The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Cross River State

  • Biafra: Cross River issues stern warning against protests

    Biafra: Cross River issues stern warning against protests

    Following protests seeking for secession to form the Republic of Biafra in some South East and South South states, the Cross River State government has issued a stern warning against such in its domain.

    The government said its attention has been drawn to planned protest march by some elements outside the state and urged the people of the state, especially the youths not to allow themselves to be used to achieve any self-serving interest.

    The State Security Adviser, Mr Jude Ngaji, said in a statement in Calabar Tuesday said that security agencies are on red alert to ensure that no unauthorized march, procession or protest takes place in the state.

    “The state government attaches great importance to the unity of the country and warned that any person or group of persons who embark on any protest without a written permission from the police shall be made to face the full force of the law,” the statement read.

  • Cross River begins rehabilitation of Calabar-Itu road

    Cross River begins rehabilitation of Calabar-Itu road

    In response to the complaints associated with the bad state of the Calabar-Itu road, the Cross River state government Tuesday commenced intervention on the federal government road.

    The remedial measure is aimed at bringing quick relief to road users in the state.

    In a related development, Governor Ben Ayade has called on the tankers drivers who embarked on strike as a result of the bad state of the road to call off their strike in the interest of Cross Riverians.

    It would be recalled that some months back, the government carried out a similar intervention on a federal road at Odukpani axis of the state.

    Leading the state government delegation on a spot assessement of the road which has been in a very terrible state, the Chief of Staff to Governor Ayade, Mr. Martin Orin said as a responsive government, the administration views seriously the plights of its people, noting that the challenge on the road is of great concern to the state government.

    He lamented that the bad state of the road was the reason why the tanker drivers in the state have embarked on a strike.

    According to him, Cross River state is taking charge of the section of the roads that affects the state and appealed to its Akwa Ibom State counterpart to rehabiliate the section of the road that concerns the state.

    The Chief of Staff advised Cross Riverians and other road users to be patient with the state government, assuring them that everything was being done to alleviate their plights.

    Reiterating his call on the tanker drivers to call off their strike, Orim said the state government was doing everything to fix the road in the interest of the people and assured them that in less than two days the road would be fixed.

    Speaking on the level of intervention the state government intends to carry out on the road, the director of civil works at the state Ministry of Works, Engineer Godwin Akeke revealed that “it would require a whole lot of work. What you are seeing here are unsuitable materials. We intend to remove all the unsuitable materials impeding the road and replace them with hardcore to get the road to a very good state.

    “We don’t intend to do a temporary work, what we intend to do is what will stand the test of time and all agencies have been mobilised to ensure smooth flow of traffic as the work is going on, ”he stated.

  • AFRIFF 2013: of film business and leisure resort

    AFRIFF 2013: of film business and leisure resort

    THE much publicised 3rd edition of African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) rounded off with a lavish closing ceremony and awards gala at the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State. The week-long event, a gathering of filmmakers and relevant stakeholders, had participants networking on prospective projects and a series of brainstorming sessions on the future of the African cinema.

    It is noted widely that Hollywood of America and Bollywood of India have sold a cinema culture to the world that have put them on top chart of the creative ladder, but no single film industry in Africa has succeeded in penetrating the world market with a competitive edge. There had been concerted effort by Africans to pull the string in this order, starting with notable film fests like the biennial Pan African Film Festival (FESPACO) in Ouagadougou, the rested Sithengi Film Festival in Cape Town, South Africa and the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), a South African event that enjoys affiliation with the Berlin International Film Festival of Germany.

    AFRIFF, like these older initiatives, is Nigeria’s flagship and most popular Nigerian domiciled film festival that appears to be popularising the tourism potentials of the country. As a travelling festival, and within the three years that it has existed, foreign delegates have been made to see Port Harcourt, Lagos and Calabar respectively.

    This year’s venue appears to be relevant in a unique way, owing to the popular Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort that sits one of the most prospective studios in Africa and also houses the recently launched EbonyLive TV.

    Chioma Ude, Founder and Executive Director of AFRIFF, captured the mood of Tinapa to delight her guests: “It is currently the biggest free-trade zone in West Africa with an array of leisure facilities like The Tinapa Lakeside Hotel; an 8-Screen digital cinema; international standard restaurants serving both African and Western cuisines; a night club; pubs; a game arcade and a mini amphitheatre. There is also an artificial tidal lake that feeds from the Calabar River, which itself flows into the Atlantic Ocean. There is a water park comprising a collection of children and adult size pools, water slides, a wave pool, a lazy river as well as a bar and restaurant; and a movie production studio commonly called ‘Studio Tinapa’, currently the most modern film production studio in Nigeria.”

    The foreign delegates apparently got curious and thought to explore Tinapa. Thus, many were found making expedition as they embarked on their early morning workout.

     

    Between Tinapa and The Marina, another resort centre in town, which houses the popular Filmhouse, the busy traffic of film enthusiasts portrayed what many described as a visible success of a festival which is only three years old.

