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Annang Nation: Building our Future Together, being

a lecture delivered by Ray Ekpu, Chief Executive

Officer of MayFive Media Limited at the 25th

anniversary of Ati Annang Foundation at Ikot

Ekpene on Wednesday August 14, 2019.

Protocols:

I wish to congratulate the leaders of Ati Annang Foundation on

its 25th anniversary celebration. In an age of partisan politics it is

difficult if not impossible for a socio-cultural organisation to

survive the slings and arrows of political jobbers and flunkeys

who would like to conscript the organization into the vortex of

partisan politics or send it to the gallows if they offer any

resistance. That Ati Annang Foundation is still there, standing on

its feet and waxing strong is a testimonial to its resilience. I thank

the leaders of the Foundation for their labour of love. I wish to

thank them also for the favour of asking me to deliver this

anniversary lecture because it has offered me the opportunity of

knowing a little more than I knew about Annang Land. In the

delivery of this lecture I will adopt a mixture of historical and

narrational approaches. I will address where we are now, where

we would or should want to be, the roadblocks on the way, how

to overcome those roadblocks planted on the way to the

promise land. I will also make some recommendations for us to

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chew on. What is called Annang Land comprises eight local

governments namely; Abak, Essien Udim, Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ikot

Ekpene, Obot Akara, Oruk Anam and Ukanafun. The group also

includes our citizens who live in the Diaspora including the

United Kingdom and Ireland and the United States of America.

The first organised attempt to bring the Annang people together

in a big tent was in 1927 when an Annang Union was formed by

a man called Udosen Obot from Ikot Ekpene. This union was the

forerunner of Ibibio State College. The story is that the land on

which Ibibio State College now called State College stands today

was donated by Mr. Udosen Obot so all of us who went to Ibibio

State College owe him a debt of gratitude. This was about 1928

when the Annang Union merged with the Ibibio State

Movement. However, the merger had its own seeds of rivalry

and when a disagreement ensued between the Ibibios and

Annangs the name was changed to Ibibio and Annang Union in

August 1953. In 1954, an association called Annang Welfare

League was formed specifically to take care of the well-being of

Annang people. The League had as its objectives, the training of

Annang youths in schools abroad, the establishment of primary

and secondary schools and the social mobilisation of Annang

people in terms of political awareness on the evils of colonialism.

But by 1927 when the Annang Union was formed, women of

Annang origin were already fully sensitized to the evils of

colonialism and it was no surprise when in 1929 at the outbreak

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of the Aba Women’s Riots, Annang women were leading from

the front. The women of Utu Etim Ekpo, Uruk Ata Ikot Isemin and

Eka Uruk Eshiet led Aba women to invade the British armouries

at Utu Etim Ekpo and Aba. They removed arms and ammunitions

and utilized them for their protest against the British colonialists’

excessive taxation of their husbands. So you can see that in

terms of the fight against the colonialists for the soul of Nigeria,

its independence and the right to protest against the

abridgement of the rights of the natives the Annang women

were in the thick of it. It can be argued that feminism was here

before Nigeria acquired its independence and it is an ironic twist

that in an era when our men and women are even better

educated, Annang women as well as other women in Nigeria are

badly treated, discriminated against and denied the

transformational benefits of gender inclusiveness, equity or

parity. However, Annang men were not wanting in the fight

against the colonialists. Around the 1920s and 1930s the people

of Ikot Afanga in present day Oruk Anam Local Government Area

formed a sophisticated terrorist organiSation, much like the Mau

Mau in Kenya which gave hell to the colonialists. The

organization called Ekpe Ikpa Ukot (Leopard feet) was a source

of torment to the colonialists who had no way of curbing the

menace of the group. When they failed to tame the human

leopards they resorted to arresting and sending to the gallows

innocent people who had nothing to do with the terror group.

