During the campaigns for office, Governor Umo Eno (GUE) promised the Akwa Ibom people that his administration would as a must, “hit the ground running”, on his assumption as Governor of the State.
Therefore following the inauguration of Governor Umo Eno (GUE) on 29th May, 2023 Akwaibomites expect his administration to usher “a new lease of life” within the First Hundred Days, beyond the sloganizing messages of the DAKKADA mantra of former Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration, given his “ARISE” Agenda which should set out as something to act upon by which the people should participate in the programs of government policies for a productive live hood and an improved living standard as his administration “hits the ground running”.
However, there have been palpable fears in the polity over the said daunting challenges on constituting the State’s Executive Council by GUE, for simply recycling 99% of the previous Commissioners of former Governor Udom Emmanuel’s administration along with some previous close aides, for which it is admittedly said, portrays the State’s governance system as being controlled and dominated by elites and as the “vested interest” of influential citizens who define the peculiarities of the State’s politics with “a sense of entitlement”. This therefore has seen politicians who “may be ‘old’ people”, recycled “as permanent fixtures in the political firmament” of the State.
In addition, the recycled cabinet has given cause for questions by Akwaibomites, on the level of the preparedness of the party they voted for to govern them and with the answers seemingly perceived in the negative on the ability of the government to “hit the ground running” on a “clean slate”. More so, political analysts postulate of “the consuming fear of political irrelevance and social anonymity” as the cause for “the endless recycling for men and women who must not let go”.
Howbeit, given what is now considered as an elitist concentration by a small group of public officials serving as proximate policy makers in the state, this is seen as the “vested interest” to dictate the political climate with the muscle to muscle out perceived foes on occupying the political space to consolidate their hold onto power. Inevitably, this in itself is said to be unfavorable to the social basic power of the people and to majority rule that is of essence in the immediate and proximate sense to foster democratic aspirations for a pluralist dispersal of influence against a state “capture” of the political system for elitist interest.
Critiques who comment on how the state’s governance system “really” works, have alluded the known pressures by the said “stakeholders” to have “imprisoned” GUE’s “best judgements”, with the likelihood to “usurp” the Principal’s authority to exercise his
constitutional powers to make “appropriate” appointments that should win majority assent in constituting the executive branch of government and that should provide the inspirational leadership to “hit the ground running” as promised.
Consequently, politicians in the state consider that the recycling of 99% of the previous Commissioner’s as aforesaid, reflects a “winner takes all affair” which is given to a “cartels-type” polities in the succession game-play for power that favors their “re-appointments”, with explanations, that it is done for reasons of their having taken “political arrows” and therefore, the need “to reciprocate” them for their “good gestures” on “successful campaigns”.
However, political pundits note that re-appointments of public officials into the political offices permits the primitive habits for a perennial re-cycling of public officials that fosters personality fellowship sentiments, whereas, they are noted as “expended” politicians and said to have lost the “pep” to guarantee positive outcomes. In addition, is that the re-cycling exercise is considered, not without the tendency to undermine technocracy for a visionary, creative and the inspirational leadership by persons who could stir and invigorate the economy and with the ability to integrate Akwaibomites across class-lines and social demographics, to provide the needed “change”, for a productive livelihood, in “hitting the ground running” to the people’s due expectation.
To this end, GUE’s administration must have “both feet on the ground” with being realistic and practical for an “articulated interest” of Akwaibomites in order to achieve the envisaged “broad based” governance system as equally promised by GUE at the campaigns, to guide his administrations decisions at implementing its programs policy for good governance and the common good.
In this connection, efforts to deliver on the “ARISE” Agenda for visible manifestations of development and for the people’s productive capabilities with an improved living standard, will of course, demand a “carpe diem” spirit on the part of GUE’s administration, to seize the opportunity of the moment and to think quickly and clearly with implementing the Agenda’s development plans with considerable mental agility, in order to overcome the “daunting challenges of leadership with “hit the ground running”. This is due to a said problems of indecisiveness, piecemealing satisfiers by elitist leaderships to policy implementations that hardly delivers what is required to ameliorate generally egregious forms of social discrimination to get high production from the people and to eliminates the various obstacles of production said to discourage initiatives.
