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Tag: Cross River

  • Robbers kill policeman in Cross River

    A policeman, identified as Inspector Lehman Akpan, has been killed by a two-man robbery gang at 55, IBB Way in Calabar, Cross River State, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    It was gathered that the robbers made away with the policeman’s gun, an AK47 and his magazine, as well as the money they stole from the residents.

    Sources said the robbers raided a tailor and demanded money from her.

    They forced her to take them to her husband’s room where they fired a shot and stole more money.

    The sources said a call was made to the Airport police station and the Divisional Police Officer, the late inspector and another policeman drove to the scene of the robbery.

    The Inspector was said to have entered the large compound while the DPO and the other policeman waited outside.

    But the robbers shot the inspector in the back and made away with his weapon, through a collapsed fence near the Margaret Ekpo International Airport runway.

    Police spokesman Hogan Bassey confirmed the robbery. “It is true a policeman was killed in the robbery incident.”

    On whether his AK 47 and magazine were taken away, he said: “I can only tell you that we are investigating the matter and that is what I can tell you for now.”

    In Bayelsa State, gunmen on Wednesday night stormed a popular boutique in Amarata area of Yenagoa, shooting two store attendants and stealing valuables.

    The gunshots, it was learnt, created pandemonium on the busy Mbiama-Yenagoa Road.

    The victims, identified as Edwin and Orji, were said to be recuperating in an emergency ward of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa.

    The assailants were said to have come from OMPADEC, an area notorious for criminal activities.

    They reportedly centered the male section of the boutique at 8pm after posing as customers.

    One of the attendants at the female section said the two gunmen entered the boutique and requested some items.

    The attendant, who identified herself as Favour, said the robbers shot one of the victims in the waist.

    She said the other storekeeper was shot in the lower abdomen.

    It was learnt that the robbers abandoned their guns on the scene of the crime.

    Operatives of the anti-robbery squad were seen on the scene.

    Police spokesman Alex Akhigbe confirmed the report.

  • Experiencing Destination Cross River

    Experiencing Destination Cross River

    When the then Cross River State government radically decided to strike on a new trail far from the conventional track other state governments were following, many saw the effort as a little elitist far removed from reality.

    The vision was complicated, yet simple. Even a blind man, on stepping on the soil of Cross River State feels the vibe of peace and relaxation. In many places, a huge amount of money is spent to create an artificially ambience whereby the people and their environment are at peace with nature. In Cross River, it is a natural phenomenon. The people, the landscape and vegetation create a kind of symphony that make visitors lower their guards and bask in the positive the state emits.

    The tourism endowments in Cross River State are diverse and scattered all over the state. Some are more than a five-hour drive apart. But in between those that separate by distance are other spectacular sites and tourism products that leave a visitor’s jaw dropping.

    Calabar was once the colonial capital of what is known as Nigeria today. It is a treasure trove for adventure tourists who want to enjoy an admixture of history, culture and eco-tourism. A few kilometres from Calabar is one of the most ambitious tourism projects in Africa, the Tinapa. It has not fully taken off, but it is a place worth visiting. A stay at the Lakeside Hotel within the Tinapa complex is an experience of its own. The hotel has a wonderful view of the creeks behind, of course, the leftover of the vast rainforest complex was carved out of.

    The culinary experience in Lakeside is one that befits the status of Calabar as Nigeria’s capital of palate. A town where food preparation and service are an art. Other exciting places one could visit in Calabar include Marina and national museum.

    Of course, the flagship product for tourism in Calabar is the annual one-month festival, the Carnival Calabar. Reputed to be Africa’s biggest street party, the distinct thing about the Carnival Calabar is that like every other carnival all over the world, there is boisterousness, colour, glitz and revelry. The difference is in the African costuming, dance steps and music, making it distinct from any other Carnival the world over. It normally takes place every December 27.

    From Calabar to Obudu is about six hours by road. While the distance between Calabar is long, but to the knowledgeable, it an adventure as there are many important tourist sites scattered along the route.

    The Agbokim Water Falls, up on a hill top and gushing down into deep valley with thick rainforest all around, it is idyllic and therapeutic.