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The group, indeed, made a phenomenal contribution to the

struggle for Nigeria’s independence. After independence there

seemed to be the need to have an all-embracing canopy for

Annang people and that is how Afe Annang emerged. It was a

major rallying forum that sought to speak with one resonant

voice on all matters that affected the Annang Nation and to serve

as the battle axe of the Annangs. As it was growing in strength, a

splinter group which called itself Nto Afe Annang began to haunt

the Afe Annang as an inscrutable mystery, an effort that

probably had the motive of diluting or destroying its essence. Afe

Annang is still there in its enfeebled form but it still remains the

grandfather of the Annang people, the mother hen that will let

no hawk touch its chicken. Conflict is a natural state of affairs but

people of good intention in Annangland wish that Afe Annang

can regain its vitality and become the go-to organisation that the

Annangs probably wanted it to be.

Despite this puerile rivalry it is correct to say that the Annang

people have a great past, a past that is framed by achievements

in various fields including culture, tradition, medicine and

manufacturing. First, let it be recognized that Annang people as

a race are people of integrity whose word is their bond, who

value loyalty above everything else. There are three recognised

deities in Annang land. They are the god of in-laws (Awasi Ukot),

god of grandchildren (Awasi ejejen) and the god of extended

family (Awasi iman). Most Annang people have respect for these

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three deities irrespective of whatever religion they belong to.

These constitute for them areas where an infringement can be

regarded as an abomination for which there are penalties.

The Annang people can congratulate themselves for being able

to keep their language alive. The United Nations Educational and

Scientific Organisation estimates that there are between 5000

and 7000 languages in the world. The actual figure depends on

whether it is a language or a dialect and when a dialect crosses

the boundary and becomes a language. Languages can grow and

acquire new words and meanings or they can fall into disuse and

become either endangered or dead or extinct. These can be

attributed to globalization, colonialism, neo-colonialism or

oppression of speakers of minority languages by speakers of

majority languages. The more commonly spoken languages tend

to dominate the less commonly spoken ones. The politics of

majoritarianism can be a disservice to language development

especially the language of minority tribes. Last year or so the

Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai had decreed that

all soldiers in the Nigerian Army must learn to speak the three

major languages namely; Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo in furtherance

of the long standing oppression of minorities. How can any

soldier learn and retain three languages in addition to what he

needs to learn about his core responsibility of soldiering in the

21st century? And what is talismanic about these three languages

in a country where there are an estimated 400 or so languages?

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This is part of the oppression Olympics to which minorities all

over the world have always been subjected to. You might also

remember that when Wing Commander Idongesit Nkanga was

the Governor of Akwa Ibom State (September 5, 1990 to January

2, 1992) he decreed that the state radio and television stations

should cease the broadcast of news in all other languages except

Ibibio. I took him on in Newswatch in a ferocious forensic battle

for the restoration of Annang language to the news segment of

the radio and television broadcasts. At the end of the day, the

Federal Government under General Ibrahim Babangida asked

him to return to the status quo. He had no choice but to do so.

His attempt to kill Annang language by military fiat came to grief.

In the medical field Annang people have made a mark from

ancient times. Many women particularly in the rural areas have

been delivered of babies by Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs)

because of the absence of hospitals in their neighbourhoods or

lack of money to meet the high cost of child delivery in hospitals.

Today, many of these attendants are gradually being

incorporated into the formal medical care structure and their

skills upgraded for safe motherhood. Traditional bone setters

are also prominent in the medical field especially where

orthopaedic surgeons are hard to find or expensive to engage.

Citizens of Ikot Edet and Abiakpo have established a well-

deserved reputation for their bone healing expertise. Our people

are also known for Abreaction Therapy. This involves various

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forms of treatment such as dancing, confession of sins and evils

done to others. Rituals are performed before a native doctor and

the patient’s relatives. When the relatives indicate that the

patient is forgiven some psychological relief occurs. This is the

equivalent of western style psychotherapy.

