Opinion

Soliloquy: Governor Umo Eno and his Ambitious Plans for Akwa Ibom Tourism

Published

1 year ago

August 19, 2023

Eric

By Michael Effiong

In today’s Nigeria where politicians are not trusted because of their penchant for making promises that they will never keep, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno is one man who is set on changing that narrative.

He has consistently mentioned that he is a technocrat and preacher in politics and therefore, people should trust his every word. He was trusted by the people with a massive victory, now he is set on returning that immense trust by delivering the dividends of democracy.

During his campaign, Governor Eno spoke candidly about furthering peace and prosperity, connecting the dots and the ARISE Agenda.

To get the people’s buy-in into this plan, Governor Eno hosted the Akwa Ibom Dialogue where experts, technocrats and various professionals from 17 sectoral areas were assembled for a thorough analysis and discussion of the ARISE document.

It was three days of intense intellectual discourse that culminated in the formal launch of the ARISE Agenda. Governor Eno was around all through and joined many of the sessions and contributed to the engagements.

He was particularly excited by the many of the presentation like that of the Tourism Committee where he immediately appointed President of Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr Nkereuwem Onung and President, Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP), Mrs Ime Udo as Honorary Special Advisers on Tourism.

The Team led by Sir Charles Udoh, Commissioner of Culture and Tourism at the Ibeno Beach

There should not be any surprise that the Governor has a soft spot for tourism, for those who don’t know, the Governor is himself an investor and practitioner and founded the Royalty Group which has a chain of hotels, apartments and hospitality outfits etc across Akwa Ibom State.

The appointment from the governor who had stated in his presentation that Tourism is embedded in A of ARISE Agenda, was a clear signal that this is one sector that he has set his sights on.

At the Dialogue, he had promised to immediately take action on some of the ideas generated, therefore, as a man who says what he means and means every word he says, a few days after , the Tourism Team was reassembled to implement one of its suggestion: An audit of tourism sites and facilities with a view to help shape government’s intervention and attention.

According to Ken Blanchard, an American Author and Speaker, “Leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves and doing whatever it takes to help your people win”

The kind of leader described here is the one that Akwa Ibom State has in Pastor Umo Eno because having discussed the ideas and shared the vision, on the day that the audit, which was in form of a physical tour of facilities, was to begin, he was the leader of delegation. This Writer was also co-opted to join the Tourism team for this all-important exercise.

The first port of call was the Akwa State Council For Arts & Culture where the Governor addressed the staff about his vision to promote culture, arts, festivals, cuisine, music and languages. He described culture as a key vehicle that can boost tourism and turn the sector into a huge income earner.

He urged the staff to get ready to showcase their talents as they will be required to perform at major state functions. He also revealed that in line with his rural development mantra, platforms will be created for talents from all the 31 LGAs to be properly developed.

The Governor asserted that tourism can assist in the preservation of cultural heritage and values. Indeed, he noted that developing tourism assets will create sustainable employment for the youths in the rural areas.

Ibom Unity Park/Museum was the next stop. Here, as he was being taken round the facility which hosts the Ibibio Union Museum, by the official tour guide, Ubong Ekpe, the Governor did not seem impressed by what he saw but maybe in a split second, the picture of what the place will look like after its transformation, flashed on his memory, and a slight smile spread across his face.

It was here that he reaffirmed that the government will partner with the private sector to build an Amusement Park and other recreational facilities within the lush green Unity Park. He added that in fact, the plan will be to build a mini-Disneyland that will be one-of-its-kind in the country.

The team’s next stop was the iconic Tropicana Entertainment Centre where he hailed the businesses that have taken up spaces in the facility and also interacted with some children who were lucky to be around. I am sure those children who also posed for pictures will cherish that moment for the rest of their lives.

He also spent time listening to the facility manager on the challenges they currently face and what kinds of support they may need from government.

Me enjoying the breezy Itu Hills after visiting Mary Slessor’s famous house of twins

Governor Umo and the entourage then visited the Ibom Icon Hotel & Golf Resort where he was received by Mr. Adetope Kayode, the Managing Director/CEO, who incidentally is also a member of the Tourism Sector Committee, and Mr Usenobong Akpabio, President of Ibom Golf Club.

Apart from inspecting and finding out the state affairs of the golf facility, he also visited the Marina Boat Club, where the last Slave Merchant Ship in these parts is anchored by the waterfront.

While the Governor took mental notes as he was being briefed, members of the team where taking down vital points vigorously.

He was impressed with the historical facts revealed about the Merchant ship and stated that it will be restored and well-crafted information signage made available for tourists.

