It is time again to commemorate and celebrate the day a people’s dream came to fruition and to use the occasion to dream even bigger.
On this day, 38 years ago, the aspirations of our forebears to have a distinctive state within the Nigerian polity were actualised following the creation of Akwa Ibom as the 21st state in the nation.
It is on record that the people of Akwa Ibom were the first in Nigeria to demand state creation. Led by the Ibibio Union as far back as 1928, they had begun a movement for state creation.
Therefore, today evokes the determination, wisdom and foresight of our forebears to have laid the foundation for the present Akwa Ibom State.
In the course of marking the state’s anniversary, the guiding principles of the Ibibio Union should not be lost on the present generation. Foremost on their agenda were the unity, progress, educational advancement and overall development within the Nigerian state. For them, unity was paramount.
While we may celebrate the anniversary with the pomp and pageantry it deserves, it also calls for a moment of reflection.
There is no doubt that Akwa Ibom State has made geometrical progress since 1987, but its unity has been tested several times with detrimental effects. So far, it has surmounted all attempts by divisive elements seeking their selfish goals. Some would have derailed the vision of our heroes’ past, but failed.
As a state blessed with good leadership and united followers, Akwa Ibom has weathered the storm to become a model in Nigeria. At every stage of its history, it has had leaders of great vision and foresight who have laid building blocks of development such that outsiders are marvelling at the rapid achievements the state keeps recording in various spheres of endeavour.
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It is pleasing to note that every generation of Akwa Ibom leadership has passed on the torch of progress to the next.
Providence has today rested the mantle of leadership in the hands of Governor Umo Eno to take the state forward as ever.
Fortunately, Governor Eno has not only consolidated the gains and successes of his predecessors but has also built on them. His ARISE Agenda is all-encompassing and provides directions to greater social and economic development that will usher in sustainability.
Unfortunately, unemployment has plagued the state for quite a while now, but Governor Eno has shown a strong political will to tackle it headlong. Definitely, he would require even a stronger political will to bring to actualisation a lot of the economic game-changer projects the state has lined up for so long, such as the Ibom Deep Seaport and Ibom Science Park. Hopefully, these projects will get off the ground in his time.
Politically, Governor Eno is imbued with foresight and pragmatism to have taken decisive actions that will properly realign
Akwa Ibom State to promote inclusivity within the Nigerian power play. Already, he has broken down the wall of partisanship that bedevilled the state. There is wisdom in his decision to move the entire Akwa Ibom State to the ruling party, which is envisaged to attract support for the completion of mega projects in the state.
With the full relocation of the party to the centre, there is hope that more federal projects would be sited in the state, while the federal government would facilitate the timely completion of such projects as the Ibom Deep Seaport.
However, in spite of the laudable landmarks and infrastructural development, the people are still waiting for industries to be established in the state. For all its developmental strides,
Akwa Ibom remains primarily a civil service economy, which is not good enough. By now, the state should have grown into an industrialised economy capable of creating massive employment and higher internally generated revenue. In fact, there are many expectations from the people as the state continues to grow in leaps and bounds. They want to see the prosperity trickle down to the man in the street as well as bring food to their tables.
There is a need for the government to ensure that the commonwealth of the state spreads to reach all and not be left only in the hands of the political class and elite.
Therefore, this year’s anniversary calls for the sustainability of the existing unity to be on guard against the antics of a selfish few who are agitating for the break-up of the state into two.
Even our forebears would be turning in their graves to hear of such agitation. Akwa Ibom people should stand up as one and, with one voice, pledge their eternal love, solidarity, loyalty and commitment to the state at the auspicious 38th anniversary.
At 38, Akwa Ibom State continues to move forward as an indivisible entity.
