Paradise News

Category: Opinion

  • Cross River Under Ayade : Between Need and Want

    Since Governor Ben Ayade assumed office as the third democratically elected Governor of Cross River State since the dawn of interrupted democracy in Nigeria in 1999, he has deliberately or ignorantly failed in separating the NEEDS of the state from the WANTS.

    A need is simply something you have to have. Something very necessary and absolutely important to posses while want in the other hand is something you would like to have. It is not absolutely necessary but it would be a good thing to have.

    From the elementary meaning of want and need above, the Nigeria constitution which defines the essence of government as providing basic needs like protection of lives and properties etc tilted completely towards needs. It means, first, government exist to provide needs (what they have to have) for the people not necessarily something that is absolutely not necessary to have.

    Even faith based organizations teach their congregations that God/Allah may not answer your prayers by directly giving you what you prayed for because he knows your request is what you want which is not necessarily what you need.

    However, while the vision of the state to have everything under Ayade can be commendable but the reality remains that most of his proposed projects are not only absolutely unnecessary but unreasonable. His Understanding of governance as proving everything the state would love to have is pathetic, unfortunate and unpatriotic.

    Each time the governor return from his frequent foreign trips, he will announce an agreement or MOU with foreign investors for establishing one thing or the other. In most cases, some of these things are absolutely not important while some could well be duplication of existing investments.

    For instance, his recent trip to Germany and China was greeted with a lot of promises as usual. But the one that informed my judgement that Ayade is still wallowing in the shadow of primordial sentiments on what the state need and want is his proposed beach resort.

    Beach resort no doubt would be a good investment especially for a state that has her economy tailored around tourism, but what then would become of the popular Marina Resort? Do we need a new beach resort or to invest in the existing resort which is increasingly becoming moribund under this administration?

    The answer can easily be deduced from the concept of need and want. Yes, beach resort is what we would have liked to have but what we necessarily need now is for government to invest in the existing resort. The $3 million the government has secured to establish a beach resort can go a long way to making the resort one of the best in the world so why waste time to construct new one?

    Let me take you through memory lane. In his previous visit to Canada, the governor announced that as usual, he has signed MOU with the Canadian government for the establishment of three new technical colleges in the state. But what we need is to invest in the existing ones and create enabling industrial environment for products of these schools to thrive not new ones.

    How can you establish new technical schools when you have failed monumentally to maintain and sustain the existing ones? What is the sense in such wasteful investment? Maybe detailed explanation would help.

    Similarly, One of his first policies when he assumed office suffered this fate of misplaced priority. Our dear digital governor, instead of building on the waste management policy he inherited from the previous administration, he introduced a door-to-door waste evacuation policy which backfired and has drastically tarnished the reputation of the state as the cleanest in Nigeria.

    The governor at the time beclouded his thought with how the government can generate revenue rather than how to maintain a serene environment. He distributed his imported waste cans at N25 000 to almost all  residential and business locations in Calabar without taking into account that what the people  needed was not for government to introduce new tax system but to grant tax breaks and loans to low income earners in the state.

    Although he later realized and sent a bill which died on arrival to the state house of assembly to exempt low income earners from tax but the priority of need and want were already misplaced.

    Shortly after that was his MOU with Thailand and Taiwan for a rice city in Calabar. Again, here his ignorance about what the state need to grow her economy was demonstrated in full stream.

    Why go all the way to Taiwan and Thailand to sign MOU for rice when there’s a locally produced rice like the Obudu rice that the state would have easily invested heavily to making it one of our export commodities? Would we have liked to have Taiwan and Thailand rice city (Want) yes but is it necessary? No.

    What the state would have done was to promote our own locally produced rice whether government or private owned to crash down the prices of rice for the common man in the street as well as attract countries like Taiwan and Thailand to come here and buy the species of our own rice. But has the governor thought of this? I doubt!

    Even the governor’s proposed superhighway is obviously misplaced. While unarguably, the state would like to have a superhighway, what is more urgent and absolutely necessary for the government to do is to first fix the existing roads before thinking of having a super road.

    Maybe, Cross Riverians don’t even need “super” highway but just a “highway”. So rather than chase unrealistic superhighway project, the government would have considered giving the people a highway first before going supper.

