By Chioma Onuegbu Uyo

Akwa Ibom state government has unveiled a Slave boat confiscated by angry natives of Nwaniba in Uruan Local Government Area of the State in a Guerilla warfare after 178 years.

The unveiling of the slave boat to the public at the Marina Beach, Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort at Nwaniba, Uyo, the state capital was done on Wednesday in partnership with the National Association of Akwa Ibom (NAAKIBOM) USA,

 Speaking at the event, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Charles Udoh said the Slave Boat is believed to have voyaged from Liverpool to berth in Nwaniba, Uruan LGA in the year 1846 where the Slave masters resided to transact in the nefarious businesses.

His words, “The Slave boat was confiscated from the Slave masters by the natives of a coastal community of Nwaniba in Uruan LGA of the State towards the end of the slave trade era in the world.

“Irked by the excruciating pains of Slavery and the inhuman treatment of the Slave masters, the angry natives confiscated the Slave boat in a Guerilla warfare.

“This is one of the remaining relics of the colonial master’s slave business in Akwa Ibom State and it is located at the Marina Beach, Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort”

 The Commissioner disclosed that, the Slave Boat restoration and preservation project was funded by investors brought in by the National Association of Akwa Ibom (NAAKIBOM) USA.

He expressed deep appreciation to NAAKIBOM for partnering state government in the promotion of Tourism in the State, and solicited same partnership from other Akwa Ibom groups in the diaspora.

“Akwa Ibom is endowed with virgin untapped tourism potentials across the length and breadth of the State, the longest coastline in the region, of 129km and tourist sites with historical perspectives beckoning on investors”, Udoh asserted.