The irrepressible demeanor and the inflexible can-do spirit of the Akwa Ibom person manifested during the struggle for the creation of the state 30 years ago. The sustained battle irresistibly waged from all fronts by people of ethnic minority groups was an aftershock of years of continued marginalization, deprivation and neglect by some majority tribes. And they began agitation for the creation of Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers (COR) state. The creation of the defunct South Eastern State as one of the 12-state structure in Nigeria did not in any way assuage the thirst of the people in the pursuit for the creation of a state of their own.
The steam was not let off. And the smoke of such unbridled agitation never simmered until the then President and Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida announced the creation of the 21st Nigerian state – Akwa Ibom on September 23, 1987. General Babangida who fathomed the decades of yearning of the people philosophically captured it thus I tremble to think of what would have happened if, after 60 years of vision, dream and agitation, you still did not have a state of your own in 1987 exercise… It can be said that you are founders of modern Nigeria. That it took you as long as six decades to 1987 to achieve the creation of your own state says a great deal for your patience, single-mindedness and tenacity. The announcement that momentarily jolted cynics and critics alike was greeted with wild celebration and euphoria by many. The people who like the Biblical Abraham had patiently waited for the promise of a state and who had seen the birth of the long-yearned baby rolled out drums in ecstatic celebration at the receipt of news of the creation of the state. Some journeyed home. Some left for Uyo, the tiny local government headquarters-turned state capital. Civil servants surmounted challenges of office and residential accommodation as part of their sacrifice for the new state.
The stage was set. And the pioneer military administrator, Col. Tunde Ogbeha who on arrival on Akwa Ibom soil was swarmed by tumultuous crowd. The 10-month old Col. Ogbeha administration came and laid the foundation for a model state. Then entered Col. Godwin Abbe, a military paratrooper. He played his cards and left the scene for others. Thereafter, Wing Commander Idongesit Nkanga, a son of the soil took over as the next military administrator. He devised his political masterstroke and achieved many. After his glorious exit, the late Obong Akpan Isemin stepped in as the first civilian governor of the state. Next came Col. Yakubu Bako followed by the late Navy Captain Joseph Adeusi, the late Police Commissioner Ahonkhai and Group Captain John Ebiye as military administrators.
In 1999, the military regime returned the country to the civilian rule both at the Federal and state levels. From 1999-2017, Obong Victor Attah and Chief Godswill Akpabio held sway as Akwa Ibom governors. Today, Udom Emmanuel is on the saddle as the governor. These leaders within the limits of their intellectual capacity, available funds, passion for development and tenure of office had done their biddings in launching Akwa Ibom to the panoply of a glorious state and putting it on the marble of great achievers as well as zenith of an earthly paradise. Years now, Akwa Ibom State indeed Uyo is gradually metamorphosing from the cradle of a rustic, agrarian local government headquarters to the 21st century mega, metropolitan city. At 30, the state like a man is an adult. Yet, she is still growing and would continue to make more progress and development.
We, at StraightNews, heartily congratulate the past heroes, forbears and people who fought for the creation of the state. We confer post-humous awards on the agitators and forbears who struggled for, yet did not see the baby of their dream, or who never lived to reap the fruits of their altruistic service and tireless efforts. We salute the past and present leaders for their achievements in bringing the state to its present level of development. However, we are sad that much would have been achieved if all the financial resources accruable to this state from the Federation account and internally generated revenue were judiciously deployed to areas of felt-need and for the well-being of the entire people.
As the people and government make odyssey into a new era, we enjoin the state government to look critically into the ebbing standard of education bedeviling our society. The failure of public primary and secondary schools has led to mush-rooming of the establishment of schools by some individuals, churches and organisations. Some unregistered and ill-equipped nursery and secondary schools for pecuniary reasons sprout in every nook and cranny of the state. We urge the government to lead in the crusade by improving educational facilities in schools, motivating teachers through more incentives, regular training/strict supervision of teachers, building of libraries, equipping of laboratories in secondary schools and inculcating the reading culture among our pupils and students. Government should also implement the free education programme in conformity with United Nations policy on education.
Again, we call on the government to inject more funds into the system. This can be done through regular payment of gratuity to pensioners, prompt payment of salary and allowances/promotion arrears to workers and clearance of backlog of salary arrears to civil servants employed three years ago, including recruitment of teachers and civil servants to fill vacant positions. Let government pay contractors who executed and completed various government projects. Government also has a duty to ignite entrepreneurial spirit among the people by giving soft loans to credible small and medium-scale entrepreneurs.
Much as we encourage the establishment of industries in the state, we advise government not to spend much money in sourcing for investors at the detriment of providing social amenities for the well-being of the masses, which is the primary duty of the government. Indeed, there is need to encourage Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
On the other hand, we call on the people to support laudable government progammes and projects. Let the people eschew tribalism, disunity, blackmail, sycophancy, hate, corruption and other anti-social vices. As we celebrate the state at 30, we must aim higher to realize the dreams of our founding fathers rooted in love, cooperation and unity among the dialectal groupings in the state.
