HOW CAN ON SAY CROSS RIVER STATE IS POOR: GOVERNOR AYADE

The Governor Benedict Ayade of Cross River State, a former senator, a professor of environmental studies was in Lagos for an interactive session with relevant stakeholders involved in the forthcoming Calabar Festival. On the sidelines of the meeting the governor had an interactive session with newsmen during which he opened up on his style and strategic approach to governance. Excerpts:

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

On how he is approaching the tough economic challenges

Well the economy is slowing down and so government is supposed to downsize, reduce the number of ministries, cut down allowances and salaries, but that is really not the right way to go. Economics teaches us that it is as such times that governments that are socially sensitive are supposed to expand. At this period of cash crunch is when I have increased the number of ministries from 18 to 28.

So, I am now increasing the number of commissioners, this is because as more young people get unemployed, as the cash crunch bites harder, what happens is that when people have no alternative to survival, then the survivalist instinct which pushes them to criminality begins to manifest and then you have social tension and so, you spend more on security which distracts from spending on productive assets and so you are just going round the clock.

In America today, when things get really tough like that, government puts more money on people’s pay checks, increases their pay checks for them to increase consumption.At this time of cash crunch is when people are supposed to consume more. So for our own government we will expand within the limits of what is financially possible to expand government to increase consumption and that is why Cross River State is going to have a very high number of appointees at the political level. They don’t add up to the risk and cost of leaving them unemployed. If you know what it takes for you to be a commissioner and then after four years you leave office for nothing.

So, we must understand that at the point of financial crunch government needs to expand until the economy begins to boil as it used to boil, then government shrinks and private sector takes over and that is the concept that we have applied in Cross River State.

Today, we are known to be a state which is first in the payment of salaries. We have never paid since I assumed office below the 25th  of any month.

Yes in the face of cash crunch we are going to manage what we have more diligently. Cut luxuries that are available to the governor, focus emphatically on what is required to keep government running and expand the horizon of opportunities for young people.

Honesty in Office

Honesty in office for me is the greatest test of morality and in moral conscience you will always use Immanuel Kant, who is a German philosopher and professor of theology on the argument of morality, integrity and character on public acceptability and values. I believe that the greatest asset I brought before the people of Cross River State is my history, honesty, character and pedigree. It is known, it is visible and you can feel it.

Is Cross River State not too poor for the ambitious projects?

The state knows what I inherited. In spite of the challenges of the state, the state is rich and great. If I don’t have ideas, then I can say that Cross River is poor.

How can Cross River State be poor with 152 kilometres of Atlantic Coast? How can Cross River State be poor with huge deposits of gold, bauxite, tantalite, tin, silica, kaolin and on and on? How can Cross River State be poor when you have the most civilised souls, a people that are very dependable, people who are not aggressive and materially crazy?

How can you have such rich heritage, people of such distinctive character and honour and you say the state is poor? To me I believe that I inherited a very rich state.

What challenges do you have as a governor?

It is to make the press understand that it is dreams that bring reality, but the dreams have to die, rot and then germinate into reality. Everything looks impossible until you put your soul into the challenges.

For me it is to make the press drum up more support for this project that looks otherwise impossible. Little did I know that what I conceived as a dream would have the endorsement of the president, a president who is focused, a president who is known for his words.

So for him to have given his words that ‘I shall be here to commission the project’ is indicative of his commitment.

Political challenge

This same project has become so popular that today we have at least $10 billion funding being put aside by a country to invest in the port. Today, we have letters coming from Chad and Niger requesting for land for boarded warehouse and industrial parks.

The super highway was beset with a political challenge, the issue of whether it was going to pass through the National Park. The original design of the Super Highway had no provision at any time to criss-cross the National Park, but unfortunately there are some who believe that the success of this project would automatically provide a second term for the sitting governor. So, if you have an ambition to be governor the thing to do is to frustrate the project.

Because the design was clear over 3 kilometres away from the National Park and that is why the president was so angry when he suspended his first visit.

We have a firm president who knows the right thing and insisted that the right thing should be done