By Akanimo Sampson

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State is battling to swim against the tide of the endemic oil curse in the 37 year-old state. For decades, the ego-centric ‘development’ projects embarked on by previous governments failed to capture the people as the centre.

As Eno painstakingly flagged off the reconstruction of Ibom International Convention Centre and Hotels in Uyo, the state capital the other day, he announced that his administration is committed to preparing the state for growth beyond oil. That was at the premises of the resort.Unfortunately, the state has not made any significant progress as one of Nigeria’s biggest oil states, even though Wikipedia says the state is the third largest economy in the country, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $19.25 billion,

GDP is a monetary measure of the total market value[1] of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country, which simply put, it also measures the economic performance of a country or region, but Akwa Ibom’s economy is heavily reliant on oil and gas production, making it the largest oil producer in Nigeria.

Only last November, Governor Eno announced that the state will be implementing a new minimum wage of N80,000 per month. Outside that, the state has nothing more to showcase for its oil wealth as impacting positively on the masses,

Sadly, it is one of the “oil curse” states of the Niger Delta. Oil curse refers to the paradoxical phenomenon where oil-rich states, like Akwa Ibom, experience economic decline despite receiving very huge oil revenue.

This, according to those who know better, happens because the oil wealth has led to problems like corruption, dependence and lack of diversification, environmental damage, social and political instability. Unarguably, oil exploration and extraction activities have caused pollution and damage to the environment, impacting local communities and their livelihoods.

For the people of Ibeno, an oil-bearing community in the state, the blessing of having oil since 2023, has turned to be a curse, following the environmental, economic and health hazards caused by oil exploration and exploitation by oil companies.

Activities of oil companies operating in the area have led to oil spills and gas flaring which have become hazardous to aquatic animals, plants and humans. Oil spill in the form of release of liquid petroleum hydrocarbons into the environment, both on land and the marine ecosystem, mainly due to operational failure have become a quagmire.

Indigenes of Ibeno have lamented how their water has been contaminated by oil spills, making it difficult for them to have safe drinking water.

According to one of their youth activists, simply known as Rhoda, there is no potable water in Ibeno, alleging that a sachet of water is sold at N100, and that families who could not afford the high cost of the sachet water drink oily water from the streams.

Some social formations that are active in the affairs of the state have warned that lack of development and perceived inequitable distribution of the oil wealth could fuel social unrest and conflict.

For them, the increasing oil revenue since the expiration of the Victor Attah administration in 2007, has allegedly led to mismanagement and underdevelopment.

Consequently, the glaring evidence of the oil curse in Akwa Ibom is the widening poverty and Inequality. The state has a worrisome level of poverty, significant income inequality, poor electricity, and other basic infrastructure like the sorry state of its public schools and healthcare centers.

Across the rural communities, the oil curse in the state tends to represent a situation where abundant oil resources have not translated into sustainable development and prosperity for the state and its people, but have instead fueled environmental problems, economic neglect, marginalisation, and frequent social unrest.

For the mass of the unemployed, and the left behind communities, the presence of oil is not the route to unlocking growth and securing development for them. A greater majority of the Akwa Ibom people have become victims to the resource curse.

This is largely because the state has since become the site of intense and controversial struggle between the have and the have not oil communities.

The power elite have also become consumed by the desire to reap from the oil firms. Where they expect rewards for their resources, they see zero improvement in their standard of living.

Unarguably, the effects of oil extraction for their environment have been devastating. Going by the figures Abuja made public for instance, between 1970 and 2000, there were more than 7,000 oil spills in the oil-bearing communities of the Niger Delta.

Hit by the shocking reality on the ground, Eno has passionately pleaded for peace across the state, boasting that one of his greatest achievements in the past two years of his administration is the sustenance of peace and unity across divides in the state.

He noted that the peace enjoyed in the state has been the foundation of his success, claiming that Akwa Ibom will continue to remain one united family for growth and development.

According to him, one of the cardinal components of his ARISE Agenda is tourism which requires certain basic infrastructure, such as good conference centres and hotels to thrive, pointing out that the two facilities, in addition to the ARISE Resort, will be major signposts of the state’s tourism master plan.

Making reference to the scriptures in Hebrew 11:39-40, “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect,” he recalled that the projects were started 15 years ago, but couldn’t be completed.

“I believe in my heart fully that God wanted us to be part of these projects and to drive it to conclusion. We give credence and kudos to all our past leaders, especially the distinguished Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who envisioned this project. We thank all the other leaders that attempted to restart these projects.

“The last administration did a whole lot but God didn’t let them finish it so that we can participate in it, and bring in all the modern requirements to run an international hotel because that is my industry. There is no way they could have finished these projects without a tourism practitioner. So we thank God.”

The governor is a major player in the hospitality industry and a former Chairman of the State’s Hotels and Tourism Board. “We are gathered here this afternoon, in our determined effort to position Akwa Ibom as the tourism hub of Nigeria.

“I have been asked why we are spending money to complete the 200-bedroom Ibom Hotels which has been abandoned for years and my answer is simple: I came not just to deepen peace and unity in my state but to deploy my finishers’ anointing especially on projects that may have gulped billions of our state’s resources already.

“With Uyo, our beautiful capital city today, easily the host city of choice for major seminars, retreats, conventions and other events nationally, and with the 200-bedroom hotel which we are set to complete in 12 months, a world class International Convention Centre, will be an icing on the cake for our vision of delivering a one-stop tourism haven.

“With our ownership of Ibom Air, which ensures the ease of movement, with a world-class international airport that will soon go into operation, a peaceful, united and hospitable people, a range of cuisines that is nationally celebrated as the best, Akwa Ibom State, stands at the cusp of expansion and growth in tourism.

“Work is ongoing in our ARISE Resort, a marvel of human imagination, which, upon completion, will be the best family-themed resort in the nation. With facilities such as a 9-hole golf course, children playground, artificial lakes, banquet hall, tastefully furnished chalets among other facilities, ARISE Resorts will help bring the world to Uyo”, Governor Eno said.

While the governor is calling on the people to remain united, reduce unnecessary political bickering as the ARISE Agenda remains his administration’s governing blueprint, members of the National Assembly led by Senator Aniekan Bassey, commended Eno for his leadership disposition, especially on inclusivity and for bringing government closer to the people.

Bassey assured that members of the National Assembly are willing and ready to follow and support the governor’s second term political journey. Also speaking, Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Udeme Otong, said the legislators have observed with delight the governor’s commitment to project Akwa Ibom.

In an overview of the project, Commissioner for Special Duties and Ibom Deep Seaport, Ini Ememobong said both facilities were critical in the tourism equation of the state adding that when completed, the facilities will direct tourism traffic to the state.

For now, any development plan in Akwa Ibom aimed at reversing the scourge of the oil curse, without first ensuring affordable food, massive and sustainable job opportunities, might be having a turbulent sail. The Akwa Ibom people are not happy that the huge financial inflow to the state is not rubbing off on them.

(Published by The Southerner on Thursday, May 29, 2025)