By ETIM ETIM
Contrary to some false and misleading reports, Gov. Umo Eno will not attend this year’s AKISAN Convention in Arlington, Virginia, on August 7 – 8; but he is sending a small delegation of only five persons, comprising the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, Mrs Helen Obareki and the Commissioner of Information, Aniekan Umanah, to represent the state government. AKISAN is an association of Akwa Ibom indigenes resident in the United States. Their yearly convention comes up every July or August, and this year is the 38th edition. Every Akwa Ibom governor right from Obong Victor Attah has made it a point of duty to attend the event every year with large delegations. It provided them with opportunities to engage with such important stakeholders, most of whom are professionals in various fields. The governor did attend last year’s meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, but is skipping this year’s to attend to important official matters at home. On Thursday, the Commissioner will present the government’s scorecard and Coffee Table Book titled “The Golden Footprint” which details the governor’s achievements, after which, Mrs Obareki will read the governor’s address.
In the speech, the governor will ask AKISAN to break with tradition and consider hosting next year’s convention in Uyo in line with the whole essence of AKISAN and the transformation it’s undergoing. He will specifically ask the group to liaise with the Office of the SSG to begin preparations for the Uyo Convention. It would be the first time AKISAN would take their yearly assembly outside the US, and would offer Umo Eno a huge opportunity to show off his tourism landmarks.
The governor will also ask AKISAN members to bring their expertise back home to the benefit of Akwa Ibom State in particular and Nigeria as a whole. He would put it elegantly: ‘’I am suggesting that the main essence (of this association) should be focused more on backward integration. How can you, like the Chinese, Indian and other Diaspora communities here in the United States, utilize your education, skills- set and contacts within professional and business class to advance the growth of your society back home? How can you help bring investments, technology transfer and use your extensive platforms to promote our State especially our rich tourism potentials? How can you be the ambassadors of our State, talking up our comparative advantage and promoting a backward integration not just amongst yourselves but with the larger African Americans communities most of whom are desirous of tracing back their genealogy to Africa?
‘’Today, more African Americans make Ghana their home, because of the great marketing job done by Ghanaian Diaspora community, by reminding them that their ancestors who unfortunately, were sold into slavery came from today’s Ghana, eliciting such desires and interest by the African Americans to visit sites such as Elmina Castle..It may interest you to know that we have our own Elmina Castle in Ikot Abasi. Pottery making is a major tourist attraction in the City of Ochio Riois, Jamaica -earning millions of dollars to that tourist city. We have similar pottery sites in ONNA. We have our Raffia in Ikot Ekpene, which with proper promotion can become a multimillion-naira business. Cancun in Mexico, earns millions of dollars yearly with hand-crafted materials. These are some of the areas I believe you can help shape our future and promote a culture of backward integration and I want to commend you for coming up with such a thought-provoking theme’’.
The governor will conclude his remarks by pitching his achievements in tourism and reminding the audience of the pledge he made last year at the Nashville Convention. He had promised to give $5, 000 to the winner of a competition among young people who can best speak Ibibio language which is spoken and understood by us all. He would redeem the pledge at the event and the winner will take home the winning prize.
He will reiterate that ‘’we need you to be the marketing agents for our State. We are poised to becoming the tourism hub of our nation, and out of the 50 major life-touching projects we are currently undertaking, quite a number of them are in the tourism sector’’. Gov. Eno will specifically mention Arise Resorts, a mini-Disneyland designed as the best family -themed resort in Nigeria, with a 9-hole golf course, artificial lakes, children play ground, 20 fully-furnished apartments, lakeside villas, restaurants serving both continental and African cuisines, floating bars, among other facilities. He will also mention the 5,000-seater international conference centre, a five-star hotel, a shopping mall, Ibom international hospital that can compare with any such anywhere in the world, among other audacious projects.
Gov. Eno’s decision not to attend AKISAN Convention is in line with his subdued and modest conduct which emphasizes frugality and prudence in managing the state’s resources. That’s why a lot of people were shocked by the false information broadcast by Prof Offiong Aqua, a New York-based physician in which he alleged that Gov. Umo Eno was attending the AKISAN convention with a delegation of 100 persons. Such a blatant untruth and fabrication has done a untold harm to Aqua’s reputation and call his intentions to question.
