By Kennedy Onyegbado.
Governor Ben Ayade in more ways than one, has taken a bold step in
defining the developmental roadmap for Cross River state as the
‘Nation’s paradise’. His succession calls for a prudent manager of
resources, an administrator of proven track record and a level headed
politician.
Perceptibly, the state has had more than its fair share of political
controversies and litigations that should not continue in the future.
There is indeed a big and urgent task to be accomplished for a greater
Cross River state.
Therefore, the focus at this critical juncture should be on how the 2023
electoral process can throw up the best kind of leader for the task of
putting the people first in the resource mobilization and allocation for
enhanced development of the state.
The unfolding political equation in Cross River is as fascinating as it
is worrying. This is because of the waiting game the APC and other
parties in opposition are playing. The APC is waiting and watching with
keen interest to see if there can be any miscalculation on the part of
the PDP with respect to the emergence of a gubernatorial flag bearer.
Any miscalculation on the part of any political party can turn out to be
more expensive for it than ever imagined.
The crucial question at this stage is what will constitute a
miscalculation on the part of any political party in the state? Without
being evasive, the most striking will be to pick a candidate outside the
Southern Senatorial District of the state.
Detectably, Governor Donald Duke was from the Southern Senatorial
District, Governor Liyel Imoke was from the Central Senatorial District
and the incumbent Governor Ben Ayade is from the Northern Senatorial
District. According to the prevailing zoning arrangements, it is
expected that power will return to the Southern Senatorial District come
2023.
Again, Cross Riverians want a grassroot governor who is at home with the
people and the environment and is readily accessible to the people. The
political parties will also do well to watch out for politicians with
baggage of liabilities, litigations and EFCC invitations as unlikely
election winners.
Miscalculation on the part of any party can also be the investment of
its ticket on a politician who has been known to serially abuse the
public trust and collective confidence bestowed on him/her.
Cross Riverians, as democrats will have several ways of kicking against
any form of imposition of unpopular leadership that will owe its
legitimacy to any other power source outside the people.
2023 would be the time for Cross River state to make a resounding
statement to the rest of the country on a democratic process of
leadership emergence. Imposition is out of it while character and
content of aspiration are critical for public evaluation.
This is where Engr. Ben Etim Akak comes in with a progressive ideology
and agenda. It will only take a bridge builder like him to navigate
through our experience to offer a viable promise. It is here experience
counts – A blend of the public, cum private matrix is enough experiment
to provide the proper and fit dose for our ailment.
Engr. Ben Etim Akak is a Nigerian Philanthropist, entrepreneur,
politician and administrator; a Prince of the Eburutu axis of the Efik
Efik Eburutu Kingdom, precisely from Ukwa Eburutu in Odukpani Local
Government Area of Cross River State.
Born in the early 80s, he is a young man who has tasted the pains of
maybe, not eating three times in a day like every other and most
Nigerian child who was born and bred with no golden spoon. He has also
tasted wealth out of hard work, the undying and unconquering spirit of
the Nigerian child and above all, through the unmerited Grace and
unlimited Favor of God.
Currently, Engr. Ben Etim Akak is the Chairman/CEO Bengies Group of
Companies that has interest in Real Estate, Construction, Oil/Gas and
the entertainment industries. He has built businesses from scratch to
stardom most of which are located in Cross River State, such as, Bengies
Bakeries and others, having over 700 Cross Riverians on payroll as
workers.
Two years after his graduation from the University, 2004 to be precise,
he and others formed the Margaret Ekpo Foundation where he was made the
Executive Secretary, and his duties included amongst others; the
coordination of the other arms of the Foundation, Board of Trustees and
day to day running of the Foundation to deliver on the mandate of
meeting the needs of the needy, protecting the rights of women, the
girl-child and other vulnerable children within our society.
Engr. Akak has also worked and headed different companies and groups
such as, Czer Continental Services Limited where he was the Executive
Chairman from 2009 to 2015; M.O.E Resource Enterprise where he was in
charge of General Administration/Business Development and later
Consultant Oil Palm Development and Marketing.
Engr. Ben Etim Akak’s desire and quest to see a developed Cross River
State in particular, and Nigeria in general, has seen him in most times
volunteer his knowledge, wealth and everything in him for the betterment
of the society. He is versatile with huge coverage, exposure and
experience in corporate governance.
