It is only you that I have been thinking about since Monday. You know yourself. For me, Governor Ayade is history now, even with 866 days to go.
For you that is dreaming of taking over from Ayade, if you just want to be Governor for being Governor sake, without any solutions to our teething problems, kindly use your money and goodwill and support an aspirant with solutions; it is still far enough to consider that option. Because even if you are forced on us by your Party, Cross Riverians will make that seat very very hot for you.
We will make you grow gray hair before time. We now know how to pinch ourselves to action and call our leaders to order. We are no longer docile. Technology has availed us of the tools to use and it’s renewing them for us everyday and we will not spare you. But if you come with workable ideas, Cross Riverians will join you and we will build our State together.
For me personally, I don’t think it is too early to begin to set the agenda for those who want to drive the renaissance process in the State with a view to ensuring that tangible issues, and not just politics, dominate the run up to the 2023 election.
Right Now:
1. All LGAs in Cross River State unless Calabar Municipality, are having at least one active or hibernating communal crises as well as boundary crises with three neighbouring States, Benue, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom, devoid of any sustainable intervention strategy from successive Governments, Mr./Mrs. Aspirant, without any verbose grammar, what will be your most effective strategy in dealing with these age long crises once and for all?
2. Kidnapping, gangsterism and general insecurity in our State has infested almost every Hamlet today. How do you intend to reverse this trend for good Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
3. How will you sex up the IGR figures of Cross River State without amassing a tax burden on the citizens Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
4. How will you revitalise the bureaucracy as well as tackle the challenge of acute manpower draw back bedevilling the State, in the short, medium and long term Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
5. Governor Ayade has dabbled into so many industries that will become relics after he leaves. The House of Assembly is calling for the privatisation of the assets because they are conduits. Following the knowledge that most of these assets are over priced due to corruption and the challenges that may arise therefrom, will you privatise them if you become Governor? If yes, will you rely on the existing State privatisation law or will you twerk it like stakeholders have suggested, to give ordinary Cross Riverians greater consideration in buying into their own properties and creating employment for our people Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
6. Mr./Mrs. Aspirant, what is your road map for food security, agriculture value chain?
7. What is your roadmap for rural development considering the topography and factor advantage of Cross River State Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
8. What is your road map for energy security and job security Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
9. What is your practicable road map for IT integration into the daily lives of Cross Riverians both as a tool for easy life and revenue source Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
10. Most young persons in our State today see no life outside politics. They lack capacity and the requisite skills for other productive enterprise, regardless of their education and qualifications. They are content with holding political titles even if there is no substantial value. How do you intend to diversify this energy into other productive sectors that will generate actual value and increase our GDP Mr./Mrs. Aspirant?
A well thought out contract document with clear cut answers to these sort of questions and more, will be more important for more Cross Riverians than where you come from, which church you attend, which sex you belong to, your political party, which schools you went to, which degrees you got from there and what was your score, the countries you have travelled to, your accent, etc.
While all these other factors are equally important and cannot be discountenanced in the political arena, I have a feeling that a greater number of Cross Riverians will agree with me that these issues should now take the back seat and let us address the real matters that hold the key to reducing poverty and giving us a better life.
Should any aspirant refuse to answer these questions before elections and gets imposed on us by the political parties, the person should also prepare to answer these queries as Governor because will will leave no stone unturned and no turn un-stonned until the Cross River project bare fruits.
Yours sincerely,
Citizen Agba Jalingo.
Citizen Agba Jalingo is the Publisher/Editor-In-Chief of CrossRiverWatch and writes from Lagos State.
NB: Opinions expressed in this article are solely attributable to the author, Agba Jalingo and do not in anyway represent the opinion of CrossRiverWatch or any other organization the author works for/with.
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