It is in this wise that Akwaibomites have said, “sotto voce”, in a quite manner, that the cabinet as constituted, lacks “a fresh breathe of fresh air” to bring about inspirational leadership with new ideas and new faces who should be appointed into positions reserved for technocrats to provide the leadership excellence, other than managerial acumen, needed for a strong vision, mission and value to the state as a productive entity for economic power, modernization and gainful employment.
Someone recently said that neither has the re-cycling of the said ‘old’ politicians brought a “soothing relief”, trickling down to communities, to “translate” appointments as “evidence of good governance when done with the inclusion of the people in view”. Rather, he further maintained that a “wholesale” recycling of 99% of the previous cabinet as afore said, is “inimical” to the democratic aspirations of the ruling party’s political dynamics, which “invoked” the spirit of citizen participation to vote the party into power, on the efforts of political “warlords” in the Wards, local Chapters and Federal constituencies of the state, who withstood “political spears” and survived “political stabbings”, at the political “war fronts” from their “trenches” to deliver at polling boots.
Also considerably said is that, much as the “ARISE Agenda of GUE’s government has been recently launched, it suffers a limiting awareness for not going beyond elitist circles and as it is seen to lack an effective reach of the generality, to ensure that the people will effectively participate in its programs. This has given room for political charlatans to hold sway as “publicist” on social media and to draw attention to themselves while claiming affinity with the government of the day as “emerging leaders” in the corridors of power, given a creepy ability to infiltrate into the warm embrace of an unsuspecting leader and expecting to be appreciated for the next batch of appointments on a strong rumor that the said recycled cabinet will be temporary. This is inspite of their short comings for not being “at home” with the people to provide the leadership initiative for common good.
Furthermore, there is also the troubling rumor mentioned in smaller political gatherings that the same recycling exercise is to be replicated at the local level of governance in the state at the expiration of the tenure of the present Local Government Council administration. A local political stalwart commenting on the possibility of such happenings, stated that “it will mark the loss of democratic values in the state’s political system” should a recycling of the present local government administration also take place at the “grassroots”.
Finally, one is as well pressed to comment that it is not out of place to highlight the inherent leadership issues at stake and not a show of contempt for the administration, however, lest we forget over the eupherism of the victory at the polls that consequently, unless the problem of the inadequacies for an inspirational leadership in the polity as
aforesaid are suffocated or greatly minimized, we may end up having a “fantastically” mis-implemented blue-print of the “ARISE” Agenda, given the current realities and by which the ordinary-man will fail “once again” to benefit from the programs of government policies, should the government fail to “hit the ground running”, especially to enable the people find much faith in its program policies in driving home the five points programs of the “ARISE” Agenda namely, on Agricultural Revolution, for food sufficiency and job creation; on Rural Development, to stem the rural-urban drift and to create wealth in rural areas as a way to grow the economy; on Infrastructural Maintenance and Advancement, to establish a maintenance culture and the provision of modern infrastructural public utilities in support of economic growth; and on Security Management, for peaceful co-existence and the safety of life and property to guarantee economic prosperity; as well as on Educational Advancement, for skills development to provide for the needed human resources capital to serve the industrialization of the state.
For example, many Akwaibomite as avid followers of GUE’s campaign train have since held onto his promises to establish the fishing/canning industry within the first six months of his administration in the coastal area of the state. Likewise, is a promise to revamp the yields of palm fresh fruit bunches in the state to feed the palm oil mills within their catchment areas to produce enough palm oil for local and export consumption in respect of the agricultural revolution programme of the agenda among others.
In all, the urgent need to achieve the lofty objectives of the “ARISE” Agenda for the state cannot be over emphasized and this underscores the need for the government to champion the fight against the worsening poverty, poor education, social isolation and so on which as an albatross, it shows that the people are battling more than hunger which Akwaibomites will hate to tolerate any longer, having identified the problems and are most willing to have their life’s back from perpetual servitude and want.
