By Nse Obong

AFTER more than three years of relative  peace  in  Akwa Ibom, it seems as if the demons of violence seem to be rearing their heads again.

The narrative of brutality, political intolerance, kidnapping and violence that preceded the advent of the Udom Emmanuel administration seemed to have taken flight in the last three years.

Governor Emmanuel’s arrival on the scene seemed to have given life to a robust political engagement in the state that even the opposition in the state is able to from time to time shout itself into reckoning.

Election

It would be recalled that in the eight years before Governor Emmanuel came to the saddle, there were several reports of violence and general insecurity that were mainly traced to political intolerance.

In that time, several critics of the former administration including some that have now gone to the All Progressives Congress, APC, kept away from the state mainly on account of fear of the known and unknown.

One of the main characters, nay victims of the violence that characterised the time of the previous administration was Senator James John Akpanudoedehe.

Speaking in a radio interview last July, the former senator and minister who is presently contesting the APC governorship ticket in the state had said that “Governor Udom Emmanuel is not killing people…those who killed people are now in APC.”

So, when Mr. Nsima Ekere, the APC governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State alleged that an attempt had been made on his life it was bound to raise serious concern.

While the assertion has now become an issue for police investigation, it is commendable that the state government as presently constituted has given a genuine support for the investigation of the report.

It is understandable for the government to be concerned. A return of the violence that previously pervaded the state between 2007 and 2015 would prove unsavoury to the gains that have been made in the last three and half years.

People like Akpanudoedehe, Ekere who before the coming of the Udom Emmanuel administration kept away from the state on account of differences with the previous administration now zoom in and out of the state with ease.

Indeed, in what could be unthinkable just four years ago, critics of the government even hold open meetings and rallies in the state and use state government facilities and stadia to criticise the government of the day.

However, what may be more troubling from the collective interests of the state is the damage that reports of the return of violence to the state could do. Whether true or not, such reports do not speak well of the hospitable investment climate that the present administration has helped to nurture.

So, against the background of the fact that Akwa Ibom has become one of the two leading attractions for Foreign Direct Investments, the news of the return to the pre- Udom Emmanuel climate of hostility will in no small way deter such investors.

It is to be noted that under the present administration that the promise to establish one industry in each of the Local Government Areas is ongoing with the largest syringe manufacturing factory in Africa in the state, pencil and toothpick factory, starch manufacturing company among others already established. This is compared with the zero number of factories established by the previous administration.

School children in Akwa Ibom who have seen their fortunes boosted by the efforts of the present administration could also be distracted by this as their parents could begin to have fears over the security of their  children in public schools. Parents in Akwa Ibom have in the last three years taken advantage of the Emmanuel administration’s free and compulsory education policy to give their children the kind of quality education that they could only have dreamt of just a few years ago.

Indeed, the Udom Emmanuel administration’s devotion to education has lately been applauded by even critics after two students of the government owned Northern Annang Secondary Commercial School, NASCO, in Etim Ekpo LGA took third position after representing the country in the Stockholm Junior Water Prize Competition in Sweden last September.

The competition drew participation from among 42 countries across the world.

Perception of violence in the state will undoubtedly reverse the gains made in the education sector and it is in this light that all men of goodwill call on all political actors in the state to help sustain the peace that has been established by the present administration.

Another consequence of a return to violence would be the youth empowerment and capacity building initiative of the present administration .

If politicians use violence as a way of expression, it would threaten government initiative that had seen the training of at least 20,000 in various skills. Given the fact that youths can easily be led astray, any attempt to show youths that political violence is an option could lead them to abandon their newly acquired skills.

Only last weekend, Akwa Ibom State hosted the Nigeria vs Libya African Nations Cup qualifying match in Uyo. The decision to host the match in Uyo was because of the peace and serenity that Nigerian and African football officials saw in the state.

Even more, since the advent of the Governor Emmanuel administration, the state has won at least three national football tournaments including the Nigerian Federation Cup and despite the cash crunch.

The successes recorded in sports are largely due to the decision to regularly host the Akwa Ibom Sports Festival, which provides an opportunity for new talents to be discovered.

An atmosphere of violence, however, would not allow such talents who could be the champions of tomorrow in different sports to be discovered. It is against this background that the narrative of peace that has been laid in the last three years must be sustained and allowed to thrive.

Of course, it is a known fact that there are issues between the two major governorship aspirants in the APC, that is Nsima Ekere and James John Akpanudoedehe, but such differences must not be allowed to lead to a breakdown of law and order. Even when the APC and the PDP  campaigns begin, it must not lead to violence. The present peaceful atmosphere in the state must be sustained.

Mr. Nse Obong, a national affairs commentator wrote from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

https://newlive.vanguardngr.com/2018/10/2019-and-the-buhari-imperative/