His Excellency, I write you this letter at this critical moment following the
dilemma facing the state. First and foremost, congratulations on your
assumption of office as the Executive Governor of Let me put it succinctly, we have invested our mandate in you, expecting a favourable turnover within a period of four years, and we strongly believe that our investment is secured in your hands.
However, I understand that you are aware of the huge predicaments facing us, from the hill tops of Obalinku down to the creeks of Bakassi. Just as you noted in your acceptance speech, shortly after taking oath of office, you said and I quote in parts, “With the greatest humility, I stand before you today to answer the call of history and, accept with an open heart and hands, the monumental challenge to provide leadership to one of
“Fellow Cross Riverians, this is the moment we have all been waiting for; that rare moment when HOPE is born; flinging open the floodgates of possibilities, promise and prosperity. Today, we are witnesses to the rise of a rainbow, the pollination of our metaphorical petals and the birth of hope. From this day onwards I urge you to look inwards and envision the future of our dear state and the role we must all play to make it a better place”.
Fellow Cross Riverians, we have come to that bend in the river where we must all rise to our full height to envision and carve out a better future for ourselves and posterity. True, it seems such a daunting task with the falling oil prices and dwindling revenues. It is further
compounded by the general atmosphere of despondency across the country. But with our backs against the wall, we must dig deeper into the wells of our creativity and hew out a new pathway to greatness. In doing this, we must be guided by the immortal words of Dr. Nelson Mandela that “it always seems impossible until it is done.” Fellow Cross Riverians, we shall overcome the present bleakness and wend our way into the sunshine of a brighter day “In the new
This is what this moment requires. The capacity to dream! That is what will give real meaning to our belief. We must all strive to dream, to lift our eyes beyond the horizons of the present difficulties and visualize a better day! And we must all do this…from the hills of Obanliku to the thick forests of Boki and from the Creeks of Bakassi to the Cocoa plantations of Ikom, we must join hands to plant the trees of HOPE and water the gardens of liberty!” you said.
Again, managing a state as
Insecurity
There is increasing insecurity in the state. In recent times, many residents have experienced sleepless nights following outrageous crime, even as killings and looting of properties of residents have become the order of the day. The then acclaimed ‘most peaceful state inNigeria
Also, there is upsurge in religious violence especially in the rural areas where churches or worship centres, have been burnt down and so many persons killed by enraged villagers who have taken laws into their hands.
As the Chief Security Officer, it is your position to protect lives and property of the people of the state and as such, we implore you to tackle insecurity and make the state conducive for citizens and visitors so that investors and tourists would be attracted to come in and explore our alluring tourist sites and also do business for the growth of the our GDP.
More so, you have talked about wooing investors into the state in different fora, but remember that business cannot thrive in an unsecured environment hence, there is need to tackle the issue of insecurity.
Advice
My candid advice is that, you boost the morale of the fighting forces, especially the Police. Community Policing should be encouraged and more importantly, build a strong synergy with the monarchs or traditional heads across the state who would from time to time, keep you posted on the on-goings in their domain.
Education
Education should be on your top priority, because without proper education of our children and youths, the anticipated growth would be retarded. Children should be encouraged to go to school and also, remember to reward hard work and excellence among our pupils and students; this will serve as a morale booster to our young ones to do better in their academic pursuit. Our students should be sponsored to participate in competitions especially in science and technology related disciplines.
Teachers’ welfare
The popular adage that says ‘teachers reward is in heaven’ is true, but manners wouldn’t fall down from heaven for them before they could carter for their needs. These teachers should be encouraged to groom our children properly.
Also, your administration should nip the bud in our education system. Most of our schools are ill equipped with dilapidated structures, teachers are not properly trained and cultured, these lapses should be addressed immediately within your watch as Governor.
