CHANGE THE NARRATIVE OF CROSS RIVER STATE IN YOUR SECOND TERM

BY PETER OGAR IKIBUNIM.

His Excellency, I w ish to use this opportunity to congratulate you on your victory in the just concluded polls.
I would have loved to recap a few ideas I’ve shared with you in respect of governance in the state,  I will however try to see how I can put all together in this article.
Sir, there is no doubt that my whole narrative in Cross river state development has centered on education, health and agriculture. My focus is still in this direction.
I understand your policy of industrialization and your job creation drive in cross river state. I appreciate the large number of young people you have brought to your government even though some of them are without any clear job description and even those with designations are duplicated and as such with limited or no input at all.
His Excellency, as you prepare to start your second term come may 2019, I wish you can pay attention on the following suggestions of mine.
The suggestions does not in anyway undermine your laudable ideas nor is it in anyway aimed at overstretching the known lean state allocation. My desire is for you to look at my common sense approach to the issues I will be raising.
Sir, in the area of education, for many times I’ve raised the issue of CRUTECH Ogoja and Okuku campus expansion even though none have been attended to except for the recent inclusion of Marketing department in ogoja campus. I am still persuaded to ask, after all, the principles is: Ask and it shall be given. This time around, I shall be asking on a large scale and expecting a large scale answer.
I have always shared that Cross River State can attract or say attain development through education. All that is required is proper planning and implementation.
Sir, we appreciate your efforts in primary education sector. Secondary education is not doing so well. The manpower need of our secondary schools is seriously lacking. It will be of great service if you look specially to the technical education board and revamp our technical schools for practical experiences. Cross river state can be an educational destination in Nigeria.
Revive the civil service, local government inclusive, those with educational qualifications should head to classrooms and the few left properly put to work. Most departments don’t need more than ten persons.
 I’ve always used the development that the siting of just three departments has brought to Abakpa- Ogoja as case study.
As for tertiary education, remember we had a college of Agriculture Obubra, the Polytechnic, Calabar and the college of education Akamkpa. With the large number of higher education seekers in the country, even if a hundred universities are established today, it won’t be able to absorb qualified applicants.
It is based on this need and other development indices that has necessitated this my call.
Sir. It is based on the above and more that I am calling for the conversation of the present CRUTECH Faculty of Agriculture Obubra (former College of Agriculture, to (Cross River University of Agriculture Obubra). Remember this was a full fledge college before its collapse to CRUTECH by Donald Duke.
I am also calling for the conversation of the present Faculty of management Sciences Ogoja and the Faculty of basic medicals in Okuku to a full fledge university (Cross River State University Ogoja). Already, the college of education Akamkpa has gotten accreditation for degrees and requires only support to ensure it does better going forward.
His Excellency, We desire that you look into IMT Ugep and ensure it reaches its optimum establishment purpose.
Sir, for the polytechnic Calabar that was converted to CRUTECH, it will be of great service if a new polytechnic is sited in Boki (Corss River State Polytechnic Boki) to open up that area.
Sir while you plan to build new cities, Cross River State will become a cosmopolitan city with the establishment of these universities and the polytechnic.
The above is possible sir. It may not start in a large scale but its possible.
I know the capital intensiveness of the above projects I’ve mentioned but as I said earlier, common sense planning can solve them all.
Sir your least paid appointee receives about 120,000 naira as we are told. That is higher than the entry level in any of the proposed higher institutions I mentioned.
 Except for the proposed "Cross River State Polytechnic Boki” which requires a fresh start, all the other institutions are already in existence and requires only policy instruments and legislations.
Sir, we know the humanity in you, the humanity that gave rise to your “food on the table appointment policy”
I am not suggesting that you drop the policy, I am only suggesting that they are productive (hand on the plough) as you rightly said last year.
Make an appraisal of all your appointees. Give the qualified institutional jobs using the principles of first denial… 6000 appointees? 5000 employees into our public service, run a lean government without sacking anyone. As I mentioned in my previous article, the privately funded infrastructural development will be massive, new nabourhoods will spring up, investors will naturally come in and your industrial drive will succeed. It is going to be a win win for everyone.
The medical school in Okuku campus will naturally come about and with it a teaching hospital in Ogoja to serve the health need of the people in this axis. Your people will ever live to remember you…..