•Journalists also rejoice

BY TOM MOSES, Uyo

After several years of infrastructural neglect, the people Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State presently have cause to celebrate following the construction of at least, six  inter-connected roads in the first phase of the Governor Udom Emmanuel’s Oron Urban Renewal Programme.

Oron which was hitherto the nerve centre of maritime activities for the entire Oron Nation comprising Oruefong Oruko, Mbo, Okobo, Odung Uko, and even Calabar,  had virtually  lost its pride of place and  capacity due to deplorable roads that used to connect those places with it for the supply of high quality sea foods at very reduced costs, especially as the use of engine boats to traverse the area was not too fashionable again because of sundry ugly occurrences in the waters.

*Awa/Iman Nkang Roundabout water fountain

Pleas by the Oron people to governments to come to their rescue did not seem to receive the required attention and Oron continued to wallow in neglect which escalated to near excision of the once lively city from the rest of the local government areas and communities in Akwa-Ibom State.

It was gathered that the people of Oron had to painfully resort to community self-help to fix some of their roads so as not be totally dislocated  from the rest of the world. This was even as the people began to operate as an autonomous zone, not believing again  in the existence of government and the possibility of government providing its obligatory functions as well as detested the word, government. But during his numerous campaign visits last year, Governor Emmanuel was said to have been quite avuncular and identified with the plights of the people and promised to transform Oron within his first year in office.

Unfortunately, that promise was cynically dismissed as the usual political talk for which he was almost pelted by the people  until he assumed duties and declared Oron an emergency zone. Thereafter he mobilised contractors to immediately work the talk and give the Oron people a sense of belonging.

Apparently, the story of neglect of Oron by governments now belongs  to the trash-can of history as a total of six  inter-connected roads, namely Mainland Avenue, Mary Annie School Road, Awana Esin Road, Market Road, Efiat Road and Bassey Street, have been constructed in Oron alone  in the first phase of his administration’s intervention on roads.

While inspecting the roads  to mark Governor Emmanuel’s  first one year in office,   the Commissioner for Works, Mr. Ephraim Inyang-Eyen, expressed the friendly disposition and the love of Governor Emmanuel for the people of Oron as denoted by his intervention in fixing the roads as well as intervention  in other emergency situations, including the Uya Road Junction Gully.

The commissioner assured that the Oro Nation would never be neglected by the Governor Emmanuel’s administration in the continuous efforts to remodelling Akwa-Ibom State to become the cynosure of Nigerian states.

*Ikot Udom Road

Speaking with the  VANGUARD FEATURES, VF, Lady Mary Young commended Governor Emmanuel for keeping his promise to the people by fixing many roads in one swoop and rejuvenating  the local government area. “When we were young, Oron used to be a  major city for the supply of seafoods to the South-South and the South-Eastern states and even up to Lagos. From morning till night, Oron used to bubble with social and business activities, youths and women were meaningfully engaged in the jobs those activities could provide just as government was generating revenue from taxes. But could you imagine that since in the ’80s when Alhaji Shehu Shagari became Nigeria’s President and the late Dr. Clement Isong became Governor of the then Cross River State which now includes  Akwa-Ibom State, not one single road was constructed or rehabilitated by government in this area.

“Even when those roads that used to facilitate movement of people to Oron collapsed, government refused to come to the rescue of Oron and eventually, the social and commercial life of Oron became dilapidated until Governor Udom Emmanuel came to our rescue. We thank God for bringing him to Oron and other neglected parts of Akwa-Ibom State,” Lady Young remarked.

Also speaking, Pastor Umoh Bassey expressed appreciation to Governor Emmanuel for his magnanimity to the Oron Nation by salvaging the area from total excision from the rest of Akwa-Ibom State and the world.

“Recall that Oron usually go by the sobriquet, NAMOBA Town because of the presence of NAMOBA International Hotel which used to attract people  from far and near  and encouraged other social engagements here. But NAMOBA collapsed likewise other social outfits which used to attract people from within and outside Nigeria to Oron because of impassable  roads. Today, many businessmen and women are just like babies, while our youths have veered into politics and other emergency  lifestyles. So, we thank Governor Udom Emmanuel for coming to open up the area again for business, social and commercial activities.