed from South Eastern State to Cross
River State in the 1976 state creation exercise carried out by
the General Murtala Mohammed regime. The present Cross
River State came into being in September, 1987 when Akwa
Ibom State was created from the old Cross River State.
The State shares boundaries with Benue State to the North,
Enugu and Abia State to the West, to the East with Cameroon
republic and to the south with Akwa Ibom and the Atlantic
Ocean.
Cross River State, which is named after the Cameroon
Mountains which flows southward and forms the state's
western border, has Its urban centres in addition to Calabar,
which is the oldest slave trade centre in Nigeria, to be the
Inland towns of Ugep, Obudu, Odukpani, Ikom, Obubra,
Akpabuyo and Ogoja.
The first monorail project in Nigeria is located in Calabar and
is all set for commissioning and launch. In addition to this,the
first modern road network was constructed in the city. In the
health sector, Calabar was home tothe first public hospital, St.
Margaret Hospital. Calabar also houses the oldest post office
and one of the first two Botanical Gardens in Nigeria.
On the chronicle of the city's firsts, is the fact that Calabar
was the seat of the Government of the Oil River Protectorate
and then the Southern Protectorate, the building that is today
known as the Old Residency Museum was ordered by Consul
Hewett in 1882 from Britain and it arrived Calabar in 1884 where it was
4 Glance Magazine