He also noted that he would have been very happy if the converted Club House was left in its pristine condition.

Just outside the back gate of the hotel nestled by the corner sat a fish market and Governor Eno in his usual style walked from the hotel to the market. He promised to ensure that the traders are supported with equipment and an upgrade of their facilities, noting that if well-developed, this area can be an attraction for visitors.

In commissioning the tour, the Governor aims to see how these attractions can become viable destinations-and this fact was reaffirmed on DAY 2 by the Commissioner of Culture and Tourism, Sir Charles Udoh whose responsibility it was to become the delegation’s leader.

The team headed first to the Ikot Ekpene Plaza, a facility that stares at you as you drive into the famous Raffia City. The team was met by the Chairman of the LGA, Hon. Uyime Etim and other executives.

Though well-laid, the plaza, which was built as a recreation spot for those in Ikot Ikpene and environs, needs a facelift. The imposing TV Screen, water fountain and the little area designated as a children play area all looked abandoned.

It was not a very cheering site also at the famous Raffia Market. The arts and crafts being sold actually saved the day as many team members found many unique pieces that they bought.

It was probably because of the huge potential spotted at the place that the Commissioner told the craftsmen that government is committed to making the market more recognizable by relocating it to a befitting permanent site. He also revealed that they will be assisted with equipment within the hub when created to help them with finishing and packaging of products.

The team’s final inspection was a tour of the Four Points by Sheraton. The facility with 146 exquisite rooms and suites exuded the class and style expected of a top star hotel.

Many of the members glowed with a sense of pride as they were taken through the rooms including the eye-catching and picturesque pent house by the Commissioner of Special Duties and Ibom Deep Seaport, Engr. Bassey Okon and Mr Yakout Afia, the hotel’s General Manager.

From here, we drove to the Victor Attah International Airport where a brand-new Smart Airport Terminal, and a superb Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) are nearing completion.

The Site Manager from VKS, the contractor listed key features of the International Smart terminal building to include: digital self check-in by a robot, pre-planned before Covid-19, Automated luggage screening and weighing, Video/Scene Analytics, Static object detection, suspicious packages, etc, foot traffic analysis, Queue detection, Facial recognition, Automation of Immigration Processes and Centres and more

The plan is to make this airport the regional hub of Ibom Air which is soon to launch its West African operations while the cargo terminal will complement the Agri-business plan of the Umo Eno administration. Everyone was buoyed by the remarkable potential that this facility has for tourism development in the state.

DAY 3 took the team to Ikot Abasi and we first went to the Ikot Abasi War Museum. The museum, we were told, was built by HE Senator Helen Esuene in memory of the 1929 Women Riot.

This was where we were told that the so-called Aba Riot was a historical misrepresentation and that the actual riot took place in Ikot Abasi and the women died in this town and the facts are verifiable. A full description of what really happened is a story for another day.
And guess what? One of the leaders of the Ikot Abasi Women Riot was the grandmother of former Minister, former Senator and Technocrat, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma. Go and verify!

Many were teary-eyed as the tour guide regaled us with tales of how the women were shot at and harassed to their deaths by colonial soldiers at the waterfront.

The Commissioner promised to facilitate the collaboration between sought by the Museum’s Management with the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC). He also promised that the ministry will take it upon itself to weave the correct history of what really transpired.

Futhermore, we saw the vestiges of slave trade and the sad reminder of the dark days of colonialism here too. There was the Amalgamation House, the first known office of Lord Lugard and even the house he lived with his wife, Flora Shaw. Our hearts bled as we saw the condition of these buildings that should ordinarily been declared national heritage sites.

Though we breezed through Uta Ewa waterside, the day’s tour moved to Ibeno Beach, and the potential discovered here too are huge.

We also visited the oldest and first, Qua Iboe Church in Nigeria. The Church was established by a Christian Missionary, Samuel Bill and this particular building has been standing since 1887. There, we were even shown the Bible used by the late Bill to preach! What a treasure!

DAY 4 began at the Oron Museum which is run by the National Commissions for Museum and Monuments, the facility needs serious upgrade. The Oron Waterfront and Garden located around the museum are areas that would excite those who cherish the quietude of nature.

From Oron, we headed to Itu Hill where we saw many remains of the missionary work done in the area by the Presbyterian Church.

We began from the Mission House in Oku Iboku and then moved up the hill to the very grounds where the famous Mary Slessor walked in 1902. From the house where she kept twins that she rescued, the Leprosy Colony, the Stream which we were told had medicinal powers to the church she used to preach, everywhere we turned , we saw a treasure trove of history.

