Whereas it is one thing to institute change, it is another to have a sustained change and for the change to achieve its ultimate aim. From the perspective of development, sustainable development is often planned and kick started, but such development in many cases is not being sustained thereby making nothing out of the main idea of the development itself. Akwa Ibom state no doubt has always been a pedestrian state and it is a commendable ideology for governor Akpabio to turn the state into a hub of development and on the long run, a preferred destination. On the other hand, what is the guarantee that this dream will last if fully achieved? Will it follow the general perception that good things don’t last?
Last December, Uyo metropolis witnessed an influx of tourists who came to behold the beautiful sight and sound of the state capital. Yes, it was a sign of better things to come. Sometimes we wonder why Calabar is a definition of “the people’s paradise.” We ask why Lagos is a destination where Nigerians want to be. We admire the beauty of Abuja and the development thereof, but our state is reportedly one of the fastest growing states in Nigeria. Wonderful infrastructures, potential tourism sites, great investment opportunities, huge monthly allocation and a leveled environment for development to thrive. Despite these, there is still no sign of sustained development. Starting from 1999, there is hardly any programme or developmental stride of the past administration that still benefits the masses today. For instance, the Ibom plaza which served as a trading platform and an entertainment/tourism center is now almost dead without justifiable reason. Some erstwhile businessmen of the “defunct” Ibom plaza resorted to furthering their businesses in containers, open shades and little roadside shops, some of which have been destroyed by Ignatius Edet’s Uyo Capital City Development Authority.
Similarly, the infrastructures put in place even by the present administration between 2007 and 2011 are history, because of poor maintenance and outright negligence. The first project ever embarked upon by governor Akpabio which marked his first one hundred days in office, the ‘operation zero pothole’ has gone with the wave. Many streets in Uyo are filled with embarrassing potholes and one would wonder if there is a ministry of works in the state. The Itam flyover is another first term project that is degrading and seems unnoticed. The sanitary condition around the Goodluck Jonathan flyover is getting worse by the day. One then wonder the governor’s crime in putting that structure in place. Some traffic lights in Uyo have stopped functioning for a long time, drainage channels are blocked and the level of flooding during rainy season underminds the government effort to check flooding.
Like it is said, the decay that starts from the top will definitely reach the bottom. Some time ago, the state governor pronounced that local government chairmen and other top local government officials must reside in their respective local government areas. To pursue this, security villages have been built in all the local government areas in the state. It is then very disappointing for majority of local government chairmen and officials to reside in Uyo the state capital. Sadly, these abandoned security estates are prematurely “dilapidated” thereby causing the billions of naira of the state government to be wasted. Worst of all, nobody is made to answer for such anti-development gesture and one would wonder which class of individuals are permitted to waste government funds. Apart from the ‘forsaken’ security estates, it is a very peculiar attitude for anything that comes from the government to be neglected by both the government and the masses and this gets to implementation of government policies too.
We once had child right act being implemented effectively but today such thing has disappeared. Children are once again abused and denied their basic rights, yet there is government. It is not out of place to talk about these issues because development in this context includes human development. Akwa Ibom state cannot be a destination when the people have not made the state worth it. We cannot have a destination state where there is practically no effective state ministry and agency to enhance the sustainability of development in the state. We cannot have a destination where the streets are dirty courtesy of then people. How can we have a destination where government vehicles do not obey traffic rules, yet leaders are admonished to show example. What kind of destination would organise a supposed record breaking carol night and the light goes off the stadium in the middle of the event. What kind of destination would have very fine school buildings with people who should have no business in school as teachers, complemented by students who can barely read or write even at secondary school level. The situation is quite unspeakable in a state that hopes to become a small Dubai in Nigeria. A state with numerous resources, yet politics is the major money generating sector. A state with dead manufacturing industries that would have employed numerous people. A state whose leadership promised to provide thirty one industries, yet none has surfaced. That is the state that wants to be a destination.
On the contrary, the dream to make Akwa Ibom state a pace where everybody wants to be is not impossible. In fact, it could happen faster than what anyone would expect. There is always a price to pay to enjoy better life as proposed by governor Akpabio. No one would do the same thing and expect a different result. Whereas the development in the state is new, the people’s attitude is still old an opposed to positive change. If there must be a change, then the change must be sustained and continued. Apart from instituting development, there has to be life touching and gestures by both government and the masses to enhance the forward march of the state. Let us learn from our mistakes and embrace revolution that will attract the world to us. If we don’t do it, who will?
No comments:
Post a Comment