There are also a number of important herbal remedies which are

indigenous to Annang Land. Some of them are:

a. Native chalk – when applied on the skin it provides a

soothing effect. It can also cure some skin ailments such as

measles and prickly heat.

b. Palm kernel oil can be used as a cream, antidote to poison

and evil forces and high fever.

c. Oil extract from a python is a well-known massaging cream

which traditional bonesetters use. It is also an antidote to

poison when ingested.

d. Honey is used for healing wounds because of its antiseptic

properties. It is also an energy giver.

e. African ginger (Ntuen Ibok) is useful for the treatment of

sore throat and cough.

f. Fresh Cucumber – is useful for the treatment of eye

problems.

g. Esim Egiet: It is useful for stomach ache.

h. Nton Oku – It is said to be useful for the treatment of

infection in babies.

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i. Garlic – for reducing high cholesterol and high blood

pressure.

j. Chameleon is used (Akuwe) for treating whooping cough.

k. Redwood chalk – (iduot) – for skin care.

l. Etong Ekpu – for treating indigestion in children.

Since Annang land is located in the Rain Forest belt it has an

abundance of flora and fauna, which are a rich source of raw

materials for traditional medicine. Our vegetation also has in its

womb a lot of solid and liquid minerals. They include clay which

is found in commercial quantities in Ikot Ekpat, Abak Itenge, Ikot

Otu and Urua Akpan. This has been exploited by the inhabitants

of those places for pot-making.

a. Salt deposits are present at Nna Enin and Abanga villages.

b. Soft sand, gravel and granite are found in the rivers and

seabeds of Okon, Ikot Osurua, Ukpom, Ikot Okoro, Midim,

Abak and Ikot Osukpong. These are mainly used in the

building industry.

c. Coal is found in Ikot Ukpong and Ikot Idem in Obot Akara

LGA.

d. Crude oil and gas: There are several oil wells discovered

since the late 50s and capped at Ikot Etuk Udo, Ibagwa,

Inen, Eka Ediene, Utu Ikot Iwara, Ikot Inyang Udo, Mkpok

Eto, Ikot Osukpong and Ikot Osute.

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e. Native gin called kaikai is brewed from palm wine in such

places as Etim Ekpo, Ika, Ukanafun and Oruk Anam LGAs.

This activity was prohibited by the colonial masters in order for

it not to compete with their own gin imported into the country

at the time. There is a huge raffia craft industry in Ikot Ekpene.

The craftsmen have been able to produce a wide range of

products such as hats, belts, shoes, handbags, lawyers’s wigs,

toys and furnishings. With the abundance of a wide variety of

raw materials there is an immense opportunity for investors in

oil palm, cassava, clay, arts and crafts, woodwork, carvings, raffia

products, timber and livestock.

We must accept that there is a high degree of dynamism in

culture. Some of those ancient practices are, happily, fading

away. Female genital mutilation is still a lingering problem

especially in the rural settings and more especially among the

illiterate population. We must fight the menace to a standstill

because it is a needless exercise. However, happily the fattening

room concept is almost completely extinct. There are two types

of girls fattening, the full blown one which is called Mbobo.

Mbobo is an elaborate means of preparing a girl for possible

marriage by fattening her up through excessive feeding because

the idea of beauty in ancient days was a well-rounded female

with appropriate bulges at the right places. She was always kept

in seclusion and groomed by experienced women. She would

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also receive tuition on home management, housekeeping and

activities of the “other room.” Her body would be decorated

with beautiful designs. She would probably stay in the fattening

room for a period of about six months. The lower grade fattening

of the girls was called ngwogwo. This was an emergency, crash

programme lasting not more than three months whereby the girl

is prepared so that if a man turns up to seek her hand in marriage

she would be ready. In most parts of Annang land the two

variants of girl grooming have faded out. This is because the

concept of beauty that emphasized bigness is out and that of

slimness is in. Besides, the Annang world has woken up to the

reality that there is a serious health hazard in being so big as to

be considered obese.

