WE NEED THE CRUMBS

It is no longer news that the Akwa Ibom State Government is set to build an International Worship Centre in the state. Judging from the picture above , the project which is going to be a kind of ecumenical centre, upon completion will surely be a sight to behold.

Udom is right and " ami mme dakkanda" with Udom on the building of the Centre. I consider it as a bold statement and notice to the world that Akwa Ibom State is the Lord's.

Looking through the pictures below, it is noticeable even with a casual glance that the following pictures next are not beautiful  as those preceding  them. The ugly, decrepit, and ruinous looking pictures are not wreckages of any severe cyclonic storm, neither are they some debris from war torn Syria. There are two blocks of classrooms in a certain primary school in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The primary school is owned by the Akwa Ibom State government that is about building a magnificent and  state- of-the-art Worship Centre in the state.

The ugly pictures are depictive of  Government School Ikot Ndot, Afaha Obo in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. It is about the only primary school in a community of eight villages. It was built in the 70's by the community and thereafter taken over by the government. Its present state of disrepair is occasioned by several decades of neglect by the state government and several appeals and representations made to the state government have not yielded any positive result. The school is now an eyesore in the community, a souvenir of shattered dreams and a constant reminder of the government insensitivity to the educational welfare of the children of those communities.

We here on  call on the state government and passionately appeal that the  leftover of the building materials for the building of the Worship Centre should not be disposed of and thrown away. Ikot Ndot community needs them for the rehabilitation of  the primary school as this is the only opportunity for such rehabilitation since the government doesn't deem it necessary to fix up the school.

The people of the community may be indigents but there are no fools. They understand the need to educate their children, so they do not grow up to become militants. They want to give them the best they can afford, so they can develop logical minds, to make critical inquiries and contribute positively to the state and national development so that  the world can be a better place for all.

We need those crumbs, those leftover building materials so we can rehabilitate the primary school for the children so they can go to school and not while away and grow up to constitute risks to the Worship Centre and the government in future.

God bless Akwa Ibom State

Uyoakam Ekerete, Esq 
18/01/2018