By Ifere Paul| 25 July 2015| 5:06am
Cross River State was a State that was talked about as the cleanest and most hospitable State in Nigeria. Its cuisines are special. Its ladies beautiful in the words that describes beauty. A traditional Crossriverian lady can be described by their beautiful legs and the swings of their hips.
As beautiful in character and intellect as the people of CRS are, they made their State beautiful too. Cross River State became the tourist destination in Nigeria. Cross River State enjoyed and harvested the gains of edutourism. Who does not know about PolyCal in Nigeria? Or School of Basics Studies? Or TTC and the University of Calabar? We were in the forefront of almost everything. Setting records upon records even in sports. The UJ Esuene Stadium became the only stadium that the Super Eagles never losses a match. We can go on and on.
But today, Cross River State exempted itself from the hosting rights of athletics competitions because its sporting facilities cannot be fixed as the State is said to be broke.
This once beautiful and first green State in Nigeria was turned into a garbage dump of other States in Nigeria. Calabar became dirty, filthy, and smelly. Thank goodness the days of Liyel Imoke are gone and have brought Ayade who is trying his best to clean the mess left behind. Can Ayade really clean the messy decay in CRS? The state of mind of the State has shifted from a mental astute State to a pathologically sick State.
Cross River State is sick economically and financially. The people that were once full of smiles in the early years of the return of democracy are now devoid of those happy times. Their happiness has been dashed by a careless spending spree of the former governor. Everything in Cross River State has either been sold outrightly or mortgaged for 99 years. What a mess?
His Excellency, Governor Benedict Ayade must be a courageous man to have accepted to govern a poor and broke State. But his refusal to give the a truthful State of mind of the State that he inherited is worrisome. To say that you inherited a 443 billion naira as debt, and to call same an inheritance of potentials is sheer madness. That in itself is not a good state of mind for the governor. It is just too mind blowing to call yourself rich in a cesspool of bankruptcy. I like 50cent that came clean to tell the world that he's poor after all the blings-blings and Roll Royce. For me, it is a new start for 50cent. I wish we can accept our debt status first, and then, can move on from there.
Our shared commonwealth has been depleted such that we cannot be guaranteed a bill of confidence from any financial institution in Nigeria or abroad. The state of mind CRS has found itself is disappointing. There's uncertainty at the end of every month.
Civil servants in the State has to wait patiently for an order by the governor for salaries to be disbursed into accounts. Such hopelessness has continued for the past two months. Why does it have to be an order from the governor before salaries are paid? Does the governor give orders for people to go to work? Such emperor kind of power grip is not a good state of mind for CRS.
Thankfully to the governor as the work force of the State has become happy in terms of salary payment, it is important to note that salary payment are an aspect of responsibility a government must perform. All this internet hype about governor Ayade paying salaries on the 25th of the month must stop. The Ayade media team must stop reporting salaries. It makes our civil servants destitute who live at the mercy of the governor. It does not show a good state of mind on the part of the governor who has also been too power drunk that he has converted all government accounts into personal accounts.
There's no crediting and debiting of accounts in CRS that's not reflected to the governor's personal phone numbers. What is the work of the Accountant General? This is not what is called blocking leakage. Your Excellency Sir, with due respect, we recommend that you consider a course on sealing economic and financial leakages to be able to really manage leakages in CRS. Running CRS as a business enterprise will rather fail than flourish. Governance is not business.
Perhaps we have been running helter-skelter with the signature projects because we have been considering governance as a business entity. It is a fact that the State of mind of the "Signature Projects" is as confusing as all other policy frameworks. The hype and illusion created in the internet on the "signature projects" has subsided leaving behind reality-based assessment.
Perhaps reality has set in because now we understand that a 25% bank guarantee of 500 million euros from any bank in Nigeia to a bankrupt State like ours is impossible. The true State of mind of the "signature projects" is that it came, breathed too much carbon dioxide and died a natural death.
Now is the time for you Your Excellency, to plan the projects from the perspective that we recommended to you. Those recommendations may not be the best, but are obviously guidelines for your success with the "signature projects".
CRS has experienced a lot of abuse from her leaders. Many unsuspecting masses are suffering one form of abuse or another. We are aware that there's a new set of criminals in your government now. Their intents is to scam the youths and vulnerable women of CRS of monies ranging from 3-5 thousand naira for employment into the CRS Garment Factory/Corporation.
The garment factory/corporation is a non existing corporation. There's no law by the CRSHA empowering the establishment of a CRS Garment Factory or Corporation. Your Excellency Sir, we want to particularly, call your attention to an advertisement signed and approved by your publicity secretary, and which was posted on Facebook by Declan Genesis-Ogar on Cross River State Coalition Facebook timeline. Why advertise for work when the garment factory/corporation is languishing in a haphazardly graded 1 hectare of land without a housing factory or makeshift.