Mary Slessor did most of her work here and it was therefore surprising that just last month, the Aberdeen Royal Mission in honour of Mary Slessor hosted the Olu of Warri for his work, like they say, wetin concern Agbero with overload, what has Mary Slessor who lived in Itu got to do with Warri. This is why there is an urgent need to tell our story as well as promote the history and significance of these sites.

The tour , without any doubt, was an eye-opener and the good news is that with the transformation that is going to happen in all these sites and more by the Umo Eno administration through the Ministry of Culture and Toursim, Akwa Ibom will soon be irresistible: So get ready to come, play, work, invest and even live!

Opinion

Day Dele Momodu Made Me Live Above My Means

Published

2 weeks ago

September 1, 2024

Eric

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu

These are dangerous days of gross shamelessness in totalitarian Nigeria.
Pathetic flaunting of clannish power is all the rage, and a good number of supposedly modern-day Nigerians have thrown their brains into the primordial ring.

One pathetic character came to me the other day stressing that the only way I can prove to him that I am not an ethnic bigot is to write an article attacking Dele Momodu!

I could not make any head or tail of the bloke’s proposition because I did not understand how ethnic bigotry can come up in an issue concerning Dele Momodu and my poor self.

The dotty guy made the further elaboration that I stand accused of turning into a “philosopher of the right” instead of supporting the government of the day which belongs to the left!

A toast to Karl Marx in presidential jet and presidential yacht!

I nearly expired with laughter as I remembered how one fat kept man who spells his surname as “San” (for Senior Advocate of Nigeria – SAN) wrote a wretched piece on me as an ethnic bigot and compelled one boozy rascal that dubiously studied law in my time at Great Ife to put it on my Facebook wall!

The excited tribesmen of Nigerian democracy and their giddy slaves have been greased to use attack as the first aspect of defence by calling all dissenting voices “ethnic bigots” as balm on their rotted consciences.

The bloke urging me to attack Dele Momodu was saddened when he learnt that I regarded the Ovation publisher as “my brother”!

Even amid the strange doings in Nigeria of the moment I can still count on some famous brothers who have not denied me such as Senator Babafemi Ojudu who privileged me to read his soon-to-be-published memoir as a fellow Guerrilla Journalist, and the lionized actor Richard Mofe-Damijo (RMD) who while on a recent film project in faraway Canada made my professor cousin over there to know that “Uzor is my brother!”

It is now incumbent on me to tell the world of the day that Dele Momodu made me live above my means.

All the court jesters, toadies, fawners, bootlickers and ill-assorted jobbers and hirelings put together can never be renewed with enough palliatives to countermand my respect for Dele Momodu who once told our friend in London who was boasting that he was chased out of Nigeria by General Babangida because of his activism: “Babangida did not chase you out of Nigeria. You found love with an oyinbo woman and followed her to London. Leave Babangida out of the matter!”

Dele Momodu takes his writing seriously, and does let me have a look at his manuscripts – even the one written on his presidential campaign by his campaign manager.

Unlike most Nigerians who are given to half measures, Dele Momodu writes so well and insists on having different fresh eyes to look at his works.

It was a sunny day in Lagos that I got a call from the Ovation publisher that I should stand by to do some work on a biography he was about to publish.

He warned me that I have only one day to do the work, and I replied him that I was raring to go because I love impossible challenges.

The manuscript of the biography hit my email in fast seconds, and before I could say Bob Dee a fat alert burst my spare bank account!

Being a ragged-trousered philanthropist, a la the title of Robert Tressel’s proletarian novel, I protested to Dele that it’s only beer money I needed but, kind and ever rendering soul that he is, he would not hear of it.

I went to Lagos Country Club, Ikeja and sacked my young brother, Vitus Akudinobi, from his office in the club so that I can concentrate fully on the work.

Many phone calls came my way, and I told my friends to go to my divine watering-hole to wait for me there and eat and drink all that they wanted because “money is not my problem!”

More calls came from my guys and their groupies asking for all makes of booze, isiewu, nkwobi and the assorted lots, and I asked them to continue to have a ball in my absence, that I would join them later to pick up the bill!

The many friends of the poor poet were astonished at the new-fangled wealth and confidence of the new member of the idle rich class!

It was a beautiful read that Dele Momodu had on offer, and by late evening I had read the entire book, and done some minor editing here and there.

It was then up to me to conclude the task by doing routine editing – or adding “style” as Tom Sawyer would tell his buddy Huckleberry Finn in the eponymous adventure books of Mark Twain.

