Akwa Ibom Lawmakers, Ime Okon, Moses Essien Under Fire as Children Miss Resuming School Due to Collapsed Bridge

As schools in Akwa Ibom State reopen on Monday, September 16, 2024 for the 2024/2025 Academic Session, two lawmakers, Ime Okon and Moses Essien have come under fierce criticism for not working to ensure children resume school in Aka Ikot Udo Eno Community in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

Ime Okon is the member representing Itu/Ibiono Ibom Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, while Moses Essien represents Ibiono Ibom State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly.

Both men have been accused of not engaging the State Governor, Umo Eno effectively to have the State Government rebuild the collapsed bridge linking Aka Ikot Udo Eno Community with Ikot Anseyen in Ikono LGA.

Village Head of Aka Ikot Udo Eno Community, Chief Sunday Okubre Bassey told Kristina Reports on Friday, September 13, 2024, that the bridge is the only access school children from the community have to get to their schools in neighbouring communities.

Checks by Kristina Reports indicate that over 2,000 children from the community would remain at home while their peers resume school, hence, the community is angry with the two lawmakers for not representing them well or working to alleviate their plight and those of the children.

The traditional ruler lamented that all hope of having their children of secondary school age join other children in other communities to resume school this academic session has waned, because the lawmakers, especially, Moses Essien, who he said failed to give them feedback to a letter of appeal written few months ago to Governor Umo Eno through him.

“School is resuming on Monday and I don’t know what will happen to our children who have just finished primary school here in the village”.

Chief Bassey, who recalled how the community had written same letter of appeal to the previous government and their representatives, expressed sadness that the future of their children might continue to drip away, as they might be on their way to joining the league of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

Recall that Kristina Reports had, sometime in August, visited the community to assess the situation and reported how the collapsed bridge has hindered students’ access to education, as well as the appeal by the community to Governor Umo Eno and the State Assembly member, Moses Essien, to come to their aid.

The report had said primary school leavers in the community were denied opportunity to move into secondary school, following the collapse of the bridge that gave them access to this second level of education at Ikot Anseyen, Ikono LGA, being the only closest secondary school to the community, despite the long distance.

The report also revealed that the plight of the children presented a dilemma where, if they must risk their lives for formal education, must choose between trekking more than 20 miles to Government Secondary School, Ono, in Ibiono Ibom, after swimming across a river that had taken over the second access road in and out of the community, or risking their lives to swim across the river where the bridge collapsed.

Chief Bassey disclosed that the alarm he raised last month was an outburst of frustration and pain, having written many letters of appeals to the government, past and present, and representative about what he termed their “woes”, but no hope appeared to have come their way.

He lamented that children who are supposed to begin secondary school this new academic session might not do so, but might resort to joining other children at home who had long taken primary education as the peak of their formal learning in life.

“The letter we wrote to Governor Umo Eno through Hon. Moses Essien: he has failed to tell us anything after that. As it stands now, our children may have to join others who are already staying at home”.

The community leader revealed that he had been constantly thinking about the situation and what the future would portend for the community, Ibiono Ibom and the state at large, if the prevailing circumstances remained unattended to, by relevant authorities.

“Schools will be resuming on Monday, but our children who are supposed to start secondary school will not go anywhere. Maybe, they will simply join their brothers and sisters who only acquired primary school education to stay at home. But, this is dangerous.

“I often think about what to do as the village head, because the way I’m looking at this thing; the future looks bad for this community, Ibiono Ibom and Akwa Ibom, if this is allowed to continue piling up”.

Chief Bassey, who said he would continue to appeal to Governor Umo Eno and representatives from the area to bring relief to them, averred that the future of children in the community meant a lot to him, and therefore, no amount of appeals would be enough.

The village head again appealed to Governor Eno to use his good offices to give the children access to secondary education, by either constructing another bridge linking the community with Ikot Anseyen in Ikono, or the one that would link it with Urua Abasi, a neighbouring village that leads to other communities in the area.

Speaking also, one of the youths in Aka Ikot Udo Eno, Solomon Inim, expressed displeasure over the long neglect of the community, saying lack of access road in and out of the area had impeded educational growth of the children, as well as stunted the community’s means of livelihood.

Mr. Inim, who is a teacher in a school outside of his community, however pleaded with Governor Eno to extend his magnanimity and compassionate heart to the people of Aka Ikot Udo Eno, whose only request, he said, is an access road.

Enobong Ime, a Senior Secondary School 3 student studying at Use Ikot Amama, Ibiono Ibom, told this reporter that she relocated to the village for her secondary education after the bridge collapsed into the river.

She said her decision to travel out of her community for her education was based on her determination to acquire secondary education and proceed to the university.

The student however expressed worry that many of her primary school mates who could not see the future beyond the collapsed bridge had long embraced their fate, by forgetting everything about secondary education.

” I’m not happy that I’m attending school in Use Ikot Amama. I just didn’t want the collapsed bridge to stop me from going to school, like it has stopped many of the people I finished primary school together with. I was just determined and I told my parents and they accepted”.

Enobong Ime therefore, appealed to Governor Umo Eno to save their future, by constructing another bridge to aid their access to education.

Efforts by Kristina Reports to speak with the member representing Ibiono Ibom State Constituency in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Moses Essien, and his House of Representatives counterpart, Ime Okon proved abortive as at the time of this report as they neither took their calls nor responded to messages sent to their mobile phone numbers.

Kristina Reports recalls that Essien had early this year on the floor of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, drew the attention of the House to the lack of access roads in some communities within Ibiono Ibom LGA.

Political analysts however said such calls were a normal legislative exercise, as they lack implementable capacity to bring about results in tangible forms.