Shun divisive politics – Imoke tells Cross Riverians

The Cross River State governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, has urged politicians to eschew all forms of bitterness and divisive tendencies and close ranks in order to build a more formidable state that can compete favourably among its peers, in furtherance of his vision of building a harmonious and politically stable state.

Imoke at a  public presentation of a book entitled: “The Civil Servant and Public Administration: An Imperative for Good Governance,” authored by the state’s Head of Service, Mrs. Mary-Theresa Ikwen, pointed out that  ugly trends in the polity such as sectionalism, ethnicity and nepotism were unnecessary, stressing that “today, politicians seek relevance from these tendencies.”

According to Governor Imoke, “It is obvious today that you can’t be relevant as a politician unless you create something that makes you relevant. You may find some people becoming relevant because they are championing ethnic cause. As politicians, we create a divide and rule tactic, which is why the country is so polarized. As politicians, we have come to realize that our relevance comes from the small empires we create for ourselves. And as we continue to fight ourselves, like what some people are trying to do in Cross River State, these divisions are played up to keep us apart. This is what I have fought against vigorously.”

Continuing, the governor admonished: “I like to tell people that no matter how you try to seek relevance or remain relevant, you can’t use your small community to make a representation in Abuja except it is the name Cross River State. I cannot go to Abuja today and claim to be representing Itigidi, as nobody knows Itigidi. But as Cross Riverians, we are proud because anywhere you enter and mention that you are from Cross River, people start asking question about the various tourism offerings.

“Today, others look at us as achievers, as being successful in the community of states. It is what we are that makes us who we are and gives us strength and power as a people. It is imperative that we all speak with one voice, collectively, not as a divisible entity, in all issues, as a people for the sake of Cross River.”

On civil service, Imoke said: “I have a challenge today concerning the civil service commission, because I tried to ensure that interviews and promotion examinations are conducted and the resistance is tremendous.. I don’t know if there is any institution in Nigeria where there is such resistance when you try to enthrone merit as panacea for promotion.”

He explained that “unless we introduce an M and E framework that we all understand, re-institute discipline and re-reform the civil service, the desired change will never happen. People will only join the civil service as a last option, they will never see it as a place where they can actually succeed and achieve their goals because merit is not recognized.”

Imoke, however, reminded the gathering that “What will take Cross River to its desired height is a good civil service that is better than the governor. So much so that no matter how good or bad a governor is, Cross River State will continue to grow higher and higher.”

While encouraging members of the public, particularly civil servants to read the book and possibly comment on it, the governor said: “I want to see another book emanating from this because, I believe very strongly in the Cross River State Project so that the change recorded so far will be sustained and that in spite of every challenges that we face today, our tomorrow will be far better than our today.”

According to Imoke, “This book is a very good reference document that must be integrated into the civil service because Cross River today has attracted multi-billion naira Foreign Direct Investment in the areas of manufacturing and service delivery as a result of aggressive reform being introduced by this administration.”  

Chairman of the occasion, Chief Asuquo Ekpenyong who lauded the author for finding time out of her busy schedule as Head of Service to publish a book which he described as a compendium, maintained that her work will no doubt contribute immensely to the growth of the service in the state and country at large.

Author of the book said the experiences she has garnered since her entry into the civil service formed the basis for the publication.

According to her, “The Civil Service which is the engine room of governance is constrained by challenges such as inadequate manpower, inefficiency as well as lacks of equipment,” adding that “the onerous task of governance in the three tiers of government rests on the shoulders of administrators who are supported by civil servant as the policy and programme implementers.”