    Wife of the governor of Cross River State, Mrs. Obioma Imoke, who welcomed the delegates after a dazzling red carpet show last Sunday, expressed delight at seeing the local and visiting artistes. “I’m excited to be here and we are most honoured to host this event,” said Mrs Imoke, who apologised for her husband’s absence.

    Governor Liyel Imoke, she noted, had led the victorious Golden Eaglets to a national reception in Abuja.

    “You haven’t been to Nigeria if you haven’t been to Calabar,” an elated Mrs Imoke told her guests during the cocktail reception that preceded the screening of the festival’s opening movie, Of Good Report. “Here is the place to be, really,” she stated with emphasis, beaming with smiles. “Please get something to eat because we are known for our cuisines and I want to assure you we are going to have a blast. Cross River is the home of Tinapa, Obudu, and the 32-day long festival which climaxes with our famous Carnival Calabar. Please have fun.”

    That said, the mood was set for real business of filmmaking, devoid of the usual political intrusions associated with government-sponsored events.

    If there was a best way to start a film festival, the choice of an opening film remains a factor. And AFRIFF appeared to have chosen right by screening the controversial Of Good Report, which was banned initially in its country of origin, for what the censorship board described as its marks of child pornography. Thus, the debate started among filmmakers at the event on where to draw the line between classification and an outright ban of a work of art.

    The movie, which has been to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), among others, sharply divided opinions because of its theme, graphic nature and sexually explicit scenes. Of Good Report revolves round a teacher who has an immoral relationship with his 16-year-old female student, puts her in the family way and procures an illegal abortion for her to cover his tracks.

    The event which also focuses on panel discussions, workshops and master classes has over 40 actors, directors and producers from other countries, including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Rome, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Cameroun.

    The foreign artistes were joined by a flurry of Nollywood stars in adding verve to the event. The list included Rita Dominic and Lynn Withfield as ambassadors. Others were Desmond Elliot, Kunle Afolayan, Omoni Oboli, Kate Henshaw, Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki), Uche Jombo, Chioma Chukwuka-Akpotha, Bharia Mcwizu, Kemi Lala-Akindoju and OC Ukeje.

    There were also Nigerian actors and producers based in the Diaspora at the event. They included Jude Idada, Gbenga Akinnagbe and model and actor, Ngoli Ngor Onyeka Okafor.

    AFRIFF, like its counterparts in FESPACO and DIFF, recorded a remarkable celebration of the African cinema as a number of outstanding movies were screened at Filmhouse cinemas. There was an abundance of feature films, documentaries, short films and student shorts in the festival.

    Some of the films in competition at the festival were, I Number Number, Hoodrush, Daughters of the Niger Delta, Clouds over Conakry, B for Boy, Hillside Crowd, Drama Consult, Thousand Suns and The Man Who Wanted to Move a Mountain. Others were A Mile from Home,The Virgin, the Copts and Me, Africa Shafted, The Flower Girl, Durban Poison and Creation in Exile.

    If there is a remarkable recreation that filmmakers have shared in recent times, the daily AFRIFF after-event party would be a feat to remember in a long while. The AFRIFF Village Hangout at dusk offered free drinks and finger foods amidst trendy music from an in-house Disc Jockey. The level of grooving by the artistes can simply be described as wow!

  • Corps member drowns in river

    Corps member drowns in river

    Weekends in Ikom village, Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, are always busy with fishing, the major occupation of the villagers. It was not different penultimate Sunday as the villagers trooped to the river. Many were fishing. Some came to swim; others to wash their clothes.

    In the throng were some Corps members, who chose to play handball at the bank of the river. But, a few minutes into the game, one of them got drowned in the river.

    Onlookers wondered how the late Faith Nzube Enemuo got into the river. Initially, it was learnt that the Corps members were playing on the shore. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that one of them pleaded with his colleagues to move the game into the river.

    “There were about 10 of them, who came to play handball on the dry land near the Ikom River. One of them suggested that they should move closer to the river, but the suggestion was opposed by other Corps members, including the late Faith,” a villager told CAMPUSLIFE.

    But when her colleagues moved the game close to the river, the late Faith was said to have joined them reluctantly.

    The ball fell into the river, an eyewitness said, and the late Faith offered to fetch the ball, which was moving faster away from the shoreline.

    “The late Faith stood close to the river for a few seconds, after which she dived to bring the ball out. Her colleagues watched in excitement as she swam close to the ball. But, in a moment, she stopped and started waving her hands. They thought she was still playing, until they didn’t see her again on the water surface.”

    When her colleagues realised what was happening, they signalled to the villagers, who were swimming in the river. After 10 minutes of frantic search, the rescuers could not find the girl. More villagers offered to help with canoes and fishing instruments, but they could not get her.

    Two days later, the late Faith’s body was found on the Okuni Beach in the neighbouring village.

    The other Corps members declined to speak with our correspondents when contacted.

    The late Faith was a Batch “C” member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with state code number CR/12C/068.

    She hailed from Nanka Village in Anambra State. A graduate of Social Studies from the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), the late Faith was serving at Ikom Local Council before her death.

