Op-ed
AKROIMA holds training for NG-CARES beneficiaries in AKS
Akan Okon, Ntuk Udeh commend Gov. Emmanuel and task participants on diligence and seriousness
A two-day intensive training for beneficiaries of the World Bank/Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme began today, Monday, 29th March, 2021 in Akwa Ibom State. the training which was hosted by Akwa Ibom State Roads and Other Infrastructure Maintenance Agency (AKROIMA), is aimed at enlightening the staff selected to deliver on the Labour Intensive Public Workfare aspect of the NG-CARES programme.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman Akwa Ibom State COVID-19 Action Recovery Economic Stimulus steering committee, Mr. Akan Okon, while welcoming participants to the event, appreciated Governor Udom Emmanuel for his efforts in making Akwa Ibom State to be one of the benefitting states of the NG-CARES programme. He thanked the Governor for approving the training to ensure that the selected staff perform effectively, which by extension would lead to the entire State benefitting maximally from the programme.
Mr. Akan Okon who doubles as the Commissioner for Economic Development and Ibom Deep Seaport, maintained that the NG-CARES programme is a short-term response to the economic and COVID-19 crisis affecting Nigeria, and is designed to support budgeted government interventions at the State level, to restore the livelihoods and food security of poor and vulnerable households and promote recovery of MSEs in the country.
Governor Udom Emmanuel
He therefore urged the participants to listen diligently to the lectures, in order to enhance service delivery in their various jobs descriptions.
On his part, Prince Godwin Ntuk Udeh, Ph.D, who addressed the participants on behalf of AKROIMA, welcomed everyone to the event. He paid glowing tributes to Governor Udom Emmanuel for his visionary leadership and corporate ingenuity which has earned Akwa Ibom the goodwill from the World Bank as a model State to run the NG-CARES programme aimed at empowering the people as well as alleviating poverty and enhancing human capacity building.
Akparawa Ntuk Udeh appreciated Mr. Akan Okon whose capacity as Chairman of the State CARES Steering Committee, together with his committee members, have helped in the realization of the NG-CARES programme in the State.
He used the occasion to urge participants to be focused and be fully knowledgeable of the programme in order to prevent the hitches that may occur to set back or derail the programme from achieving the purpose for which it was set up.
Resource Persons presented papers on several topics as regards the World Bank/NG CARES programme.
…Honoring His Memory On What Would Have Been Mickey’s 80th Birthday
As a founding member of the Mickey Leland Youth Task Force at the age of nine, alongside my sister, who was eleven, I reflect on how much his legacy has shaped my life. Now, at 53 years old, I carry vivid memories of witnessing Mickey Leland’s impactful work in the community, in Washington, and in Africa.
Though yesterday is gone forever, his mission reminds us there is still much to do. Mickey Leland was more than a congressman—he was a warrior against hunger and a champion for creating educational opportunities. Through programs like the Kibbutz Program with the Jewish community and the Student Exchange Program with Kenya, he ensured youth had transformative experiences that expanded their worldview and understanding.
On November 27, I celebrate the memories of this beacon of light as we mark what would have been his 80th birthday. Mickey Leland’s life was a testament to extraordinary leadership. From his beginnings in Lubbock, Texas, in 1944, to his journey to Houston’s 5th Ward, and his relentless mission on Capitol Hill, he dedicated himself to eradicating hunger, addressing healthcare, and uplifting the lives of the forgotten. His work still inspires and calls us to action today.
These formative experiences instilled in Leland an unwavering dedication to justice, equity, and opportunity for all. His journey to Congress was fueled by a deep passion for service. After graduating from Phillis Wheatley High School in Houston’s 5th Ward, he pursued his education at Texas Southern University, becoming a pharmacist. However, his true calling was in the community among the people, where he organized free medical clinics for underserved neighborhoods. Through this work, he witnessed the stark realities of hunger and poverty firsthand, igniting a resolve to tackle these challenges on a broader scale.
In 1978, Leland was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Texas’s 18th congressional district. He wasted no time taking hunger to Capitol Hill, believing it was unacceptable for anyone to starve in a world of plenty. “Hunger knows no boundaries,” he often said, “and our fight must be just as boundless.” As the chair of the House Select Committee on Hunger, Leland’s efforts transcended partisan politics. He brought international attention to the plight of famine-stricken regions, particularly in Africa, where millions were starving. In 1985, he led congressional delegations to Ethiopia, drawing the world’s eyes to the devastation. His advocacy resulted in increased funding for food aid programs and partnerships with global organizations to combat hunger.
