Today, Tuesday- September 23, Akwa Ibom State is 27
and the atmosphere in the state is distinctly
celebratory. With guests and proud indigenes flying in
from far and near to join the resident indigenes and
aliens, a bout of activities, mostly centering on
commissioning of one project or the other
(outstandingly, the newly constructed Olympic-size
stadium) by the chief host, Governor Godswill Akpabio,
the people of the state will above all reasons be
understood if lost in a frivolous kind of excitement.
As I presume you to have known before now, the writer,
having originated from the popular and prestigious
Minya Clan in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, has
never stopped being a proud Akwa Ibom-ite, despite
spending most of his growing days outside the state.
And currently speaking, he is also a strong admirer and
exponent of the man at the helm of affairs in the
state, Chief Godswill Akpabio; predominantly for his
proactive devotion towards the apposition of the
awesome instrument of government to promote the
principles of the common good and the advancement of
the human condition. That, in my opinion is the main
reason for the establishment of government in the first
place, and this is usually best garnished when the state
in question is blessed with leaders who understand the
critical mechanics of governance.
As one who is ideologically disposed to ‘big
government’ (the use of government wherewithal to
create a permitting environment for people to dream,
dare and aspire) the governor had long won my
admiration for showing that government indeed can
vigorously aim for good- one, whose ennobling ideals can
lift a people from the valley of despondency to the
mountain of accomplishment. I have said in many
instances that I have no apologies for being a non-
apathetic supporter of Governor Akpabio, and
contrasting what some people may think, my support is
not based on pecuniary considerations and miles away
from the sychophantic angle, (at least, many people
can attest to that as a fact) but based solely on the
revolution he has stimulated in the state both on
physical and psychosomatic platforms. For those who
may revel and slacken in the sofas of revisionist
history, may I take you down the platform upon which
the ordinary Akwa Ibom person was seen and defined
before the coming of Governor Akpabio.
Before now, the people of Akwa Ibom state were
consigned to the periphery of the Nigerian venture,
they were not even considered nominal members of the
Nigerian boardroom, ours was to prepare sumptuous
meals, set the table up nicely and come back later to
clean up the mess after decisions that may have
adverse effect on our lives may have been taken by
those who were ‘divinely’ ordained with the task of
thinking and planning for us. All awhile, the people of
my state had internalized the notion and belief that
the best they could offer the Nigerian state was to
operate as the masters and mistresses of the kitchen,
to nurture the babies of the privileged class and wait
for some crumbs to be sent our way with reluctance,
which we all lapped up with savor, sparkle and haste.
Every privileged home wanted a male or female servant
to come from that part of the world, and, we the
equally aspirational Nigerians did not like one inch. Our
people before now lacked a galvanizing thrust; they
lacked a voice that would awaken in them the latent
gifts of dash, the sense of distinctiveness and
flamboyance, as well as the belief that we too, were
created by the Almighty to pursue cheerfulness and its
analogous sense of dignity. Hence, they were left with
no choice than accepting those psychologically
permutated designations as conventional wisdom and
accordingly projected a demeanor of docility and
modesty adjoining self defeat.
Like the biblical account, where Comrade Moses had to
materialize and lift the people of Israel from the
physiological dumpster and depth of cheerlessness that
they had communally been relegated, stimulating in
them a new sense of proliferated dignity and prospects
about the interminable possibilities; Governor Godswill
Obot Akpabio has in his seven and half years of leading
and overseeing the affairs of the state, altered the
cadaverous, disheartened and solemn demeanor and
emotional profile and temperament of the Akwa Ibom
person. He has rallied the people through the force of
his oratory, though mostly taking the comic route, even
his deeds and common touch has imbued in us a spirit
that can never be defeated, a spirit of pride in
oneself, a sense of identity that is divergent, ramrod
in its corollaries and in the process, helped create a
strong place and voice in the boardroom of the Nigerian
endeavor.
No longer are we seen as the managers of the home
front of the privileged class, no longer are our voices
drummed out by the loud proclamations of those who
had wrongly dismissed us as economically and politically
insignificant. The Akwa Ibom man or woman of today-
from the sandy shores of Ibeno to the sand dunes of
Benin Kebbi is proud of his state, its leaders and the
endless possibilities that lay ahead for him or her. This
was never an overnight achievement, like most entities
that were once thought to be dead; the state needed a