    How about the location of the garment factory or creation of new industrial site along the Jonathan bypass? Was that necessary considering the fact that the state already possessed one of the best industrial and business resorts in Nigeria in Tinapa resort?

    The state government is steal paying the debt incurred by the Donald Duke administration for the construction of the Tinapa resort. But have successive governments after Duke explore the potentials in the resort to reap benefits for the state? No!

    The best location for the glorified tailoring shop code named “garment factory” would have been in one of the halls in Tinapa. But this is my fertile imagination as the government is more interesting in thinking of what we would like to have as a state than what we should have. Simply put, Ayade is more committed in chasing shadows than facing reality.

    The clock is ticking; before the widely anticipated court verdict of the criminal charges of age falsification filed by Joe Agi, SAN against the governor early next year, Ayade must return to the drawing board to set his priorities right. He must Clearly dichotomize between what the state would have liked to have which is not necessary to what she should have.

    His penchant for making name rather than doing things that should give him the name that he is desperately after must be critically and drastically looked into. What shall it profit a governor if he makes all the good names and sign all the MOUs on pages of paper and social media and his people perish in abject poverty, insecurity and unemployment? Nothing!

    All his policies since the inauguration of this administration has been more about wishes, fictions, deceit rather than facts, performance and reality. This won’t give  him the goodwill he wants from Cross Riverians.

    Inyali Peter
    Social Critic

  • Diaspora Satisfied With Gov. Ayade – Okiri Matthew Okeyim

    The people of Cross River State at home and abroad are satisfied with the performance and achievements of the Digital Governor of Cross River State. It is widely known within and across Cross River State that the Digital Governor of Cross River State is now a reference point of strong leadership skills.

    In view of the above, I was shocked to see a staggering post culled from the Punch Newspapers titled ‘’ Impeach Ayade , Cross River Apc Demands’’ However, it is not always in our character to join issues that have nothing to do with our national interest.

    There is no doubt that the Vice national Chairman of APC(South- South) Mr . Hillard Etta, Mr. Paul Adah and the Chairman of Apc, Mr John Ochalla have the fundamental Human right to exercise their freedom of expression in a democratic system.

    At the same time , it is mutually imperative that these APC Party executives in Cross River State should be called upon to look at the centre of the periphery of the Federal Government to call a spade a spade!

    I should be grateful if the APC Chieftains in Cross River State can objectively call for the removal and impeachment of President Buhari by virtue of the obvious security lapses in the Niger Delta and some parts of the Northern Central of Nigeria? The best we can do in Cross River State and abroad is to see how we as a people in togetherness can bring strategies of good governance on the table.

    Subsequently there is the need for all lawful and abiding citizens of Cross River state at home and abroad to take advantage of the opportunities they have in their various counties in the Diaspora to see how they can contribute legally and meaningfully to the development and economic growth of our state instead of engaging themselves in unpatriotic activities.

    The statement from a few APC Party Chieftains calling for the impeachment of our Digital Governor does not represent our people at the Homeland and in the Diaspora. While, we disassociate ourselves from these piece of information we are also calling on the good people of Cross River State not to be distracted with these kind of unconstructive and poorly presented news item from a group of people who need to grab the power by all cost!

    It is on record that Senator Prof. Ben Ayade at home and abroad is doing very well and the people of Cross River State that have the mandate and the power will continue to support him until he completes all his people’s oriented projects. Cross River State will survive and the lives of our people must be improved . Long Live Cross River State , Long live our Digital Governor.

    N/B: This post is only a response from a previous one. As a Cross Riverian, I have the right to do so and do not derive any right in this post without my permission and be well guided.

    ~Okiri Matthew Okeyim

  • South-South Governors urged to emulate Ayade on crime fighting

    AMPON South South zonal chair, Comrade Obaji Akpet

    The South-South zone of the Association of Online Media Practitioners of Nigeria (AMPON), a body of online journalists, has urged governors in the region to emulate their Cross River counterpart in the way he has ensured peace in his state.

    The association made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of its emergency meeting held in Calabar at the weekend.

    It said the way Governor Ayade has handled security issues was very commendable, especially the recent security challenges that confronted the state.

    The association particularly commended Ayade for scaling up security in the state, which has help in curbing the activities of hoodlums in the state.

