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Okrika is a Local Government Area (LGA) in Rivers State, Nigeria, with Okrika town serving as its administrative headquarters. Okrika LGA is one of the 10 ijaw LGAs in Rivers State. It lies within the Rivers East Senatorial District and shares boundaries with Eleme LGA to the north and east, Ogu/Bolo LGA to the south, and Port Harcourt LGA to the west.
As of 2022, the Rivers State Primary Health Care Management Board estimated the population of Okrika LGA at over 379,000, distributed across 143 communities.
Okrika's primary economic activity is fishing, while Christianity is the dominant religion, with some residents practicing African Traditional Religion. Many residents in Okirika are from neighbouring Ijaw villages, which has influenced Okirika culture.
The town is located at an average elevation of 452 meters and lies to the north of the Bonny River on Okrika Island, approximately 56 kilometers (35 miles) from the Bight of Bonny. It is accessible to vessels with a maximum draft of 9 meters (29 feet).
Initially established as a fishing settlement by Ijaw migrants from various central Ijaw clans and from the Wilberforce Island region, Okrika became the capital of the Okrika Kingdom in the early 17th century. During this period, the community, like others in the region, was involved in the slave trade. After the abolition of the slave trade in the 1830s, Okrika became a port for exporting palm oil, though it was less prominent than Bonny (46 kilometers to the south) and Opobo (81 kilometers to the east-southeast).
By 1912, Okrika had lost its significance as a trading hub, overshadowed by Port Harcourt. It regained commercial relevance in 1965 with the completion of the Port Harcourt refinery and the construction of pipelines to a jetty on Okrika Mainland. The area also hosts the Alakiri gas plant, which supplies gas to the refinery and other facilities.
Currently, refined petroleum products are one of Okrika's main exports. The town also engages in local trade of fish, oil palm products, processed salt, cassava, taro, plantains, and yams. However, the fishing industry has been impacted by environmental pollution linked to crude oil activities.
The Okrika people are originally of Ijaw origin, with their culture significantly shaped over time, as result of migration, intermarriage, trade relations, and shared settlement spaces, many aspects of Okrika culture reflects their ties to Ijaw. These include language features, traditional practices, attire, dances, songs, religious expressions, and elements of social organisation such as marriage customs. Historical factors (particularly regional migration patterns, the trans-Atlantic trade era, and the palm oil economy) further deepened the cultural blending between Okrika and their Ijaw neighbours.
Language has played an important role in the historical relationship between Kalabari and Okrika. The Okrika people speak the Okrika language, similar to the neighbouring Kalabari language; although distinct, both languages have developed mutual influence due to prolonged contact, trade, and geographical proximity. This interaction has produced some degree of oral intelligibility and shared linguistic features, which is also seen among neighbouring communities in Rivers and Bayelsa States. While each group maintains its own language and written forms, the similarities that have emerged through centuries of interaction have supported communication and social exchange between them.
Marriage has long played a central role in sustaining ties between the two groups, with intermarriage remaining common even during periods of conflict. In Okrika, the traditional form of marriage is the Igwa (small dowry) system, which historically structured marital relations, lineage affiliation, and inheritance. The Iya/Ya marriage (large dowry), by contrast, was not originally an Okrika practice. It developed among neighbouring like Kalabari where it was associated with kings, chiefs, and wealthy families due to its substantial cost and the elevated inheritance rights it conferred on the wife and her children. Okrika later adopted the Iya/Ya system from these communities, using it as a marker of prestige among families who could afford the higher bridewealth. Over time, this borrowed practice became more widespread as economic circumstances improved.
In Okrika, traditional marriage practices are closely linked to inheritance norms and the position of women within the lineage. A key feature of Okrika custom is that girls who marry outside their father’s household generally lose inheritance rights in their natal lineage. This reflects an Igbo cultural influence, as patrilineal inheritance restrictions for married daughters are characteristic of many Igbo communities. As a result, married Okrika women are typically buried in their husband’s community rather than in their father’s compound.
The Igwa marriage, which involves a smaller dowry, historically limited inheritance rights for both the wife and her children, favouring patterns of succession that did not fully integrate the children into the father’s lineage. However, contemporary practice in Okrika increasingly allows children from Igwa unions to inherit from their fathers, particularly when they reside with or are raised by them. These evolving marriage and inheritance customs illustrate the dynamic interplay between traditional norms and changing social expectations within Okrika society.
FESTIVALS
Iria Festival: The Iria festival dates back to the 16th century; an annual ceremony of that is held at a market square in Okrika, an ancient town in Rivers State, Nigeria. Breasts-baring maidens are seen being initiated by the people into womanhood. Virgins are presented and kept in the fattening room, where they are taken care of for the festival
The major autonomous communities in Okrika include:
While they function independently, these communities cooperate under the larger framework of the Okrika Kingdom, particularly on matters of culture, inter-community relations, and representation within Rivers State.
In modern Okrika, Christian religion has emerged as the dominant religion and the St. Peters Cathedral is the most prominent religious building in Okrika. Ethnic religion however still exists side by side with Christianity.
There are several Christian denominations in Okrika today. Some of the Christian denominations in Okrika are as follows:
The Anglican Church, the first African Church (FAC), the Catholic Church, the Christ Army Church (CAC), the Assemblies of God Church, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Three Cross, Apostolic Church, Deeper Life, Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Greater Evangelism, El Shaidai Bible Church, Church of God Mission, The Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel), Christ Embassy, Cherubim and Seraphim, Salvation Ministries, Brotherhood of the Cross and Star etc.
Before the onset of oil and gas activities, the Okrika people were and are still known for fishing, farming and trading; these economic activities sustain their livelihood.
As of March 2017, residents have complained of soot in the air due to the destruction of makeshift illegal refineries that have sprouted all over the state.
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