By: Okoi Obono-Obla When we adopt a more serious and positive attitude, focusing on governance issues that truly confront our pe...
By: Okoi Obono-Obla
When we adopt a more serious and positive attitude, focusing on governance issues that truly confront our people—especially in the nooks and crannies of the country—massive transformation will occur, revolutionizing everything.
Our representatives at the federal level, who should be at the forefront of galvanizing development in their constituencies, particularly in areas under the exclusive preserve of the Federal Government and those shared concurrently with the states, are instead more interested in politics of tokenism, eye service, grandstanding, and deceit. They exploit the lack of consciousness, naivety, and awareness of our people, which is both painful and unfortunate.
Recently, I observed supporters of a senator from Cross River State celebrating the purported facilitation of Federal Fire Service offices in Ugep (Yakurr) and Ikom (Ikom). I was dumbfounded and aghast at how little our elected leaders take us. Fire service is a matter under the concurrent legislative list, meaning even local governments can participate. Therefore, there is little justification for celebrating the establishment of a Federal Fire Service office at the local level, especially when State Fire Service offices already exist in these towns within the Central Senatorial District.
Ikom, for instance, has immense potential to become a hub for international trade and commerce between the Central and West African subregions due to its strategic location. Yet, it suffers from a lack of government involvement, energy investment, and power supply, leaving it groaning under severe underdevelopment. The same is true of Ugep. One would expect elected leaders representing these two major towns in the Central Senatorial District of Cross River State to attract federal presence in areas of real development—projects that could transform their fortunes and establish them as hubs of impactful change. Unfortunately, our leaders lack vision and remain fixated on small, tokenistic gestures like fire stations, which are unlikely to be equipped with modern gadgets and may even clash with existing State Fire Services.
True leadership requires vision, courage, and a commitment to transformative development. Cross River State, particularly towns like Ikom and Ugep, deserves more than token gestures. Our leaders must rise above politics of eye service and focus on projects that will genuinely uplift our people and unlock the region’s vast potential.
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
No comments