    AMPON recalled that “a few months ago, the state witnessed some level of lawlessness carried out by miscreants, but through commendable efforts and foresight of the governor and security operatives normalcy was restored.”

    While appealing to the governor to sustain the momentum, the association charged “his colleague governors in the region to borrow a leaf from his pattern of crime fighting to ensure peace and security in their respective states.”

    It would be recalled that just last week, United States of America rated Cross River State as one of very few states in the country with the least crime rate in Nigeria.

    Specifically, a travel advisory issued by the US State Department, identified Cross River as only one of two states in the South that are safe for investment and travels.

    This came on the heels of a similar rating by the immediate past US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Enthwistle who said Cross River was his favourite place in Nigeria.

  • Cross River Tourism adviser felicitates AMPON South-South chair on appointment

    Photo cap: Cross River Tourism SA, Eric Anderson

    The Special Assistant to Cross River Government on Tourism, Mr. Eric Anderson has felicitated Comrade Obaji Akpet on his appointment as the acting zonal chairman of South-South at the Association of Online Media Practitioners of Nigeria (AMPON).

    Mr. Akpet was named chairman of the association in the region last Saturday while comrade Effio-Ita Nyok of NegroidHaven.org was elevated to the position of Secretary.

    The special assistant said he had always trusted in Akpets’s doggedness in practicing journalism and was proud of him in his new national height.

    He urged him to continue to approach the practice with fearlessness while he champions the course of AMPON, even as prayed God to continue to announce the newly named AMPON South South chairman above his peers.

    In his words, Mr. Anderson who is also renown actor before he joined politics said, “I have always trusted your doggedness in journalism, am proud to have you assume such national hieghts.”

    “Continue with your fearless approach and you will certainly be announced above your peers,” the SA added.

  • Pouring Of Libation: The Diminishing African Tradition And The Need To Reawaken The It

    I’ll like to start this piece by giving a detailed explanation of the term ‘Ancestors’. What do we really understand by ‘Ancestors’? It’s very common these days that at the mention of ancestors people tend to forbid and reprove with all manner of seriousness. Perhaps we mistake our ancestors to be the devils acting as strongholds to our material advancement in life.

    Some days back, I was engaged in a discussion with a friend, reminisce of the old days was the topic of discussion. Specifically the tradition of our forefathers of pouring libation to ancestors was the focal point, “God forbid ancestors, I rebuke” that was the reaction from my friend. I queried his reaction and sought to know the basis for his reaction. His response was: my pastor have warned severally about that, there is nothing like ancestors, there are agents of the devil, he concluded.

    Well, the aim of this write up is not to criticize pastors or churches, I have no authority to do such rather with my little level of knowhow, I write to illuminate the great minds. Hence this write up addresses particularly great minds; the African tradition enthusiast and not religious fanatics.

    Now, what does the dictionary conceive ancestors to mean? “One from whom a person is descended, whether on the father’s or mother’s side at any distance of time; a progenitor; a forefather” (Oxford advance learner’s dictionary 8th edition). Biologically we are made to understand that often times offspring do not inherit the traits of their immediate parents rather traits of grandparents and great grandparents are often inherited, therefore to somewhat, ancestors are of vast significance to our existence and deserves our unending respect and honour as long as we still live on the planet earth.

    About the African tradition of pouring libation. Kimani Nehusi (2013) in his book titled: libation: A Ritual of Heritage in African Life, opines; “pour libation to your father and mother who rest in the valley of the dead. God will witness your action and accept it. Do not forget to do this even when you are away from home. For as you do for your parents, your children will do for you also”. Explicating further on what libation signifies to Africans, Kimani asserted that: Libation in Africa is a ritual of heritage, a drink offering to honour and please the Creator, the lesser divinities, our sacred ancestors, humans present and not present, as well as the environment. This ritual is also practiced in many other parts of the world. Among Africans it may also be deployed to issue curses upon wrongdoers” (The same way we pray against the wicked in various churches) According to the Kwanzaa guide, “pouring of libation is a spiritual and venerable act which has its roots in traditional African societies. It was done then and is done now to honour those who have gone before us. Their lives and contributions made it possible for us to live with more dignity, freedom, possibilities, and opportunities. In traditional African societies, libation is poured to honour the ancestors, who remained spiritually active in the lives of the living”.