Unemployment
Unemployment has become one of the major challenges facing the country, andCross River
State
night to eke a living from their meager harvest, they have exhausted their energy, and needed to be re-boosted. They need incentives or loans to aid their farming business, most of their nearby lands have lost nutrients as a result of consistent cultivation hence their harvest is poor. Mechanized farming should be subsidized, fertilizer and improved seed varieties made available to them early enough before planting season.
Markets should be established close to farm lands to enable farmers sell their produce and also, storage facilities should be made available in rural areas for storage of harvested farm produce.
Motorable road network should be created in farming areas to enable farmers convey their produce outside the bush to the markets.
Additionally, training centres should be set up to train and re-train most of our rural farmers on new ways of farming.
More importantly, women and youths should be encouraged to do agriculture. Thousands of our Agricultural Science graduates from UNICAL, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH), Obubra campus and their counterparts from FCE Obudu, COE Akamkpa, who are willing to harness our rich soil, have continued to suffer with no funds to start-up their farm ventures. Your administration should look into these loopholes thereby making incentives available for these youths to start-up their farms.
Kanjal Godshield Kanjal, 24, Journalist/Farmer writes in from Calabar,
Cross River State
There is increasing insecurity in the state. In recent times, many residents have experienced sleepless nights following outrageous crime, even as killings and looting of properties of residents have become the order of the day. The then acclaimed ‘most peaceful state in
Also, there is upsurge in religious violence especially in the rural areas where churches or worship centres, have been burnt down and so many persons killed by enraged villagers who have taken laws into their hands.
As the Chief Security Officer, it is your position to protect lives and property of the people of the state and as such, we implore you to tackle insecurity and make the state conducive for citizens and visitors so that investors and tourists would be attracted to come in and explore our alluring tourist sites and also do business for the growth of the our GDP.
More so, you have talked about wooing investors into the state in different fora, but remember that business cannot thrive in an unsecured environment hence, there is need to tackle the issue of insecurity.
Advice
My candid advice is that, you boost the morale of the fighting forces, especially the Police. Community Policing should be encouraged and more importantly, build a strong synergy with the monarchs or traditional heads across the state who would from time to time, keep you posted on the on-goings in their domain.
Education
Education should be on your top priority, because without proper education of our children and youths, the anticipated growth would be retarded. Children should be encouraged to go to school and also, remember to reward hard work and excellence among our pupils and students; this will serve as a morale booster to our young ones to do better in their academic pursuit. Our students should be sponsored to participate in competitions especially in science and technology related disciplines.
Teachers’ welfare
The popular adage that says ‘teachers reward is in heaven’ is true, but manners wouldn’t fall down from heaven for them before they could carter for their needs. These teachers should be encouraged to groom our children properly.
Also, your administration should nip the bud in our education system. Most of our schools are ill equipped with dilapidated structures, teachers are not properly trained and cultured, these lapses should be addressed immediately within your watch as Governor.
Unemployment
Unemployment has become one of the major challenges facing the country, and
night to eke a living from their meager harvest, they have exhausted their energy, and needed to be re-boosted. They need incentives or loans to aid their farming business, most of their nearby lands have lost nutrients as a result of consistent cultivation hence their harvest is poor. Mechanized farming should be subsidized, fertilizer and improved seed varieties made available to them early enough before planting season.
Markets should be established close to farm lands to enable farmers sell their produce and also, storage facilities should be made available in rural areas for storage of harvested farm produce.
Motorable road network should be created in farming areas to enable farmers convey their produce outside the bush to the markets.
Additionally, training centres should be set up to train and re-train most of our rural farmers on new ways of farming.
More importantly, women and youths should be encouraged to do agriculture. Thousands of our Agricultural Science graduates from UNICAL, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH), Obubra campus and their counterparts from FCE Obudu, COE Akamkpa, who are willing to harness our rich soil, have continued to suffer with no funds to start-up their farm ventures. Your administration should look into these loopholes thereby making incentives available for these youths to start-up their farms.
Kanjal Godshield Kanjal, 24, Journalist/Farmer writes in from Calabar,
Cross River State
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