A'Ibom @ 39: Progress and needs for adjustment

 



Michael Ufot 


Thirty-nine years ago, on September 23, 1987, General Ibrahim Babangida announced the creation of Akwa Ibom State from the old Cross River State. What began as a political aspiration has grown into one of Nigeria's most referenced stories of transformation. At 39, the question is no longer whether Akwa Ibom has made progress, it clearly has,  but whether that progress can be converted into sustainable prosperity for the ordinary Akwa Ibomite.

From the pioneering era that built state institutions to the era of massive road construction, Akwa Ibom now boasts over 1,500 kilometres of roads under active construction and intervention, including 40 bridges and 234 projects. The current administration under Governor Umo Eno has disclosed spending N879.22 billion on infrastructure — N747.51 billion on ARISE Agenda projects and N131.71 billion on inherited projects, with 57 inherited projects already completed. The plan to commission 39 projects for the 39th anniversary including the New Airport Terminal, Airport Hospital, Aviation Village, Ring Road 3, Command and Control Centre, and ARISE Palm Resort  captures this infrastructure-driven mindset.

 No state has pursued aviation continuity like Akwa Ibom. From Victor Attah's runway vision, to Godswill Akpabio and Udom Emmanuel's Ibom Air and MRO dream, to Governor Eno taking delivery of the brand-new Airbus A220-300 and operationalizing the international terminal, the state is completing an aviation ecosystem that is now approaching 5 million passengers.

The ARISE Agenda has shifted focus to softer but critical sectors — 350-bed Ibom International Hospital, over 300,000 residents on health insurance, Model Primary Schools and Model Primary Health Centres in rural LGAs like Esit Eket, Compassionate Homes, and the recent approval of N31 billion empowerment covering 165,912 beneficiaries across all 31 LGAs.

These are tangible gains that previous generations could only imagine.

However, as Senator John Akpanudoedehe rightly observed during this anniversary reflection, "Akwa Ibom is rich, but the people are poor". This paradox remains the central challenge at 39. 

 Government cannot remain the principal employer, contractor, and economic driver forever. The next phase demands real diversification into manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, maritime, technology, and the creative economy. 

Building is one phase; maintaining is another. Roads, the Ibom Tropicana, Ibom Hotel, and other legacy assets need a transparent maintenance and concession framework to avoid decay.

 Infrastructure has not fully translated into jobs and improved living conditions for the average youth. The N1 billion per LGA empowerment is a good start, but must evolve into sustainable enterprise, not one-off grants.

The Ibom Deep Seaport remains the big economic game-changer that has been politicized for too long. If it will lift people out of poverty, as stakeholders argue, it must be prioritized above politics.

As one anniversary analysis rightly noted, the most important issue at 39 is not whether progress has been made, but whether the gains can be transformed into sustainable prosperity. 

Akwa Ibom at 39 has the infrastructure base, the peace, the human capital, and the brand. What it needs now is a deliberate pivot: from commissioning projects to making projects productive; from government spending to private investment; from celebrating roads to celebrating factories, farms, and jobs that use those roads.

If this generation can combine accountable governance, human capital development, and economic diversification, the greatest chapter of the Akwa Ibom story will not be the last 39 years, but the next 39. 

Happy 39th Anniversary Creation to Akwa Ibom State.

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