Date Published: 07/07/09

Dear Editor,

Re: Tackling Security Challenge in Akwa Ibom

One David David described as a public affairs commentator had written with the above caption on the Free Kick page of Daily Sun July 9, 2009 thus: “Security issues in the Niger Delta region have dominated the attention of Nigerians in the past 10years”. He went further to add that: “Akwa Ibom State being a frontline Niger Delta State has had its fair share of the new madness ravaging the nation. Just before the exit of the previous administrations in the state, bank robbery became a weekly affair. Residential areas were routinely attacked where in some cases the robbers spent hours operating in some locations without any challenge. The approach of night became nightmare for people. That was the situation as at May 29, 2007, when Chief Godswill Akpabio was sworn in as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State.”

He continued and ended his article insinuating that since Chief Akpabio came to power everything changed for good as he adequately equipped the existing security agencies and formed new ones; people in the State now go to bed with their two eyes closed and they work the streets, confidently.

My conclusion is that whoever this David is, he is just creating a bad situation for the governor because we all (whether you reside in the state or not) know that the insecurity situation grew worse since the new administration came to power. Akwa Ibom previously adjudged the most peaceful in the Niger Delta region has lost the status to Cross River. Robbery and other crimes have transmuted from “weekly robbery”, to daily occurrence; night life has disappeared totally in Akwa Ibom. If David is sincere, he would agree with me who stand in for the majority.

Chief Okon Nseobong Akpan

    Ndonoyo Village

        Onna Local Government Area

            Akwa Ibom State.