Let us situate Annang Land in the context of Akwa Ibom State

and Nigeria and in the context of a globalized world. This will

enable us to fathom on how we will fare, or should fare in the

days ahead. In economic terms Nigeria is facing strong

headwinds. Its primary product, crude oil is receiving low

patronage. Its price is coming down because new oil fields are

being discovered in Africa, Houston and other parts of the world.

Besides, Shale oil has come into the picture and China is trying to

ensure that it counts in the energy mix. Nigeria earned $95

billion from crude oil exports in 2012, $90 billion in 2013, $77.5

billion in 2014, $42 billion in 2015. It has declined further since

then. But meanwhile despite the decline in income our

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expenditure profile is high, unreasonably high. We now spend

70% of our revenue on debt servicing, leaving us with a

miserable 30% for capital and recurrent expenditure. And we

have an expensive war we are fighting in the North East and

other forms of insecurity to deal with in other parts of the

country. Yet we have not developed the political will to cut our

coat according to our cloth. The United States with a population

of 316 million and GDP of $17, 328 (30 times that of Nigeria) has

15 ministers (which are called Secretaries) India has 24 ministers,

United Kingdom 17 while Nigeria has 43. It also has a National

Assembly that is the world’s most reckless spender. Look at

these: South Korea has a population of about 50 million but 79,

000 megawatts of electricity, Nigeria with a population of 200

million has between 3000 and 4000 megawatts of electricity. We

are an oil producing, oil exporting country yet we import refined

petroleum products for our consumption. We have a refining

capacity of 650, 000 barrels from our four refineries eventhough

they are all working at far less than the installed capacity. Algeria

has a refining capacity of 650, 000 bpd, consumes 418, 000 bpd

and exports 210, 000 pbd of refined petroleum products. Kuwait

with a population of about 4 million has a refining capacity of

963, 000 pbd, refines almost 1 million per day, consumes 345,

000 pbd and exports about 680, 000 pbd. Nigeria does not refine

enough for domestic consumption. Rather, it imports refined

petroleum products at presumably padded costs. This increases

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the fragility of our financial situation. By the 2017 Fragile States

Index, Nigeria is listed as the world’s 13th least stable country. All

of these statistics indicate that Nigeria is punching below its

weight. We are afflicted by the resource curse syndrome and we

don’t seem to know how to get out of it. Every conversation in

Nigeria today is seasoned with skepticism. The incubus of fear

has been planted in us. We are worried not just about our

present but also about our future. There are no more low

hanging fruits for us to pluck. We need a tall ladder to reach the

high hanging fruits. As things stand now there is not much that

our governments, state or federal can really do for us as a people

because neither government is in fine fettle today. So as a people

we must look for ways of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.

Ati Annang Foundation has shown us the way already. It has

made commendable achievements in five areas namely;

scholarship awards, backpack project for primary school

children, football project, wellness project and Annang Language

Development project. It has six aims and objectives which

constitute its raison d’ tre. Those objectives can be called the

Annang Dream. Let me put this dream in a capsule thus: “To

achieve an appreciable state of unity, progress, prosperity and

well-being for Annang men, women and children in all spheres

of human endeavour.” That is, roughly speaking, what our dream

should be in the days to come. But we must pursue this dream

with our eyes wide open because there are considerable hurdles

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on our way, the type of hurdles that all minorities all over the

world encounter when they try to assert their micro nationalism.