galvanizing voice- a personality, urbane, intellectually
curious yet humble and imbued by a profound love for
his people.
With the help of past leaders who had contributed their
own quota to this second-phased journey to the land of
fulfillment based on their vision by laying the requisite
foundation for future development, as seen today,
Akpabio, in all honesty, has offered an equitable
definition to the efforts of past leaders by covering a
significant distance in the said journey. Truth remains,
amidst the much fuss, especially as he approaches the
end of his reign, the state needed only a Godswill to
have been where it is today; and irrespective of how
many enemies he has won for himself in the past seven
years, no logical discuss can conceal the fact that he
has satisfactorily done his part, and lest he hasn’t,
only God has the power to judge. But asides that, the
rolling drums, the well oiled flutes and the dancing
steps that will be seen today in harmony with the songs
of celebration of the state’s birthday, already affirms
the general consensus among the majority of the
dispassionate Akwa Iboimites that Governor Godswill
Akpabio came in at the right time in the state’s
trajectory of development and proceeding, a template
of governance and that of the delivery of democratic
dividends have been established whether you agree to it
or not.
Since May 29, 2007 when destiny brought him to the
Hilltop Mansion of Uyo, the now beautified capital of
Akwa Ibom State, he has, using his words been propelled
by the force of ‘anger’ and hunger for development.
Truly, we understood him to have been, and perhaps
still is angry because the dilapidated state of
infrastructures he came to meet had cried for total
overhaul and he has attacked that aspect with
messianic fervor, leading to the transformation of Uyo
and other parts of the state into a construction hub.
He looked at the educational sector and found that
enrollment had been affected due to financial
difficulties some parents had experienced; and rather
than being in school to develop their intellectual
capacities with a view to becoming productive citizens
were out hawking various goods on the street. The sight
of these kids melted his heart and caused him to
declare a free and compulsory education from primary
to post-primary level to all children of school age in the
state.
For this reason(s) his achievements are being lauded
and celebrated in the state all over and even beyond;
the awards have come in torrents from far and wide-
national and international, with the latest having taken
place at Dorchester Hotel in faraway UK. The people,
happy and amazed with what they have seen now are
assured of a state now well equipped with better
societies to live in, as well as endless possibilities of the
future and that of their children who will sure have one
area or more to benefit from in the nearest and
farthest future.
By the time Governor Akpabio would have finished his
superlative stewardship of Akwa Ibom state in May,
2015; he would have laid a solid structure upon which
his successor would now chose to either create jobs,
knowing full well that infrastructural amenities –
modern and world-class have been established.
Governor Godswill Akpabio is one of the inspirational
leaders of our contemporary Nigeria and Akwa Ibom
people are blessed to have him at this time of our
development. As I lift my glass in the solitude of my
home, even with the ill health that has deprived me of
the concluding festivities marking the 27th anniversary
of the state, I felt a dash of pride in my state and in
our people, and all I could say as I drank in toast of
the state, is "though we already have a few of them,
even as time and space do not permit my mention of
them; may the world never run short of men of Godswill
Akpabio’s ilk".
Happy Birthday my dear state of origin, Akwa Abasi
Ibom, and may God’s will continue to be done on you,
even as the heat of 2015 threatens to break you-
Amen!
CULLED FROM THE "SINE QUA NON" COLUMN OF
COMMUNITY PULSE NEWSPAPER (TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER
23rd EDITION).
UBONG SAMPSON IS A PUBLIC/POLITICAL/CURRENT
AFFAIRS ANALYST.

Would hv been nice if this thread had sum pix of d uncommon transformation! To ooooh n aaaaah us. Akpabio has tried.

Well one may not outrightly deny Akpabio that honour as having put down something for the State.
But just as our previous leaders, he emerges as the most conning. Let's play partisan with some level of honesty. His projects are basically Federal Government Projects where those monies are paid back to the state.
2. We are more hungry than any other despite our affluence.
3. The development strides are ethnic based. They aren't spread. Come to INI Local Govt. you will have every cause to weep for the people. Even a single road had not been built nor the existing one which had turn to a dead trap had been done despite Akpabio's continuous promises and assurance, we have absolutely NOTHING, I MEAN NOTHING to show for his 8years as the Gov of Akwa Ibom State.
But I wouldn't stop whoever from singing his praise once you have your mouth full after all INUA ATA OTONG ISITANGA IDIOK.

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