Aspects of Social Change in Akwa Ibom Area Since 1846

Social change has to do with the modifications of a society over time as manifested in changes in social institutions, ideas, values, technology and other products of human interactions. Indeed, the social structure of any society represents the temporary outcome of the daily adaptations to, and changes in, the relationships rather than a phenomenon or an end product. This perspective of social life reveals its adaptability through time to powerful external influences on modes of life. In Ibibio land, the paramount external force that triggered social change has been its contact with the European traders, missionaries and colonialists. Even though the management of change was successfully directed by the colonialists, the colonial cultural values and social sanctions have become deeply integrated in the fabrics of the Ibibio social life. This manifests in many aspects of the Ibibio life such as economy, politics, culture etc. The paper examines aspects of social changes that have occurred in Akwa Ibom area from 1846 when the Christian missionaries made its advent in Calabar in the Lower Cross River region of Nigeria. The introduction of the colonial rule aggravated the process. It is noted that the changes were both positive and negative. It suggests that some aspects of indigenous system should be preserved. The paper adopts a historical analytical method.