It was a dream come true;
the end of an era and yet the beginning of another. It was the expected end to
the marginalization of a people, the deserved climax to the drama of relegation
to the background in which the good people of Akwa Ibom had played prominent
roles.
It was September 23, 1987, the day the creation of a new state to be called Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria was announced by the then
military Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
That announcement brought
mirth to the lips of Akwa Ibom sons and daughters; they were gleeful and
delirious because they had been given a platform to collectively achieve their
aspirations and the dreams of their fathers before them. It was a creation that
would bring about rapid development and changes in the lives of the people, a
golden platform for change. The state was called the Land of Promise.
For the creation of state,
Akwa Ibom people came, fought and conquered but their battles were just
beginning. And 20 years afterwards, they continued to fight and crave for the
achievement of their dreams for development. Such was the condition of the
state and its people when the game changed.
To all intents and purposes,
many leaders who governed the state after its creation played great parts in
trying to see to the realization of the collective aspirations of its people.
From the maiden governor, colonel Tunde Ogbeha, to the one who governed
the state after return to civilian rule, they all, like master builders, built
the state, yet it remained among the least developed because there were myriad
of factors that worked against the development efforts. But these factors would
later give way to the vision of a man who was barely 25 years old when the
state was created; where there is a will there is a way, the saying goes.
On 23 September, 2012, 25 years after the creation of Akwa Ibom State, history was revisited and
also rewritten; what was once a land of promise had been turned to a land of
fulfillment in a matter of five years. The laudable achievement of state
creation had become pint-sized before the laudable transformation of the
created state; as five years of a game-changing leadership provided by Chief
Godswill Obot Akpabio eventually proved to be the real reasons the people of
the state could celebrate its silver jubilee.
Mr Infrastructure as
Akpabio is now fondly adressed, who began his work as an architect of new
Akwa Ibom 20 years after its creation, came on to the scene as a man on a
mission. Irked by the deplorable state of infrastructure, poor standard of
education, youth unrest and scary statistics of house-helps being produced by
the state, Governor Akpabio after his election in 2007 embarked on a mission to
rebuild, restore and transform but not many would have thought he would achieve
so much in a few years as to stand Mathematical calculation on its head. In the
last five years of his administration, not only have testimonies abound about
the massive transformation of the state but words have also been out that these
last five years in the life of Akwa Ibom State have surpassed the first 20
years of its creation.
But how can this be so?
How
can five years be equivalent to or even greater than 20 years? The answers are
validly and solidly rooted in the nooks and crannies of the state; they are
etched on the transformed landscape in the state, the over 295 roads
constructed across the state, the Ibom Power Plant to ease the power supply
problems of the state, the Ibom International Airport which has made the state
a commercial destination, the Topicana Entertainment Centre which has turned
the state to a tourists’ destination, the E-library that is first of its kind
in West Africa, the flyovers in Uyo, the Pipe-jacking underground drainage
project in Uyo and recently Abak, the Treasury Headquarters building at the
state secretariat and the City Centre Plaza in Ikot Ekpene.
Yes, five years were proved
to be greater than 20 years during the celebration, because in those five
years, the quality of the lives of Akwa Ibom people was improved upon, as the
Promise Keeper, the name with which the people of the state know their
governor, invested in human development.
The proofs are emblazoned on
the destinies of thousands of children who now have a future thanks to the free
and compulsory education from primary to secondary schools levels introduced by
the Akpabio administration, a step which got the commendation of people
including the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka.
The proofs of the matchless
five years of service to humanity are written on the faces of the youth and the
women who enjoy empowerment through the Integrated Farmers’ Scheme, where loans
are made available to farmers and Women Agriculture Development and
Entrepreneurship Programme (WADEP) where women are trained in commercial
agriculture and empowered with interest-free loans of N250,000 each to purchase
seedlings.
The proofs are engrossed on
the faces of pregnant women, children and the aged who now enjoy sound free
health care, they are there in the improved health infrastructure across the
state.
The answers to the question
of how five could be greater than 20, boldly and conspicuously, are written in
the annals of governance as the state has become a cynosure for Nigerians and
the international community; a great example in good governance and one that
has become a pride of the Niger-Delta region, nay, Nigeria. In the words of the
governor himself during the Silver Jubilee celebration, “it is fitting that
this particular occasion is coming at a time when our state has become the
cynosure of all eyes in our country.
It is coming at a time when
you can proudly declare anywhere in our country that you come from Akwa Ibom
and you would be respected. It is coming at a time when we are, indeed, living
the dreams of our fathers.
“This is also a time for
stocktaking. Five years ago, I made a proposition to the good people of our
dear state that it was possible for God’s will to be done in God’s own state.
You accepted that proposition and gave me the mandate to be your Governor with
very bold and ambitious vision. I am happy to report to you today that what we
have achieved in the last five years has made this silver jubilee a celebrative
milestone in our journey to greatness.”
Like every great leader,
Chief Akpabio came, saw and he has continued to conquer physical and human
underdevelopments, breaking barriers and bequeathing to Akwa Ibom State a new legacy that the
future generations would indeed be proud of, which is why they call him the
Promise Keeper and Transformer. And for these transformations, he has attracted
awards and commendations from within and outside the shores of Nigeria, as he continues to prove
that governance can indeed work in Africa.
From the United States
Congressional Recognition for service to humanity to the plethora of awards and
honours from churches, educational institutions, societies and media
organisations in the country, the man who has redefined the future of Akwa Ibom
State has continued to draw accolades from all sides for “living the dreams of
the fathers” while also giving greater dreams to the coming generations.
25 years after the creation
of Akwa Ibom State, not only has it continued to wax strong, it has also
continued to set good example as the governor believes that the breakthroughs
in the state are for all Nigerians and they should spur other states to action
so that the oasis of developments in the state would not be sucked dry by the
desert of underdevelopments in the country.
But this is not his only
belief, to Governor Akpabio, these times are meant for every son and daughter
of Akwa Ibom to feel proud and walk tall about the unprecedented developments
in the state because “God has turned our captivity into joy. A once pedestrian
state has become a choice destination for national and international
conferences,” he said.
Ibipobong Udom is a
public affairs analyst based in Abuja.
No comments:
Post a Comment