There is a land full of life
Bubbling with greens and love

Swooshing trees through the forests
To the foaming sea with its broth

A land filled with hills and valleys
with streams and the streams

There are blue clouds
and the birds surf the wind

Uyo cares, loves and welcomes
She is beautiful like Jerusalem

In the coldest and darkest of night,
A stream of neon lamps comes to sight

The ancient city of Ikot Ekpene
Standing on green fields, serene

The stars glitter quietly
The home of tranquility

There are smiling faces
Home with the day’s wage

And those nights of May
The love we see, we say

The nights are cold most times
The sea comes to woo her bride

They call here with God’s name
Akwa Abasi Ibom!

And at the end of each long day,
the Sun travels on her way.

***

I dedicate this piece to all my friends from Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, on the celebration of the 28th year of their state’s existence. Happy birthday, Akwa Ibom State.

Abasi: in the local dialect, means God