By Iyoho Emmanuel
ABUJA — President of the Etinan Local Government Assembly Abuja, has challenged indigenes of Etinan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State to overcome long-held fears and redirect their talents, resources and achievements towards the development of their communities.
Akparawa Nkaidem Akpabio, who spoke in an interview on the activities and achievements of the Assembly, said Etinan indigenes had the intelligence and capacity to excel, but were often more successful in contributing to the development of other communities and cities than their own homeland.
According to him, Etinan people have distinguished themselves in different fields, describing his people as “brain basket,” but lamented that many accomplished sons and daughters had yet to replicate at home the kind of investments and structures they establish in cosmopolitan cities.
He identified what he described as an age-long belief and fear among some indigenes that returning home to develop their communities could expose them to opposition or harm from relatives and villagers as one of the factors limiting community development.
Akpabio ,however, dismissed such fears as outdated, urging Etinan indigenes to return home and use their God-given abilities and resources to transform their communities.
He said the reluctance of some illustrious sons and daughters to return home had become particularly noticeable when compared with developments in other parts of the country, where successful individuals regularly return to their communities to build houses, businesses and other lasting projects.
“Etinan indigenes are described as the brain basket. They have so much intelligence, but it is as if we use our intelligence to build other communities, other states and, in the larger perspective, the nation. We hardly use our brains to develop our communities and our people,” he said.
Reflecting on his years of leadership of the Etinan Local Government Assembly in Abuja, Akpabio said one of his major achievements had been rebuilding the Assembly as a rallying point for indigenes living in the Federal Capital Territory.
He recalled that although he joined the community around 2006/2007, participation had declined over the years, partly because some people were reluctant to associate closely with their own community.
Akpabio said he accepted the responsibility of leadership when the immediate past president left Abuja on transfer, adding that bringing people together remained challenging because some members expected the community to provide direct economic benefits to them rather than contributing to its development.
He stressed that his administration subsequently introduced a grassroots empowerment initiative aimed at helping members who could not raise even modest capital to start or expand small businesses.
He explained that members contributed money among themselves and provided beneficiaries with about N50,000 each as seed capital for small businesses.
According to him, the initiative was not designed as a conventional loan scheme but as seed money intended to give beneficiaries an opportunity to establish or strengthen small businesses and later return the money within seven months to enable others to benefit.
The president said the initiative attracted greater participation and patronage, helping to revive attendance at community meetings.
He disclosed that about 29 to 31 people attended one of the Assembly’s recent meetings, describing the growing participation as evidence that members were beginning to appreciate the importance of collective action.
Beyond financial empowerment, the outgoing president said the Assembly had also adopted a welfare-oriented approach designed to identify with members during both difficult and celebratory moments.
As he prepares to leave office, Akpabio urged members to sustain the Assembly irrespective of who emerges as his successor.
He called on Etinan indigenes to attend meetings regularly, identify with one another and support whoever assumes leadership, stressing that the community was bigger than any individual.
“Even if I am not there, the meeting is bigger than me,” he said. “Whoever emerges as the president, keep on supporting the person. Etinan is bigger than every individual that comes from there.” Akpabio added.