THE much anticipated reprieve finally came via the Tuesday morning (October 9) presidential broadcast that was nationally televised. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan announced the release of N17.6 billion to assist states and communities that have been devastated by the unprecedented flood.

A visitor to the corporate headquarters of Vanguard Newspapers, off the Oshodi/Apapa Expressway in Lagos, will not but notice the ambiance of communal life-style that pervades the environment. From your first encounter with the Security Guards to the General Manager, it is always a feeling of friendliness and comradeship.

“I strongly feel and I have shared with the governors, with Mr. President and Vice-President, who fully support that the Excess Crude Account must be built up to $I0 billion. We should strive to do that in the next few months and we keep that as a buffer” – Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, while briefing newsmen at the Annual Meeting of the World Bank and IMF.

It was a dream come true; the end of an era and yet the beginning of another. It was the expected end to the marginalization of a people, the deserved climax to the drama of relegation to the background in which the good people of Akwa Ibom had played prominent roles.

THE current government is making very concerted efforts to transform the Nigerian agricultural sector in a bid to make the nation self-sufficient in food production, as well as to earn foreign exchange from the exportation of agricultural products.