By Destiny Isong
UYO (CONVERSEER) – The CEO and Chairman of the Abasi People Foundation, a non-religious and non-partisan organisation, Victor Udo, PhD, FNSE, has expressed optimism that under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio, President of the 10th Senate; Prince Bassey Otu, Governor of Cross River State; Pastor Umo Eno, Governor of Akwa Ibom State; and Senator Akon Eyakenyi, Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, the Abasi Nation—comprising the Ibibio, Annang, Efik, Oro, Ekid, Obolo, and Ekoi communities—is poised for a historic turnaround and accelerated socio-economic development.
(Q) Could this be a turnaround era for the Abasi Nation, with the influence of Senator Godswill Akpabio, Governor Bassey Otu, Governor Umo Eno, and Senator Akon Eyakenyi, being from Annang, Efik, Ibibio, and Oro respectively?
(A) Yes, like I say, this is the best alignment time. The four largest dialects in the Abasi Nation—Annang, Efik, Ibibio, and Oro—are effectively represented among these top four leaders. They’ve got to find a way to put their heads together, drive unity, and ensure sustainable development in Abasi Nation. And I think the Bakassi situation is a perfect storm for four of them to come together. We have to develop a deep seaport. Whether we are doing it as two separate deep seaports or one super infrastructure, these four leaders must make sure it happens. Is time to leverage all the resources in Nigeria, all the interests that might be available globally, the challenges of the world that are happening today and provide an alternative, whereby we collaborate with other countries like the Republic of Congo and open the Gulf of Guinea for international commerce.
I believe, as the uncommon transformer has always done, we need to see the bigger picture, even a bigger picture than Nigeria can see. Nigeria is not going to do us the best; Nigeria gave Bakassi away to Cameroon. Nigeria will not do for us what we can do for ourselves.
The Yoruba people are doing big things for the Yorubas, the Igbo people are doing big things for the Igbos. Abasi Nation has to do big things for Abasians. And we will not always have a Number 3 citizen forever, nor will we always have Ibibio, Efik, and Oro leaders at the same time, leading those two states and also playing key roles at the national level. So yes, this is a turnaround era for Abasi Nation—because we have these four leaders in the right places.
