AKSG Press Release: Akpabio Honoured in a Strange Land

By Aniekan Umanah
Hon. Commissioner, Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Information & Social Re-Orientation

AKSG PRESS RELEASE (Posted: February 4, 2011)

Friday, January 21, 2011 is a day residents of the ancient city of Ibadan the Oyo State capital, would not forget in a hurry. On that day, two of the most celebrated Nigerians were honoured by Tribune newspapers for their outstanding performance and individual excellence as duly attested to by the oldest newspapers in the sub-region. The man who has been widely acclaimed as a miracle worker and performer par excellence, Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State was named Governor of The Year 2010 for the eye-popping transformation his administration has achieved in Akwa Ibom while Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Central Bank governor was named Man of the Year. The sprawling city was held spellbound as eminent personalities gathered in honour proven achievers whose sheer dynamism, focus and unparalleled tenacity of purpose in their respective turfs of leadership have transformed the present and reshaped the future for this and subsequent generations.

Governor Christopher Alao Akal of Oyo State, as chief host, was visibly excited at the event and may have been secretly envious a counterpart governor all the way from the Niger Delta was singled out for celebration by a newspaper that draws a direct link from the legendary sage, Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo.. His deputy Chief Arapaja was also present in the assembly of powerful men and women in the country. As a matter of fact, The Felicia Hall, Jogor Centre venue of the event along Liberty Road wore the air of a mega event as dignitaries gathered to celebrate outstanding performance.

To those familiar with the rich history of the press in the largest black nation, the Tribune award to Chief Akpabio carries heavy significance. It is devoid of any trappings of frivolity because Tribune is not and has never been a frivolous publication. In these wacky days of amala journalism, where some publications deliberately do things that murder the conscience of professionalism by stretching credibility beyond the limit of logic, the 61-year old Tribune still stands out as a bastion of professional decency. The paper has never been known to surrender the seemingly fashionable hysteria mentality that has gripped a sizeable swathe of the media community lately. Founded by the founding premier of old Western Region , the newspapers under this title became potent weapons in the nationalist struggle to rid the country of colonialism. As an instrument of social justice, the paper may have evolved through independence till now but it has never departed n or strayed from its original vision as an institution that defends the rights of the people. Iit is not hyperbolic to say that the newspaper was founded to defend core left=wing values and has stuck to this original focus of seriousness, EVEN AFTER THE Death of its legendary founder who himself was an epitome of seriousness in a country where most people clamouring for public office were little better than clowns and pretenders. We can still recall Chief Awolowo�s response to a reporter�s question why he was not a party freak like most politicians. According to him, he preferred to spend precious time reading and studying how to solve the multitude of problems facing the country, instead of frolicking at parties and mainraining a colony of concubies. There was a pleasant uproar when the CBN governor arrived the award venue. Arriving directly from Abuja as he did, Sanusi requested a place where he could change his dress and perhaps freshen up. When the CBN governor eventually re-emerged, he did so in a dramatically different fashion, decked out in traditional Yoruba Aso Oke agbada, complete with a matching dog-eared cap. The crowd roared in approval at Sanusi�s sudden transformation into an Ibadan high chief, at least dresswise. In his acceptance speech, the nation�s number one banker said that he has a basic dislike for labels and stereotypes. He described himself as completely shorn of bigotry or such base sentiments. According to him, he recognizes only a good man or a bad person, not where he or she comes from He recalled that at age 7, he attended a Catholic School and at 12, he enrolled at the famous Kings College, Lagos Thereafter he obtained a bachelors degree in economic from Ahmadu Bello University and later a masters degree in islamic law from Sudan. Sanusi was appointed Group Managing Director of First Bank Plc in 2009 and six months later, the late President Umaru Yar�Adua appointed him governor of the regulatory bank. Is it an accident of history that a paper founded by someone who introduced free education in the Western Region decided to honour another who has also introduced free and compulsory education up to the secondary level in Akwa Ibom State? May be it is coincidental but whatever it is, this is certainly a striking parallel in history. According to the management of the newspaper, they conducted a rigorous review and did several investigations before the choice of Governor Akpabio as Governor of The Year was arrived at. When Wayne Dyer wrote that one should be ready and willing at all times because miracles come in fleeting moments, perhaps he had he had the people of Akwa Ibom in mind who decided to vote for a miracle worker in 2007. When the right man arrived at right moment as Italians would put it, Akwa Ibom simply became transformed. Within the short period of the most eventful administration in the state, the entire state took un the garb of a huge construction site, where several developmental projects are being executed simultaneously. In his first year in office, Governor Akpabio commissioned over 250 projects and has so far commissioned1500 projects while over 865 villages have been linked to the national grid. This massive blitz of development, never before witnessed in the state and which has received global applause, including one from the United States government, was stressed in the governor�s citation that drew a resounding ovation at the award event. This is a sampler from the citation: Time will fail us to mention all that the man has done for Nigeria�s 21st state. Suffice it to say the road network in Akwa Ibom State has received complete transformation under his leadership- currently over 168 urban roads in the state are undergoing construction. In the same vein, an international airport with maintenance facilities has since commenced operation. A one-stop hospitality complex, the Tropicana Entertainment Centre, one of its kind in the continent, with a mini Dysney, galleria, shopping mall, international conference centre, 16-storey five-star hotel complex and a cinema hall, among others, is being constructed in Uyo�. Again, the appreciative crowd roared in admiration as the list of projects was being read in the governor�s citation. In the words of the newspaper, Akwa Ibom state governor is pulling out all the stops to transform the state and improve the lives of the people. In the governor�s citation read at the venue of the award, the free and compulsory education policy of the Akpabio administration in Akwa Ibom was hailed as the stuff of genius which has reshaped the future for the people of the state.