    In Nigeria and particularly Obubra been my ancestral land, libation, as narrated by my grandmother and father is poured to honour our ancestors. It is a way to consecrate the dead and to raise their spiritual souls. It’s a means of remembering those who have passed: grandmothers and grandfathers, mother and fathers, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, husband and wives, siblings, and of course, friends. Thus, libation is a fundamental part of their daily activities then. (Though done occasionally this days) For in actively remembering our grandparents and parents as well as other loved ones, we ensure that they are not forgotten, that their lives had meaning, and that they live through us still living on earth. “We call upon our ancestors far and near, Fathers of our fathers, mothers of our mothers, to bear witness to what we have done, and by their example, to continue to inspire us to make progress, and achieve morally and socially at our highest potential. We pour this libation to bring into our midst their venerable spirit, radiating their great wisdom, courage, dedication, and unflinching commitment to live ethical and productive lives. It is in honour of them that we pour this libation, Calling their names is a way of bringing them into spiritual existence. And in remembering the lessons they taught us, the love they gave us, and the example they lived by, that we may live better lives”. The ancient Egyptian precept says: to do that of value is eternity. A person (our parents and love ones) who is call forth by his or her works is not forgotten.

    Given the significance of pouring libation, the question is: why do we tend to regard pouring of libation as a “sin” or “abomination”? Some may consider this piece to mean dogmatism. Yes it might be regarded as dogma but evidence abounds to support its purpose. Truth be told, a lot of people go through several life difficulties because they neglect the pouring of libation, though quite unknown to them. Cases abound where pastors refer their members to go back to their ancestral lands for cleansing and pouring of libation to get rid of some certain life difficulties. This piece is meant to illuminate as many that are still wallowing in such slumber of neglecting the African tradition. I implore you to be pragmatic for once. The African tradition need not to die, it is our responsibilities to awaken the tradition. Wake up my African brothers, great enthusiast of our great tradition I admonish you.

    As a rising advocate of the African tradition, I like to summarize this piece by stressing further that there is need to reawaken the African tradition of pouring libation, our tradition need not to die, it’s our identity, it’s our symbol, our cultural heritage vested with abundant spiritual benefits and others. To this end, I like to state lucidly that am not unmindful of the fact that this piece may be vulnerable to attract widespread criticisms, but like I stated earlier, I address only great minds and enthusiast of the  African tradition, and they must willing to consider these with genuine conviction in order to reap its dividends. Other religious enthusiast may as usual hold unapproachable, for it is undoubtedly true that they are always detrimental to the truth.

    Long Live Nigeria
    Long Live Africa
    Long live our Great Tradition
    God bless the Mbembe Tradition
    God bless the African Tradition

    ~ThankGod G. Inyang

  • Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Cross River State Branch Lauds Ayade For Creating Climate Change Ministry

    The Cross River State chapter of Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has applauded Governor Benedict Ayade for improving health care in the state especially in the appointment of a young, vibrant Commissioner into health ministry, Dr Inyang Asibong and the creation of climate change ministry that will be in tandem with health ministry to yield substantial and immediate health benefits to the people.

    The Association through its Chairman, Dr Ikpeme, Offiong  gave the commendation recently during a courtesy visit to the Commissioner for Health, Dr Inyang Asibong to invite her to be a special guest on the 2016 Annual Conference Of the Nigeria Medical Association, with the theme: ‘CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH’. The sub themes are : ‘Environmental Pollution and its Impact on Health in Nigeria’: ‘Green Tourism: THE CROSS RIVER STATE Perspective’ and “New and Re-emerging Diseases ‘.

    The Health Commissioner, Dr Asibong hailed the Association for believing in Governor Ayade in demonstrating wisdom and political will in creating Climate Change Ministry that will stand hand in hand with climate negotiations to confront climate change in the state and Nigeria as the country.

    Dr Asibong, however, urged the Association that she is an active member to take advantage of the conference to provide broad based professionalism to mitigate effect of climate change in Nigeria.

    “According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimate, climate change will cause an additional 250, 000 deaths per year between 2030 and 2050. Most will likely die for Malaria, diarrhoea, heat exposure, cancer and under nutrition. The impact of climate change on Health is alarming. All over the world, the changes in the climate is affecting all humans in adverse ways, from the food, air, and water we take in.”

