About Oron People

The Oron people or Örö people are a multi-ethnic tribal grouping that makes up the Akpakip Oro or Oron Nation. The Örö people are located primarily in south eastern Nigeria in the riverine area of Akwa Ibom and the Cross River States and in Cameroon. Akpakip Oro are regarded as an ancient warrior people, speaking the Örö language which is in the Cross River language family of the Benue–Congo languages. They are ancestrally related to the Efik people of Cross River State, the Ibeno and Eastern Obolo in Akwa Ibom, the Andoni people in Rivers State and the Balondo-ba-Konja in the Congo.

The geopolitical restructuring of states and local government within Nigeria has seen the egalitarian society of the Oron Nation being fragmented politically in the Niger Delta. They have been mostly divided across two separate Nigerian states, the Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state, and then into five Oron local government areas (LGAs) within the Akwa Ibom state.

The Oron Nation is usually called by its members as Oro Ukpabang; Akpakip Oro; or Oro Ukpabang Okpo. These names are derived from their ancestral father Abang Okpo (Pictured here). The Akpakip Oro are made up of nine clans known as Afaha. The nine Afaha / Clans of Oro are: Afaha Okpo, Afaha Ukwong, Ebughu, Afaha Ibighi, Effiat, Afaha Ubodung, Etta, Afaha Oki-uso, Afaha Idua (Ilue). These clans represent ancestral, spiritual, cultural identities, and administrative divisions with each clan having its own traditions, deities, and historical narratives, which together contributes to the uniqueness, rich and proud history of Oron heritage.

Abang Okpo