Posted by Admin| 20 July 2015| 5:23am
OPEN LETTER TO SENATOR BEN AYADE, GOVERNOR CROSS RIVER STATE ON THE NEED TO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION IN DEVELOPING CROSS RIVER NORTH
His Excellency,
Senator Prof. Ayade Benedict
Governor
Cross River State
Dear Sir,
I wish to use this medium to congratulate you once again on your landslide victory in the April 11th Governorship elections in the State. Your victory at the polls is a clear manifestation that the People of the State have keyed in to your ideology of 'politics with ethics'.
It is with great joy that I write this letter to you. You can recall that about 3 years ago during one of my mails to you, I urged you to run for the office of the Governor of Cross River State because of what I saw in you: Your zealousness and unrelenting nature in getting what you truly desire. It spurred me to write severally to you through your private mail box which you constantly replied. Thank you for constantly responding to my mails.
I feel happy that the dream of the People of Northern Cross River State in producing the next Governor has being actualized through you. Over the years, our People have yearned for a Northern Governor because we feel marginalized and sidelined by past administrations that have governed the State. The Old Ogoja Province which is the Capital of Northern Cross River State is the only Province in the country that has not evolved into a State. The region is the only region in the State that is still very back ward even when civilization reached our People very early. The People of the North feel cheated that the basic amenities of life are not in the region.
It is heart breaking to know that the only University we have in the North, the Cross River State University of Technology(Ogoja and Okuku Campuses) is like a glorified Secondary school with nothing to show that it is a University. There are no facilities or infrastructures in the School. The morale of the lecturers are very low. There is a lot of student apathy to learning as a result of the poor standard of education. It is our joy that God has heard our cry through you. We plead that you pay special attention to education in the North. We pray that you attract international institutions to the Northern part of Cross River State. Institutions that are internationally recognized and are skill based and have the right blue print to shape our youths into entrepreneurs, into employers of labor.
Another aspect I wish to bring before you is the poor housing scheme in the North. Driving from Ogoja, Yala, Bekwarra, Obudu and down to Obanlikwu, we do not have a housing scheme for our workers. It is my prayer that you develop the region by providing affordable housing scheme for our People in the area.
You are very unique in governance , you have worked in so many international organizations and companies, it is my prayer that you bring industries to the People of the North. The Northern part of the State is blessed with a lot of Agricultural produce. It is my prayer that you use your the connection within and outside your reach to attract investors that will invest in our Agriculture by commercializing our Agriculture and packaging our farm produce to meet international standard.
From Ogoja down to the ranch, our civil servants and workers come to Ogoja to withdraw money. This is because of the lack of banks in the area. Banks can not strive without businesses. I pray and hope that you bring in investments that will promote the economic activities of our people. So that banks and other financial institutions can troop in to the North.
Another very challenging problem we have is the issue of proper health care. Our General Hospitals have been concession from reports reaching me on Cross River Daily Newspaper. The General Hospitals are poorly managed and not affordable for our people to get health care facility. I beseech you to come to the aid of our People by promoting our health care system and making it affordable for our People to get medical attention.
Outside Calabar, there is no taxi scheme; my Governor, the People of the North are farmers. Our People are in dire need of a means of transportation to convey their farm produce to the market. The only means of transportation is the popular Okada that conveys people in our urban centers. Our People, seek and plead that as our son, you will provide us with taxis and buses to ease the movement of our People from one place to the other.
Unemployment is a big problem in the North. 90% of our graduates are unemployed and struggling to survive. I understand that the State is experiencing hard times and unable to meet up with some responsibilities. But a nation without employment for her citizens is very unsecured for the inhabitant. As you assume office, my earnest prayer is that you will look into the issue of unemployment and come to the plight of our teeming youths in the State.
The People of the North are Politically inclined and have so much to contribute towards the growth of our State. My Governor, I humbly appeal with you to carry along our young men and women who have distinguished themselves to be worthy ambassadors along in your administration. Our youths need to be carried along in decision making process that affect us as young men/women.
Sir, as part of your developmental projects for the good People of the State. Cross River North has the worse roads in the State. Our roads are not motorable. I plead that you pay attention to the roads in the North and help reduce the sufferings of commuters in the area.
God bless you for all the good work. My earnest prayer is that the almighty in his wisdom will continue to give you the foresight to lead our People well.
Please accept the assurance of my highest esteem and warm regards.
Prince Thomas Abi Jr.
Calabar, Nigeria.
