11/01/2026
Gov Otu: Beyond the razzmatazz of Christmas – By Evaristus Bassey
How Christmas is celebrated in Calabar, is part of the assessment of the performance of a governor, I dare say. On this note Donald Duke, whose tenure started Carnival Calabar is ranked very highly.
An indigene of Cross River State served in Trinidad and Tobago as Nigeria’s ambassador and witnessed the carnival there and imported it to Cross River. It fitted so well with Donald Duke’s transformative vision of Cross River as a tourism destination, that he embraced the idea totally and localized it.
The local classic, ukabad’isua inemke ke obio efen nte obio Efik translated as Christmas is never as enjoyable anywhere else than in Calabar, may have influenced Donald Duke to institute the Carnival in December during the festive season.
Liyel Imoke as governor brought in the business elements, making it more sustainable with sponsorship from several corporations, whereas Governor Ayade tended to bring down the tempo somewhat. But at its twentieth anniversary in December 2025, Gov. Prince Otu has written his name in gold with the height he took the festivities.
Unlike when I resided in Calabar South and never bothered with what was going on, living now just a short distance away from the center of all the activities, I have been forced to be a spectator. For instance, I had never watched Bikers’ Carnival but I had to wait for over an hour to have the barricade removed for me to head to Tinapa area for a scheduled talk. In the meantime I had no choice than to watch.
I became an accidental spectator during the children carnival and even the adult carnival.
Anyone coming into the city of Calabar would notice easily the smooth roads, the serious attempts to clear the refuse, little things which the Ayade government found it so difficult to do.
As for crowds, I had never witnessed such crowds around Eleven Eleven. Young people were like swarms of bees flocking around the beautiful Christmas lightings.
And someone said that Governor Prince Otu extended the decorations up to Ugep, Ikom and Ogoja. The festive carnival spirit has gradually spread to many communities, with several communities organizing their own carnivals. Oban Town in Akamkpa Local government Area for instance holds its own Akachak carnival every 2nd of January. The pulse in the streets is that people are happy with the government of Prince Otu, added with the free public transportation during the festive season within the metropolis which extended up to the northern senatorial district.
Prince Otu is also generous to churches. Whereas Muslims in positions of authority use their official allocations to build mosques, like a onetime Agric minister who built a mosque from the allocation of the ministry, many Christians in authority, even when it is within their rights, shy away from supporting the church.
It would be unethical for a Christian agric minister to use the allocation to his ministry to build a church alright, but a governor, or a local government chairman, with executive authority, can allocate resources for religious infrastructure. Often it is the contributions of the poor that are used in building church infrastructure.
It becomes a great relief when a governor contributes to the effort of the people, as Prince Otu seems to do sometimes. The Catholic Archdiocese of Calabar is building a pastoral center near Tinapa and requires an access road. I hope the governor steps in immediately and facilitate the construction of an access road.
Northern governors spend billions on Hajjs and marriages for widows. Christians in authority should not be ashamed to spend for the church especially in areas of infrastructure and social services.
I haven’t done my research yet about other transformative projects Prince Otu is embarking upon. But the ease with which one can fly in and out of Calabar is a turning point. With the acquisition of several aircraft, we are delivered from the arrogance of Ibom Air. But what is delaying Caly Air from flying to Cameroun, Equitorial Guinea and Central African Republic, distances that are even closer than Lagos and Abuja ?
Is Margaret Ekpo International Airport a joke?
I was delighted to hear that finally the 28 kilometer road which would link Constituency 1 and 2 of Akamkpa is being constructed. This is a road that was first attempted by the government of Clement Isong. My excitement dampened when I asked salient questions.
For a road that requires one main bridge and several deep culverts, one would have expected that the bridge would be the main focus. Several governments in the past only ended up grading the road to the water bank and abandoning it. I hope this is not what Prince Otu wants to do.
A serious government that claims to want to construct such a road would engage an engineering firm to build the bridges before any serious construction would take place.
When Lafarge was building the Mfamosing Odukpani road, the bridge was the first major focus.
The Adiabo Okurikang road that the state government is trying to construct, is only made possible because then Finance Minister Tony Ani facilitated a bridge over the river during the time of General Abacha. It might be too early to dismiss the Oban-Nsan road as a ruse. But it would be a great disservice to go about it the way previous governments had done, especially with the Nigerian syndrome of budgeting humongous amounts for projects.
Governor Prince Otu has potential to be the best governor since 1999. The monorail which Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke made a mess of, he can transform it into a real transportation system. Building a route for a tram from Tinapa to Watt and perhaps to Atimbo roundabout, is not an impossibility.
This will enhance mass transportation. There is also a housing crisis in many of our urban centres and semi-urban communities. Government could partner with NGOs to begin housing projects for civil servants, or housing units with affordable rents, managed by reputable estate agents like Gersh Henshaw & Co.
The point is, for years, government has served mainly the interests of politicians without genuine care to solving the challenges of ordinary citizenry. Sometimes one wonders the usefulness of government apart from transforming politicians into billionaires and multi-millionaires.
Prince Otu can go back to examine how Donald Duke optimized education, with free books. He could support Mission schools and hospitals the way Peter Obi did in Anambra.
He could make the state health insurance agency established by Ayade to work optimally, covering even those without government or paid employment.
Could Prince Otu’s government also have pity on the people towards the border, in Akamkpa 2 Constituency? We know the road is a Trunk A federal road, but I humbly urge him to make the road accessible and reclaim the money from the federal government. Let him work as if he has only one term and we will be happy to welcome him to his second term, which whether we vote or not, is guaranteed.
Evaristus Bassey is a Catholic priest.
