AKWA IBOM IS BLESSED WITH GOOD LEADERS – HER EXCELLENCY, ARCHBISHOP SENATOR HELEN ESUENE
Her husband, the first military governor of former South Eastern State, with headquarters in Calabar, weighed a lot of supportive influence towards the Akwa Ibom dream. She is a formidable Christian leader, entrepreneur and has served the nation at a federal level as the Minister of Environment and Housing, Senator for Akwa Ibom South under Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Quest Inspirational spoke with Her Excellency, Archbishop Senator Helen Esuene. Her rich recollection provides vivid perspectives on the State creation stories. Excerpts:
Can you briefly recollect those events that led to the creation of Akwa Ibom State 38 years ago?
Before I go to the historical perspective, I just want to seize this opportunity to congratulate His Excellency, our very dutiful Governor, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno PhD, the Deputy Governor and all the former governors and deputy governors and the people that worked closely with them because we cannot celebrate this landmark without remembering all of them. Kindly accept my very hearty and warm congratulations as we celebrate 38 years of Akwa Ibom State.
So having said that, yes, we were in South eastern States, which later was renamed Cross River State, but the same geographical demarcations before Akwa Ibom State was excised from the then Cross River State. There would have been some negative stresses at that time, but I would rather look at it from a different perspective, a different angle. I see it as that the people of the mainland state, which is what is Akwa Ibom State now, their dynamism couldn’t really have adequate space to be expressed in what was Cross River State then.
So the agitation for a new identity was inevitable and that is what led to the creation of Akwa Ibom State. But having said that, we are still the same people, I mean, we are so intertwined that it’s like the hand and the leg and all of that. We are still the same people and what happens to A also reflects on B. So we should look at it from that perspective. So that is how Akwa Ibom State came to be 38 years ago. And I would say that it has all gone well for us as a people.
The state has experienced more progress, more developmental progress, and the sky is the limit. And so it is an exercise looking back, It’s an exercise that has a lot of positivity in it and will continue to bear more and more fruits to the glory of God.
What is your candid assessment of the development of the state so far?
Yes, it is very visible for anyone who cares to see and observe. One thing that marks us out as a state is the continuity of the various administrations. If you want to look back right from the military administrations, which later metamorphose into the democratic process. I would say we’ve been so blessed because each successive administration added to what he came to see and the dynamism, the developmental strides, really started to be felt with the Idongesit Nkanga administration because within a very short time of that administration, we had what we now know as the state secretariat. Then huge buildings came to be just like that, so that was the first, I would say the first landmark in the developmental process of Akwa Ibom State.
But subsequent administrations have done, have set the pace, the landmark, the mappings and the skeletal structure of what we want it to look like. The airport, the international hotel, and other things like that, and then later on another administration came up with infrastructural development, the roads, the flyovers and all the beautiful modern things. For me, I look at it as something that is very much in tandem with creation itself because when we look at Genesis, it started with a desire, with a wish, with a fear. Then the environment was the first to be put and structured and after the environment, before the man, the person, the quintessence actually came into the scene.
So we have been fortunate because our governments, our administrations have built on what they came to see. They didn’t just abandon what they came to see and start afresh, they started some fresh things, but they also continued to perfect what they came to see, which for me is a big plus because government is a continuity. It has to be continual, you cannot start and finish everything in your tenure, and so what you couldn’t finish, it is expected that the next administration will come in to finish it.
So we’ve been that lucky and that’s why we see so much progress, which is attested to by everyone, even the visitors that are coming into the states, they attest to this, that the state has grown in leaps and bounds. I still remember the first dual carriage, which was to be Uyo, Ikot Ekpene road at that time, just a little stretch. And at that time, it looks like a very big thing indeed. But now you see that we’ve gone way, way, way, way, way past that stage and we really thank God for all of this.
Having made this assessment, what do you think is the future of Akwa Ibom State like, especially with the Arise Agenda?
Yes, the administration came up with the agenda, which in my view is like continuation of the Dakkada programme of the last administration. And I see it as something that has come in to add value, has come in to perfect what has been, or to start a perfection process of what it should be. And I go back to Genesis again, because it was man that came in last and he had the mandate to build, he had the mandate to take care of what has been put in place and all of that. And it is the human factor that has to do it,
Yes, you put in the programme, you put in every, you put the buildings, the factories, whatever, but if the human factor is not right, is not positioned to bring it to perfection, then it will not happen.
So now the Arise Agenda has come in to build capacity, human capacity that will continue to drive these developmental processes in the State, which I think it’s very key. When we talk about human capacity, it starts with the spiritual as well. In fact, that is where it starts, because that’s where you have integrity, that’s where you have honesty, that’s where you have hard work, team spirit, humility, and all of that.
So by the time all of this is inculcated into the workforce of this State, then we will start to see our facilities, our systems working better to see our capital, our facilities working better. I see as a step in the right direction, it’s just two years that has been spent so far. By the time it gets to the end of the four years and another four years, I think the States would have been so much better for it.
As a last word, I would like to also appreciate the people of Akwa Ibom State, because yes, you need to have good leaders, you also need to have good followers. I want to appreciate the people of Akwa Ibom State. I want to appreciate the workforce, the retirees who have been retired but not tired, who are still putting in some efforts here and there. I want to appreciate the civil servants, the public servants, and even everybody, the traders, the business people, all of us. I want to appreciate all of us for joining hands to build a good, appreciated Akwa Ibom State that is going to excel and be the example of the young. Thank you very much.