    In Obudu Mountain Resort, Cross River State comes close to literally having a heavenly paradise. As one drives up the mountain, the beauty unfolding is not something one could easily be captured in words. There are so many to capture: the undulating green hills that spread out as far as one’s eyes could go, the lush green vegetation, the surreal serpentine road that snakes up towards the mountain top. Obudu also has the longest cable car in Africa. Gliding on the cable car, one feels like flying on a magic box.

    These are the products on offering in Cross River State, but it one thing to have an exciting destination and another having a tour management company in place to provide a seamless travel package for those desirous of having the experience of these exciting destinations. This is where a company, Remlords Group, in partnership with the hospitality and tourism facility owners in Cross River State last year, came up with an online travel portal: Experience Cross River.

    It is an end-to-end travel portal that provides packages for local and international tourists wishing to visit Cross River. Through the Experience Cross River portal, individuals, couples, families or groups can choose comfortable tour packages. The Experience Cross River travel portal that was launched last year is gradually revolutionizing the Nigerian tourism industry and, most especially, it has made the tour of Cross River more rewarding and easy.

    The Experience Cross River recently marked its first anniversary with a success story to tell. Mr. Nkereuwem Onung , the Managing Director of Remlords Group had this to say: “The online portal of Cross River State gives visitors tourism packages to come and experience the tourism assets of Cross River State. It is one year we began the journey. We like to thank God for what he has done so far. We will like to salute the governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, for courage and will to sustain the tempo of tourism activities in Cross River State. It is pertinent to thank the governor creating a friendly environment for public-private partnership for tourism to thrive in state.

    “In just one year of the Experience Cross River, we have received over 2,000 visitors and hosted major conferences for both local and international organisations and groups through the portal because when you say you want to come to Cross River, how do we get there, who do you talk to? All you need is get to the portal and you are going to find packages, you are going to find whatever you want that enable you experience this great destination. But we are channelling our support for Cross River State Tourism as flagged off by His Excellency Governor Liyel Imoke.

    “Today, the government has set up Cross River Tourism which is a medium where the government and the private sector interact to be able to move tourism in the state forward because the private sector people are the people who will drive tourism. Government only creates the enabling environment. Everywhere you find government doing anything about tourism, you can be sure it will never succeed.

    “What we are doing today is to reaffirm our support for Cross River State Tourism as principal partners.”

    The leader of hoteliers in Cross River State, Mr. Charles Ogar, talking about the impact of Experience Cross River to the destination, praised the Remlords Group for initiative.

    He called on them to include more hotels in the list of hotels the portal is advertising on its platform, promising that they would work towards raising the standards of the hotels in the state.

    The Managing Director of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau, Mr. Michael William, spoke on the positive outlook of tourism in the state and the contribution of the private sector: “When I came here six years ago in 2007, and I saw all that Cross River State had to offer, the immense potential that was here, I wanted to be a part of it. I also saw a government which was very particular about tourism, pushing to start the tourism and I wanted to see the private sector take up the challenge and move ahead.

    “It was the single biggest gap that we had in Cross River. What I have been able to see manifest is how far the private sector has come of age.”

    The publisher of the African Travel Quarterly (ATQ) and organizer of the annual West African travel fair, Mr. Ikechi Uko, also commended the group for the Experience Cross River as it has helped the industry in the area of data collection. Uko said the country’s tourism reception has grown, but many Nigerians are sceptical about this due to lack of data to back this claim in some cases.

    He said with the initiative of Remlords Group, it is easy to measure the state’s tourism receipt as the figures given by Remlords are back by verifiable facts.

    The Experience Cross River portal has shown how serious the business of tourism is in the state. It would help in growing the local market. It shows factually that the efforts that the state government is putting towards growing the tourism industry is bearing fruits.

    With the budgeoning industry, the Federal Government owes it as a duty to help the industry grow by providing the necessary infrastructural facilities. The first is road. The Calabar-Obudu Road is one of the biggest hindrance to Obudu Mountain Resort achieving its full potential.

     

  • Anger, tears as Cross River town counts losses of military invasion

    Anger, tears as Cross River town counts losses of military invasion

    Please go away with your journalism. What can you do? They have destroyed my things; you have seen it with your own eyes. Please go away and leave us alone,” she said angrily and chased this reporter away from her compound.

    She barred everyone in her compound from uttering a word to the reporter or face consequences.