At home, Leland championed policies to address prescription drug costs, homelessness, and the challenges facing low-income communities. He understood that hunger was often a symptom of larger systemic issues. He fought for housing programs to support the homeless and economic initiatives to create jobs for unskilled and under-skilled workers. His efforts provided a lifeline to countless families who had lost hope. Leland’s ability to connect with people—whether a world leader or a struggling parent—was unparalleled. “Once you met Mickey, you felt like you’d known him forever,” his colleagues often said. His passion inspired action and his charisma drew supporters from all walks of life. Tragically, Mickey Leland’s life was cut short on August 7, 1989, when his plane crashed in Ethiopia during a humanitarian mission to deliver food and medical supplies to refugees.
The world lost a bold and compassionate leader, but his legacy endures. Today, programs he championed continue to provide food, housing, and opportunities for those in need. Statues and schools bear his name, but his greatest monument is the lives he touched and the movements he ignited. Mickey Leland believed that hunger and poverty were not insurmountable. “We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers,” he often reminded others. Through his life and work, he proved that one person’s determination could indeed change the world.
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♦ Rep Jarvis Johnson represents House District 139. In 2005, Johnson was elected to the Houston City Council to represent District B, making him one of the youngest Council Members in history.
A presidential campaign defined by personal hatreds , threats of political violence and two foiled assassination attempts ended on Tuesday in a mostly orderly election. No matter what the results ultimately show, Americans’ commitment to a fair and peaceful vote is a thumb in the eye to authoritarians both at home and abroad.
By Max Burns, opinion contributor, The Hill
That’s about all the joy Democrats (and lovers of democracy) will find in yesterday’s election results. The fleeting optimism that washed over the party after Ann Selzer’s storied Iowa poll showed Kamala Harris unexpectedly leading Donald Trump by 3 points has crashed back to reality. In its place is the realization that democracy’s worst-case scenario is unfolding in real time.
Our democratic institutions are not ready for what comes next. Neither are the American people.
The Trump who will walk into the White House on Jan. 20 is a man steeped in unsettled vendettas , who came within a hair’s breadth of a string of federal felony convictions that he is now empowered to wipe away with a self-pardon — as if those offenses and so many others had never even happened. Trump will see his priorities as he has always seen them: party over country and self over all.
A man with 34 felony convictions can’t win the presidency in a nation where trust in institutions is high. It’s only in a culture where the justice system has long since lost its legitimacy that a man with such a thick criminal record as Trump glides by relatively unremarked. That one man can so effortlessly game American institutions to his own benefit says as much about the decrepit state of America’s institutions as it does about the moral decrepitude of the crook.
The nine years of the Trump era have taken a bat to our democracy, and Trump’s MAGA movement has exploited the nation’s systemic weakness at every turn. Political misinformation flooded social media networks owned by Trump’s key allies, or by Trump personally. Meanwhile, Trump and compliant Republican lawmakers torched public trust in the courts — first by appointing an ethically vacant Supreme Court, and later by urging his followers to hate and distrust not only the judges who tried him but the entire “rigged” justice system.
Trump is now set to return to the White House, and he’s made no secret of his lofty goals for a second term: gutting the civil service , destroying the independence of the Justice Department and seeking political and legal revenge on his lengthy list of personal enemies . Judging by yesterday’s election returns, a majority of Americans are eager to see Trump do exactly that.
The former and future president now inherits a nation deeply weakened by his own toxic brand of politics. Our divided and exhausted nation will now need to fend off the constant extralegal whims of a president who is also, thanks to the Supreme Court, functionally immune from prosecution for any act he undertakes. If Trump’s first term was any indication, we won’t need to wait long for our next constitutional crisis.
Believers in the rule of law are in for a rough four years, because though Trump contradicted himself countless times during this marathon campaign, he never wavered in his distaste for the rule of law or his admiration for strongman autocrats . Members of the press can expect Trump to at least try making good on his oft-repeated pledge to rewrite the nation’s press freedom and libel laws . The rest of us will be along for the bumpy and chaotic ride.
It matters that Trump won his office in a free and fair election. It matters that free people voluntarily chose to cloak Trump in power he will almost certainly abuse in far-reaching and destructive ways. Our country made the choice to walk down the dark path of Trump’s resentments and conspiracies. We will come to regret it.
Max Burns is a veteran Democratic strategist and founder of Third Degree Strategies.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
♦ Professor Ojo Emmanuel Ademola is a Nigerian Professor of Cyber Security and Information Technology Management, and holds a Chartered Manager Status, and by extension, Chartered Fellow (CMgr FCMI) by the highly Reputable Royal Chartered Management Institute.
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