Wale Odunlami
What immediately comes to mind whenever Akwa Ibom State is mentioned in connection with resources is the fact that it is the biggest oil bearing state in Nigeria, and actually contributes over 30 per cent of the country’s total oil production. The state also holds a huge deposit of the country’s condensates.
What may be added is the fact that Akwa Ibom is also blessed with enormous human resource, much of which is waiting to be harnessed.
The administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel is focusing attention on building this resource to enable the state to realize its full potential in every facet of development. This is underscored by the fact that human capital development is one of the components of the Completion Agenda for his second term.
The governor’s decision to make human capital development a cardinal programme of his administration is hinged on the fact that the state needs to have a healthy, well-educated population to be able to utilize its huge natural resources for sustainable development that would benefit present and future generations of Akwa Ibomites. Besides, a well-developed human capital would drive the economic revolution the administration has inaugurated, which is aimed at repositioning the state to be the economic hub in the West African sub-region.
Guided by the aphorism that says health is wealth, the government has resuscitated and remodeled hospitals, some of which were virtually moribund, across the three senatorial districts and also equipped them with modern facilities to strengthen secondary healthcare delivery. Better equipped and well trained manpower for primary health centres means that healthcare delivery is now within easy reach of a greater number of the state’s population.
The state government is working in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Health to implement the Save One Million Lives Performance for Results (SOML P for R) programme, especially on critical areas such as maternal, new-born and child health on all pillars like malaria, nutrition, immunization, HIV/AIDS, provision of essential drugs and logistics management.
The immediate impact of these interventions is that there has been a remarkable improvement in the quality of healthcare delivery in the state in terms of access and cost. With a healthy population, it will be possible from now on for the people of the state to be active participants in what is expected to be a rush by potential investors to take advantage of the government’s various programmes and policies to drive the much needed economic growth in the state. The revolution has begun to bear fruits in the number of industries that have sprung up in the state Udom Emmanuel came into office.
The literacy level in the state has increased significantly, thanks to the free and compulsory education programme that has absorbed more children into the educational system. The government took the burden of maintaining community schools off those communities by taking over 17 of such schools. It pays subventions to public primary and secondary schools to enable them to function optimally.
Provision of qualitative education is at all levels – from primary to tertiary. The government upgraded the Akwa Ibom State College of Arts of Science at Nnung Ukim in Ikono Local Government Area to College of Science and Technology; provided facilities including hostels and lecture halls in the Akwa Ibom State University and recruited 5,000 teachers to effectively man the education sector.
The state government is also training a good number of youths on the latest ICT within and outside the country. The aim is to develop manpower that would not only drive the other components of the Completion Agenda for the overall objective of transforming Akwa Ibom into one of the most industrialized and economically buoyant states in Nigeria, but would also be globally marketable.
A major loss the people of Akwa Ibom would have suffered if they had not returned Governor Emmanuel to office for a second term would probably have been a possible discontinuation of the Dakkada programme by a successor on the platform of another party. It is a programme the governor launched shortly after assuming office in 2015 to challenge the people of the state to rise to greatness by actualizing their God-given talents for their personal, state and national development. For the youths, Dakkada is a philosophy and a way of life that has instilled in them a sense of self belief and the fact that it is in their hands to achieve anything they want to achieve.
There is a new spirit of enterprise in the state, especially among the youth. A major proof of the success of Dakkada is the drastic reduction, if not total elimination, of cases of criminality and banditry in the state. Hitherto idle youths now channel their energy into productive ventures that would enable them to develop themselves and also contribute to the development of the state. It is not likely they would abandon the path the governor has designed for them.
Udom is certain to be around in another four years (barring any untoward development at the Supreme Court – if his opponent in the March 16 governorship election decides to push further beyond the verdicts of the election tribunal and the Appeal Court). The Dakkada philosophy is what the government will rely on to drive its human capacity development for the success of its industrial and economic agenda.
Odunlami writes from Lagos.
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