    A look at the angry woman’s house revealed smashed windows and other sundry evidence of violence and havoc wreaked allegedly by security agents. It was also learnt her wares were destroyed.

    Many other members of the Esuk Utan community in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, share in the woman’s anger but not in her aggression.

    Patience, a young woman who owns a women’s salon in the area, narrated her ordeal: “They spoilt my dryer, my washer, my mirrors, my relaxer, shampoo. They scattered everything. And I did not even do anything to them. I did not even know what was happening. I even locked myself inside my shop and they broke it down and came in and destroyed my things. They should come and fix what they spoilt o. This is what I used to sustain myself; now see what they have done?”

    Trouble started Tuesday last week when members of the Quick Intervention Squad (QIS) accosted a man on a motorcycle in the area and wanted to collect his machine since it has been banned by the government. The man resisted and members of the squad descended on him. The squad is made up of policemen and soldiers.

    An unidentified lady, it was learnt, tried to intercede but she was visited with the same treatment. Youths in the area angrily intervened and a security agent was injured. The security men then called for reinforcement and several truckloads of armed security agents landed in the area shooting sporadically, beating up everyone in sight and destroying shops. After they had terrorised the area, they left behind a scene littered with broken bones, broken heart and shattered wares, doors and windows.

    After that, for the next couple of days, the residents of the community had security agents as their regular visitors as they always came around allegedly beating up youths and destroying anything in their way.

    It was gathered that an unidentified security van with agents wielding machetes and guns had again stormed the area two days after and rounded up two youths. One of those arrested was the owner of a barber shop that was destroyed.

    At the moment vandalised building, shops and other items are what residents of the area have to serve as a reminder of the incident.

    When Niger Delta Report visited the community, shops and doors were closed and most residents hid behind the closed doors. A few who ventured outside hung around companies of twos and threes; they talked in hushed tones, poised to scamper to safety in case the security men returned.

    There was anger in the air because most residents of the community have had their businesses, houses and belongings destroyed for no just reason.

    A resident of the area, who identified himself simply as Ubong, said: “It was bike they wanted to carry. Now they have been coming here every day to intimidate us and beat us. I don’t know if it is the revenge they want.

    “When they came the other day, they were dressed in army uniform and some police uniform. They were carrying guns, even machetes. When they come back now, people would start running. The person that caused all these problems does not even live in this area.”

    But the pains left behind are visible.

     

  • Cross River SIEC bars APC from council poll

    The decision of the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) to disqualify the All Progressives Congress (APC) from contesting the September 21 local government election has been met with a stiff opposition.

    A chieftain of the APC in the state, Hilliard Eta, described the decision as “a ridiculous act, which has further questioned the independence of the electoral umpire.”

    According to him, the decision of CROSIEC depicts “the romance of the electoral body with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government upon which the decision was hatched.”

    The Chairman of the State Independent Electoral Commission( CROSIEC), Sir Patrick Otu, said last weekend during a meeting with the registered political parties in the state that the APC is not qualified to field candidates for the September 21 local government poll since it was not up to 90 days old after its registration.

    Otu also said the commission took the decision after considering the legal implications concerning the new mega party and in order not to run foul of the law.

    “The Electoral Law stipulates that if parties merge, the new party can only stand election after 90 days.”

    “The commission cannot postpone the election because of a newly-registered party. By September 21 when the local government elections will take place, the stipulated 90 days period would not have been met by APC in the state. Therefore, no candidate can be fielded to run on the platform of APC,” he said.

     

  • Parties battle Cross River’s electoral body over council polls

    The first indication that all was not well with the September 21 local government elections in Cross River State emerged when the National Conscience Party (NCP) and the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) raised the alarm over the decision of the State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) to shift the date of the close of nomination forms and submission of candidates.

    Their grouse was that it was to favour the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which failed to meet the deadline. The parties said the umpire had “benevolently” agreed to shift the date under the guise of trying to accommodate the merger of some political parties.

    The NCP and PPA dragged CROSIEC to court over adjustment to the election timetable.

    According to the timetable issued by the commission, the period for the submission of candidates’ names was to last from May 17 to June 17. Also the period for sales of nomination forms was to last from May 20 to June 21.

    CROSIEC chairman Patrick Otu said the deadlines were extended to the first week of July. This, he said, followed a meeting with political parties where they agreed that the extension should be allowed to accommodate the merger attempt by some political parties.

