Daily Independent (Lagos)
Godswill Akpabio
4 December 2008
opinion
All these courses have already been approved for the university by the National Universities Commission (NUC). This implies that this university would be the first in the country to mount comprehensive offshore technology training degree courses.
To support the smooth take-off of these rare and highly specialised degree programmes, we have established linkages and are about to sign memoranda of understanding with overseas institutions like Drexel University of Technology in Philadelphia, U.S.A., the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan, U.S.A. and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) Bangkok, Thailand. Furthermore, we have sent staff on training programmes abroad to orientate them with the specialised training and skills needed for these programmes.
This key area is the first point in the President's seven point agenda. It underscores its importance. Businesses, which run on generators, have high overhead costs and may not be able compete in the global marketing place.
Several attempts at reforming the power sector in the past have not yielded the desired results. Interestingly, though power supply has become more epileptic, revenue generation went up by 133 per cent between 2003 and 2005, according to PHCN officials. This prompted Joseph Makoju, managing director of PHCN to say that, "Nigerians should judge PHCN on the basis of the revenue index, rather than performance or service delivery."
According to figures released by the organisation, monthly revenue generation grew from an average of about $25 million in 2003 to the current $58 million in October 2005. One can only hope that this money would be deployed to making the sector more functional in service delivery, not only in revenue.
The Lesson
Instead of toying with new ways to make the Kainji Dam work, let us explore ways of supporting the dam by having other power plants. The need to address the deficiencies in the national power output and to provide for rapid industrialisation, led us to embark on Independent Power Project, located near the Aluminium Smelting Plant at Ikot Abasi. It is 95 per cent completed.
The plant would lead to uninterrupted power supply in the state. With a capacity of 191 megawatts and given the fact that Akwa Ibom State needs just 65 megawatts, we have 136 megawatts to share with other states. We have already obtained a licence for the plant and we are counting days before we shout uhuru!
Social Security And Other Issues
The defining question when we consider the problem with our country is whether we have been able to forge a nation out of the over 250 ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria?
An affirmative answer to that question would imply that a Nigerian can live anywhere and not be discriminated against because of his ethnic origins or religious persuasion. It would imply that if there is a riot in any part of Nigeria, another Nigerian would not be a target by the rioters for simply being from a particular part of the country.
To build a nation and make our country work, we must ensure that all Nigerians are not only safe anywhere in Nigeria, but feel safe wherever they are.
Security has become a major concern in our country. There are so many unsolved crimes and so many acts of banditry. Before the advent of our administration in Akwa Ibom State, bank robbery occurred almost on a weekly basis. But we promptly set up the joint police and military anti-robbery task force, 'Operation ***Aduma' and that put paid to the scourge of robbery. Government philosophy should be guided by the postulation on the item on security in the seven-point agenda. Security is "not only a constitutional requirement but also a necessary infrastructure for the development of a modern Nigerian economy."
The Nigeria Police Force needs to change its policing concept. Formed as a force by our former colonial masters to cope with the restiveness of communities yearning for freedom during the colonial era, tissues of this mentality still permeate police work from time to time. But effective community policing creates a bond between the police and the community. The police should know that the citizens are their employers and that they work for the taxpayers. The police should be vigilant, courteous and firm.
The Niger Delta
The militancy in the Niger Delta and in other parts of the nation should be handled with care. Thankfully, it is included in the seven-point agenda where dialogue is prioritised over military action. The President is right because, instead of hastily rolling in armoured cars, we should roll in bulldozers. I commend the President for setting up the Niger Delta ministry and believe this is a step in the right direction. It is regrettable that the just demand of the Niger Delta people for greater accommodation in the Nigerian polity has been hijacked by miscreants who have taken it to embarrassing heights of brigandage and banditry.
We urge the Federal Government to use the technique that the United States war hero, Collin Powell, prescribed to be used in driving the Iraqis out of Kuwait. He said: "First cut it off, and then kill it."
Let us cut off the support base of these militants with the development of the region and improvement of the welfare of the people, and then we will 'kill' the militancy and militants.
Nigeria And Akwa Ibom State
As I said earlier, this was a little bit like teaching the elephant to dance. And as you all know, you cannot teach the elephant to dance in one day. Nigeria needs a lot more than physical infrastructures to work; it needs our love and faith. When we all work for Nigeria, Nigeria will work. We must believe in it and sing the magic words -Arise O Compatriots Nigeria calls obey... - with new meaning, everyday. Let us all answer Nigeria's call and not our tribal or ethnic calls. In football, we have proved it time and again. When our players respond to the national call with their hearts and their heads; with passion and love, no team can defeat us. But when you have wrangles in camp about money, we fall like Humpty Dumpty.
You may not fully understand why you invited me to speak to you on such a sensitive matter as this, but I understand. It was God's will for you to invite me. Akwa Ibom is the 'land of Promise' - and we hold aloft the promise of a new Nigeria where peace and prosperity will roll like a stream and righteousness like a waterfall.
And when this happens, we will know that God's will has been done in our country, as it is being done in our state.
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