Your Excellency, you should be informed that many married women, widows, and young unemployed ladies from Obudu, Yala, Ogoja, Yakurr, and indeed all the State, left their villages and were said to have paid 3-5 thousand naira to secure employment in the CRS Garment Corporation. Some were deceived and raped by unidentified government officials. A lot others were involved in different sort of inhuman treatments and road accidents. This type of action from your publicity secretary is not a good state of mind for CRS.
Apart from the invisible and illegal and non existent CRS Garment Corporation and its illegal activities, there's is yet another conspicuous conspiracy to divide CRS.
Your intention to set up the Forest Marshals or Green Police is a welcome development to create employment opportunities in the State. It is worthy to note that the sale of the recruitment forms was controlled by a ring leader from Obudu.
The forms were sold mostly to Obudu people. The forms are brought from Obudu to Calabar instead of Calabar to Obudu. While people in Obudu paid 3 thousands naira for the forms, other people were charged up to 5 thousand naira. We have been watching this episode of "divide and conquer" as orchestrated by Obudu people whom you gave charge of the exercise.
Your Excellency Sir, you should know that it wasn't only the Obudu people that voted for you oooo. The Yakurr people, where I come from, can be said to have earned the worst grudge of your election. Some lost their houses, while others were shot dead, and most were hospitalized. For fairness, the "Green Police" was supposed to be an exercise of compensation to many you couldn't reach. Those that fought for your selection and imposition. But the Obudu people hijacked it.
We don't want to believe that they did that by your own orders. We shall be watchful of the actual people that are employed and where they come from and the criteria of their selection. CRS is not supposed to be engrossed in such a state of mind. Sadly, we allowed ourselves to be lured by ethnic sentiments.
The state of mind of CRS has gone berserk. Now we see outright thuggery and savagery. People under the employ of your government rain abuses on people who sometimes, have supported the government.
Government critics are advised for their own interest to leave CRS. Most live in siege and fear. Security details on their lives is as if they are terrorists. What a mess?
It is sad that those that should protect the law rather take the law into their hands. The CSO to the governor was allegedly involved in a gruesome act of tying up two young men in Obudu after giving them the beating of their lives. The two security details attached to Martin Orim were said to have used gun butts to beat them up and even fired shots at them. This act is despicable. It is an act that calls for a full investigation by the governor. This new state of mind in CRS is questionable.
While all this is taking place, the national road transport workers and taxi drivers association in CRS took to the streets to protest government high taxes and levies. The governor was said to have lost the state of his mind and was seen visibly angry. The governor was allegedly said to have angrily asked for the resignation of the Special Adviser to the governor on "Security" (SAS). The governor was said to have asked for the resignation of the SAS on the basis that he was not on ground to "nib" the planning of the protest in the "bud".
For the governor, Jude Ngaji is supposed to have been aware that the taxi association, one association that's so disorganized, were planning a protest demonstration. The governor felt out of place that a taxi union could challenge his orders for "revenue generation" for the State. The governor has been under pressure to generate more revenue for the State. It should be remembered that Dr Peter Oti, former DG of Internal Revenue, resigned because he was not convinced that the government can be able to raise 4 billion naira as directed by the governor.
This new state of mind as stated by the former DG of IRS, is undeniably an expert advise, that the governor does not want to accept. Therefore, the taxi union demonstration is an open window for yet a many more demonstration in the coming months. The taxi association is as we write this, planning a strike action. The leader of the union, Mr Etim Okon, said that their resolve to embark on strike "is not to put commuters into hard times intentionally, but that they want to call the attention of government to their plight".
Could the actions of the taxi drivers be the reason why the counsel to the governor on Ayade vs Agi, Paul Erokoro (SAN) opined that, governor Ayade was not in a "good state of mind", hence, called for the postponement of the verdict that was shifted from 22nd July to 31st July?
We wonder what sort of mindset the governor was found in to warrant and extension of a court verdict, or was it just a ploy to dribble the judgement? Well, July 31st is not too far away. Agi supporters are waiting and are counting the days to the new date. The governor's state of mind will be re-accessed for the new date with justice.
With all these happenings in CRS, one has to wonder the direction of the policies to grow as a State. So far, the governor has not succeeded in convincing Crossriverians with a sound and all inclusive economic policies that will impact on the quality of life of commoners. The governor's super gigantic, abstract and academic "signature projects" only point to one direction….the governor was not in a sound state of mind during the developmental stages of the projects.
If he were, why would he sign documents about the execution of the projects in Germany, Spain, India, Sri Lanka, Sweden, etc, and yet come back home to raise a 25% bank guarantee of 500 million euros? What state of mind is that?
The governor's SA (Appointment approval) was hysterically laughable. What was the state of mind of the governor to seek for the approval of 35 SAs? Are we going to have 35 commissioners? Definitely not in a very sound state of mind.
As 31st July 2015 quickly approaches, we should be reminded that a state of mind of a person should not be used to evaluate the pronouncement of a court verdict. Whether the governor's state of mind is sound or not, the court should be independent and ready to deliver its verdict. Whoever is guilty is guilty irrespective of the state of mind. Whoever is set free, is set free irrespective of the state of mind. Quod erat demonstrandum (QED).