Ethnic prejudices are very strong in Nigeria. In the 70s there were

many Annang doctors working in the public sector of Cross River

State, all of them very well qualified. Then a petition was written

to the government alleging that the medical field in the state was

dominated unmeritoriously by the Annangs. A commission of

inquiry was set up by the Government of Cross River State. That

Committee discovered that all of the Annang doctors were very

well qualified and that they got to where they were by merit. At

that time I was the Editor of the Nigerian Chronicle. My

experience on the Editor’s chair might be useful here. I was one

of seven people who applied from within to contest for the

positions of Editor of the Sunday Chronicle and Nigerian

Chronicle. The Editor of Daily Times, Prince Tony Momoh was

brought from Lagos to come and conduct a written practical test

for the applicants. The next day all seven of us were invited for

interview at the Public Service Commission’s office. The

members of the commission invited Prince Momoh the examiner

and Chief Efiong Essien the General Manager of the Cross River

State Newspaper Corporation to join the interview panel. When

it was my turn the Chairman of the panel told me that I came

first in the written test but asked why I chose to apply for the

position of Editor, Sunday Chronicle instead of the Nigerian

Chronicle that was higher in rank. I told the panel that I did so

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because we were informed that the Ministry of Information

wanted Mr. Martin Usenekong who was editing the paper in an

acting capacity to retain the job. The Chairman said that was not

the case. He asked me the difference in terms of content

between a daily newspaper and a Sunday newspaper, I told him.

He asked if I could edit the daily newspaper if offered the job. I

answered in the affirmative. They offered me the job that I did

not apply for. Those were the days when merit was appreciated.

An Annang man, a minority man, who had no one to lobby for

him got a job on the strength of his own ability. But wait for it.

That was the pleasant part of the story. Mr. Martin Usenekong,

a happy go lucky man, graciously congratulated me and went

back to the Ministry of Information from whence he came. I took

the Editor’s chair and my ordeal began. The Ibibios who

dominated the production department were unhappy that their

man, Mr. Usenekong, did not retain the job. They gave me hell.

Every night I practically slept in the office to ensure that there

was no trouble planted for me in the paper. I had to eventually

report the situation in which I was to the General Manager, Chief

Efiong Essien, himself an Ibibio man who believed in merit. He

had to read the Riot Act to the production staff before I received

their cooperation. Another story. It was the practice in those

days to pay the outside correspondents of our newspaper their

transport allowance monthly. When this allowance was not paid

for months I reasoned that the reporters may not be able to send

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stories to me. I kept pestering the Chief Accountant of the

Chronicle to pay my reporters. The stock answer I always got was

“no money.” So one day I went to his office when he was about

to close. When I got in I locked the office and put the key in my

pocket. I told him: if you don’t pay my reporters today both of us

will sleep in this office today. He thought it was a joke but it

wasn’t. I meant it. He decided to call the General Manager who

answered his distress call. When he came he asked what the

problem was. I told him. He assured me that the reporters would

be paid the next day. They were indeed paid. So where did the

money suddenly come from? It just means that sometimes you

need to use an unorthodox method to survive in this system.

From then onwards my staff were promptly paid. Without the

ajaguda style that I used they would have made me look like an

incompetent Editor.

When Professor Moses Akpanudo was pushing for a licence for

Obong University in Etim Ekpo LGA the officials of the National

Universities Commission (NUC) were scheduled to go to Obong

for an inspection. I was informed that some people from Akwa

Ibom State were trying to block the visit by telling the would be

inspectors that the university’s site was just thick bush and there

was no point going there. I had to call my contact at the NUC. I

told him that if the team does not go there it will not know how

thick the bush is. They came and approved a licence for the

university. Even on the eve of the presentation of the licence in

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Abuja I was told there was a last ditch effort to halt it. I alerted

my reporters and photographers in Abuja who covered the

presentation. We gave it good play in Newswatch. These stories

ought to indicate to us that there are several road blocks,

manned and unmanned, that can impede the progress of

Annang land and we must therefore gird our loins. We need a

big tent approach, a united, undivided approach to make things

hum for us. We can learn from some global examples and draw

wisdom from their successes. We can learn from Israeli’s

entrepreneurial spirit, the never say die philosophy which has

enabled that country to stay on top of the survival game. Israel

with a population of 7.1 million people, almost no natural

resources, enemies on every border is a country in a perpetual

state of war but has more start-up companies than Japan, India,

Korea, Canada and the United States. Israel’s adversity driven

culture, high level of education and technology foster a unique

combination of innovative and entrepreneurial intensity. Its

neighbours Palestine and Syria are in the same region. Israel is

able to overcome the hazards of the hostile vegetation by

adopting drip irrigation which has transformed its agriculture

tremendously but the Arabs have not been able to do the same.