As have been noticed about him in several fora, he believes that until
Cross River State is administered like a business where the CEO of the
business understands the pains in loosing and the gains in winning,
Cross River State may not survive the next 10 years.
To him, having known the current level of debt, both external and
internal that Cross River State is into now, there is need to search for
Cross Riverians with technical minds wherever they may be to see how
together they can divest the state’s interest from borrowing and
concentrate more on utilizing waste water resources through the state’s
bodies of water and take advantage of the fact that it is a border
State.
Also, he is worried that while other border States like Lagos, Ogun and
some others are having thriving economies that have created Jobs for the
unemployed in those states, the Mfum border is dormant.
Again, Engr. Ben Akak has faith in collaborative development of Cross
River State where everyone one and idea matters. He trusts that job
employment, sound education through the provision of basic and improved
teaching tools in schools, a systematic shift to mechanized Agriculture
for improved food production and urgent basic infrastructural
development is what Cross River needs to reduce crime and insecurity in
the State.
At the heart of his strategy for development is wealth creation. He
contemplates that government if handled with the right attitude and
purposeful leadership will perform optimally. Thus, his development
narratives is premised on the tenets that an efficient government is
possible and can provide an industrialized economy with full employment,
price stability, high output and net export.
It cannot be gainsaid nor overemphasized that Industrialization is
fundamental to the quest of devising a means to supporting small scale
businesses in Cross River State owned by natives and the thrive to
reduce youths dependability on white Collar jobs alone, which has
created the impression that Cross River State is a civil service State.
This approach, according to Akak, will enable the setting up of Cottage
Industries in all the L.G.As in the State, leading to job creations for
the youths and woman via skills acquisition and empowerment, thereby
making them self-reliant and employers of labour. This could be captured
with a greater framework that is inclusive and comprehensive.
More so, Engr. Akak relies on the deployment of agricultural revolution,
the creation and merger of an industrial base to serve as catalyst for
an African economic hub in Cross River State and takeoff point for the
Nigerian project.
His vision is to see how Cross River State can encourage natives to go
into large scale fishing business on the water ways with fishing trolls
that will create multiple chain of businesses and create employment for
our youths.
He cited the situation where China is currently controlling the water
ways with returns in billions to their own country with no positive
impact on Cross River State. He decries the situation where all business
in Calabar and other cities in Cross River State are owned by outsiders.
Hence, Akak’s inclusive economic development model is a platform that
seeks to reinvent government as critical site and realm in production,
distribution, exchange and consumption in the economic sphere.
Undoubtedly, his governance developmentalism strategy is positioned to
make government as fountain of mobilizing resource towards effective
competition and building of a comparative advantage economy.
Broadly, the thrust of his developmental and infrastructural model is
anchored on the principle of Public – Private Partnership (PPP), with a
vision to create a deliberate distribution and redistribution of
projects that is inclusive, comprehensive and entrenches its core
foundation on mass participation, grass-root involvement and passionate
commitment.
On the one hand, his economic model is built as a bottom-up approach
from the grass-root to get communities economically viable to increase
Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and stimulate the economy.
This is a hybrid cluster of home grown community economic model that
will mobilize equal opportunity for all to create an import substitution
framework in conserving and generating wealth.
In doing this, as he pointed out, the community will own the process and
gains of the model with the State acting as facilitator. This brand of
development will only focus on developing and articulating all sectors
of the economy, in order to harmonize and promote circular flow of
income to significantly multiply within the economy, leaving little or
no opportunity for wastages.
Technology incubation centres will be created along each sector of the
economy to allow for the growth and development of the human capability
to contribute enormously to their wellbeing. The financial and
stabilizing fund for each sector development will be created to provide
for a robust and unhindered participation of all. Mentorship programme
shall be created for all incubation centres and follow up with
entrepreneur build-up agenda.
2023 therefore will be another defining historical moment of political
realism, of realignments and bridge building to secure a greater Cross
River State for the coming generation. Today’s decisions have got far
reaching implications for the future both as a people and as a state.
*Kennedy Onyegbado is a Media and Research Expert, he writes from
Abuja-Nigeria (gbadoka@yahoo.com)