Massive construction of new classroom blocks and the rehabilitation of other structures in across the state were also cited as underpinnings to strengthen free education policy which has generated much respect and admiration for the people of the state across the country. Making education accessible to every Akwa Ibom child as a matter of right, not privilege, is not the only criterion on which the Tribune newspaper based their nomination of Chief Akpabio as governor of the year. Other indices, including the sensational transformation of Uyo, the state capital, were also applied. The uncommon transformation in the state as well as the aggressive infrastructural development undertaken by the state government since the inauguration of the Akpabio administration in 2007 were also sited.

The hall was electrified when the most ambitious drainage project in Africa , specifically in Uyo � was mentioned as one of the wonders that Governor Akpabio has performed. Beaming with pride even as most of dignitaries present were left mouths agape from surprise, one of the masters of ceremony at the event described the jaw-dropping Uyo drainage system as stretching from Ikot Ekpene Road and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. As a matter of fact, no sector of the economy has escaped intervention by the Akwa Ibom State government under the watch of Governor Akpabio. And doing so much for the people within so short a time, appreciation has been heaped on the miracle worker in the form of accolades of all kinds perhaps too numerous to name them all. Some of these include Uko Akwa Ibom awarded to him by the Akwa Ibom State Council of Chiefs; Utueneikang Ibibio; Iberedem Ibibio; Nta Nta Offiong Annang; Ata of Eket and Nta Nta Oro, among other titles. From Niger Republic, Governor Akpabio holds highest national award in that country, the Gold Humanitarian Service Award. He has also been awarded an honorary doctorate degree in law by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; an honorary doctorate degree in public administration by the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; and two honorary doctorate degrees in law from both the University of Calabar and University of Uyo, among other fellowships from various institutions.

When This Day newspapers named the governor Emerging Tiger, it was an honour well-deserved. He was also named Man of The Year 2009 by Daily Independent newspaper, among other awards from other newspapers. And from the African Church, Governor Akpabio has also been houred with the Nehemiah Awrd. According to the Church, the governor�s massive infrastructural development in Akwa Ibom is unequalled in the country. A devout Catholic, Governor Akpabio is happily married to beautiful Mrs Ekaette Unoma Akpabio and the rock-solid union is blessed with four daughters and a son. It was a day of joy for the governor because the award translated to fulfillment. His story was not only being celebrated on the mountain top, but was done so with aplomb in the political capital of Yoruba land. What particularly endeared the governor to his listeners was the thrust of his acceptance SPEECH. Instead of gloating in personal euphoria, Chief Akpabio publicly declared that he was dedicating the award to the children whose lives have been impacted by the free and compulsory education policy which will definitely reshape the future of Akwa Ibom State. By dedicating the award to the children whose lives the free and compulsory education policy of his administration has impacted positively, the governor demonstrated implicit faith in children as the future of humanity. This is a positive statement that will go a long way to endear him to children as a worthy role model who does not mount a high horse but levels with them, in spite of his position. With beautiful overhead bridges, an eye-popping new Governor�s Lodge and The Ibom International Airport, Governor Akpabio has radically altered the socio-economic landscape of the state. And as the impressive list of his administration�s achievement were listed at the award venue, every one present agreed that the governor has given a good account of his stewardship so far. And that as far as leadership is concerned; history will definitely maintain an eloquently favourable epitaph of his sojourn power.