While some people are busy arguing over where political power should sit between blocs in Bakassi Local Government, the real issue staring us in the face is being ignored: the disappearance of those elected to represent us at the federal level.
Bakassi has a Senator in the Red Chamber and a member in the House of Representatives in the Green Chamber. But outside election season, their presence in our communities is almost invisible.
Is this what representation, lawmaking and oversight have become? A few bags of rice, beans, and ₦5,000 transport fares every four years?
Bakassi is not a warehouse for expired political handouts. Our people deserve far more than seasonal charity. This is a land blessed with both human and natural resources — a place with enormous potential that should not be reduced to the “politics of palliatives.”
Our youths are no longer sleeping. They are watching. They are asking questions. And if leaders and stakeholders remain silent, the younger generation will not.
Governance is not a campaign ritual. Development does not happen through occasional visits during elections. It requires commitment, presence, and partnership.
I therefore call on our Senator, Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr., and our member of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Joseph Bassey, to step forward and work with the local council authority to move Bakassi forward. When leaders across different levels of government work together, the people benefit and progress becomes visible.
The era when communities could be pacified with peanuts is coming to an end.
Bakassi deserves presence.
Bakassi deserves projects.
Bakassi deserves public policies that change lives.
Not palliatives.
Not token gestures.
Real representation.
Hon. Miriam Etim
Councillor, Ward 3 & Chairman, House Committee on Health, NGOs and Gender-Based Violence (GBV), 7th Bakassi Legislative Council
