By CHIJIOKE AMU-NNADI

December 1, 2025 is a Monday, the beginning of the first week of the last month of the year. For Pastor Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, it is both a beginning of a week, as well as the beginning of a renewal, a fresh commitment to his state, and a reaffirmation of his mandate to improve the living conditions of his people.

Presenting his draft budget for 2026 to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Governor Umo Eno stated that beginning on this date, he “will commence fixing all potholes within the capital city of the State.” For someone who thinks himself as an adopted Akwa Ibom son (I will come to that shortly), this may sound like a simple promise. But it is one that brings what is both personal and familial.

On a certain evening in August, at the heart of the rainy season, I had lost my right rear tyre on Nwaniba Road. I was running to meet a scheduled appointment at the famous Ibom Hotels and had missed a bad pothole that was covered by a pool of water. And while I understood that I wasn’t too watchful that day, I also believed that the governments all over Nigeria could rise to their duty by addressing, not just potholes but the various needs of the people, to safeguard us and improve our lives.

I visit Uyo more than I visit my state, Enugu. As stated earlier, I tell people that Senator Anietie Okon (and I did recognize him as such in my 2013 book, “through the window of a sandcastle”) is my father. As a young idealist in 1998, he had taken me (and former Akwa Ibom commissioner for environment, Dr. John Harry) under his wings when he was the National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and ensured that I was appointed the party’s Deputy Director for Publicity in Abuja.

Years later, I have had the special privilege of working under the brilliant Barr. Bassey Dan Abia, Obong Nsima Ekere (former Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State) and Mr. Efiong Akwa, all in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), where I retired as a director in 2022. In the past three years, I have served as the Deputy President of the South South Interclub Tennis Association, under the presidency of Sir Emem Akpabio, and count Uyo, Ukana and Ikot Ekpene as alternate homes.

For me, the affairs of Akwa Ibom State, beyond a burst tyre, are matters of deep interest. And so, while I visited again earlier this week, I happened to listen to the governor present his account of stewardship, the vision of his policy, which he calls ARISE, and his commitment to touch the lives of the people and the state in ways that answer the basic principles of sustainable development. Listening to him, one has come away with the belief that Umo Eno wants to deliver a development that improves the lives of the people today, while laying the foundation for future development that evolves from the blocks he is laying today for Akwa Ibom state development.

And so Monday, December 1, 2025, becomes significant, not just for how he recognizes the simple things as filling potholes, as well as the profoundly complicated development initiatives such as constructing rural roads, developing power infrastructure in both urban and rural communities, improving security and tourism, developing agriculture and manufacturing, in such a fundamental manner that he not only develops the state, but activates the local economies.

According to him, “We are currently constructing over 900 kilometres of road across the state. Some have already been commissioned, while others are ongoing. I made a promise during my campaign that we will not abandon any viable uncompleted road projects from previous administrations, So far, we have kept our promise.”

I have travelled round the Niger Delta, both as a staff of the NDDC, a club tennis player and as a poet, performing at various literary events in the states. And I have come to realise that most governments do not pay attention to filling potholes on their state roads. Many imagine it is not a significant dividend of democracy. Many do not bother at all.

There is therefore something utterly grand and heartening that a governor of a state would bother. Beyond the aesthetics, covering potholes do not only save vehicles, they save lives. They make journeys easier and more comfortable and improve the health of motorists. And so, Umo Eno is not only calling on his duty as a leader of the people, but a pastor who is not oblivious of his commitment to sew humanity, compassion, understanding and basic common goodness into the fabric of his governance.

And so you find in his budget speech a good mention of his determination to not only touch the people, but touch their traditional livelihoods, particularly in agriculture, and inspire them to be better and more prosperous. He says: “Our agricultural revolution is on course as work is ongoing at the Ibom Model Farm, in Nsit Ubium. All across our State, our people have imbibed the spirit of returning to the farm to plant our staple foods.

“The Ministry of Agriculture has been distributing farm implements, fertilizers, tractors and we will redouble our efforts in this critical sector next year. As we speak, 69,107 (sixty-nine thousand one hundred and seven) farmers have benefited from our agricultural revolution; 13,060 registered farmers have benefited from Agric processing machines and equipment we have purchased for our farmers.”

He goes further: “The palm tree crop revolution, which we plan to launch soon, will create a generational wealth for our people, especially those in the rural areas. Palm oil was our black gold- the commodity that had empowered our people, helped send some of our best and brightest sons and daughters to study abroad long before crude oil and gas were discovered. Through this revolution, government will actively get involved in palm tree planting and will eventually off-take from our farmers.

“To make this project take off and run smoothly, I recently directed AKADEP, to be moved from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Office of the Secretary to the State Government and a massive renovation exercise is ongoing in the facility. I intend to visit the facility from this presentation. We have bought tractors to aid our farmers, we will commission the tractor leasing company in December.”

As a staff of the NDDC I had championed, at very limited places, the importance of sustainable livelihoods as the bedrock of any developing society. The United Nations Earth Summit of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, laid the groundwork for the sustainable development of societies, and sustainable livelihoods, which appear to be an underpinning philosophy of Umo Eno’s bold initiatives. The logic is that what is done today to provide livelihood must be such that it sustains earth’s resources, and remains important for the future search for and enjoyment of such livelihoods.

It worked a tremendous miracle in countries like Mexico, India and China, where the Green Revolution remains a great success story of modern times. In his book, “The End of Poverty,” Jeffrey Sachs describes how the Rockefeller Foundation, fearing the grim possibility of massive hunger because of rapidly rising global population, began developing and promoting high-yield varieties of staple crops, first as a pilot project in Mexico, and then replicated in Asia. India went from eleven metric tonnes of wheat production in 1960 to twenty-four million tonnes in 1970, thirty-six million tonnes in 1980, and fifty-five million tonnes in 1990.

Similarly, this also worked wonders in the Philippines and Peru. In China, agriculture has led the way to the emergence of this Asian giant as a major force in the world economy. Umo Eno’s commitment to opening rural roads, developing power infrastructure, providing security, empowering farmers, and providing incentives for growth, as his budget espouses, offers hope for a state working to take its people to a better place, in a country where most Nigerians are looking for relief.

And that relief is beyond fixing potholes. It comes with an overall plan to make a place better, and make the people better. And to achieve it with a plan, a vision, good governance and a determination that is laced with a common sense of goodness and humanity.

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