Communities in Oron Nation, the 3rd largest Ethnic Nationality in Akwa Ibom state are crying out for a saviour, and in their agony refusing to be consoled by uncommon transformation promises of the Akwa Ibom state government. The alleged negligence however attracted our Correspondent, JOSEPH KINGSTON, who toured the five local government areas of the Oron Ethnic Nationality for a fact finding missions. He reports:
All is not well with communities of Idua Assang, Esine Ufot, Esuk Oro, Udung Okung, Afahaeme and Ukpata amongst others in Oron local government area and indeed other council areas within Oron nation in the oil rich Akwa Ibom State. Their plight is indirectly challenging the resolve of the Akwa Ibom state government to spread uncommon transformation to nooks and crannies of the state.
Blueprint gathered that Oron people are yet to see, in their area, dualised carriage way and other social amenities found particularly in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene areas. Rehabilitation and construction of feeder roads in other parts of the state seem not the lot of the Orons. Residents of the area who spoke with this writer believe they have been left behind infrastructurally. Besides, various empowerment programmes in other climes also seem to be far from them too.
Most disheartening is the fact that the people do not have potable water as they continue to drink from pond and streams which often dry up during dry seasons. A resident, Mrs Eno Okon, who spoke to our correspondent lamented their plight, saying residents drink water from ponds at seashores during low tide after the sea recedes.
She explained that to get water, women and children would mould circles round a particular area they desire to get it from, to prevent dirt going into the water, after which they use plates to scoop water from the ponds into their basin or jerry-can.
She said, “This is the only source of drinking water we have here. There is no stream, no borehole or pipe-borne water.
“People do not come here often to get water. They can only do so when the sea recedes. To get water which must come up from the ground after the sea recedes, we mould sand in form of circles around and after some time, water would come out of the ground for us to scoop. You will see that the process is hard to imagine.
“I do not think our government is a caring one. Tell them to give us drinking water. This is what we have been drinking from time immemorial, only that God has been so kind to us that we have not been falling sick.”
In order to understand the ordeal the communities have been going through in the 21st Century Nigeria, she led our correspondent to the seashore where women were busy fetching drinking water. It could take hours for the whole exercise to yield fruit for the sweating women and kids.
Besides, the only access road, constructed in the early 70’s, which links Oron with other parts of the state like Eket and Uyo is deplorable. In Oron town itself, roads which links Marina with Customs Barracks (established in 1942), Methodist Boys’ High School (established in 1905), Maritime Academy of Nigeria, including the now moribund Abestonit Nigeria Limited in Esin Ufot, and a defunct sawmill company, have all completely collapsed.
One of the community leaders in Esine Ufot, Chief Efiom Ekpe, said the old road which was once tarred and which was a leading road in the then eastern region, degenerated to a state where signs of tar was no longer visible, due to neglect by successive governments.
Ekpe claimed that the indigenes of these localities voted massively for the present government, but wondered why it has decided to treat the people of the areas with disdain, despite the huge mineral resources accruable to the nation from Oron nation.
He alleged that the communities had on different occasions appealed to the state government to come to their aid, saying all their entreaties fell on deaf ears.
He said: “This old road is a Trunk ‘A’ Road, which links the communities with Maritime Academy of Nigeria. The road also passes through Customs Barracks, which was established in 1942; Methodist Boys’ High School (MBHS), established in 1905, the now moribund Abestonite Nigeria Limited, and a sawmill company at the back of the Abestonite.
“The Methodist Boys High School had produced people like late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Awana Esin – first Internal Affairs Minister, among others.
“We had on many occasions appealed to the government to come to our aid, but all our entreaties fell on deaf ears.”
Another prominent indigene and village head of Afahaeme, Chief Ante Willie (87), said the people of his days never conjectured that the seven communities in that area would one day be begging governments to develop their areas.
He claimed that the area were among the few developed places across the Niger River many years ago, adding that successive governments decided to abandon the areas for reasons only known to them.
Willie opined that Esuk Oro, or all the areas around the Marina and beyond, were business hubs, with people going to Cameroon, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Equitoria Guinea, or crossing to Calabar as Itu-Calabar Road had not been constructed then.
“Our people cannot do a rewarding business here any longer. As there are no roads, the Igbo traders, who come here to buy fish, timber, and other agricultural produce, would usually park their trucks away from the communities and then walk down here.
“If the government thinks the communities are not useful so as to attract any meaningful development to the areas, let them not forget that the Nigerian Customs Service as well as Nigerian Immigration Service is also affected by the poor state of the road.
“Oro as a whole is the most deprived ethnic group in the state. All the projects which are being executed on daily basis from other parts of the state, none is here in Oro.
“The Ibaka Seaport is only on paper. Since you heard them talk about the seaport, have you heard when the state governor, had one day gone to see things there for himself? I am sure the day he goes there, he will be able to appreciate what an average Oro person is passing through as the road leading to the purported sea port has completely collapsed.
“We are not quarrelling with anybody or authority; but what we are asking for is that our rights as citizens of the state and stakeholders should be respected in terms of projects sitting. Oro is the only place that has not benefited an inch from being part of Akwa Ibom State.
“All other places have either a state higher institution sited in them or campuses. As I am talking to you, there is no campus or a full-fledged college of education, polytechnic or a university that the state government owns in Oro soil: yet people say we are part of Akwa Ibom State,” he lamented.
The Octogenarian further alleged that the government does not think the people in the communities also exist.
He added that insecurity; owing to backwardness of the area was a cause of concern, as women could now not go to farm unless they are in group of three or four with at least a man to ward off attacks from ritualists, thieves, and kidnappers.
According to him, the communities had lost many women who went to farm unaccompanied by either men or with other women, adding that the sordid situation is as a result of negligence which has caused weeds and trees to overtake the road, thereby creating hideouts for criminals.
However, our Correspondent who has been transversing Akwa Ibom reports that although development cannot go round in all localities at the same time, the case of Oro looks pathetic. The State government has indeed stamps its presence in most communities but in others, more needs to done.
Today, the Orons are in a dilemma to unravel why their area seems less developed among others in the oil rich state, and wondering whether Governor Godswill Akpabio would work for the emergence of an Oro son as governor to help redress the brazen imbalance.
