THEFRONTLINES BY Joseph Ushigiale
Another election cycle is in the horizon and preparations by politicians to launch campaigns and pitch their promises to their respective constituents are underway.
As INEC declared campaigns open we will soon be meeting two sets of political jockeys: the incumbent and newbie are the men of the moment. They approach their aspirations methodically. The incumbent’s approach is to present a score sheet outlaying what he’s done so far and what he’s going to do more if his mandate is renewed. The newbie on the other hand tells his constituents his plans for them if they entrust him with their mandate.
This is the ideal situation in a true democracy and in an election devoid of thuggery, violence and where your votes count regardless of your faith, creed and ethnicity.
This essay today is provoked by a carefree phone conversation with an acquaintance who wanted something from me. He called me and after exchanging pleasantries I then posed the question: How Calabar Na?
He answered: Calabar dey with hardship. Even with your party and Sweet Prince in the saddle? I quizzed. We don’t know what he’s doing, hunger is everywhere no empowerment. He told me.
This short thought provoking exchange began a self commissioned enquiry to know the truth.
And here are my findings as we read along. Before I begin, let me be clear. This is not a commissioned write up. Those who know me know I write as my spirit gives me utterance and this is one of the rare moments. The column has been rested for a while and it’s back to life now. Keep reading…
In my observations, the first thing I recognised in Governor Bassey Otu’s administrative trajectory was his Philosophy of Continuity. He didn’t bother to open the books purring thorough them to find incriminating evidence to nail his predecessors.
He simply drew a line and moved on, preferring not to see and hear any evil. The result is the relative peace and tranquility in the state and the comraderie between them (past & present).
This takes me to the second point. Just as former Governor Donald Duke set out to make the state a Tourism Destination and succeeded; Otu has also earmarked to transform Cross River into a self sustaining hub with a clear mandate of weaning it off from the monthly FAAC allocation and he has achieved it in his first term.
One of former governor Ben Ayade’s signature projects was the Bakassi Deep Seaport in Ikang axis. Prince Otu took it headlong. I recall the first thing that caught my attention early in Otu’s administration was a news item on Cross River Government and Afrexim Bank signing a PPP model financing arrangement for the deep seaport at zero cost to the state.
I considered it a feat because it was a first in the state and very commendable if compared with the Tinapa financing model.
Otu turned towards the Obudu Cargo Airport another uncompleted legacy project initiated by Ayade. So far over 80% of work has reportedly been completed and the airport is ready for inauguration this December.
In Obudu Ranch, regardless of the highly neglected and dilapidated state, Otu has commissioned an aviation team to restore Bebi airstrip to its preeminent status including provision for aviation academy for training of pilots and aviation engineers.
The Ranch itself has been in a state of neglect exacerbated by the state of the road. Sitting on an altitude of 1576 metres above sea level and constantly buffeted by torrential rainfall, the elements have opened the difficult terrain to countless land and mudslides on a regular basis and cut off visitors from the prime tourism resort.
Yet, Otu remains undaunted, resilient and committed to redeeming and restoring the Ranch to its past glory. A fact finding tour by a team from the Progressive Governors affirm that rehabilitation work at the Ranch is at almost 90% completion stage and an international Hotel chain is on standby to go into operation.
All of these milestones are unknown to the public but Otu keeps forging on quietly. There are more. Not many people are aware that Cross River has paid and reclaimed Tinapa, a state treasure from AMCON. Otu has also gotten back PAMOL, Rubber, Palm and Cocoa plantations back as state assets. It is when Cross Riverians get a glimpse from the Debt Management Office (DMO) of the cost of these assets recovery by Otu that perhaps they’ll begin to appreciate his silent work in the first term and why he has to finish what he started.
There are still more but permit me to pose a question: who is against Otu’s second term? Let us follow political history or precedent. Since 1999, a precedent has been set: Donald Duke (1999 – 2007); Liyel Imoke (2007 – 2015) Ben Ayade (2015 – 2023) Bassey Otu (2023 – ???)
So why is Otu’s tenure different? Is it that there were benchmarks set for which his predecessors met and he has not measured up? What are these benchmarks?
It’s my considered opinion that in the absence of any preferred yardstick set aside to measure performance what is good for the gander is also good for the goose.
Now, for the sake of academic discourse Otu has excelled in just his first term alone. In line with his philosophy of continuity he has grown CallyAir from three aircrafts which he inherited to 8 today. All these at zero borrowing costs.
What about the Calabar Carnival? Otu has put all the kidnappers and bandits including cultists in check ensuring relative peace and tranquility for business and pleasure.
With security guaranteed and access by air through CallyAir/ValuJet that Carnival keeps improving and gathering momentum every year as revellers head to Destination Calabar.
The biggest news awaiting to break is the return of oil wells to the state and recognising the state as
For 24 years, the state has erroneously been delisted as a non-littoral state as a result of Nigeria losing Bakassi to Cameron.
While successive administrations after Duke agreed to payment of N500m honoraruum in form of ecological fund and compensation for environmental degradation from oil and gas activities, when Otu took over, he rejected the offer.
This was just commonsense. If you know the terrain very well you’d consider the categorisation of the state as non-littoral nonsensical. If that was the case why do we have the eastern naval command and Calabar Port well established here berthing smaller ships?
The critical thinking skills in the governor provoked him to start asking questions from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, The Hague and the United Nations.
For the effort, Nigeria was rewarded with a 250 nautical miles extension for its continental shelf by the United Nations.
Guess what? The majority of the corridor falls within Cross River which is home to quantum hydrocarbons and gas.
Armed with this new information and knowledge, Otu approached the Presidency with his new findings: the judgement from the ICC did not declare Cross River State a non-littorial state; rather it directed the two countries to delineate their respective boundaries. The delineation of the boundaries between the two countries would then set the pace for the delineation of the boundaries between the states. Nothing has been done to date.
The question now is: who ordered Cross River delisting as a littoral state? Your guess is as good as mine. But when Otu pressured the Presidency for justice and equity, the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission was forced to set up an Inter Agency Committee (IATC) to verify Otu’s findings on the located of oil wells and gas.
In the end end, the committee discovered over 200 wells in Cross River State favour including recommending a refund of N1.7 trillion from the FAAC to Cross River for its loss of revenue over the 24 years period. Is this a sign that Otu has been sleeping?
So for those who conclude that Otu is not working, know that it’s a deliberate ploy by his traducers to keep him busy and make it appear he’s not working.
He has a retinue of commissioners who are vested with the authority to run their ministries. If something is wrong in a ministry, hold the commissioner liable. If he says his hands are tied let him resign.
So as you go into this campaign, you make that choice of frittering this God-given opportunity where the state is a step away from Eldorado and listening to idle side talks.