    Since then it has been a barrage of complaints against the commission.

    An originating summons 3 dated July 9 from the High Court in Calabar shows fhat the NCP and PPA want an order restraining the defendant from selling on or acting on or processing any nomination form sold to any political party candidate after June 21 and the issuing of CROSIEC forms LGE001A and LGE002 to any political party after June 17.

    The defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) accused the electoral umpire of arbitrary charges of which it had instituted a case in court to protest the development. Otu said the only money collected from candidates were N90, 000 for chairmanship and N30, 000 for councillorship candidates for security fee, election deposit and processing fee, which he said applied to all parties.

    Chairman of the defunct ACN, Hiilard Eta had also protested against the voters register which he said would disenfranchise a lot of Cross Riverians who had attained the voting age of 18 between when the last elections was held and now.

    Also, the defunct Congress for Democratic Change (CPC) has instituted a legal action in the Federal High Court seeking to bar the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) from handing over the Voters’ Register to CROSIEC for the conduct of the Council election without first carrying out a comprehensive review of the register.

    The CPC is querying INEC’s power to handover the voter register to CROSIEC to organise the local government election in Cross River State on September 21 without a revision of the Voters’ Register.

    CPC also wants an update of the register by INEC.

    With the merger of the ACN, CPC and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) into the All Progressives Congress (APC) registered on July 31, Eta said the commission’s legal advisers would advise on the way forward.

    Speaking at a meeting convened by the chairmen of the three defunct parties, he said they were already harmonising their structures.

    However, the fate of the APC hangs on the balance as to whether it will be eligible to present candidates in the local government elections with the deadline for submission long due, a situation CROSIEC has refused to comment on. But with the adjustments of the timetable severally to accommodate various interests, it is believed they may have a case.

    In a surprising development, PDP jumped into the fray of parties attacking the umpire.

    PDP Chairman John Okon told reporters in Calabar that the umpire has lapses. One of his grouses was CROSIEC’s failure to publish the list of screened candidates at the time stipulated by the timetable. He raised fears about the commission’s readiness to handle the elections.

    Okon said: “Our candidates submitted themselves for screening and from CROSIEC time-table stipulated that the screened list will be published at area offices between 15th-19th July, 2013. As we speak today, the list of screened candidates is not published.

    “We demand that CROSIEC publish the list of screened candidates and the parties that sponsored them immediately. We don’t want to believe that CROSIEC wants to smuggle names of candidates of parties that did not submit nomination as at 7th July, 2013.”

    On why is the PDP was worried over the umpire’s noncompliance to timetable when it had been a beneficiary of an alteration to timetable before to accommodate their own interest, he said the first instance was done in a “transparent” way.

    When The Nation visited Otu on Wednesday, he was unwilling to talk. But after being persuaded, he wondered what the PDP was fretting over.

    He said: “It is just that they were expecting the list and they have not seen it yet. Whenever they see it, let them take it. This thing is not easy. We are working towards it. It is not easy screening all the candidates. Maybe it would be out next week. I will not say more.”

    Already, with the elections less than a month away, the umpire’s hands are already looking full. There are speculations that the local government elections would be shifted.

     

  • Cross River to invest in local content

    The Cross River State Government is set to invest in local content development through skill acquisition and vocational training, the Economic Adviser to the Cross River State Government, Prof. Ndem Ayara, has said.

    He spoke at The Bridge Leadership Foundation (TBLF) Career & Founder’s Day in Calabar.

    The government, he said, would support youths in entrepreneurship, pointing out that so far, 10 investors plan to invest in construction, manufacturing, oil and gas, energy and power and agro processing in the state.

    He presented an industry survey by the state to ascertain areas of skill dearth, employers’ needs and the human resource to meet them.

    Ayara highlighted the areas where skilled manpower are needed and the potentials of the service industry to provide auxiliary services.

    Earlier, Acting Director/Consultant of the Foundation Mrs Ini Onuk said: “Our theme for this year is intended to challenge the mindset of young people who mostly blame the government, their parents or relatives for their circumstances but forget the role that personal leadership plays in shaping one’s life and destiny.

    She said: “Today, we bring practical examples of people who have made decisions to better their lives, young people who have risen above the challenges that life threw at them.”

