The disparity between the rich and the poor in Akwa ibom.
The beautiful state of Akwa ibom is blessed with a rich cultural heritage, fantastically peculiar language, diverse delicious delicacies, good road networks with street lights and artefacts that leaves envy etched on the faces of other states. Adorned with a mild weather and fertile land for tiling, sea for fishing and crude oil for export. It is a beautiful land flowing with sea and oil.
Hidden beneath the veil of beauty of the state is an ugliness between the social classes. A great rift exist between the wealthy and the penniless in the oil rich state of Akwa ibom. Okay, Maybe penniless is too strong an adjective to describe those living below par in the state, it is not as if they are literally without a penny, but it does inject into ones consciousness, the wide margin that exists between the rich and the poor.
Just like most states in the country, the clime of Akwa ibom favours the rich. Equal tax rate is charged on both the rich and the poor, even when the revenue of the poor is nothing to write home about when compared to that of their rich counterparts. No extra tax on properties which are used to show affluence. A man can comfortably own five cars, one for each working day without paying taxes for any parking lot. The electricity billing rate is the same with the poor. No preference what so ever is meted on the low income earners. It is a case of equality as against equity.
But unlike other states in the country like Lagos, Akwa ibom doesn't provide a fair habitat for the coexistence of the rich and the poor. In Lagos for instance, there is a well developed transport scheme. Public transport buses of various sizes are readily plying the road, going to and fro bus stop to bus stop. Such that, the poor without private cars can get to wherever they want within the state and beyond, at anytime and at a reasonable cost. On the contrary, such is not the case in the oil rich state. In Akwa ibom, the transport system is substandard, you don't get to see buses picking up and dropping passengers at different bus stops. What you get to see are parks where public cars load passengers. The snag with this type of transport scheme is that it is not cost effective. One gets to pay a fixed transport fare for the entire journey regardless of destination, even when one alights on the way, few distance from take off.
Also, one's economic productivity is hampered by the fact that these public cars in parks are not readily available. A man who works in a bank can barely make it early to work without his private car because, when he comes to the park by 6.00 in the morning, he meets an empty park. When the early bird public car driver shows up by 7.00 or later, he wouldn't leave until the last passenger comes to fill up his car or cab as commonly called. On a mean day, it can take hours for the cab to be full with passengers. This stunts the economic growth of an Akwa-ibomite and is bore only by one side of the populace, the poor, while the rich cruise around in their private cars.
Corp members who by default do not fall into the class of the rich has deviced a means of survival. They cut their transport cost by "son son". "son son" is a lingo used among corp members to label free ride or free lift. In Ibibio, the predominant language in Akwa ibom, "son son" means thank you. When a corp member is given a free lift, s/he says "son son", to show courtesy and appreciation, hence the coinage "son son". So it is common to see corp members standing by the road side, flagging down private cars going in their direction, in a bid to get "son son" (free lift).
The self esteem of these corp members, who are serving the country and live on a very low federal allowance is not in jeopardy, there is no shame what so ever in them seeking "son son". The heart break, is seeing mature working class men and women in Akwa ibom, joining corp members to stand by the roadside under the sun to seek "son son". Not only does it reduce the productivity of these men and women, who waste working time standing by the roadside for close to an hour or more, it tells clearly of the disparity between the rich and the poor. In terms of transportation, the poor who cannot afford private cars are handicapped.
The job opportunities in Akwa ibom are very minimal, it is unlike the south western or south eastern states where companies and factories are scattered all over, providing job opportunities for both the skilled and unskilled labour, and rich and poor citizens alike. Majority of the minimal jobs available in Akwa ibom are concentrated in Uyo, the capital city. Not everyone can afford to live in Uyo, the house rents are exorbitant, cost of living is up the roof and beyond, favoring a habitat for the rich. Even the poor who manage to cough out the money for the house rents are living from hand to mouth, without making any savings.
Youths without job are in the majority, they engage in unethical source of livelihood. The men engage in robbery and kidnapping, or just idle, drinking alcohol in local joints and gambling over draft, a local board game. While the men are at it, the women are engrossed in prostitution. Prostitution is so predominant in the state that it ranks tops in the country sex rating. In fact, some people regard the state as the land of sex. Myth has it that the high rate of sex is as a result of the high rate of dog consumption. That, however is yet to be scientifically justified but technically, it is as a result of unemployment, suffered mostly by the poor in the society. A lot of girls, old and young engage in the act of loose sex, this has resulted in the low price for call girls, compared to other parts of the country, chiefly because the readily supply outweighs the demand.
To fill the void between the rich and the poor, the government needs to step in with a strong foot. There is need to have a dynamic taxing scheme that would be lenient on the low income earners. Furthermore, there is a dire need for youth empowerment. It is not enough for the youths to be educated, they need to be gainfully employed to keep them busy to curb prostitution and other ills. There are a thousand and one jobs that can be created in the state. The transport sector is like a untapped mine, agriculture is another and so is industrialization. The government can do well to provide buses to roam the freeway and offer a much cheaper transport cost compared to the cabs. Loans can be granted to farmers to encourage agriculture, and mechanized agriculture for exports. Industries where local goods can be manufactured and exported is also a possibility, not only would it increase the internal generated revenue and provide non oil source of income, it would as well keep the youths gainfully employed and the gap between the social classes will be hugely reduced.
