REWRITING THE STORY OF ETINAN, THE DUTY OF THE YOUTHS

Etinan makes one of the thirty one Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the oil rich Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria, West Africa. The people of Etinan are of the Ibibio Ethnicity. Geographically, Etinan shares boundaries with Uyo LGA in the North East, Nsit Ibom LGA in the North East, Mkpat Enin LGA in the West, Onion Nnung Ndem Awa (ONNA) LGA on the South Central, Nsit Ubium LGA on the South East and also little touch with Eket LGA on the South East. According to the 2006 Census, the Local Government Area has a total of 169,284 people population with men more than women. It has 64 certified villages (¶ needs check) with Etinan village being the Local Government capital and has just one clan (Iman Ibom clan). The central town in Etinan has three villages that came together to form a Federation and has the Etinan Federated Town Council as their city center and the villages are Etinan, Ikot Ebo and Ikot Ebiyak. These villages also make the Etinan Urban Ward I. According to the Akwa Ibom State Government (aksgonline.com), Etinan people claim to be the brain basket of the state; they are mainly Christians and generally peaceful. In natural resources, the municipal is blessed with water ways: Rivers, streams and canals; large deposits of mineral resources such as clay, silicon and good quality construction sharp sand, though the area is still a virgin land for mineral exploration. Agricultural resources include Palm produce, cassava and yam, vegetables and the water bodies are rich in varieties of fishes. It is also the home of the popular Peacock paint limited. The main occupation of the people of that area is trading and farming.

Etinan in history was one of the areas that made up the former Cross Rivers State. It has the first tarred road in the whole of the Eastern Nigeria being the Press road. The local government was well structured, organized and designed and from the proper design of the area and organization of establishments, it is clear that the town was heading for a big city. In industrialization and infrastructure, both government and private sectors came together to develop the land. The town had the once very popular Peacock paint limited, it also had a Palm fruit processing facility at Ikot Ekang. In transportation, many roads were tarred and linked to other neighboring cities with well constructed bus stops at intervals along the major roads. The town also had a well functioning central motor park. The sea routes were also put into proper use for transportation. The town also had established a local standard sized stadium fenced round, a standard library, police stations, banks, power stations, post offices (NIPOST), NITEL, good water supply, courts of justice and many other facilities to mention but a few. The people of the area also loved education and thus were able to produce dignitaries, scholars and popular men among who were the late Prof Sam Akpabot, Late Etukudo Ekpro, Late Akpan Isemin who was the first civilian governor of Akwa Ibom State  etc. From the look of things in the past, it is obvious that the town and its people were highly spirited and headed for growth and greatness. The area gave birth to the present Nsit Ibom and Nsit Ubium.

The Situation Now: Though Etinan is not the only local government facing a decay in infrastructures in the country, but there is great concern when the progress of the land is even struggling to remain stagnant against the going backwards. Greatest of this concern is when all the necessary tools needed to reestablish the spirit of the progression is with the people but yet many things are going down instead. The good thing to be told about the area today is that the state government has touched it as a part of its transformation agenda: on this agenda some roads have been renovated; there is a said security village, supposed to be the residence of top local government officials in the area; the library was renovated, most primary schools are renovated, the stadium has been renovated, the local government guest house is up and running, the local government secretariat is now better, the courts have been renovated and few other developments if any. Besides these, much negativity still hold the town down making other areas of its caliber like Abak grow better than it. The security situation is very bad which led to the shutting down of the UBA and First banks in the town; the recent assassination of an indigenous investor popularly called Toland; assassination of the security at a newly established drink depot even situated few meters from the police station, several kidnappings, secret cult activities and many other social vices. On this, the police in the area have tried their best and are still working on reducing this level of insecurity. On infrastructure, the Peacock paint limited is now covered in a bush, the water company is inactive likewise the NIPOST and NITEL, the library is empty, the popular school in the area Etinan Institute is facing decay, the only tertiary institution in the area being the School of Health Technology is speculated to be about to be relocated, the water ways are neglected and many other private and public facilities have been left to decay. There is now a misconception about the people of town. Many people outside the area and even outside the state believe the people of the town are fraudsters (aka 419), a major setback in reputation of its people. Another popular misconception is that they do not sell out their lands to foreigners. These however are misconceptions but very popular and disadvantageous. But it is left for the Etinan people to proof it wrong.

There is still a chance for attitudinal and physical change in the land. Where the youth of today is in darkness the brightness of tomorrow is in question. The future of any community lies in the hearts of the youths today. For a better Etinan tomorrow, the youths of Etinan today must be different in their heart and behavior. I therefore recommend to appropriate youth authorities: Council chairman, councilors, graduates of the land, indigenous local and international investors, community youth leaders, students bodies and all concerned youth of wisdom in Etinan to organize a youth submit to discuss Etinan again devoid of selfish interests. All forms of politics and campaigns should be avoided and the matter of interest being the growth and development of Etinan be the only subject of discussion. This will go a long way from the youth angle, in identifying problems, their causes and also suggest remedies to appropriate authorities. There is a light in the heart of every man that needs a chance to shine and the youths should be given a chance to bring up ideas towards rebuilding the walls of the land. Let 2014 be a year of change in Etinan and let Iman Ibom be raised again. Rewriting the story of Iman Ibom is the sole responsibility of the youth today. May God be with us.