    “As a result of air pollution, WHO reports that in 2012, about 7 millions people died which is one in eight of the total deaths. Air pollution shows greater link to Cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as cancers. The pollutions come from burnt fossils, gas flaring, deforestation, bad waste disposal practice etc. Nigeria has about 11 millions stunted children due to under nutrition already accounts for 3 millions deaths each year as a result of rising temperature and more variable rainfalls caused by the global warming induced by large emissions. All of these add pressure to the continuous loss of control to sustain the require health standard.”

    By Eval Asikong

  • Governor Ayade Should Pay Attention To Entrepreneurs – Emmanuel Egbara

    The economy runs on wealth, which is measured in both money and in goods and services available for consumption. At any given time, there is a set amount of wealth available for distribution. This is why some people have more money than others and why certain types of goods and services are not available to everyone.

    When an entrepreneur creates a company, that entrepreneur literally makes new wealth. The entrepreneur creates a product, a service or an idea that did not exist before, and by doing so adds to the goods and services available for consumption. The entrepreneur also provides opportunities for other people to earn money and creates jobs to redistribute and share the wealth the entrepreneur has created.

    Without a constant influx of entrepreneurs, the economy is unable to grow. Innovation, new products and new wealth are essential to business and to a healthy economy.

  • GIVE AYADE A CHANCE: How important are good public transport systems to urban and social development?

    Good public transport systems are an essential part of safe, clean and affordable transport for development.

    From a social perspective, public transport is often the only means of transport for the poor. Without it, they would be able to look at work opportunities only within walking distance of their homes, so public transport improves their livelihood opportunities. It also gives them greater access to education, health care and recreation. For senior citizens, people with disabilities and children, public transport is also their main means of mobility.

    From an urban mobility perspective, public transport is far more efficient than personal motor vehicles in terms of the road space it uses up and the energy it consumes. For example, a bus carrying 40 passengers uses only 2.5 times more road space than a car carrying only 1 or 2 people. And the same bus consumes only about 3 times as much fuel as a car. Public transport is thus important for improving sustainable mobility in urban areas, and we consider it the right approach to encourage low-carbon growth in cities.

    What are the key elements of a sustainable public transport system?

    Can you provide examples of countries or cities that are leading the way in this area?

    A good public transport system must be easy and convenient to use, fast, safe, clean and affordable. Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong are known for their excellent transport systems. Smaller cities like Lyon in France and Curitiba in Brazil also have very good systems.

    More recently, León in Mexico, Pereira in Colombia, Lagos in Nigeria and Ahmedabad in India have developed good systems. Many more are in the offing.

    A key feature is that they integrate multiple technologies, such as metro rail, light rail, Bus Rapid Transit and basic bus services. A common ticket or fare card serves all the systems, making it easy for passengers to transfer from one mode to the other. Passenger information systems enable users to know when the next service is due and to understand the routes easily, and high frequency of service reduces the hassle of a long wait for the next bus or train

    Written By: Egbara Emmanuel,

    Social Media Activist,

    Lagos Nigeria.

  • I Will Not Take Salary If Elected—CRS Chairmanship Aspirant Declares

    Well, it’s the most trending news in Cross River State (CRS) now as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the upcoming local government elections, Mr Egbara Emmanuel has vowed not to collect salaries and emoluments throughout his tenure if elected as chairman of Yala.

    Egbara Emmanuel vows to donate his salaries to charity if elected chairman of Yala council

    The media Activist made the vow on Thursday while meeting some political faithfuls at Okpoma- in Yala Local Government Area.

    Egbara Emmanuel, a member of the Save Nigeria Group, said he would rather open a special account for his salaries and emoluments to cater for the vulnerable persons in the society.

  • Salt Production In Okpoma (CRS) Autonomous Community By Egbara Emmanuel

    Traditional methods of salt production have continued in Okpoma, Yala for about 400 years. The lake that supplies the brine was discovered almost immediately after the area now known as Okpoma was inhabited. Two hunters (Odey and Ogar) discovered the lake and made their finding public when they discovered they could not quench their thirst with what they thought was ordinary water.

