Barrister Ekpenyong Akiba is the Special Adviser to Gov Bassey Otu on General Duties. Penultimate week, he and his team stormed his community in Odukpani local government area to ameliorate the suffering of his people with sundry empowerment mechanism. In this interview with JOSEPH KINGSTON, the Lawyer-cum politician speaks on why and how he arrived at the gesture which is believed to have caused his people to feel the impact of government. Excerpts:
Recently, You Had an Empowerment Event in Your Community in Odukpani Local Government Area. Please, Can You Talk More About That Event?
Well, that empowerment was just a way of extending His Excellency’s benevolence and kindness to the people who have been in and out of season followers of the Governor. They have been very committed friends, supporters, believers, and followers of Excellency over the years and some of them had suffered persecution because of their belief in what Prince Otu represents.
I am talking about followership who had been consistent for decades now since when he came on board publicly in 2003; That is when he was elected into the Federal House of Representative. And we know that that’s a journey that did not begin that 2003. So, he had followers who supported him back then from Odukpani, Calabar and other federal constituencies.
When he graduated from the Green Chambers to the Red Chambers, that followership also grew from Odukpani/ Calabar municipality constituency to the entire Southern senatorial district.
What is instructive to note is that the baseline, the background, the foundation of this followership began in Odukpani and Calabar municipality. So that is to say that the longest followers of Senator Prince Bassey Otu were those that followed him from his first constituency which was Odukpani and Calabar municipality before he now graduated into having followers in the seven local governments, and today he has followers in the entire 18 local governments across the State.
So for me, he has been known for consistent empowerment of the people. This was one major attraction which made the people to queue behind him; it was this attraction which enabled him to unseat a sitting Senator then, making him a very promising political leader, and that was a boost to assign him to the governorship today.
During those dark days, a lot of dehumanization of Senator Prince Bassey Otu’s supporters, I mean man’s inhumanity to a fellow man, occasioned by politics, took place. It is a sacrosanct that we try our best to always go back to the families that lost their loved ones because of following Prince Out; To those that lost their houses because of following Prince Otu.
Some of them had their farmlands seized; Some people were no more given the privilege of farming in some family properties where you will not support a particular son, a family head as the case may be.
So going back to them is like thanking them for the sacrifices they made when it wasn’t clear that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. The same Prince Otu they were battered, humiliated and oppressed for, is the same Prince Otu today that is bringing back good news to the people of Odukpani and Cross River state in general.
So, Were You Standing in for the Governor?
What we did was my own way of reminding those followers that the government, which I am part of, has not forgotten them. Today the Governor has a lot of pressure, he has a lot of people to attend to, and he cannot meet with every supporter, particularly with their needs.
I know Governor Otu has the interest and intention to do so, but as a singular being, it would be impossible for him to do so. He cannot reach out to everybody as a person. And this is reason he has people like me and many others who believe in him across the state, and we owe him a duty to take up his responsibilities by reaching out to those people that he ordinarily ought to reach out to.
When we reach out to them on his behalf, it’s automatically him that reaches out to them. So that’s the idea. Don’t forget that Christ had disciples. Not that Christ wouldn’t have been able to go to everywhere, but Christ wanted the message to be carried by his messengers who understood the message. I understand the message and I can carry the message on the Governor’s behalf.
Senator Prince Bassey Otu’s message is the people. His message is livelihood support; His message is educational advancement; His message is infrastructural development; His message is community transformation; His message is also peace, security, and good health.
What Was the Scope of the Empowerment?
We embarked on a multifaceted livelihood empowerment initiative by way of financial support. I had to do a need assessment in my community. I had people that were in the hospital who could not pay hospital bills. This, we handled. The truth is that we’ve been going into those kinds of situations privately but for the records, it’s always important that once in a while you come out publicly so that people will understand that they are not forgotten.
We also identified someone that was doing a restaurant where he sells goat meat pepper soup in the village but at some point, he lost the ability to continue due to certain family challenges. We intervened and gave him N200,000 cash to start the business again even if it is with one goat.
