When Udom Emmanuel took over power from Godswill Akpabio, many projects were in advanced stages of completion. All he had to do was complete them. But instead of doing that, he decided to do…nothing. He did not complete existing projects, and he also did not start new projects.
Instead of completing critical infrastructure projects, he decided that he would spend billions of Naira to create so-called industries. But every businessman knows that it is easy to invest money in a new business, but it is difficult to make those businesses work. And most of all, it is very difficult for Government to make any business work.
And exactly that has happened - all the ‘industries’ that Udom Emmanuel tried to invest in have failed, with various stakeholders in the Government using the initiatives as an easy way to enrich themselves. Most of them are shutdown and moribund, even after hundreds of millions have been invested in them.
After wasting three years on failed business projects, Udom has finally decided to come back to complete infrastructure projects - for example, the abandoned Uyo-Ikot-Ekpene road that is finally being completed after being abandoned for years.
If only he had been wise enough to focus on what Government should be doing - which is to provide critical infrastructure and to provide support - by now Akwa Ibom could have been one of the greatest states in the country. But Alas, the Government is more focused on doing what can be seen instead of what makes sense.
In Ikot Ekpene, a large hotel was built to 80% completion. Udom Emmanuel, instead of completing it, simply abandoned it. If he did not agree with its use as a hotel, it could have been converted into office blocks. It could even have housed all local government offices in the town. But instead of that, it simply stands abandoned.
For years, the neatly kept grass in the middle of the highways linking the towns of the states were unkempt and unmaintained. The waterfalls and fountains that made Uyo the beauty of the Niger-delta have been turned off and left to rot.
And the money that could have been used to keep state infrastructure running is sunk into another new initiative - Ibom Air. Airlines are for the elite, they are for the rich. Why does Akwa Ibom need 3 new airplanes when people are hungry?
All we hope is that the airline is not abandoned after a few months like the rest of Udom’s projects.
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