They are still stuck in the mud. In Uyo all the big supermarkets,

except Nteps, are owned by the Igbos. So what have our people

been doing? A few years ago I wanted to buy some bags of rice

at Christmas for my relations. The only supermarket in Ukanafun

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that I could find more than one bag of rice to buy was owned by

an Igbo man, right in the heart of Ukanafun village. So what have

our people been doing? Their investment is largely in Tokunbo

cars, mini sized petrol stations, food-is-ready restaurants and

some other nyama nyama businesses. Let us look at two

countries Mexico and United States. The town of Nogales is

divided by a fence. On the north side is the United States and on

the south side Mexico. The inhabitants on the northern side face

lower crime rates, live longer and earn three times as much as

their northern neighbours. How did two places that share an

ethnic background, a geographical location and a climate get to

be so drastically different in achievements? Daron Acemoghu

and James A. Robinson in their book, Why Nations Fail have

explained why. The authors say that to prosper citizens need

inclusive institutions which create virtuous circles of innovation,

economic expansion and more widely held wealth. This is based

on 15 years of research that the authors did on the subject. The

Mexico/United States scenario applies to Syria/Palestine on the

one hand and Israel on the other. So does it apply to Ibos and

Akwa Ibomites. Since I was born my people have always bought

building materials from Aba. I am 71 now and my people are still

buying building materials from Aba and Aba is not buying

anything from us. Today the native attire called senator which

many Akwa Ibomites wear are made by Igbos in Aba. They come

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here to take the measurements, go back and sew them and bring

to Akwa Ibomites. So what have we learnt?

Now let’s talk about China, a country whose products Nigerians

used to deride in the past. China used to be seen as the

slumbering Red giant that produced inferior goods. Now China’s

economy is the second in the world and the speculation is that

by 2025 it may overtake America as the king of the global

economy. Today China has the biggest, tallest, longest and

fastest of almost everything you can think of. What is responsible

for its success? High quality education in science and technology

plus its thrift philosophy. China prescribes that to become rich

its citizens must work hard and must save 25% of their income.

In Annangland we have not made as much achievement as we

possibly could have made because of some impediments outside

of the institutional ones I had earlier mentioned. These

impediments affect the development of Annang resources. They

include the lack of research into our indigenous technology,

concealment of scientific information among Annang people,

undocumented achievements of Annang scientists, the

disparaging of the Ndom Annang concept, poor dissemination of

information.

Let me now make some recommendations on the way forward

to a possibly glorious future:

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- Ensure that there is peace in Annangland. Please settle

boundary disputes in time and fairly for without peace

there can no development. The disruption of life by touts in

Ukanafun and Etim Ekpo recently will set us back by many

kilometres.

- We must put education, quality education, on the first page

of our shopping list. In particular we must pay attention,

special attention, preferential attention, to STEM (Science,

Technology, Engineering and Mathematic) in our

scholarship awards. We have two functioning private

universities in Annangland. There are two more in the

pipeline. Whatever any one of us can do to reduce their

birth pains let him or her do.

- Annang people do not have a major national news medium

but I learn that we do have some local media that serve our

needs locally. We need a bigger voice, preferably a national

newspaper of quality with appropriate social media

convergence quality. This newspaper should be our battle

axe. If we did not have Newswatch by our side our language

would have been slaughtered even if temporarily.

- We must encourage Annang sons and daughters who have

made some inventions or who have special skills to show

them to the world. This can be done through a yearly forum

for Annang inventors and a talent hunt activity.

