Gov Ben Ayade of Cross River State
Thomas Mbeh Ifere|21 August 2016
AN URGENT CALL TO SAVE THE PEOPLE OF ETARA/EKURI BEING AN OPEN LETTER TO H.E., SEN. BEN AYADE, GOVERNOR OF CROSS RIVER STATE
By Prince Thomas Mbeh Ifere
Compliments of the season H.E. I trust God this open letter meets you & family well?
Your Excellency, please recall that I have written several letters to you here since you assumed office as Governor and Chief Security Officer of our dearly beloved State, informing you of the plight of the Etara/Ekuri communities in Etung Local Government Area.
Your Excellency, we know that most times it is good for us to have trials and troubles as they often remind us that we are on probation and ought not to hope in any worldly thing. It is good for us sometimes to suffer contradiction, to be misjudged by men even though we do well and mean well. These things help us to be humble and shield us from vainglory. When to all outward appearances men give us no credit, they do not think well of us, then we are more inclined to seek God Who sees our hearts.
Your Excellency, the people of Etara/ Ekuri in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State have been abandoned for a very long time by the government at the State & Federal levels.
Other problems encountered by these people include:
*Absence of schools
*Absence of markets for transactions of economic activities.
*Lack of job opportunities for the youths of these communities.
*Lack of industries.
*Lack of vocational centres.
*Lack of tourist development attraction sites.
*Low per capita income as a result of extreme poverty.
*Lack of financial empowerment in the form of scholarship and grants to indigent students from these
communities.
*Lack of electricity to boost socio- economic lives of the people.
*Absence of medical facilities.
*Absence of infrastructural facilities.
In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young people of my communities, it has come with bitter agony, our older generations have learned to ever expect it, they lived with it and some have died with suffering.
Your Excellency, we are anxious to afford some alleviation of your present intervention in relieving our distress. I was shocked when I read some days ago on how you wept for the Internally Displaced People of Bakkassi. In as much as I am not happy about the calamities befallen our brothers and sisters from Bakkassi, I would like to use this medium to remind you that the people of Bakkassi have been ably represented in the political history of Nigeria, with people like Senator Ita Giwa and others representing them in the Local Government, State Assembly, State Executive, National Assembly and even as Advisers to the Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A lot of monies have been sent to these people for their upkeep and welfare. From my view, they have benefited from past governments and recently from your present government.
Your Excellency Sir, it may interest you to note that your current Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Comrade Asu Okang comes from these abandoned communities. If you can please create time out of your busy schedule to visit Etara/Ekuri ommunities, then you would know that we are worst than the Internally Displaced People of Bakkasi. The only difference is that we are internally displaced, but resident in our original settlements.
I would also like to use this opportunity to let you know that we have a lot of youths in these communities that have the intellectual capacities to occupy various positions in your administration, parastatals or boards. I am happy that God has proven that especially from the high display of intelligence from our son, Asu Okang. It would be the pleasure of these communities if more youths can be drafted into your government to add value to it.
Your Excellency, I would like to request that you use your good office and intervene in ameliorating the sufferings of the people of these poor communities by placing them on an intervention scheme like you just did to our Bakkassi brothers and sisters.
Thank you His Excellency.
Prince Thomas Mbeh Ifere
Is a Crusader of Change from Etara village in Etung L. G. A
ifere_nta10@yahoo.co.uk,
08056062926.