In what appears to be a scorecard of the Governor Udom Emmanuel led Administration in Akwa Ibom State, an activist and native of the State, Clement Udom Jr. has decried the terrible state of things in Inen Ikot Eteye, Oruk Anam Local Government Area of the State and called for urgent interventions to turn things around there.

Udom, who is the Head of Digital Content Generation at Kristina Reports, is calling on the State Chief Executive to implement urgent interventions that must be stakeholder-driven towards transforming the area, which according to him “have no good roads, suffers from insecurity, is littered with moribund projects, and lacks healthcare facilities, potable water supply, with very low standard of living”.

He further decried the deplorable situation where the people of the area trade under the harsh weather and fall sick in quick successions; hospitals are hours away, with no checks on medication being sold in the rural communities if it is original or fake, as well as poor maternity system”.

In view of the appalling situation, Udom disclosed that the Inen Youths Initiative (IYI), a non-governmental and non-profit organization, was being formed to act as a bridge to address these issues, provide a platform for driving the needed development that the Inen Clan urgently needs.  

He described the Inen Youth Initiative as “a family reunion that was designed to strike a balance between leadership and governance as a critical tool for advocacy for government intervention and collaboration with relevant stakeholders, security agencies, civil rights organizations and youth groups”.

Inen, popularly known as Inen Ekeffe, is one of the nine Clans in Oruk Anam Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. It is one of the nine administrative areas of the Oruk Anam with its people speaking the Annang language in Akwa Ibom State.

The Inen Clan, which is richly endowed with natural resources, is subdivided into 19 towns and villages including Ikot Ibritam, Ikot Ekpuk, Ikot Etim 11, Etok Inen, Asakpa, Okukuk, Ikot Eduep, Oku Uruk, Etok Nkwo, Mbiaso, Ikot Offiong, Ikot Akpaya, and Ikot Eteye, among others.

“I am calling on well-meaning sons and daughters from the Annang extraction alongside all stakeholders In Inen Clan to weigh in and lend their voices to build a strong synergy that supports good governance and pressure the government of Akwa Ibom State to come to our rescue.”

“I am also appealing to the Executive Governor, His Excellency, Emmanuel Gabriel Udom, and his wife and First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, Deaconess Martha Udom Emmanuel, who is currently the mother of Akwa Ibom State and a daughter of Oruk Anam Local Government Area to come to the aid of Inen Clan.”

The human rights activist also called for Leadership Development to be inculcated into the academic curriculum for secondary schools and universities in Nigeria, stressing that this would expose the younger generation to leadership dynamics and conflict resolution imperatives thus producing better leaders in the country.

Udom Jr., who is a member of the several civil society groups, regretted that “the prolonged security lapse in the area that has lasted for about a year is a reflection of the marginalization, neglect and deprivation the Inen Clan has suffered for many decades now”.

He pointed out that “when cultism issues arose in Ika,  Etim Ekpo and Ukanafun, the Akwa State Government swiftly intervened, but no one is listening to the cries of Inen people,” adding that “since the rise of insecurity in the area more than 100 people have been killed, women are raped on a daily basis, and over 5,000 indigenes are completely displaced”.

“Schools and economic activities in the area have completed been brought to a halt. The only police post in the area was burnt by the cultists”.

Inen has been one of the cluster of communities affected by internecine crisis between rival cult groups fighting each for control of different parts of Akwa Ibom State in the last few years, compelling concerned stakeholders such as Clement Udom Jr. to raise the alarm and call for expedited actions to stem the tide and restore normalcy.