I chose the style option, and I was indeed in my elements, enjoying all aspects of the book until it was getting to ten in the night, and my partying friends were frantically calling for my appearance.

I was totally satisfied with my effort such that I felt proud pressing the “Send” button on my laptop for onward transmission to Dele Momodu’s email.

I then rushed to the restaurant where my friends were waiting for me, and I had hardly settled down when one of Dele’s assistants called to say that there were some issues with the script I sent!

I had to perforce reopen up my computer in the bar, and I could not immediately fathom which of the saved copies happened to be the real deal.

One then remembered that there were tell-tale signs when the computer kept warning that I was putting too much on the clipboard or whatever.

It’s such a downer that after feeling so high that one had done the best possible work only to be left with the words of James Hadley Chase in The Sucker Punch: “It’s only when a guy gets full of confidence that he’s wide open for the sucker punch.”
Lesson learnt: keep it simple – even if you have been made to live above your means by Dele Momodu!

To end, how can a wannabe state agent and government apologist, a hired askari, hope to get me to write an article against a brother who has done me no harm whatsoever? Mba!

I admire Dele Momodu immensely for his courage of conviction to tell truth to power.

Opinion

PDP at 26, A Time for Reflection not Celebration

Published

2 weeks ago

September 1, 2024

Eric

By Obianuju Kanu-Ogoko

At 26 years, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) should have been a pillar of strength, a beacon of hope and a testament to the enduring promise of democracy in Nigeria.*

Yet, as we stand at this milestone, it is clear that we have little, if anything, to celebrate. Instead, this anniversary marks a sobering moment of reflection, a time to confront the hard truths that have plagued our journey and to acknowledge the gap between our potential and our reality.

Twenty-six years should have seen us mature into a force for good, a party that consistently upholds the values of integrity, unity and progress for all Nigerians.

But the reality is far from this ideal. Instead of celebrating, we must face the uncomfortable truth: *at 26, the PDP has failed to live up to the promise that once inspired millions.*

We cannot celebrate when our internal divisions have weakened our ability to lead. We cannot celebrate when the very principles that should guide us: justice, fairness and accountability,have been sidelined in favor of personal ambition and short-term gains. We cannot celebrate when the Nigerian people, who once looked to the PDP for leadership, now question our relevance and our commitment to their welfare.

This is not a time for self-congratulation. It is a time for deep introspection and honest assessment. What have we truly achieved? Where did we go wrong? And most importantly, how do we rebuild the trust that has been lost? These are the questions we must ask ourselves, not just as a party, but as individuals who believe in the ideals that the PDP was founded upon.

At 26, we should be at the height of our powers, but instead, we find ourselves at a crossroads. The path forward is not easy, but it is necessary. We must return to our roots, to the values that once made the PDP a symbol of hope and possibility. We must rebuild from within, embracing transparency, unity and a renewed commitment to serving the people of Nigeria.

There is no celebration today, only the recognition that we have a long road ahead. But if we use this moment wisely, if we truly learn from our past mistakes, there is still hope for a future where the PDP can once again stand tall, not just in name, but in action and impact. The journey begins now, not with *fanfare but with resolve.

Opinion

Is the Recent Supreme Court Judgment on Payments Being Made Directly to Local Government Councils from the Federation Account Enforceable?

Published

1 month ago

August 9, 2024

Eric

By Prof Mike Ozekhome SAN, CON, OFR

Many Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike have repeatedly asked me if the Supreme Court was not wrong in its interpretation of section 162(3), (4), (5) and (6) of the 1999 Constitution and what happens to the allegedly wrong judgement. They want to know if the judgment is superior to the said “clear” provisions of the Constitution and if it is ENFORCEABLE or capable of being enforced. They also want to know how,in the event that I say it is enforceable.My simple answers to both questions are yes, yes and yes. Let’s take them one after the other.

1. THE JUDGMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT IS SUPERIOR TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION.

A law is only what the courts interpret it to be, not what it says on bare paper. That was why Oliver Wendell Holmes Jnr, a very influential civil rights Jurist, Brevet Colonel during the American Civil War and longest serving Justice of the US Supreme Court (1902-1932), who retired from the US Supreme Court at 90, once famously declared that, “the prophesies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law”.

In other words, the law (whether constitutional, substantive, statutory, or adjectival) remains what it is-inanimate and dead on paper-until the life and the oxygen of interpretation are breathed into it by a court of law. Consequently, it is thus the interpretation which was given by the Supreme Court to the entire section 162 of the Constitution on the sharing procedure between the Federal government, states and the LGCs, and not the bare provisions of the Constitution that prevails.