    No matter how crude the method, salt preparation is not a craft but a scientific process. No wonder the ingenuity of the women who process the salt is attributed to the mythical instruction of a god “Oma.” The name equally refers to the lake itself. This belief is heightened by the fact that right from the inception of this local industry, the salt producers have been making use of solar energy in an intuitive manner.

    The industrial hut is known as “WOLE” and is individually owned. Once a young woman has completed her honeymoon, she is initiated into salt making practices by her fellow women.


    Her more elderly friends and relations decide on a day when they would fetch as many pots of the brine as they consider necessary for her. On the appointed day, the brine would be used in making puddle with which the mud part would be built. Also executed on the same day is heaping of the same puddle to form a huge mound called “Okperede is an Igbo language” at the front of the hut. This hillock, when dry, serves as a preservative bank for salt crystals.

    On her first outing, the initiate is free to fetch brine directly from “Well” the main salt lake or from “drum,” the supporting pond. Her journey would, however, terminate at a point called Olacho (several metres from the lake) if her first outing coincides with her menstrual period.

    Here, she would stop and beckon to other women who willingly supply her with as many pots of the brine as she requires. This is one of the many rules in and around the lake.

    When she gets home, the young woman tills part of the mound that was built for her and pours more brine on it. The new puddle is allowed to dry under the sun for several hours so that evaporation of water content takes place. The hardened puddle, now rich in salt crystals, is further broken into smaller pieces and poured into “yehi” (a pot perforated at the base). This pot is built into the side of the Ewe and has a fiber plug for the hole at the base. Above this hole is placed a circular piece of shard. When filled with the salty earth, the setup stimulates a simple sand filter.

    At this stage, fresh brine is poured into the pot and a number of hours is allowed for the salt crystals in the earth to dissolve. Usually in the evenings, the fiber plug is removed externally. Immediately after removal, a smaller pot (ite eja) is put under the fixed pot for the purpose of overturning the shard at the base of the bigger pot so as to prevent sand from entering the filtrate. Further precaution is taken by pouring back into the filtering pot the initial drops of the percolation. The result is that the saturated filtrate “Ochichi” is not only sparkling, but yields enough pure salt crystals.

    Boiling of brine to extract salt poses a big problem as Okpoma is not a wooded area. In fact, even grass served as fuel in the past. Other combustible materials were sourced from surrounding villages and beyond. Many years ago, a particular type of pot “yehi” was used as an evaporation crucible. Later, this gave way to kerosene tins; but now, it is enamel basin that is in vogue.

    Before the advent of packaging, baking of salt was the only option for the marketing of the product. As in the case of boiling, earthen wares were used for this purpose, but now metal bowls dominate because they are more durable and more convenient.

    The baked cones enable salt traders the opportunity of travelling far and wide to places where the commodity is in great demand.

    The economic importance of the Okpoma salt industry might be underestimated by outsiders, but the indigenes know that it ranks first among what made Okpoma famous in the pre- colonial era. Once a highly valued merchandise, the salt attracted dealers from all parts of former Eastern and some parts of Northern Nigeria to one of the most famous markets at the time, Ida. When the market lost its pride of place to the Uburu Slave Market, Okpoma salt still formed the bulk of the supply in that market since Uburu salt production is seasonal owing to floods.

    It would be recalled that Okpoma supplied the entire Eastern Nigeria with salt during the Biafran/Nigerian Civil War. Biafran scientists, after a series of tests, declared the brine from Okpoma Salt Lakes as having the highest salinity among all lakes in Eastern Nigeria.

    The Cross River state government should wake up and build industry close to the lake and taught the local women new production techniques, including the use of “alum” to effect sedimentation of dirt before decantation and ultimate filtration. The now dilapidated salt wells still stands as a monument of the glory.


    One wonders why, nearly 40 years after the civil war in Nigeria and after their creation of Yala local council, the rehabilitation of Okpoma salt industry has not been undertaken by the state or federal governments. The fact that Okpoma is strategically located and the salt lake is only ten metres from Federal Road, Okpoma presents, in my opinion, a compelling investment opportunity for entrepreneurs.

    Incidentally, Cross river State is known by the moniker “The people paradise.” There is no wisdom in allowing the country to continue depending on imported salt when what gives Cross River State the name “the people paradise” abounds.