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- There are no free consultancy centres where our youths can

seek help on education, career choice, scholarship facilities

and employment opportunities. We can publish a brochure

that can guide our young people on such matters.

- Our youths need value reorientation on time management,

cell phone management mannerisms and knowledge

management. For many of them their mannerisms on these

issues are awful and cannot lead to success in their careers

or in life generally.

- We must encourage our people to have fewer children than

our grandparents had so that they can get good quality

education which will translate into good quality

employment and good quality life. The times are hard. They

will be harder. The statistics say so.

- Our people must be encouraged to accept, with pleasure,

children of any sex, male or female, that God favours them

with. The discrimination against female children is

unacceptable and even foolish. In many of our communities

female children take better care of their parents. President

Bill Clinton has only one child, a female. President Barack

Obama has two children, both of them females. Having

female children did not prevent them from getting to the

top. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, 38

is the world’s youngest female leader. Her sex did not

prevent her from getting to the top. Nor did it prevent Dr.

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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from becoming the Managing Director

of the World Bank. And by the way, it is the men only who

can produce the Y chromosome that leads to the

conception of a male child so the men have no right to

harass their wives who deliver baby girls.

- Eat healthy and if you allow yourself to get fat you are

looking for trouble because when you climb the stairs you

will be puffing and huffing like a whooping cough patient.

Eat fruits and vegetables and nuts. There are fruit markets

everywhere today. Don’t just sell the fruits, eat them too. If

you can help it, don’t smoke. One stick of cigarette,

according to experts, takes away seven minutes of your life.

- Show a business-like approach to everything you do

because time lost is lost forever. It cannot be regained.

Show disdain for African time. I notice that every event in

Akwa Ibom State, wedding, burial etc takes a full day, so it

is impossible to do more than one important thing in a day.

That is not the road to success.

- There is an evolution of bad manners by our young people.

They call you Chairman whether you are a chairman or not.

They query you. “How was your night?” As if that is their

business. These are all advanced forms of begging or

solicitation. Please can we keep this bullcrap far away from

Annangland?

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- On May 29, 2015, I was at the inaugural ball of the newly

elected Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom

Emmanuel. As he entered the Le Meridian Hotel venue of

the ball, we all stood up to greet the freshly minted

Governor. He gave me a big hug which I appreciated

because I was not close to him. The following day some

young men came to my hotel to see me each of them asking

me to make them either SA or PA or Police Orderly to the

new Governor. I asked them why they thought I had such

power. They said it was because of the way the Governor

gave me a passionate hug. I was stunned at the

interpretative idiocy in the statement and why anyone

would think that an innocuous hug was the passport to a

job in a political setting.

- Develop a positive attitude towards life and don’t let the

naysayers decide your future. Some years ago, I was with a

group of Ibibio friends with whom I always had a

conversation anytime I was in Uyo. On this day our

discussion drifted to the governance of Akwa Ibom State.

Obong Victor Attah was the Governor at the time. One of

my friends there said magisterially: “An Annang man can

never be the Governor of this State.” I countered that it

would happen eventhough I did not know how. We

exchanged hot words and I left the group in anger. A few

years later Chief Godswill Akpabio became the Governor. I

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was happy that my friend lived long enough to see a

Governor of Annang extraction. Much, I suspect, to his

dismay. Godswill told me that as soon as he became

Governor someone from Uyo came to him with a small

parcel of sand and asked him to accept it and keep in his

custody so that the deities in Uyo will protect him until he

ends his tenure. Godswill said he told him that he is actually

the landlord in Akwa Ibom and he controls everything

including the deities of Uyo. The man went back dismayed.

