by crossriverwatch admin
Acting Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Efiok Cobham has called for unity among the people and residents of the state in order to surmount the challenges facing the state.
Cobham in his New Year message said that with unity there would be great difference in the state, in the lives of people of the state, in the communities as well as the country at large.
He said, “Today, we begin a new day in a New Year. Today, we stand a great chance to make a difference; make a difference in our lives, in our communities and in our country.
“In the words of Edith Lovejoy Pierce, foremost playwright, ‘today, we will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.
“Dear Cross Riverians, we have on our collective hands today, the first chapter of a great new book called 2013. Let’s write a story that we shall be proud to read on January 1, 2014.”
The Acting Governor said that the greatest challenge in the state was the challenge of self-belief, adding, “When we look around us, we see mountainous challenges. We see the humanitarian challenge posed by our displaced brothers and sisters from Bakassi, we see the loss of oil revenue from the 96 oil wells that went the other way”.
He noted that despite the challenges, the state had become a benchmark for focused leadership and progress and that Calabar had become Africa’s foremost destination.
Cobham said the government had perfected plans to raise the bar on all the performance indices that stood the state out in the last decade, stressing that though it had not reached its destination, but the destination was within sight.
“I know that the times are hard and the resources low, but in Cross River State, our future is brighter than the sun. What we may have been denied in natural and material deposits has been well compensated for by the well-known genius of our people.
“But genius by itself is not enough. Genius can only flourish when the climate is right and if there are other geniuses to support it. That is why it is important that we understand the imperative of unity among us. It is really so vital that it cannot be over-emphasized.
“So, as we step into this New Year, we owe it to ourselves to cast our differences aside and work for the greater good of our people”. He said.
Below is the full text of the Acting Governor’s state wide broadcast to Cross River State today.
Fellow Cross Riverians,
As we celebrate today with joy and optimism, we must give praises to Almighty God for making it possible for us to cross over with the rest of humanity into 2013. If we look back at the outgone 2012, we can all see that we have various reasons to count our blessings. If we look around us, we will see that it is not everyone who celebrated the last New Year with us that is here with us today. So, we must thank God for His mercies.
Today, we begin a new day in a New Year. Today, we stand a great chance to make a difference – make a difference in our lives, in our communities and in our country. In the words of Edith Lovejoy Pierce, foremost playwright, “Today, we will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called opportunity and its first chapter is New Year’s Day.” Dear Cross Riverians, we have on our collective hands today, the first chapter of a great new book called 2013. Let’s write a story that we shall be proud to read on January 1, 2014.
I know that as a people, we naturally have anxieties. We worry about yesterday. We worry about today. We worry about tomorrow. Now, looking back to this same time last year, most Nigerians had a lot to worry about. Religious fundamentalists had wreaked havoc on a church in Madalla, Niger State and fear hung like a thick cloud above our heads. Then, came the nation-wide strike that made the country look like though it was coming apart from the seams. Indeed, those were extremely anxious moments. Happily, that is where we are coming from. However, when we look at where we are today, we can all see that it has turned differently in the end. We are stronger and happier today.
In Cross River State today, our greatest challenge is the challenge of self-belief. When we look around us, we see mountainous challenges. We see the humanitarian challenge posed by our displaced brothers and sisters from Bakassi, we see the loss of oil revenue from the 96 oil wells that went the other way. And naturally we doubt our own ability to heed the call of our times; to see our challenges as huge opportunities to alter our history. We have seen this happen again and again, yet we doubt ourselves.
Before our eyes, Cross River State has become a benchmark for focused leadership and progress. Before our own very eyes, Calabar has become Africa’s foremost destination. We have perfected plans to raise the bar on all the performance indices that have stood Cross River out in the last decade. We know that we are not yet where we should be as a people but our destination is within sight. And dear Cross Rivarians, we shall get there!
I know that the times are hard and the resources low, but in Cross River State, our future is brighter than the sun. What we may have been denied in natural and material deposits has been well compensated for by the well-known genius of our people. But genius by itself is not enough. Genius can only flourish when the climate is right and if there are other geniuses to support it. That is why it is important that we understand the imperative of unity among us. It is really so vital that it cannot be over-emphasized.
So, as we step into this New Year, we owe it to ourselves to cast our differences aside and work for the greater good of our people. To lend our time and talent to the ideals and programmes that will impact our communities in the best of ways. To play the roles that time has allocated us in Cross River’s ceaseless march to greatness.
Indeed as we step into 2013, let us live by the words of Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of America who exhorted humanity to “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbours and let each New Year find you a better man”.
God Bless Cross River State.
Happy New Year