    When CAMPUSLIFE got to Okuni Village, her body had already been evacuated from the beach and deposited at Emeka Mortuary, by Corps members with the help of policemen.

    President of Okuni Community Youth Mr Emmanuel Nsor Alobi narrated how the villagers discovered the body. He said: “We were contacted on Sunday by the Divisional Police Officer that a girl got drowned in Ikom River. He urged us to keep vigilance at the river to observe possible passage of the body on Okuni Beach. I sent the information to other villagers to look out for the body.”

    Alobi said the body was discovered at Okuni Beach in the early hours of Tuesday by an excavator, whose name was given as Pius Ogbonnaya. “He saw the body floating on the beach of Okuni while he was going for his business. Pius called my attention and he immediately notified the DPO for further actions. But before the police and officials of NYSC in Ikom arrived, other youths had assisted Pius to bring out the decomposing body,” Alobi said.

    The Ikom Local Government Inspector of NYSC, Mr Ekerette Judah Udoekpo, said he was awaiting directive from the zonal inspector on what to do next.

    The Corps’ Liaison Officer (CLO) in the local government, Danjuma Zira Khaly, said the incident was sad, confirming that 10 Corps members went to play handball at the Ikom River. He described Faith’s death as a “big loss to the NYSC in Cross River State.”

    It is being rumoured that the late Faith was pushed into the river by yet unidentified person but a villager, who pleaded anonymity, debunked the claim. He said: “I was there when the incident happened. I don’t see any reason someone should lie about the issue. If anyone pushed her into the river, the first thing the people around would have done would be to hold the person. But she jumped into the river willingly to bring out the ball she was playing with her colleagues.”

    A Corps member, who went to play at the river, Ifeanyi Gidofot, declined to speak with CAMPUSLIFE when contacted.

    He said he had been under pressure to give out information since the incident occurred, saying he would not comment on it further.

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Cross River State Command, John Umoh, said autopsy had been conducted on the body.

  • ‘Imoke’s wife is our own Mary Slessor’

    ‘Imoke’s wife is our own Mary Slessor’

    For her humanitarian efforts, the wife of Cross River State governor, Obioma Liyel-Imoke has been likened to the legendary Scottish missionary Mary Slessor.

    Mrs Imoke has been fighting the cause of women and children, especially vulnerable and endangered ones, a passion that is similar to the life work of Slessor, famed for her fight against the killing of twins.

    The state chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Ntufam John Okon commended the governor’s wife, saying her humanitarian work has given hope to vulnerable and less-privileged persons in the society.

    Ntufam Okon gave the commendation during the opening ceremony of a skills acquisition programme initiated by the wife of Akamkpa Local Government Council Mrs. Maureen Nkiri at Oban in Akamkpa Local Government Area of the State. He recalled the efforts of Mrs. Imoke, in the passage of Child Rights Law in the state.

    The PDP chairman noted that her passion for women and children cannot be overemphasised as her programmes: Destiny’s Child Centre and Mothers’ Against Child Abandonment have provided a resettlement home for rehabilitation and reintegration of erstwhile street children and saved abandoned babies and teenage pregnant girls. The chairman who described Mrs. Imoke as the Mary Slessor of our time, advised her to be focused in carrying out her selfless service to mankind irrespective of any campaign of calumny by her detractors.

    He also lauded the state governor for his purposeful leadership which has promoted unity in spite of the injustice meted out to the state through the loss of oil wells and Bakassi and however assured that injustice cannot thrive for too long in Nigeria.

    The wife of the Chairman of Akamkpa Local Government Area, Mrs. Denis Nkiri who initiated the skill acquisition programme, maintained that she also has a passion to improve the welfare of young women and children.

    She said: “Young women are the lifewire of every society and when you train a woman you train a nation and for a woman to excel, she needs a basic source of income and this is the reason we are gathered here today.”

    She disclosed that many types of equipment have been acquired for the training of young women who are desirous of changing their economic status. She encouraged them to make genuine efforts to assimilate skills of their choice in order to become experts in their economic base in line with the millennium goals 1 and 3 which, according to her, seek to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and promote gender equality and women empowerment.

    Mrs. Nkiri, who commended the wife of the governor for her exemplary role stated that the skill acquisition programme was a follow-up of the one on activation of women development centres in various Local Government Areas initiated by the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) in partnership with Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

    Addressing the crowd, Mrs. Liyel-Imoke called on other chairpersons to replicate her empowerment programmes in their various Local Government Councils. She thanked Mrs. Nkiri for empowering the women through skills acquisition which she said would eradicate poverty and hunger. She expressed happiness over the level of development in Akamkpa LGA and stated that the Imoke-led administration is poised to taking government to those who need it most. She encouraged the women to be proactive so as to gain more knowledge that would better the lots of their families.

    The paramount rural of Akamkpa Ntufam Imayip, wife of the member representing Akamkpa in the House of Representatives, Mrs. Ekanem Daniel Asuquo and the wife of the PDP state chairman Mrs. Iquo Ntufam John Okon urged the women to take the training seriously and also form cooperatives to enable them further benefit from government gestures.