It is my pleasure to use this medium to wish the Hon Commissioner for housing and special duties,mr Akan Okon,the entire people of Itu local Government Area, a Happy New year 2017,it is my believe that good things will find its way into our communities ,in terms of development.

I also want to use this singular opportunity to thank the Governor of Akwa Ibom state,Deacon Udom Gabriel Emmanuel for re-appointing Mr Akan okon,a professional,a seasoned banker, a proud son of Itu local Government,into the Akwa state Executive council,praying that God will give the Hon Commissioner the wisdom to pilot the affairs of his ministry.

It is on record that the Hon Commissioner has served the state well in various capacity,from the ministry of Economic Development,Finance,then recently that of Housing and Special Duties.

On this note,I wish to remind the Commissioner that he is from Itu Local Government area,and the people needs his true leadership and support,which the Hon Commissioner has failed to give to the Itu people,his home front .

According to a letter from Niccolo Machiavelli to the Magnificence Lorenze de medici,which I take permission as a historian to quote.

” Men who are anxious to win the favour of a prince nearly always follow the custom of presenting themselves to him with the possessions they value most,or with things they know especially please him,so we often see princes given horses,weapons,cloth of gold,Precious stones,and similiar ornaments worthy of their high position.”

Now,I am anxious to offer myself to your magnificence with some token of my devotion to you ,and I have not found among my belongings anything as dear to me or that I have as much as my understanding of the deeds of great men,won by me from a long acquaintance with contemporary affairs and a continuous study of the ancient world; these matters I have very diligently analysed and pondered for a long time,and now,having summarized them in a little book,I am sending them to your Magnificence. And although I consider this work unworthy to be put before you,yet I am fully confident that you will be kind enough to accept it,seeing that I could not give you a more valuable gift than the means of being able in a very short space of time to grasp all that I,over so many years and with so much affliction and peril,have learned and understood.

I have not embellished or crammed this book with rounded periods or big,impressive words,or with any blandished or superfluous decoration of the kind which many are in the habit of using to describe or adorn what they have produced; for my ambition has been either that nothing should distinguish my book,or that it should find favour solely through the variety of its contents and the seriousness of its subject-matter.

Nor I hope will it be considered presumptuous for a man of low and humble status to dare discuss and lay down the law about how princes should rule; because,just as men who are sketching the landscape put themselves down in the plain to study the low-lying land they put themselves high on the mountains,so,to comprehend fully the nature of princes one must be an ordinary citizen.

So,your Magnificence,take this little gift in the spirit in which I send it,and if you read and consider it diligently,you will discover in it my urgent wish that you reach the eminence that fortune and your other qualities promise you. And if,from your lofty peak,your magnificence will sometimes glance down to these low-lying regions,you will realize the extent to which,undeservedly,I have to endure the great and unremitting malice of fortune”.

Before putting this piece together,I went round some villages in itu Local Government, and witness the deplorable state of our communities,but Itu has great men like the Hon Commissioner,who is in Government,yet no development or Government presence in the area.

This few lines of word is an expression from an Itu daughter,a historian,who is still trying hard to research the history of Itu people and findout, WHO ARE THE ITU PEOPLE?.

It is time for Mr Akan Okon to return home to his people and see how his ministry could help the abandoned itu communities,neglected by the state and Federal Government. I feel very sad when people talk about how the state Government has developed Itu,and I ask,which part of Itu?

For those who are not aware, let me bring you into a brief fact about Itu , this Local Government is one of the biggest and oldest Local Government in Akwa state,rich with natural resources ,has the best catfish,land, the business of the people from pre-colonial,colonial,post-colonial, includes farming,fishing,craftsmanship, yet the people are poor because of the modern political system, were a few political office holders stay in London, uyo, Abuja and decides what happens at the Local Government,without sincerely meeting the true natives of the area, to hear their thoughts about what they want and how they feel.

Nelson Anderson said ” The true meaning of life is to plant trees,under whose shade you do not expect to sit”.

But Itu office holders chose to abandon the people,but only come to use the people during election and cause all sorts of disunity among the people ,it is high time for Itu people to Dakkada and hold their political office holders accountable,because it will no more be business as usual.

So when people hear of Itu local Government,they think is itam junction,calabar itu road,Nkim itam,mbiatok itam,Nung ukot itam , Ekritam 11,Mbak itam,Ntak Inyang,Akon itam, where people pass by often, but let me refresh our mind with the list of clans and villages in Itu and her geography. Itu Local Government is bounded in the North and North-East by Odukpani in Cross River State and Arochukwu in Abia State, in the West by Ibiono Ibom and Ikono Local Government Areas, in the South and South East by Uyo and Uruan Local Government Areas, respectively, the Local Government has ten wards.

Itu Clan:
Afia Isong
Akpa Ekpene Oton
Edem Inyang
Esin Ufot
Esuk Itu
Ikot Ukpo Itu
Obot Etim
Obot Itu
Odu Itu
Okoho Itu

Oku Clan:
Ika Oku
Ikot Abiyak
Ikot Adakpan
Ikot Antuen
Ikot Eka Iko
Ikot Esia
Ikot Essien
Ikot Ntu Oku
Settlements

Mbiabo Clan:
Efik Ibuno
Etehenten
Eton Ani
Ikot Efah
Ikot Offiong
Ikot Out
Mbiabo Edere
Mkpana Uruk
Nya Anating
Okono
Ufok Offiong Ani

Ayadehe Clan:
Ikot Akpabio-Ayadehe
Ikot Onoi
Ikot Udo

East Itam Clan:
Adang Itam
Afaha I
Efi Itam
Ekim Itam I
Ekim Itam II
Ekritam Akpan Obong
Ema Itam
Enen Atai Itam
Ibiaku Ikot Obong
Ikot Akpan Itam
Ikot Andem Itam
Ikot Annie
Ikot Anse Itam
Ikot Ayan
Ikot Nya Itam
Ikot Ukap
Ikot Ukono
Ikot Uso Akpan
Mbak Atai Itam
Mbak Obio Itam
Mbiabong Afaha
Mbiatok Itam
Mkpeti Itam
Nkim Itam
Ntiat Itam
Obong Itam
Odiok Afaha Itam
Okon Itam
Uyo Itam

West Itam Clan:
Afaha Itam
Afaha Ube
Afaha Ude Oke
Atai Ibiaku Itam
Ekit-Itom Akpan Obong
Ikot Abasi Itam
Ikot Ayan Itam
Ikot Ebom Itam
Ikot Ekang
Ikot Ekwere Itam
Ikot Emien Itam
Ikot Etpuk
Ikot Mbonde Itam
Ikot Obio Atai I
Ikot Obio Enang
Ikot Obong Edong
Mbak Ikot Oku
Mbak Obio
Mbribit Itam
Ntak Inyang
Nung Ukot Itam
Nwut Usiong.

It is our prayer that the Government will come and take a second look at some of the challenges the communities is facing in Itu local Government through the ministry of Housing and special Duties ,Works,Commerce and others.

The Obu Itam market that use to be one of the biggest market in Itu,is at a very deplorable state,the ibibio calender can not be complete without a particular day set aside and calculated as Obu,edere Obu,though ancient,but so many people in the local communities still rely on these market days calculation for their various activities,to show how strategic and important the OBU Itam market was,that is why it is situated at the boundary between Mbiatok,Ekritam Akpanobong,Obong Itam respectively.

What surprises me, is the fact that the market is situated just at the corner from where the Hon Commissioner for Housing and Special Duties Mr Akan Okon,drive’s past to his village home at mbiatok Itam,sometimes with dignitaries, but it does not draw his attention,it is a very shameful thing.

Oh Itu! I weep that people attribute the development in Itu by the Government through the Anniversary hospital at Ekrit Itam 11,flyer over network around Akpa ube, Nung ukud itam,the federal Government Road at calabar Itu road,other road constructions within the Itam peace column all within few villages in west Itam clan,most recently the propose waste management facility at Nkim itam,in East Itam .

It is very important to clear the air that Itu people have been marginalised,the Government is giving deaf ear to the security situation in Itu Local Government,we are bounded by water,militants comes through the water to attack traders at Udua obot Itu,scaring some efik men and women away from coming to do business,yet the Government has done nothing.

But I believe the Special Duties ministry will come and help us establish a permanent community security machinery in the area. Security is a very big challenge in Itu local Government,the conflict in Itu and oku is a matter of concern.

In my final year project at university,I was asked to research the history of the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company Oku Iboku,which I succeeded in having on print and defending same. I went through hell in trying to put the work together,not just the fact that the were limited information on the subject, but the bad state of roads in the villages that hosted the company, which I needed to go around for information ,before going to the plantation communities in Cross River State.

By the grace of God,i went round all the villages in Oku and,Ayadehe clan,where the palace of the paramount ruler of Itu is located,then I weep for Itu.

The roads in the area,is nothing to write home about, the people are suffering,the means of livelihood in these villages remain threatened, as the result of the coming of the NNMC,were chemicals used in the factory destroyed many houses,those emptied into the river,destroyed the fishing business of some people in the area, and the situation still remain the same long after the company had collapsed.

The Ayadehe market that brought business to the area is no more functioning,the meat business that use to boom in the area is no more working,because they are no more slaughter houses in the area for people to do business,except the one at Ntank Inyang,very far for some people of other clans.

But it will be a thing of joy in Itu local Government if the Housing Ministry could consider building of low cost estate in Itu and mbiabo clan for the people in the area,who seems cut off from what is really happening around Akwa Ibom State. Though some people suggest that the Enen Atai,Ema itam,Nkim area should also benefit from the housing project,as the is enough land for such project in the area.

Passing through Mbiatok Itam where the Hon Commissioner for Housing and Special Duties held from to Ekritam Akpanobong,it was very sad and heart broken to see that the road construction network with coal tie, stops at mbiatok Itam after the Hon Commissioners house , few poles to Ekritam Akpanobong junction and this work has not extended to Ekritam Akpanobong,and other villages in ward 4,which is the Commissioners ward.

This goes to show that the Commissioner has not done any human capital development project in Itu since he came into Government,and the people are praying that he should return home.

Politics is Local,meaning is first and foremost your immediate constituency,which is the home defense,because ibibio says that “inieun akaha ayong,mkpat ase awud isong,let it not be that only during the election period or festive period that the people are remember with bread,but avenues should be created for them to make the bread for themselves.

During the christmas season,the Commissioner for housing and special duties Mr okon,a proud son of itu,was praised that he Fetes the ITU people,speakers upon speakers spoke,then I asked,which part of Itu did he fetes?

How many people from Oku clan,itu clan,Ayadehe,mbiabo, benefited from that christmas rice?or is it the few mbiatok men and women who benefited from that gesture,is said to represents the Itu people? Well ,it was a gift that some benefited,and hence, “se ubok abobob ado eku”.

But I think if the Commissioner calls for the renovation of obu Itam market,Ayadehe Market,build slaughters,low cost housing estate, bring electrification and water to Itu, for instance a village like mkpeti and others, completely forgotten,draws Government attention to the security challenges in ikot offiong,mbiabo,obot itu,itu clan as a whole,the people will benefit more,and posterity will remember him.

Itam itam enie mkpo is a phrase I was born to hear,meaning we have everything,we have great sons and daughters,rich in natural resources,land,water,yet poor,because those who are suppose to speak for the people,have abandon the people.

Political leaders in itu are “Mme odiong Essien Ufok afuro mbiet”,but I know that the Hon Commissioner will defer from it,because if he is to be addressed officially,the name of his Local Government will first introduce him,as the Hon Cmmissioner from Itu and not the Hon Commissioner from Ewet housing uyo. Hence,through him I know light will come to Itu Local Government.

Let me conclude with a quote by Mahatma Gandhi “The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others”.
May we all see a better Itu that harnesses the vast potentials of its people, the rich resources that abound therein and a future that is assured for the generation yet unborn.

GOD BLESS ITU LOCAL GOVERNMENT!
GOD BLESS AKWA IBOM STATE!

GOD BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

Gloria Ekong a Historian writes from Ekritam Akpanobong in Itu.

The post MR AKAN OKON: TIME TO RETURN HOME By Gloria Ekong. appeared first on The Killer Punch News.