(Published by The Southerner, Thursday, May 1, 2025)

By Akanimo Sampson

The Eket, Onna, Esit-Eket, Ibeno Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State is not enjoying its representation in the green chamber of the National Assembly. Okpolum Etteh, is the man representing them in the House of Representatives.

As a matter of fact, Michael Etteudo, a vocal young man, is standing tall among the youths of Akwa Ibom for his bold statement regarding Okpolum Etteh. The Coalition of Youth Leaders in the state, is celebrating Etteudo, with a standing ovation for speaking truth to power.

A bold appraisal by Etteudo, an engineer, clearly highlights concerns over Etteh’s effectiveness, transparency and accountability in serving his constituents. Such concerns include, the lack of transparency in Etteh’s empowerment initiatives, insufficient funding, and questionable motives.

The allocation of only N14 million to the four local government areas that make up the federal constituency, is obviously very inadequate when compared to what other federal legislators are doing.

The Secretary of the youth leaders coalition, Otuekong James, says they are encouraging more people in Akwa Ibom to speak up and demand better representation from their elected officials. By doing so, they can promote positive change and ensure their voices are heard.

The coalition believes that by working together, the state can bring about meaningful change and hold their representatives accountable for their actions.

As a son from the federal constituency, Etteudo cried out bitterly against the poor representation of Okpolum Etteh, pleading with him to stop mocking their intelligence with his meager empowerment programmes. Etteh is claiming to have trained 50 of his constituents in the oil and gas sectors. But, Etteudo argues that as a professional in the sector, “l have continued to argue that, a two-day training session is insufficient to equip individuals with meaningful skills in this field.”

His concerns therefore, are lack of transparency since Etteh did not provide certificates to the trainees or demonstrated tangible employment opportunities, raising questions about the effectiveness of his initiative. Compared to what others are doing, Etteh’s empowerment appears to be paltry, with only N14 million, which represents N3.5 million to each of the four council areas.

“l believe Etteh’s actions are driven by self-interest rather than a genuine desire to serve his constituents”, says Etteudo. With the lawmaker’s alleged move to change the names of Eket and Esit-Eket, this is certainly not the best of times for him.

That name change move has sparked outrage among the Eket people, who are locked in a bitter land dispute with the Ibeno people, the kith and kins of Etteh. Despite denying his involvement, his actions are seen as a plot to undermine the ethnic identity of the Eket (Ekid) people.

As a result, the aggrieved Ekid people are pressing critical stakeholders in the boiling federal constituency, to seek a new, vibrant representative who can effectively address their needs, to replace Okpolum Etteh. Some have warned against replacing Etteh with David Lawrence, citing his alleged lack of achievements during his tenure as a member of the state House of Assembly.

Like most states of the South-South geopolitical zone, Akwa Ibom is awash with communal conflicts, a social problem that affects a significant number of communities in the zone, and Nigeria in general. Some lingering communal conflicts are bound to adversely affect the future generation if not properly resolved.

Most communal conflicts in Akwa Ibom for instance, are direct consequences of lack of proper demarcation of boundaries. Public officials like Etteh, have failed to properly investigate the factors that necessitate communal conflicts in Akwa Ibom like the case of the bitter Eket-Ibeno land dispute.

Giving the dynamics of the changing times, it is expected that public officials in the 21st century should take advantage of two ideological theories – Human Need Theory and Frustration-Aggression Theory – in explaining why communities are at war.

To this end, Etteh was expected to encourage the Umo Eno administration to constitute a panel that to fix proper boundary demarcation between the warring communities.

And to forestall future communal conflicts in Akwa Ibom, the report(s) of such a panel should be properly implemented, and, the government should do away with every form of political interest and bias to ensure that peace is restored among the communities at war.

Apparently alarmed by the poor performance of some elected officials from Akwa Ibom, Micheal Joseph Okon, the Obong Uwana Ituk Mbang, who is also the BoT Chairman of the Coalition of Youth Leaders in the state, has started to mount a campaign for the electorate to resist politicians who take them for granted, and not to fear to call them out if they are underperforming. “You elected them to serve you, not their pockets and small circles. Refuse to be treated as non-entities by the same politicians who used our collective patrimony to rise to fame while ignoring your demands for sustainable dividends of democracy.

“Be not afraid of them nor their cult of greed. As we approach the 2027 election, it’s time to reevaluate our leaders and demand change. Those who refuse to add value to humanity, prioritising their interests over the welfare of their people, should be held accountable. The era of insensitive leaders hiding behind party tickets and the coattails of a performing president or governor to win election must come to an end.

It’s time for the masses to rise up and hold their elected representatives accountable for their actions, demanding better with every fiber of their being.

“Start early to organise yourselves into groups to counter none humane leaders. Stop having that helpless mindset in the presence of any politician as they need your votes to be that powerful while ignoring you. It’s pay back time.

“By 2027, let’s join forces to boot out selfish leaders and elect individuals who truly care about their people. Together, we can create a brighter future for Akwa Ibom, where leaders prioritize the welfare of their constituents and drive development and progress”, he said.