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With three decades and eight years of state­hood, Akwa Ibom ranks among Nige­ria’s fastest-growing destinations of excellence in most sectors.

It all began on September 23, 1987, when the foundation of statehood was established via the carving out of Akwa Ibom from Cross River State by the Military Administration of General Ibra­him Babangida.

From day one, the State has been blessed with forward-think­ing leaders who have had the rare privilege of piloting its affairs, whether during the military rule or the democratic dispensation.

The leadership journey start­ed with Military Administrators – Colonel Tunde Ogbeha (1987- 1988), Colonel Godwin Abbe (1988-1990), Wing Cdr. Idongesit Nkanga – the very first son of the soil to lead the State (1990-1992) and then a short democratic expe­rience that produced the ever-vi­vacious Obong Akpan Isemin as the first democratically elected Governor of Akwa Ibom State (1992- 1993).

Following the disruption of the democratic era in 1993 by the General Sani Abacha regime, leadership again returned to the hands of ‘Milads’ with Lt. Col. Yakubu Bako taking over between 1993 and 1996. Navy Captain Joseph Adeusi (1996- 1998), and Group Captain John Ebiye (1998-1999) completed that cycle of military rule leading to the return of democracy in 1999 when Obong Victor Attah, the man commonly referenced as the Father of the Modern-Day Akwa Ibom State, held sway as Gover­nor between 1999-2007, laying a solid foundation for the develop­ment of the State. The trajectory continued to the Godswill Akpa­bio “uncommon transformation” era between 2007 and 2015.

The Udom Emmanuel legacies in 2015, which came with a rede­fined philosophy – DAKKADA, aimed at awakening the giants in Akwa Ibom people. It bears necessary stating that the strides recorded by these successive lead­ers at different times they had the privilege to sit at the Hilltop Man­sion are what have shaped Akwa Ibom State to its present glory.

What’s more? The trajectory is getting more glorious with the Golden Era of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno. Today, time and season beckon, and in two years and four months since Pastor Eno came on board as the fourth democratically elected Gover­nor of Akwa Ibom State, he has evolved a new blueprint for the rapid development of the State. The diligent implementation of the ARISE Agenda, which has become a model for sustainable growth and development beyond the borders of the State, is a testa­ment to the pragmatic leadership style of the present governor, Pas­tor Umo Eno.

As Akwa Ibom State marks her 38th year of statehood, we have been blessed with great and vi­sionary leaders, each building on sustainable legacies, laudable im­pacts, and giving value to society with good governance.

The development of Akwa Ibom State, currently under Pas­tor Umo Eno, has been careful­ly guided by a well-articulated compilation and detailed imple­mentation of the ARISE Agenda, along with sectoral needs, which continues to attract rave reviews and accolades.

At 38, the establishment of model schools across the 31 Local Government Areas, with state-of-the-art learning facilities, a good ambience for learning and better welfare package for teachers, is a strong motivation for our young­sters to fulfil their educational aspirations and walk the paths of their careers.

The completion of quality roads in hundreds of kilometres across the State, consciously de­signed to connect those in the ru­ral areas and boost socio-econom­ic activities from rural to urban areas, is yet another milestone of the Pastor Umo Eno administra­tion.

Also, the ongoing health sector reforms, as captured in the recent declaration of a State-of-Emer­gency for the next 12 months with priority attention to overhaul primary health care across the local government areas, are an­other well-intentioned act of good governance. Besides all these, the Ibom International Hospital, with its proposed specialised services, will, upon completion, open a new medical corridor, complement­ing the Ibom Specialist Hospital as well as the Elderly People’s Home. All these deliberate inter­ventions and many others still at the conception stage will obvious­ly position Akwa Ibom State as a destination for quality health service delivery.

At 38, Sports under Governor Umo Eno has been a harvest of victories. The reintroduction of the Governor’s Cup competition, hosting of the first ever Niger Delta Games, the Zonal elimi­nation of the National Youth Games, and the successful par­ticipation of Team Akwa Ibom at the National Youth Games with a top ten finish, are fares added by this administration to better and transform the subsector.

*To be continued

Comrade Etuk is the immediate past chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists