Ogoja
Ogoja is a town and Local Government Area in Cross River State, South South Nigeria. It lies on A4 highway.
Understand
Ogoja has an estimated population of 242,259 and covers a total area of 973 km².
Their major crops are yams, cassava (manioc), corn (maize), rice, palm oil and kernels and kola nuts. It is mainly inhabited by the Ekoi peoples.
The town was one of the provinces during pre-colonial times. It consists of many tribal units, including Ishibori (this village has different clans such as Uhmuria, Ikaptang, Ikajor, Ishinyema, Ikariku, Imerakorm) and Igoli as the central town. Mbube, being one of the major tribes, comprises different villages, including: Odajie, Adagum, Ekumtak, Idum, Ojerim, Egbe, Nkim, Ogberia Ogang & Ogberia Ochoro, Oboso, Benkpe, Edide, Bansan, Aragban, etc. Their major source of livelihood is subsistence agriculture, basically farming of cassava, yams, palm oil, palm wine etc. Ekajuk, is one of the major clan in Ogoja Local government area. Divided into Ward I and Ward II, and includes major communities such as Nwang, Ekpogrinya, Esham, Egbong, Nnang, Ewinimba and Bansara (which are collection of a group of villages).
Get in
By plane
You can get in to Ogoja by plane by first taking a flight to Calabar. From Calabar, you can then take a bus to Ogoja.
By bus
You can get a bus to take you to Ogoja from most pf the lga in Cross river, however if there are no direct buses from the local government, then you would have to take a bus to the nearest local government where you can get then get a bus to Ogoja. You can also luxurious buses like GIGM to enter Ogoja from other states.
Get around
The popular means of transportation in this city is bike.
Buy
- Joepal SuperMarket, 2 Ukamusha Street Igoli. M-Sa 8AM-10PM.
- Wine Shop, 36 Mission Rd.
- Ceclay super market, Ndok junction. M-Sa 8AM-7PM.
- Omeka Opeh Provision Stores, Motor Park, Abakpa, ☏ +234 810 873 5297. M-Sa 8AM-6PM.
Eat
- Eat well Restaurant, Along Mission Rd.
- Priceless Fast Food, Along Umuruya St. M-Sa 8AM-9PM.
- Chop City.
- Flavour Restaurant, Along Ndok Junction.
- Rapheal ushie foods, Along Agiga new layout, ☏ +234 816 071 3170.
- Gomarah Restaurant. 24 hours.
Drink
- Igbere Lounge, Along GRA Igoli, ☏ +234 708 641 9104. 24 hours.
- Puzzles Bar, ☏ +234 818 088 5510. 24 hours.
Sleep
- All Star Hotel Ogoja, No 1 Mbube Road Abakpa, ☏ +234 903 260 2933.
- Gakuna Harbour Hotels, 3, Sarki Audu Street, ☏ +234 802 124 7944.
- Jeck Reserve Guest House, 2B Okuku Road.
- Gomara Hotel And Suites, Plot 10 Abakpa Ndok Junction Road, Abakpa.
- Maryland Guest House, 5 Barracks Road.
- Noble Suites, 3 Njok Junction Road.
- O-Jays Suites And Hotel, 212 Abaka Ndole Road.
- Franphinas Suites And Hotel, 2nd Avenue, School of Art and Science Road.
- 520 Hotel Akuma Lodge, 6 Brigadier General Ukpo Drive G.R.A.
- Don Eunice Suites & Hotels, behind TTC Momenya Road.
Stay safe
Ogoja is a safe city. However, as a visitor you need to be careful with arrangements or organizations that sound unrealistic (particularly messages mostly via e-mail requesting your assistance), and don't transparently display your assets, particularly in broad daylight places. It is very rare for a tourist or visitor to be a victim of a violent crimes but it is still advisable to stay safe and be on the alert, especially during late-night outings. Make sure you stick to crowded streets and make sure to go out in groups as against going out alone. There are police officers who are corrupt and inefficient so it is best that you stick to places and people you know and avoid going anywhere without a trusted guide if it is your first visit.
Connect
Ogoja like most locations in Nigeria have 2G/3G/4G mobile network coverage. Most network services may be disrupted the farther away you go from the city center, and you might occasionally experience network outages for all or some of the mobile phone service providers in those remote areas of the city. Different networks tend to be more stable and reliable in different locations of Ogoja at different times. If you are planning a visit to this and spend some times, endeavour to come with more than one phone or a phone that has multiple SIM card port and come with all mobile networks service providers so that you can interchange the sim cards, since you can't tell which network will be more stable and reliable during your stay. And if you will risk not having any of them, you might be better off not risking the MTN network, because from indications, it performs better than the other networks, though its rates may be high and its offers and services might be stringent, but you are less likely to be concerned of erratic voice and data connection compared to others.
Glo (also known as Globacom) boasts of fast network speed for internet browsing activities, but you might find it difficult to enjoy such privilege in some Ogoja. Airtel is another service provider which is fairly satisfactory for all you might need to connect to the world, including rates and network stability. And 9Mobile usually also performs well in internet browsing speed but not without locational limitations.