Of recent calabar a one time beautifully designed state and an internationally acclaimed tourist destination is gradually turning into a state replate with flood and erosion. A little rain makes the entire state, it’s road and street flooded; because all major water ways and erosion channels and drainages have been blocked by dirt.
Increasing dirt in calabar is occasioned by the waste carried by water during rain. With increasing heap of waste that dot all part of calabar, it becomes easy for rains to empty such dirt in the erosion channels thereby causing flood; and consequently erosion and the destruction of life’s and properties. These dirt are product of solid non decomposable waste in the form of sachet water, bottles, nylon, pure water containers and other product made out of rubber.
However bad Liyel Imoke may have been, his government especially in his first term in office can be appraised for continuing the good works of Donald Duke especially in the areas of creating erosion channels and managing a more effective system of waste management. Ineptitude may be the reason for the failure in waste management in the late days if Liyel Imoke and worsened by the Ayade’s government. The major problem of the Mr. Ayade’s government according to the opinion of Inyali Peter (an opinion I adopt in totality) is rotted in the fact that Ayade has surrounded himself with inept people as cabinet members and political appointees. These vehicle of waste rather than help the governor with sound suggestion especially as political appointees; surround the governor with gossips and and praise singing as a stock in trade to get crumbs for undeserved appointments.
With more money put into waste management than the Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke period, ineptitude has blocked the benefits of more funding of our waste management system.
Since the governor got into power, information on my table from a close aide to the governor holds that the governor has not evacuated the dirt in any of our drainage system. It is unfortunate that well designed drainage system by the previous administration has been made to collapse under few days of Ayade’s government. Instead of efficiency, the governor has often towed the part of nepotism by using the office of his brother co-governor Frank Ayade to haphazardly carry out the project of cleaning the city. The said Ayade’s aides pointedly accused the Frank Ayade as the siphoning tool in the ayade’s administration. This is a case of politics played on the sensibilities of the people creating a situation of man eat man situation.
For those yet to know, much danger is looming as the continued blockade of drainage system is a potential time bomb that will be as great as a tornado.
Suggestions:
A. It is obvious that the Cross River State economy cannot sustain bourgeoise economy, Ayade should stop looking the skies with projects like super high way and deep sea port and focus on immediate problems like road maintenance, erosion control and management, agriculture etc.
B. Cut down the number of his cabinet to safe cost and plunge the money so saved for erosion control and management and other critical projects.
C. Instead of super high way and deep seaport, the governor should rather focus on building a waste management and recycling factory as a catalyst for financial growth and employment
D. As a matter of urgency the governor should order for the immediate evacuation of waste that has made our drainage systems ineffective.
E. The governor should keep Frank Ayade out of serious business as he has proved most ineffective in most of his outings
F. The governor should constitute a committee to under study the extent of damage caused by flood and erosion
G. Since there is a connect between a dirty calabar and a flooded calabar, the governor should priorities the sanity of calabar as a matter of urgent need.
H. The governor should check mate the interference of the commissioner of environment and stimulate CUDA to be more effective. Prompt payment of salaries of CUDA staff will be a boast
I. The governor should reinstate the over 200 women he had formally sacked because of a protest in demand of their over 7 months salary
Cross River State belong to all of us. We may be APC or PDP, let’s stop politics and speak the truth so that we can move the state forward
Joseph Odok
josephodok@yahoo.com
Social Change Agent
