Once again, the government and people of Akwa Ibom will come together to celebrate the joy of statehood, which they gained on September 23, 1987, as the 21st state among the 36 in the federation.
Every anniversary comes with celebration, stock-taking and rededication for a better tomorrow.
At 39, the vision the founding fathers had for Akwa Ibom has been fulfilled in many ways, but the people must keep dreaming and coming up with new visions to sustain their civilisation and development.
Since the creation of the state, every generation has contributed immensely towards the realisation of what may be referred to as the Akwa Ibom Project, which is to see the state become a leading industrial economy in Nigeria where there is gainful employment for all, food sufficiency, infrastructural development, educational attainment and generally where citizens can seamlessly meet the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing.
Fortunately, at every stage in the history of Akwa Ibom, the state has been blessed with visionary leaders, each of them contributing, in no small measure, to the growth and development of the state. In several instances the people and government of Akwa Ibom have been pace-setters in Nigeria. Going down memory lane, they were the first Nigerians to demand a state as far back as the 1920s, led by the Ibibio Union.
In terms of individual achievements, its people have excelled in various fields of endeavour such that an Akwa Ibomite-General Wellington Bassey was the first Nigerian to enlist in the Nigerian Army. Also, Akwa Ibomite-Samuel Peter was the first African to win a world heavyweight boxing title. As a state blessed with resourceful and patriotic citizens, it is no wonder that Akwa Ibom’s profile in the comity of states is on the ascendancy.
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Therefore, as they celebrate statehood, they can gladly count the many blessings of having Akwa Ibom State and the giant strides the state has recorded in the last 39 years while also looking with hope to a brighter future.
Both the government and the people are celebrating the 39th anniversary with high hopes of an economic boom to come in the near future from key projects regarded as economic game-changers, such as the Ibom Deep Seaport, a vision conceived almost two decades ago.
Having been on the drawing board for all this while, the seaport project should be set for construction to commence. It has been talked about for too long, and everyone expects action on it to take off.
All administrations, from the government of Obong Victor Attah to that of Chief Godswill Akpabio, Deacon Udom Emmanuel and now Pastor Umo Eno, have spoken loftily of the benefits the project would bring to the state. As the incumbent governor, the mantle now rests on Pastor Eno to see to the actualisation of the project which he has promised to accomplish.
Already, Governor Eno is charting a course which is leading Akwa Ibom to better relations with the government at the centre, an action that eliminates the usual frictions between the Federal Government and states in the opposition. With Akwa Ibom now fully integrated into the mainstream of the ruling party, the coast should be clear for Governor Eno to vigorously pursue the Ibom Deep Seaport project to a reasonable phase.
Like his predecessors, Governor Eno has moved Akwa Ibom State forward in many positive ways, all of which add to the overall development of the state, particularly in the area of peace and unity.
Akwa Ibom continues to be regarded as one of the most peaceful in Nigeria, and Governor Eno has effectively sustained it, thereby creating an enabling environment for real development to thrive through his ARISE Agenda, which has seen development across every sector and the opening up of the rural areas. ARISE Agenda has brought development closer to the rural areas and the people.
At 39, Akwa Ibom has already laid the foundation for a brighter tomorrow.
