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| Rt. Hon. Eseme Eyiboh |
By Osondu Ahirika
The day was October 29, 2016. Ekid Peoples Union, held her 2016 National Congress at the Prince Udo Edukere Hall within the precincts of Esit Eket Local Government Council Secretariat.
Besides the Presentation of the New National Executive Committee of the Apex Socio-cultural Organization of the Ekid people, led by Rev. Prof. Asindi A. Asindi, the main event was the key note address on the theme, Promoting Sustainable Peace and Development in the Oil Producing Communities: The Role of Government, Oil Companies and Oil Producing Societies.
The Speaker was a man of immense stature and formidable resume. A one time Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs(2007-2011), former Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, former Chairman Committee in Donor Agencies(2011-2012), Speaker, WAIFEM Regional Parliament, Accra, 2009-2011 and Dean, Faculty Board of The Initiatives, National Assembly, 2008-Date. His name, Rt. Hon. Eseme Eyiboh. Ekid Nation couldn't have found a more worthy speaker. He represented Eket Federal Constituency in the National Assembly.
A pragmatist, social crusader, philosopher and motivational speaker, Eyiboh, proved his mettle. He ended up engaging the intelligentsia, think tank and indeed the generality of Ekid nation in a frank conversation.
It was a meeting that attracted to top echelon of Ekid Nation. Hon Mrs Owoidighe EkpoAttai, Member representing Eket Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, was joined by the Transition Committee Chairman of Esit Eket, Hon. Iniobong Nnamso and his Eket counterpart, Hon. Francis Archibong and the Political Leader of Esit Eket, Elder Benjamin Udobia, traditional rulers and stakeholders too numerous to mention. It was a perfect stage for the mind power that Hon. Eyiboh characteristically projects.
Eyiboh, by his diagnosis of the theme unsurprisingly, harped on good governance as the sole recipe to active democratic prominence, sustainable peace and development.
In the highlights that encapsulated his thoughts, Eyiboh maintained that, leaders, must govern with sufficient accountability and faithfulness to establish laws and constitution, to enhance legitimacy of the system as well as, institutionalize proper framework for growth and effectiveness in its leadership transition.
To the Ekid leaders, he did not mince words. To restore the known history of rich traditional heritage of a great leadership pool, Ekid Nation, Eyiboh insisted, "...must ensure that standards guiding recruitment into titular heads, and institutional representations must reflect capacity, integrity, education and worth, while communities are openly and transparently governed."
Eyiboh decried the backwardness bedeviling Ekid nation in particular, and other nationalities in general and traced the dysfunction of leadership to several factors, namely: clannish and primordial sentiments, weak political and public institutions, ineffective management of public finance and conversion of public trust to a cesspool of corruption.
These among other factors, he posited, undermine the achievement of sustainable peace, development and democratic dividend of good governance.
In pushing his idea of good governance, Eyiboh told the enraptured audience that, Good governance, as a concept, emanates from the philosophy that, the ultimate. Reason for the existence of any government, is the common welfare of the citizens. A basic, he noted, is expressed in Chapter ii, Section 14(1)B of the 1999 Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.
He said that, beyond holding elections, good governance embodies creating the nexus between the governed and the government with the provision of the material conditions for individual and collective self actualization. Eyiboh added that, these are inseparable from, efficient rationalization in allocating resources, guarantee of civil and human rights, accountability and institutional adaptability to achieve the goal of macro economic stability and thus employing the vast and abundant resources which abound to meet the basic need of the people, who he aptly designates as, the creditors.
Eyiboh in his treatise argues that, development is pointless if it imperils the interest and well being of future generations and points to the tenets for environmental sustainability, enunciated in the Millennium Development Goals, as the way forward for tackling the rot and restiveness that have ravaged oil producing communities. It is clear that, Eyiboh lays the blame for what oil communities are suffering at the door of leadership, which has been, hypocritical, mediocre, ill prepared and alienated from the people.
He called or social rights and economic empowerment of the populace. He sued for civil rights to be guaranteed for all people across gender, ethnic groups, religious faiths, races, regimes and countries. He advocated for the wellbeing of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their
active, free and meaningful participation in development and the fair distribution of benefits arising therefrom. He charged that, the quest to meet the developmental needs of the present must not compromise the ability of future generations to satisfy their own needs.
To the Ekid people, he passed a sordid vote of caution. According to him, "when measured against our recent political experience EkID nation will not and shall never pass the test of being described as a people who have benefited and consolidated on the gains of democracy" Eyiboh added that, the factors that obstruct their (Ekid peoples) consolidation of the gains of democracy and attendant dividends if governance include the ultra-privatization of leadership project among other anomalies earlier listed.
Going forward, Rt. Hon. Eyiboh recommended that, to achieve peace and development, Ekid people must cultivate their leadership nursery through innovative political skills and crafting supporting coalitions. He stated that, this scenario is possible, when the people demonstrate commitment towards creating leadership culture that is transparent and acceptable.
He stressed in the final analysis and rightly so, that," Sustainable development and good governance can only be triggered by inspirational leadership, that will raise community peace and development and jumpstart a corresponding improvement in the standard of living of the people."
He wooed Ekid nation to retrace their descent into the darkness of identity loss and profane pursuit of truth, justice and fairness without any graps of resurrection, which he opined, is so because, they have deviated from the tradition of a strong leadership pool which their forbears handed down to them and which they benefited from.
This done, Eyiboh submits that, the frontiers of freedom, justice and socioeconomic rebirth will burst forth and cast of the shackles of what appears to be the burden of a conquered territory which Ekid nation must not conform to.
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