Author: The Nation

By Paulinus Nsirim

When Governor Nyesom Wike declared on  Saturday, January 30, 2021, that discussions have been concluded to commence the construction of the Trans-Kalabari Road, which will ease transportation difficulties experienced by the people of Kalabari Ethnic Nationality, the announcement was greeted with mixed feelings.

The diverse feelings of hope, skepticism, disbelief, déjâ vú and forlon nostalgia were understandable for the simple reason that the Trans-Kalabari Road project has been one of the major talking points in the Rivers political calibration since 1999.

The nostalgia was even more poignant, as many Rivers people, especially the  people of Kalabari  will recall that in December 2012, the administration of the day had assured the people of Kalabari that the Road would be completed before the exit of that regime from office in 2015.

The so called assurance that the road remains top priority of that administration, had been made with boastful audacity, at a town hall meeting in Buguma, headquarters of Asari-Toru Local Government Area, in the following words, “The Trans-Kalabari road is coming and we have awarded the contract to Lubriks for the sum of N21billion. We have agreed to take it to Buguma so by January we will mobilise the contractor to site”.

Alas, just like the Karibi Whyte Memorial Hospital and the grotesque, daylight robbery monorail project that assaults the sensibilities, the Trans-Kalabari road joined other white elephant projects of that administration, which its spin doctors have been trying with frenzied misleading propaganda to re-present.

So, when Governor Wike declared, during the reception organised for the conferment of the special chieftaincy title, Eze Gbuwara Uzo1 of Ikwerre on Sir Celestine Omehia, former Governor of Rivers State, at Isiokpo Town in Ikwerre Local Government Area, on Saturday, January 30, 2021, the expectations also carried a tinge of real hope.

The reason was not far fetched. It was not only that the announcement had come on the heels of a marathon inauguration of quality projects across the state, but the faith and belief that Governor Wike had already pledged to complete legacy projects he started in every Local Government Area in the State, during his tenure.

Affirming the seriousness of the Rivers State Government to commence the Trans-Kalabari Road project, Governor Wike said: “I and the Deputy Governor, together with the Chairman of the Rivers State Elders Council, have agreed on how the Trans-kalabari Road will follow. Those who said we don’t want to do anything in the Kalabari area, today they are sending me text messages to thank me.”

To add the icing on the cake, the Governor said that with several projects inaugurated in the various local governmentsbof the State, most critics who accused him of being sectional with his development programme are now ashamed and silenced.

“So many people have said that I am discriminating in terms of projects. Now, when they saw us go to the various Local Governments to commission projects, they don’t say anything again,” he stated.

Two months later, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, the Rivers State Executive Council approved the construction of the Trans-Kalabari and Saakpenwa-Bori-Kono Road projects at the cost of N27.6billion.

It will also be recalled that Governor Wike had, during the January 30 reception for Sir Celestine Omehia  equally declared that: “When we were constructing Sakpeenwa -Bori  Road, some politicians in our party were carrying propaganda. They were saying that we are not going to complete it.

“But, they now have one of the best roads in the state. Some of them were even ashamed to watch it on television. We have also agreed that from Sakpeenwa to Bori, we are awarding fresh contract to take it to Kono town.”

Little wonder therefore that an avalanche of encomiums, ranging from lyrical to poetic and the unrestrained outpouring of joy  by top politicians, media gurus, statesmen and an appreciative community witnessing an infrastructure miracle they had only dared to dream about, greeted the commissioning of the the first phase, 16.06 kilometers, dual carriage Sakpenwa-Bori Highway by the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Ifeanyichukwu Lawrence Ugwuanyi  on Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Now, with the approval for the construction of Phase 2 and indeed the award of the Trans-Kalabari road, Rivers people have already concurred that these are two more promises made and kept by the promise keeping Governor who is building legacy projects all over Rivers State.

Elloka Tasie-Amadi, speaking at a Press Briefing on the approval for the construction of the Saakpenwa-Bori-Kono Phase 2 Road project said the project which starts from Bori to Kono, “is a 17 kilometer road and the cost of the project is N14 Billion. Construction time is 14 months. Payment will also be secured by an irrevocable payment standing order of N1 billion monthly drawn against the State Internal Revenue.”

The Works Commissioner further stated that the Saakpenwa-Bori-Kono contract will be executed by the same the company that executed the Phase 1 of the road , Chinese Civil and Engineering Construction Corporation, adding, for emphasis, that the reason the cost of the Trans-Kalabari road which is 13 kilometers long and 9.3 meters wide is almost the same as that of Bori- Kono 17.1 kilometers and 24 meters wide road with street light, is because the terrains are different.

“You see the cost of building in the riverine area is nothing less than twice the cost of building on solid soil. So the Government is going through huge trouble to see that these roads are built. People will wonder why the cost are like that, the terrain determines the cost. So, the Trans-Kalabari Road  is far more expensive to build.”

Shedding more light on the Trans-Kalabari Road, Tasie-Amadi explained that the road will connect several communities amongst them Krakama, Omekwe-ama, Angula-ama, Mina-ama and some other communities in the Kalabari area of the State.

“The project will cost N13.6billion and will have 14 months duration, financed by an irrevocable standing payment order drawn against the State Internal Revenue, meaning that every month the contractor will be paid N1 Billon and there will be no delays.

“This will guarantee the project is not stalled and completed within the time frame stipulated and agreed with the State Government. This I believe will be useful to the people and open the area for economic activities,” he added.

There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever, that the award of the Trans-Kalabari Road by the Governor Wike’s administration is historic. Many will recall that the previous government awarded the road to indigenes of the area who later abandoned the project for inexplicable reasons.

