Building A Future on Wings of Prosperity and Promise: Umo Eno Example
By Chijioke Amu-Nnadi
Pastor Umo Eno, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, is onto something truly remarkable and commendable. For anyone who is learned on, and in tune with, the dynamics of building prosperous societies on the foundation and principles of sustainable development, the recent announcement by the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo SAN, that the Victor Attah Airport, in Uyo, which I have been opportune to use on several occasions, will become an international destination, offers many interesting prospects.
While the obvious benefits of improving tourism, investments, and a general and robust prospering of the state’s economy are on offer, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Umo Eno is on a trajectory towards making Akwa Ibom State prosperous. According to the honourable minister, the governor has put everything inplace towards ensuring that the oil-rich state opens itself to the global dynamics of the technologically-driven economies of Asia, Europe, North and South America, as well as the dollar-propelled curiosity of travellers to new places. And this is instructive for a number of reasons.
Akwa Ibom State shares a border with very important states of Abia, Cross Rivers and Rivers. While Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, already boasts an international airport, none exists in two other states which offer tremendous business, cultural and tourism opportunities to Nigerians and visitors alike. And their closeness to Akwa Ibom State reveals a massive potential for exponential growth in these sub-sectors, due to the upgrading of the Victor Attah Airport to international status. And I will explain.
Cross River State has hosted the globally-popular Calabar Carnival since 2004. Each year an average of 2.5 million visitors have visited Calabar for what has been described as Africa’s greatest street party. In 21 years, an average of 53 million visitors have revelled in the artistic and cultural splendour that the carvinal continues to offer. Spending an understated average of N500,000 on accommodation, feeding, local transportation and souvenirs, these visitors have brought N26 billion into the local economy.
A significant portion of these visitors are from the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Over the years, due to the absence of an international in Calabar, or Uyo, which is just an hour’s drive away, they have favoured either flying into Lagos, Abuja or Port Harcourt. From these cities they either take a connecting flight into Calabar, or hazard the sometimes treacherous and insecure road trip through Uyo to Calabar. Over the years also, the hotels in Calabar have proven inadequate to accommodate the throng of revellers, creating more difficulties than the fun the carnival promises. While the connecting Uyo – Itu – Calabar road has been in poor shape over the years, the Federal Government is currently reconstructing and dualizing this very important part of the East – West Highway.
Further east lies Aba, arguably the most important market in the entire country for being a hub for production of diverse quality goods. Shoes, bags, clothes and various household items are produced in that city. And they are produced to such international standards that many traders are selling these products to international markets in Africa, Europe (for instance, Turkey has become a thriving destination for beautifully tailored Nigerian clothes and bags) and even China. Many of them, I have been told, find their way back to Nigeria as branded items. Indeed, to call a product “Aba Made” is no longer a slur, but an affirmation of quality.
There are also the boisterous ports of Oron, which opens up to Cameroun and the Atlantic Ocean, Ibeno Beach, with its massive prospects for tourism and aquaculture, as well as Onne Port, which lies close to the border between Akwa Ibom and Rivers State.
What these portend is a booming economy that opens itself for further investments and tourism. From anywhere in the world, visitors to Uyo, Calabar, Aba, Ikot Abasi which hosts ExxonMobil and many strategic production facilities, the iconic Obudu Cattle Ranch and the conservation centres of northern Cross Rivers where sightings of major animals like the elephant still occur, will find Uyo their first port of call. The prospects for the sub-sectors of agriculture, aquaculture, oil and gas business, manufacturing and processing, as well as the ready international market are building to create a multi-trillion-dollar economy for Akwa Ibom and adjoining states.
In all these, Governor Umo Eno stands as both initiator, facilitator and catalyst. A study of his overall master plan for Akwa Ibom development shows a man determined to facilitate such prosperity for Akwa Ibom state. From his investments in physical and social infrastructures, such as roads, health, security, manpower development, skills acquisition and youth empowerment, education, agriculture, processing, small-scale manufacturing and the like, Akwa Ibom is becoming a hub for growth, mounted on the wings of prosperity and promise. And this commitment was echoed by Festus Keyamo when he stated in the press conference, where he announced the upgrading of Victor Attah Airport, that the governor “worked ahead schedule to improve facilities at the airport, in readiness for international flights.”
Said he: “Akwa Ibom State is ahead of the plan already. They are not behind, but ahead. We thought the gaps to be closed would be much, but they are virtually very small gaps. Akwa Ibom State has gone ahead of schedule to a full-blown International Airport.” In commending the Akwa Ibom State Governor, the minister reported that facilities inspected included a new and well- equipped international terminal and the MRO, one of the standard requirements for an international airport.
He added: “The State is ready to render its aviation services to the world and make the State proud. This facility we are seeing here is the MRO. That means (that it is ready for) all international airlines coming here. They have a facility where they can conduct routine checks before they fly out again. It is one of the standard requirements of any International Airport. Akwa Ibom is a home of great people, blessed with good successive and visionary leaders who build on quality foundation laid by founding fathers, a gesture that have encouraged growth and facilitated rapid development in the State.
And then he added: “We can only thank the visionaries of Akwa Ibom State. We also thank God for Pastor Umo Eno who has actually consummated every plan of his successors. He has not abandoned the State’s Master Plan. Akwa Ibom State has been blessed with a succession of visionary leaders, and everyone of them has been God sent to this place, and this is just one of the lines of successors we have here. We are happy that Pastor Umo Eno took it from where he met it and by God’s grace, it is during his time that every foundation and seed that has been laid 25 years ago has come to fruition.”
Due to the fact that Victor Attah Airport will open to international flights next year, the 2025 edition of the Calabar Carnival which begins next week will have to follow its established traditions. But the next edition will find Uyo a fitting starting point to the party it usually offers, especially with the abundance of hotels in the city. And that is something to look forward to and celebrate, because the foundation has already been established by one man who understands the logic and dynamics of building on, and excelling with, established foundations. Because, apparently, Pastor Umo Eno is not just a worthy successor as Akwa Ibom State governor, but one of the state’s important success stories.