    Chief Executive Officer of Flying Doctors Nigeria, Dr. Ola Orekunrin, who spoke on Social entrepreneurship: Finding solutions and making impact, urged young people to find their paths, contribute to solutions to the state and country through social entrepreneurship.

    The speakers urged participants to be prepared to identify and take up opportunities.

    Participants also took part in an ‘Elevator pitch’ contest, where many prizes were won.

    The winners, who emerged are Raymond Ukwa who from Abia State, Charles Nzan and Godwin Offiong who carted away book prizes.

     

     

  • Group opens Cross River chapter

    The Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN) has established a new chapter in Cross River State.

    The move, which was okayed by ARIAN Board, was in recognition of the need to deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria.

    It is also in line with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) development platform, the Market Development and Restructuring Initiative (MDRI).

    Before the chapter was established, ARIAN has established chapters in Ibadan, Abuja, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom and Lagos. Cross River State’s chapter was approved for establishment, among others, owing to their strategic economic importance and relevance to the growth and development of insurance.

    The new executives of the chapter include Elder Bassey Orok, chairman; Elder Medie Uudom, vice chairman, Elder Akwa Etukudo, secretary; Elder Mike Ukpong, assistant secretary; Prince Remmy Awana, treasurer, Elder Ikpeme Samuel, provost; Elder Samuel Effiong, financial secretary; Madam Theresa Okon, welfare and Imo John Akpan, PRO.

    The National President of the association, Mr Kingsley Obuvie, who was represented by Mr Innocent Williams, said he was determined to expand the insurance agency networks, hence this initiative to do a nationwide sensitisation informing all insurance companies practicing agency business.

    He highlighted the requirements needed to become licensed NAICOM insurance agents. These include N1,000 NAICOM registration fee, N2,000 for ARIAN certificate, CIIN proficiency certificate, tax clearance, letter of authority from employers.

    The association is also planning its yearly conference and AGM scheduled for next November.

  • Cross River partners Highbury College on establishing polytechnic

    The Cross River State Government has entered into a partnership with Highbury College, Portsmouth, United Kingdom to design a demand-driven curriculum for the state polytechnic, which is billed to take-off in October. The curriculum would ensure that graduates of the polytechnic are employable.

    Speaking at a conference on World-Class TVET Eco-system Project in Calabar, Cross River State, Governor Liyel Imoke disclosed that the state was partnering the college because it is the best vocational institution in the United Kingdom.

    Imoke described as un-acceptable, a situation where Nigerian universities churn out graduates who are unemployable. He noted that overtime, the quality of education in the country has nosedived, making it compelling for the kind of partnership the state was entering into with Highbury College if the trend is to be arrested.

    Imoke remarked that government will not compromise on merit concerning the appointment of principal officers of the institution as to do so will be unhelpful to the cause of revamping the education sector. According to him, “the reforms in the education sector is yielding result and there is need for us to work harder to better the result going forward”, adding that, “we want to sustain the partnership and build on it, because the focus is to ensure Cross River State graduates are employable to make a difference in the economy.” The Principal/CE Highbury College, Portsmouth UK, Mrs. Stella Mbubaegbu CBE, who commended Imoke for his commitment to the development of the education sector, described the partnership as a new dawn that will make the difference in the sector.

    Mbubaegbu said: “The world is growing and it is at the age of entrepreneurship and that the curriculum of the polytechnic will be designed to intertwine technical and vocation education training to boast entrepreneurship development. The aim is to enable young people to own their businesses.”

  • A boost in Cross River communities

    A boost in Cross River communities

    There is a lift in the profile of Cross River State communities. Several towns without electricity have been connected to the national grid. Water is running in places where it did not. Roads are fixed and dwellers are happy. But there is also another way the Governor Liyel Imoke administration wants to develop the state’s grassroots: building and rehabilitating rural schools.

    The state Community and Social Development Agency or CRSCSDA, established in March 2009, has been helping to implement the grassroots development plan. The World Bank is partnering the state government in growing the rural communities.

    The General Manager of the agency, Mr Victor Ovat, said a bottom-up approach to development. Under this arrangement, the beneficiaries at the community level are in the driving seat by identifying what their priorities are. They design it and contribute at least 10 per cent to the cost to its funding, while the agency provides technical support and funding to the tune of 90 per cent of the entire cost of the project.

