Tag: Liyel Imoke

A man’s achievements cannot amount to anything if such achievements are not beneficial to the generality of the people; or if such achievements are not expressive of the aspiration of the people; or if behind such achievements there is a concealed attempt to blindfold the people not to see the truth with deceptive projects to create impressions while the goodies are siphoned, or if such projects, are fluid and cannot stand the test of time!

Sometimes the people display the nature of passive recipients and this ineptitude gives impetus to the leader to think that the people could be played upon by giving them worthless projects since they may never react to it. There is a world of difference between such a leader and the one who would not seek to exploit his people.

Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State came to power, with the firm conviction that the state was stricken with abject poverty and needed a man with a clear head, sound vision and sincerity of purpose to deliver it from such anguish. Shrouding his vision, intentions and purposefulness and starling qualities in an uninhibited show of humility and meekness, he was largely misunderstood by friends and foes alike. Those who held him in contempt, though not many did, were misled by a false façade of acquiescence. But there-in lay his strength. It is his utmost understanding of human nature that when you concede to even those who are not likely to be your match, they feel gratified that they could overwhelm you. It is from this position that Imoke watches the foolery of man that as he overates himself, makes his mistakes before one who keeps quiet guard.

It is from this urbane, spartan and humble nature that Imoke finds the latitude to engineer his thought to positive completion.

Imoke inherited an empty treasury when he took over power. The allocation from the Federation account to Cross River was too small to create a meaningful impact in finding a footing for the state. The Internally Generated Revenue was so insignificant to make a difference. To make matters worse, the 76 oil wells were taken away from Cross River and given to Akwa Ibom.

So with this burden of financial insolvency, Imoke acknowledged  that the task ahead was enormous and there was no room for distraction for him to succeed. No room for witch hunting. No room for the blame game.

He sat back to replan and redesign and he came out with the blueprint for the recreation of Cross River State. He created relevant agencies and commissions as the engine to drive this vision. Rural Development Agency (RUDA), Border Communities Commision (BORDERCOM) and State Electrification Agency (REA), were set up as the vehicles to make these vision work. There was the renewal of the urban development centres.

In Akpabuyo, about 200 residential houses were built for civil servants. Construction of the second phase comprising 450 has reached advanced stage of completion. In Calabar South alone, over 40 roads have been constructed by the Imoke-led administration. The Margaret Ekpo International Airport Bypass with Calabar’s first interchange bridge is nearing completion. An ambitious underground drain system was undertaken and this has taken care of flooding in Calabar. Over 1000km of rural roads connecting over 200 rural communities have been constructed by the administration through RUDA and the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP).

Hundreds of schools have either been built or given comprehensive renovation. Over 810 health posts have been established in the rural areas with the aim of achieving the ratio of 300 households per health post.

Expectedly, two local government areas have in the last two years recorded near zero infant and maternal mortality.

A leader’s achievements could be measured tangibly and intangibly.  Imoke has tried not to ignore either of these.  To me, out of these two, the more enduring legacy is the one that exist in the intellect and the mind.  Intangible things are embedded in ideas.  These ideas when they are recognized and appreciated, catapult the present society to a more well informed and founded future much ahead of the contemporary society.  That is why it is said – ideas are the product of their time.  It is most time resisted by those who are less favoured to peep into the future.  But when through the insistence of go-getters and visionaries such progressive ideas are recognized and used, people become happy.  Then those who initially stood against the change would now attempt to claim the credit.  Sometimes, the originator of such idea faces persecution as powerful pretenders attempt to claim what they did not own.

As soon as Imoke became governor, he had planned to entrench a firm system that would take Cross River not only to the next level but even beyond.  To achieve this, he envisaged the institutionalization of a sound socio-political system that would not be ephemeral but enduring.  To achieve this, Cross River must have internal peace and peace with her neighbours; there must be non-violence in politics and in general life situations; there must be harmony and tolerance of each other especially by the various ethnic groups. These expectations if achieved would not only bring reconciliation but permanent solution to Cross River’s political quarrels, suspicions and ethnic disparagements.

When Imoke came to power in 2007, the issue of ethnic suspicion, fear and backwardness were in the front burner of his agenda. To surmount this, he  built bridges across ethnic barriers. He began by making the party the centre of this agenda as the members became one big family of PDP to bring people closer.  Outside the party, he made more friends in senatorial districts other than his.

Certainly, these efforts did not go unrewarded as could be observed in the reduction in the propagation of derogatory remarks made in reference to each other by the various ethnic peoples.  Having moved closer in the abandonment of ethnic cleavages, it is expected that we now have a universal view of issues that concern us as a people.  This has been one of the most fundamental intangible achievements since 2007.  Imoke has built so much on it.  This is one of the factors that have stabilized PDP’s control of Cross River State.  This is one of the factors that have lessened acrimony in the state.

When Imoke saw that the bridge building across ethnic divides had succeeded, it became easy for him to talk of the transfer of power to the northern senatorial district.  The whole idea of moving power to the north started in 2010.  It was not easy for Imoke to organize the north to come together to receive what was coming to them because some of the leaders were quarrelling amongst themselves.

Nothing can be confusing about the fact that the idea of a northern governor in 2015 was wholly that of Imoke.   The transference of power to the north is one of Imoke’s most fundamental legacies and cannot be denied him.

By the zoning of the governor to the north, Cross River power tussle has become a thing of the past.  From now onwards, it is going to be an easy affair.  Every senatorial district would know when its turn has come to avoid the struggles by all people causing so much damage, bitterness, bad blood and acrimony.

It is from this perspective that Senator Liyel Imoke bases his consideration when he reasons that for equity and fair play, the next governor should come from the northern senatorial district.  So let us not attempt to gloss over or cover this lifetime achievement by Imoke.  If we do so, we would be taking the crown from the elephant killer to the elephant eater.