- There is a feeling in Nigeria that Akwa Ibom people are

docile and obedient to a fault that they would never

demonstrate for or against anything. I think this is largely

true. Until 1974 I never heard of any demonstration

mounted by the oil producing people of Akwa Ibom against

Mobil despite the environmental degradation and the lack

of amenities in the oil bearing communities. My editor at

the Chronicle Mr. Nelson Etukudo assigned me when I was

Features Editor to go to Eket and write about the condition

of the people. I found that there was no water, no

electricity, no roads or bridges. The people lived a desolate

life which I described as Hell. On the opposite side was the

Mobil Quarters which had water, electricity, well-

manicured lawns and champagne. I called it Heaven. After

the publication of my articles I went back to Eket on my own

and met Chief Ndarake. I told him I wanted to organise the

24

youths to demonstrate against Mobil. After some hesitation

he agreed. The demonstration lasted a week. After that

Mobil started doing development projects in those oil

bearing territories. Many years later Chief Ndarake met me

and told me that if I had not done what I did Mobil would

have continued to treat them badly. He offered me a

chieftaincy title and I told him that I am not a good

chieftaincy title candidate. The lesson here is that if you

don’t fight for what you want you may never get it in

Nigeria. So don’t be afraid to fight if and when the occasion

calls for it.

- Are we thinking of establishing an Annang museum of

antiquities where we can gather and preserve some of the

admirable relics of our past? We should think about it.

- To our young people I say engage, during your free time, in

volunteer work. Volunteerism is good for you and for

society. For admission purposes in some higher institutions

abroad evidence of community work or volunteerism is

required. Being a helper to someone or to your community

has a lot of therapeutic value.

- Don’t adopt the easy manner of the entitled. Nobody owes

you a living. You owe yourself one and if you work hard you

can get there. Be kind to people because it costs you

nothing to be kind. There are immense benefits of kindness.

25

- Don’t believe prosperity preachers who tell you that if you

pray and pay your tithes you will be fine. No, you will not be

fine. There is nothing like manna from heaven. You need to

work hard, very, very hard and pray for God to help you.

God is in the details, in the painstaking approach to your

work or your studies. Don’t leave all the work to God, do

your own and God will help you. You have heard the

expression “trust in God but get a good equipment.” Any

society that believes that anything and everything that

happens is an Act of God is fatalistic. Fatalism deprives

people of the use of their intelligence. God did not save the

Abuja preacher who went out at 5am to do what

Pentecostalists call “morning cry.” God expected her to use

her head, to know that Abuja has a coterie of muslim

fundamentalists and she could be in danger in some areas

of the city at 5am. It is silly for anyone to go out preaching

at such an unholy hour because anyone who is out on the

street at that time has something to do. He is not going out

because he wants to hear a sermon.

- There is too much violence in Nigeria today so play safe.

Watch your front and watch your back. If you don’t live you

can’t achieve your goals.

Finally, if we work hard as a group, and pay attention to details

we may go further than we think. Even if we do not circle the

globe we will still be a happy bunch of people.

26

Thank you.

Ray Ekpu

References

1. Fishman, Ted C, *2005) China Inc. How the Rise of the next

superpower challenges America and the world, Simon &

Schuster.

2. Investment opportunities, a publication of Akwa Ibom State

Government.

3. Umoh, Imeh S. (2011) Annang Culture: Way of Life in

Annang Nation and Moments in time, Newswatch Books

Limited.

4. Udondata, Joseph (edited) (2002) Anaan Cultural

Development Vol. 1, Joe Graph Publications.

5. At a glance, Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria, A Publication of

Akwa Ibom State Government.

6. Porter, Michael E. (1990) The Competitive Advantage of

Nations, The Free Press.

7. Wallace, Mike (2008) (edited) 50 years from today, Thomas

Nelson.

8. Senor, Dan and Singer, Saul (2009) Start-up Nation, The

Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle, Hachette Book Group.

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9. Acemoglu, Daron and Robinson, James A. (2012) Why

Nations Fail, The Origin of Power, Prosperity and Poverty,

Crown Publishers.

10. Petters, Sunday W, Iwok, Edet R and Uya, Okon E (1994)

edited, Akwa Ibom, The Land of Promise, a compendium,

Gabumo Publishing Company Limited.