Every now and then, creative brands and young people are leaving Akwa Ibom to other states and cities of Nigeria and even outside the country in search of greener pastures where they feel their skills and services will be more appreciated and valued. This is the true situation facing the creative industry in Akwa Ibom.
Many have complained about this with little or nothing being done even from the government angle to stem the tide that might result in a brain drain or lose of quality human capital resources.
Here is what a Public Relations expert, Mr. Uduak Umo who is also an Akwa Ibom son said when he bared his mind. Read below:
”Akwa Ibom has been losing her creative population to PH, Lagos, SA, Abuja, Accra, the US, UK, the Far East and, trust me, even Seme border.
Idongesit Smart, Image has relocated. I suspect Eddie Brendan has moved too. Now I hear someone like Carrot is gone. Tony Ekpo HouseofGazelles left years ago. He did return only to marry my sister and, of course, go back. Austen Udoh won’t even want to own land back in Uyo even when he can afford 100 of those plots.
Someone like Ediong of Today.ng has been invited over by the Govt of some East African nation, as I hear, Straight from Ikot Ekpene.
Did I mention that Mark Essien didn’t start hotels.ng in Lagos? Till we hear from him, he brought that project through Ikot Ekpene with him. Maybe Ekerete Assiak can add a word to that. About this, I won’t be found complaining, wondering why or frightened. In fact I advocate this drift.
I tried a little analysis of this at the last PaQ session in Uyo. I told the audience that I believed Philip will move. Guy, are you in Uyo?
Going forward…
I foresee the Prince of Hypestation moving anytime. I used to suggest the Onuks (Tony and Francis Onuk) return to Lagos back then and I used to marvel that Aniekan Ekah of Wetinhappen insisted on staying. I still do. Forget that huge plaza at IBB; superior dollar offer can move the Onuks.
I am presently working on Sunny and his wife Emem Baseda to move their careers to bigger markets. But for significant investment in AudioFactory lately, my coins down: Dehniece would’ve moved. (Come and say ‘No’ Oga).
Who else? Krox Ukpe: mark his movements. Watch Tochlyt (don’t let newlyweds deceive you), Aniekan Anibaba is just stubborn, he’d be in Italy by now. Paul Frank? Ta! Pst Murphy Anohobi Ogbe: I’m sorry EHoG, anything is possible. Cavil Uduak Inwang, are you still on this side?
l keep the remaining names. You know them: pianists, dancers, actors, artists, background singers, music arrangers, coders, architects, hackers, preachers, teachers, nurses, doctors etc. They leave, they’re going, and they’re going.
They leave their parents. They love their families, they love the peace, they love the foods, but they gotta leave.
There’s a generation coming up who claim they’ll go nowhere. These 20-somethings are sweet, imaginative and full of flavour. Hey, when grown-up pressures kick in, I guarantee they’re out on an early morning bus.
Guys are restless; guys want more. They grow quicker than their environments; they seek better training facilities. Akwa Ibom isn’t cursed, but also we’re not just there yet (Trump’s language).
These outward movements of our brains are normal, expected, great, but the costs are enormous. The State and the region loses too much.
Another loser would have to be the leaver who didn’t have the capacity for those densely competitive destinations. Archbishop Idahosa said a lizard in Nigeria will not become an alligator in the US.
What causes these?
Starting with our complacency culture, on to our heavy reliance on politics and civil service, to our easy cooperation with oppressive corporate exploiters; our lack of understanding of God’s plans for individuals, dispensations and nation-states, there’s a lot to blame for these outward drifts.
We’re not patient people. We don’t even read; which explains why people who read will keep dominating us.
Someone will expect me to blame the governments first. True, they’ve played a key part in the sluggish development of Akwa Ibom State, both at State and Federal levels…
How do you explain that we didn’t get Ibaka Deep Seaport under Goodluck ‘Northerner’ Jonathan?
The present FG told us they’re preparing our approval for the Seaport, only for us to hear they’re silently already co-building Lekki deep seaport, which came after our proposal? How’s that explained?
This is the same reason they won’t restructure the country. Till they’ve spent up the oil, they won’t go back to their cocoa and groundnuts. Imagine a political party planning to develop the North and South West at the expense of the southernmost states, according to Alhaji Bornu governor.
If we’re to blame Governments, we should ask Nigeria why they’ve been so unfair to us. Should we blow up pipelines to get the attention of the Federal?
E.g. one of the voices calling for Mobil to relocate to Uyo is that of a traditional ruler of an oil producing community. While the community around him wallows in poverty worsened by oil spillage, the man lives in a mansion that has a lift; the wealthiest monarch in the entire state. Everyone knows where the money comes from.
We will not develop overnight, guaranteed, but surely till us all – govt and people – realize how much we lose in remaining complacent, there’s no hope. Development will not be thrust on us; it will be birthed from within us.
And till we’re developed enough, we will keep losing our best assets – people.”
Uduak Umo
And I could relocate too
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