    Ovat said the agreement with the World Bank is that the state government would provide N100 million annually to the project. But due to the success of the programme and its passion for the rural people, the present administration amended the law establishing the agency to provide additional funding for it by giving it 0.5 per cent of local government and 0.5 per cent of the state government allocations, amounting to 1 per cent of government funds.

    Identifying quality education as a major weapon to combat poverty and other ills in the society, the state government, through the CRSCSDA has helped in bridging the literacy gap in poor communities in the state by over 90 per cent, Ovat said.

    Using the community-driven development approach, where the beneficiaries drive their development agenda by identifying, designing, part-financing, implementing and managing the assets upon completion, he said the agency supported communities to construct 149No classrooms, rehabilitate 51No classrooms and provided furniture including desk (2650No), tables and chairs seating 7275 pupils/students. In line with the State Government vision to build science and technology base in the state, Agency provided funds to poor communities with which the construction, furnishing/equipping of 6No science laboratories, and 2No ICT centres was achieved.

    “These efforts have been deeply appreciated by beneficiary communities as such science and technology inclined education facility never existed before intervention. The benefits of these facilities are far reaching bringing a positive change in the knowledge and skill levels of both students and teachers alike. Agency also assisted some communities with construction and furnishing/equipping of library facilities thus stimulating reading culture of students in beneficiary schools. This intervention stimulated school enrolment recording a marginal increase of 23.39 percent for secondary school and 185.03 per cent for primary schools. It is also promoting reading habit at that level,” Ovat said.

    In Cross River State, like in most other parts of the developing counties, most people with some level of education prefer to live in towns and cities. This is so because of the perceived opportunities that abound. Another reason for this may be connected with the presence of social infrastructure like electricity, potable water, good roads, etc. These made it difficult for providers of social services like teachers to show commitment when deployed to rural areas. In line with this, Agency assisted communities who had similar challenge of accommodating teachers posted to their community schools, to construct staff quarters with complementary facilities as water and VIP toilets in some cases. This holistic provision of facilities at the rural level has helped teachers to accept their posting or deployment to such schools, thereby improving student access to teachers and by extension attendance.

    An outcome survey of CSDP intervention in the state was conducted by an independent consultant in December 2012 for CSDP beneficiary communities in the state to investigate changes if any that may be attributed to CSDP intervention.

    The analysed results of the report revealed that secondary school enrolment increased from 2775 before intervention to 3424 after intervention. This amounts to over 23 per cent increase. The survey also revealed that primary school enrolment increased from 294 before intervention to 838 after intervention accounting for over 185 per cent increase in school enrolment in CSDP beneficiary communities in the state. There has also been a positive change in the number of students studying science subjects in schools with a record increase of 58 per cent enrolment.

    Ovat said CSDP currently has intervention in 192 communities in the state with education incline projects contributing over 26.2 percent of the total number of micro projects supported. This is a pointer to the fact that the state was in dire need of educational development.

    His words: “The enrolment of wards in schools is essential to eradicate poverty due to ignorance. It is also an empowerment process that prepares the children and youths as future leaders. The good thing is that CSDP intervention is needs based and thus has potential for sustainability. In Cross River state, over 98 percent of support has gone to rural and indigent communities with evident need for development and poverty reduction. Some of the beneficiary communities had no school of theirs before intervention but rather trek to distant communities to attend schools. Others had school but never had science laboratories for study of science subjects. This affected their enrolment for certificate examinations like West African Examination Council (WAEC) or National Examination Council) NECO thus, science students during period of examination had the choice of discontinuing or enrolled in another school distant from the community. There was therefore an evident problem of access that CSDP has since corrected in such communities.”

  • Good news from Cross River

    Those who have followed my thoughts on this page would understand my general skepticism about the unceasing but clearly outlandish claims of Foreign Direct Investment inflow by our federal government. It’s hard not to be, in a situation where the government at the centre does very little else than stage those never-ending high-octane affairs in five star hotels in Abuja; never mind that few of those shows ever get beyond the elaborate ceremonies staged to put pen to the MoUs complete with their photo-sessions; or, the fact that a good number of the proposals are no more than ‘legal’ Ponzi schemes to fleece the local economy. Or still, when claims about FDI are not always what they seem. One only needs to look back to 2008/9 to see how quickly how the gains of the celebrated $4 billion investment haul by foreign portfolio investors would later become pain for the local economy, when soldiers of fortune, disguised as “investors” exited with their capital and all – an experience the capital market has barely recovered from.