IS THE JUDGMENT ENFORCEABLE?

The answer is also in the affirmative. Section 287(1) of the 1999 Constitution comes to our rescue by providing that “the decisions of the Supreme Court shall be enforced by in any part of the Federation by all authorities and persons, and by courts of subordinate jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court”.

Even if the Supreme Court was wrong in its interpretation of section 162 dealing with the State Joint Local Government Account, the judgement remains binding on all and for all times.It is only an amendment of the Constitution under section 9 thereof that can override the decision. No person or authority can decide,whimsically and arbitrarily to disobey the judgement, or pick and choose what portions of the judgment to obey or which to discard. In Rt Hon Michael Balonwu & Ors V Governor of Anambra State& Ors (2007) 5 NWLR ( Pt 1028) 488, the intermediate court held that “an order of court whether valid or not must be obeyed until it is set aside. An order of court must be obeyed as long as it is subsisting by all no matter how lowly or lightly placed in the society. This is what the rule of law is all about, hence the courts have always stressed the need for obedience to court orders”. It therefore does not matter that the judgment is downright stupid, illogical, or not well researched; or that parties affected do not like it. That is what the rule of law dictatesb and is all about. See AG Anambra v AG FRN (2008) LPELR-13(SC); Abeke v Odunsi & Anor (2013) LPELR-20640( SC); Ngere v Okuruket & Ors ( 2014) LPELR-22883 ( SC).

Right or wrong therefore, court judgements must be obeyed until set aside by a higher court, or a challenged section is amended by the Legislature. Since no court is higher than the Supreme Court of Nigeria, only an amendment to the Constitution by the NASS under section 9 can override the judgment: Obineche & ORS v. Akusobi & ORS (2010) LPELR-2178 (SC); Anchorage Leisures LTD & Ors V. Ecobank (NIG) LTD (2023) LPELR-59978 (SC) . That was why the same Supreme Court, acutely aware that it is susceptible to mistakes and errors being constituted by mere mortals and not almighty God or angels, once famously declared through late venerable Socrates of the Nigerian Bench, Honourable Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, in the causa celebre of Adegoke Motors Ltd v Adesanya (1989) NWLR ( Pt 109) 250, that “the Supreme Court is final not because it is infallible, it is infallible because it is final”.

2. ON HOW THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT IS IMPLEMENTABLE

The answer is equally simple. The FG, states and LGCs should now meet (and I am told they have been meeting) at FAAC and decide on modalities and procedures of opening up accounts for LGCs so that their allocation under section 162 is paid directly to them and not to the joint state LG account that is oftentimes waylaid by state Governors and fleeced without the helpless and hamstrung LGCs being able to raise a finger.

This is not rocket science. That refusal by state governors to remit to the LGCs was the ugly mischief the apex court judgment sought to cure; and it did so perfectly, loud and clear, in my own humble opinion. Inter alia, the apex court had declared emphatically that, “by virtue of section 162(3) and (5) of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999, the amount standing to the credit of LGCs in the Federation Account shall be distributed to them and be paid directly to them”; that “a state, either by itself or Governor or other agencies, has no power to keep, control, manage, or disburse in any manner, allocations from the Federation Account to LGCs”.

The apex court also granted injunctive orders restraining “Governors and their agents, officials or privies from tampering with funds meant for the LGCs in the Federation Account” ; and further ordered “immediate compliance by the states, through their appointed officials and public officers with the terms of the judgment and orders”.

The apex court further ordered the “Federation or Federal Government of Nigeria through its relevant officials, to forthwith commence the direct payment to each LGC of the amount standing to the credit of each of them in the Federation Account”.

The content, terms and directives contained in this judgement, are in my humble opinion, very straight forward, unambiguous and are as clear and clean as a whistle. All parties concerned, – FG, states and LGCs- must therefore obey and enforce this judgement IMMEDIATELY. There is no option.I had earlier made public this same opinion of mine. I had written and stated on several TV stations that in my humble understanding of the principles of interpretation, the Supreme Court was right in the interpretation it gave to section 162 of the Constitution, so as to prevent continuation of years of wanton abuse of the provisions of section 162 by state governors. (See “LG Autonomy: Supreme Court’s verdict timely, regenerative-Ozekhome”, www.vanguard.com., 11, July, 2024 ). I still stand very firmly by this my earlier opinion.

God bless Nigeria as we collectively seek true fiscal federalism and not the present unitary system of government that we are currently operating under the thin guise of federalism.