It had also been the most devious unique selling point in a completely dubious and misleading election propaganda of a political party, which had trumpeted the ethnic mantra that only a Riverine Governor would deliver the Trans-Kalabari Road, with their leader even audaciously foisting a business accomplice as the anointed messiah on the hapless followers. Now they will hide their heads in shame.

Finally, for those who have been shouting themselves hoarse with the broken chant that Governor Wike is only developing Port Harcourt and Obio Akpor, these two major road projects; the Trans-Kalabari and the Phase 2 of Saakpenwa-Bori-Kono Roads, are located outside the city centre and this is a further testimony that Governor Wike has remained steadfast in spreading development to all the nooks and crannies of the State.

Most importantly, the two legacy roads projects are expected to be completed within the next fourteen months and with the kind of payment plan already structured for its operations, these projects will not be abandoned, but will definitely be completed and commissioned with ample time to spare,  before the administration’s tenure elapses.

This not only consolidates Governor Wike’s promise that no project will be abandoned in his tenure, it further reinforces the undeniable fact that the Wike’s administration is only desirous of delivering projects that will impact positively and ensure the betterment of Rivers State and her people.

• Nsirim is the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Rivers State

 

 

By Ismaila Uba Misilli 

The recent award of excellence conferred on Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State as Nutrition Champion for the Nigerian Child by the International Society of Media in Public Health was, beyond the symbolic expression, a worthy leadership appreciation in reversing a harrowing medical trend as it was also a call to duty.

Of course, the history behind the award and its true meaning in humanising society through human capital development in the state cannot be overemphasized, which indeed underlined the importance of the award.

Until recently, malnutrition was a major health concern in Gombe State with the attendant classification of the state as one with a high record of children not being able to grow to their potentials. Yes, that’s the implication of malnutrition when it is left to do damage to the development of a child.

According to the Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research, a key indicator of malnutrition is stunting, “considered to be a very vital proxy for not only chronic nutritional deficit but for long term socio-economic deprivation among children and the society at large”.

In a recent research carried out in Gombe State aimed at determining the prevalence of stunting and its association with socio-demographic factors among school children, the prevalence of stunting was established especially among children in public schools compared with those in private schools just as low academic performance was also “significantly associated with high prevalence of stunting”.

Hence it was recommended that a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the problem be instituted by government and all stakeholders. And this was how the Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) commenced in Gombe State in partnership with UNICEF.

The programme was originally piloted in three local government areas comprising 15 specialist centres. While UNICEF provided capacity building and supply of ready-to-use therapeutic food, the state and local governments provided the structures, manpower and supply of essential drugs. So far, so good. The programme has been very successful even with greater prospects of totally eradicating any form of malnutrition in the state.

It has to be stated that like some other development initiatives in the state where partnership had been a strategic plank of government’s development process, the timely provision of the state’s counterpart funding helped significantly in getting the desired result.

Alluding to the situation at the award ceremony held virtually, Governor Inuwa Yahaya noted with dismay that in spite of the human and natural resources the state is endowed with, the incidence of malnutrition was regrettably allowed to become a blight like in other vulnerable states for too long, a development which necessitated his government’s proactive action to combat it at the outset of his administration.

“We have a lot of food products that we produce locally but somehow some where the state failed to utilize them properly for the benefit of the children. So when I became governor, I realized that we are still so backward on the issue and I took it upon myself to relate with development partners and agencies in order to achieve the objective of giving proper nutrition to our children”, he stated.

However, going forward and in consonance with the challenge of sustainability, the programme has also undergone some review and renewal, making it so pivotal to look inwards in the essential provision of the basic ingredients.  In this regard, the state government has innovated on the idea of sourcing local materials to keep going.

The understanding here being that government cannot continue to rely on the support from development partners indefinitely, hence the directive from the governor to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation to find some means of having direct relationship with the Institute of Agricultural Research at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria so that Gombe State can now develop and produce a formula for the benefit of children in the state.

In order to realize the above strategic objective, the administration has committed over N30 million in this fiscal year on direct production and the state has already gotten certification from NAFDAC which has since prompted the distribution of ready-to-use therapeutic food to various units within the local government areas so that children across the state can benefit from it.

By the thinking of government, this initiative is going to be a permanent solution to the malnutrition challenges in the state since all the basic materials required like soya beans, maize, groundnuts and saseme are all available in the state.

Waxing very optimistic on the development, Governor Inuwa Yahaya stated thus, “We have gotten the formula and the Technology Incubation Centre in Gombe has provided the basic machines required in order to continuously produce and I believe going forward, Gombe will come to be listed out of those states that have issues of malnutrition”.

Governor Yahaya acknowledged the support and encouragement his administration is getting from the various development partners and allied strategic institutions, adding that Gombe State will continue to collaborate with relevant agencies and bodies in order to rid the state and entire country from the menace of malnutrition.

The Executive Director of the organization, Mrs Moji Makanjuola, lauded the governor’s 10-year development plan which emphasizes HOD with a special focus on nutrition and related policies tackling issues affecting children.

On a broader note, the nutrition programme is also very helpful in mitigating maternal and child mortality because good nutrition is key to sound health development for both mother and child with the concomitant effect on economic growth and development.

In the words of USAID, “optimal maternal nutrition contributes to the survival of both mother and child and promotes women’s overall health, productivity and wellbeing”. This position has also been shared by UNICEF by calling for increased focus on mother and child nutrition as the backbone of a healthy life and with the salient reminder that such steps were critical in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.

On national scale, the UN expects achievement on the SDG’s target of reducing maternal mortality by ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births and end the preventable death of children under five years of age to as low as 25 per 1000 live births. These are major health issues the Gombe State Government is working hard to address and with the ongoing programme to solidify good nutrition base in the state, the future of our children is very bright by attaining their potentials in life.

• Misilli is Director-General ( Press Affairs) Government House Gombe