    Against this background, you can understand why the ground-breaking ceremony of General Electric’s $1 billion manufacturing and training facility at Calabar, the capital of Cross River State would evoke both curiosity and scepticism at the same time. First, GE is a world class player – the kind of company that any country would love to have around. The second is the scale of the investment: an initial $250 million capital expenditure and another $800 million incremental spending on local sourcing of goods and services. The third is the projected jobs estimated at 2,300. Part of the package, I later understand is to make Nigeria the regional hub for GE’s manufacturing service and renovation in Africa; and, if it seems a piece of icing on the cake, the proposed facility is said to be one of two of its kind in the world under the corporation’s Greenfield investment drive.

    Just as the achievements can hardly be understated, one lesson that should not be lost is how the state has managed to transform from being a wholesale civil service state to a global tourist haven. Only a few years ago, if the world took any notice of the state, it is probably when reference is made to the beautiful and serene Obudu as well as Tinapa; today, it seems to have marched on, determined as it were, to earn its place as an industrial hub. The arrival of GE and a few other Fortune 500 companies in the state may have changed all of that for good. And from all indications, there is no stopping the march. There are great lessons here.

    I need to make the preliminary point here. Surely, the government and the people of Cross River surely have reasons to be proud of the coming of General Electric. More than mere tonic to diversify its productive base, the training facility proposed for Calabar should in fact serve as springboard for the transfer of critical skills for its citizens; the other derivatives of employment and value addition are as good as given.

    The first lesson is that is that the GE investment is neither magic nor the choice of Calabar happenstance. It is a choice consciously made by the leadership. Indeed, I suspect that the one-time oil-producing state may have finally come to its own after the bitter experience of loosing its erstwhile pots of fortune to Akwa Ibom. Evidence is the record number of investors now seeking to make Calabar their home. Today, whereas the state may not have those whited sepulchres of its oil-drunk neighbours to boast of, it has a number of world-class investments going for it. Notable examples are Wilmar Limited’s on-going $400 million investment in agriculture and agro-processing; Brentex Petroleum $300 million pipe mills manufacturing and the $700 million Essar Power Limited 660MW Integrated Power Project; Southgate Cocoa, and the Artee Group’s investment in shopping malls.

    Driving round the city, it is hard not to see the evidence of a state roaring to go – a state with its eyes firmly set on the future and, which according to its Governor, Liyel Imoke is set to wean itself of dependence on oil and gas while actively striving to provide enabling environment for the private sector to thrive.

    Gerald Ada, Imoke’s special adviser on investment and promotions would, in the course of interaction with yours sincerely, supply the factors which make the state tick for investment. I have elsewhere identified the factor of leadership on which the entire quest is anchored. That is critical. The other factor is the enabling institution to deliver the quest. This is where the role of the Cross River State Investment Promotion Bureau – a surprisingly lean agency that is pivotal to the state’s investment drive comes to play.

    Ada describes the bureau, a creation of the State Investment Promotion Bureau Law No. 4 of 2008, as providing not only the legal instrument for investment promotion, but also serving both as one-stop shop as well as clearing house for investment matters. The issues could range from access to land; to taxes and applicable rates and even to relations between the would-be investor and the local governments; and where it becomes necessary, the bureau facilitates access to the governor. He would also explain why on the coming of the bureau, the erstwhile Ministry of Trade and Commerce had to be scrapped: to eliminate the typical tardiness associated with the non-responsive bureaucracy- a major headache for would-be investors.

    Now, I do not here suggest that Cross River State has found the magic formula to the exclusion of other states. Indeed, I am aware that some states have done quite well in the area of streamlining procedures for new businesses. What I have tried to do is to acknowledge the modest efforts by the government – particularly those that seems to me to be working. The point about venture capitalists is that they are able to spot investment opportunities even without the meaningless road shows that have become fashionable in these parts. What available evidence seems to suggest is that the Cross Rivers State may finally be getting it right. The good news is that this is already being acknowledged. Which means that the journey to economic renaissance has since begun.