Cross River State is a coastal state in South Eastern Nigeria, which was named after the Cross River, which passes through the state. Located inthe Niger Delta, Cross River State occupies 20,156 square kilometres. It shares boundaries with Benue State to the north, Enugu and Abia states to the west, to the east by Cameroon Republic and to the south by Akwa Ibom and the Atlantic Ocean.Formerly including the present Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State was created on May 27, 1967 from the former Eastern Region Nigeria by the General Yakubu Gowon regime. Its name was changed to Cross River State in the 1976 state creation exercise by the then General Murtala Mohammed regime from South Eastern State. The present day Akwa Ibom State was excised from the state in another state creation exercise of September 1987 by the then regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Its capital remains Calabar.There is a popular acronym for CALABAR, which is 'Come And Live And Be At Rest', an indication that those in and out of the state, desiring peace, serenity and co-existence need not look elsewhere, but indeed, come to Calabar.There are though other major towns in the state with these attributes of tranquility. They include Akamkpa, Akpet Central, Ugep, Ikom, Obubra, Odukpani, Ogoja, Obudu, Obanliku and Akpabuyo. Most popular among these ones are Ugep and Obudu whose cultural heritage have been elevated by the state governor, Senator Liyel Imoke to national and international standards.Since the creation of the 43 year-old state, its affairs have been governed by civilian and military governors and administrators, among whom are Udoakaha Jacob Esuene, Paul Omu, Tunde Elegbede, Clement Isong, Donald Etiebet, Daniel Archibong, Ibim Princewill, Ernest Atta, Clement Ebri, Ibrahim Kefas, Gregory Agboneni,Umar Farouk Ahmed, Christopher Osondu and Donald Duke, who handed over to the present Governor, Senator Imoke.Imoke's administration began officially in August 26, 2008, and by August 26, 2011, the government clocked three years.A month earlier, precisely on July 10, the governor marked his 50th birthday, an occasion many have described as a celebration of a fulfilled life. The event attracted those to be regarded as' Who is Who' in the state, in the country and global communities, who throng the state to rejoice with the accomplished politician.True to the words of a popular philosopher, Roberth H. Schuller, 'Great people are ordinary people with extraordinary amounts of determination'. This can be said of the governor, who by noble birth and upbringing, has taken the state to enviable heights in ways that could be said to be extraordinary.And like a proverbial cat with nine lives, Senator Imoke was not deterred by a court pronouncement that ordered a repeat of the election that first ushered him into office in 2007. His brief achievements in office, before the reelection of August 23, 2007, endeared him to the people, who returned to the poll to reelect him overwhelmingly.The Governor is not new to politics. He is a son of an accomplished medical practitioner, Dr. Samuel Imoke, who became a cabinet minister and leader of Parliament in the former Eastern Region. As a legal practitioner, Governor Imoke's interest in politics is beyond self. He has offered himself to serve the people no matter the height of sacrifices that would be required to do so. Zik Ziglar, another philosopher has this to say as regards a man desirous of serving his people: 'The measure of a man is not the number of servants he has, but the number of people he serves.'Senator Imoke, unlike some state governors, has refused to flood the Government House with a high number political servants, who will be at his beck and call to run errands for him. He rather prefers to be the errand boy.He has not also considered his privileged backgrounds and educational attainments as licence to lord things over people. The peaceful working condition existing between him and his deputy, Efiok Cobham and the state House of Assembly is worthy of emulation by political office holders in and outside the state.As the state looks up to another governorship election next year, some persons have attempted to cause disaffection between the governor and his deputy through acts of rumour mongering, but the governor has always insisted that his relationship with his deputy is solid and unshaken.Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which controls power in the state, is intact. There are no elements of disintegration, rancor and division among party men and women, like in some other states where the party has been factionalised and aggrieved members defected to other political parties.His relationship with the organized labour bodies in and outside the state is also cordial. While some states governors are still flexing muscles with labour over payment of the approved N18, 000 minimum wage to workers, Governor Imoke has since implemented the new wage to Cross River State workers.There is no wonder, then, that notable groups and high profile individuals in and outside the state are calling on Senator Imoke to seek a second term in Office next year. One of the groups has openly declared that among those nursing the ambition to contest the upcoming election; Governor Imoke was the most credible, having been tested and proven.The Governor is neither carried away by these endorsements nor allow them distract him from his cardinal objective of transforming the state. He rather accepts criticisms by offering himself several times to be scrutinised by the legislature, opinion leaders and the media on the policies, programmes and certain decisions of government. He has also proved this by providing an enabling environment for actualising positives strides in the administration by assembling technocrats and men and women of like minds and with the required skills to man each of the sectors of the economy. This is in line with his transformation agenda, encompassed in a seven-point agenda, which he set out at the beginning of the administration, and is executing nearly to completion.Otei Oham is a Public Affairs Analyst wrote in from Calabar.
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