I also identified some rural women who embark on farming with okra. And it will shock you that they needed only N10,000 each to buy okra seeds and farm. Don’t forget that in the community, land is not an issue, but they needed money to be able to buy the seeds and be able to plant. We had to intervened to encourage them, and you know if you don’t do this assessment, you will not know that little things can mean a lot to many of people.
I also met people that have been in very terrible conditions by way of medicare, aged people. And they needed some money for their high blood pressure medication and they may die earlier than they’re supposed to if they don’t take their medications. So we identified these aged people, people that are above 60, 70 in the village, who hardly have any income. And we gave them N50,000 each. This can also buy their medications for a period and at least they can survive.
We also identified traders who are into fish trading, fresh fish trading, and other forms of trade, who also needed a little capital to purchase their fresh fish. You know, they can buy fresh fish for N50,000, N100,000, sell it and make double profit and continue to buy the next day and save the profit thereby helping them to survive. On this we intervened to make sure they stay afloat in their businesses.
They were other categories of interventions. It may not have been a really a mega-project but the impact was massive. That effort was considerably reasonable to ameliorate the present hardship in my community and the people were really happy with that.
How Often Would You Be Embarking on this Gesture?
We’re making it a continuous gesture. Sometime in February, we did the same. We have done it again in September and another one is coming up in December. So it’s going to be continuous. The vision is set aside a little from what we have and share with the people as a form pf reminding them that the Governor has not forgotten them.
The Governor is coming up with this mega-empowerment action, which will complement and improve on the little efforts we’re doing. I can say on good authority that the government is doing a lot of private empowerment but the public one will soon come. You know The Governor is not a very loud political leader.
He is doing a lot of hospital visits and interventions privately. And is also ensuring that our senior citizens survive, but for the purpose of politics and the public, the Governor would have to come out publicly to do some very mind-blowing empowerment. And we will continue to give back to the people because our government is people-centered. It’s a people-first government undoubtedly,
What Other Areas Do You Think the Government Has Positively Impacted the People?
Every sector in the state is being touched. Some time ago, Cross River State was adjudged to be a construction site because there’s no day, there’s no hour that we’re not breaking new grounds, that we’re not roofing new buildings or reconstructing the lapidated structures. So, Cross River State is indeed a construction site because of the Governor’s interest to recover and reposition it.
So for me, what motivated that action is simply the Governor’s character, what he stands for. We’re doing our very best to copy him – copying his moderation, his humility, his simplicity, his sincerity, his kindness and good leadership disposition.
What you see us doing is because the Governor is influencing us positively. And I can only say that the motivation that I got is His Excellency’s love for the people over the years and knowing that he cannot continue to go to every street and he now has other soldiers who are now going to those places on his behalf. That’s the idea.
You can also see, even his wife is also an enigma of humanity. And she’s also covering grounds, she’s actually also doing what she knows her husband for. We cannot do otherwise than to complement their efforts collectively and deliberately. We are also conscious of the people’s requests.
People don’t want much from government, they want business or something that will help them live their normal lives. Provide the people with roads, which the government is doing. Provide them with water for them to drink and wash their clothes. Provide them with medicare as we are doing in our primary health centers. Provide their children with a reasonable public school where they can go and be taught.
Do these simple things and you will see that the people will be contented. The people don’t want too much from government and our government understands that.
Is The Empowerment Limited to Supporters from Your Ward?
No, please. Senator Prince Bassey Otu has supporters across board. We started it in my ward and I had to expand it to the local government. We’re no more ward leaders, we are now local government leaders. So I had to expand the empowerment to other wards in my local government area, and in the coming days, we’ll continue to do more.
Are We Expecting Other Appointees of Government to Key into This Vision?
Yes, we have a lot of them who are on the same path. I’m not the only person doing this. I can say this authoritatively. There are so many of the Governor’s aides who are doing a lot of people oriented programs. I know of so many aides who go to the public and institute solar powered boreholes. The Chief of Staff, for instance, has a lot of projects in that direction.
I know a lot of Directors in government agencies who have done that in their localities. I know of some commissioners. So it’s not about me alone. There are a lot of top government functionaries. Some of them, like I said, are doing these things without publicity. This is so because you cannot be around Prince Otu and you don’t key into these things.
