By; PATRICK TITUS, Uyo
Resuscitating the moribund Nigeria Newsprint Manufacturing Company (NNMC) established by the federal government in Akwa Ibom State will address the age-long communal clashes in border communities of Oku Iboku in the state and Ikot Offiong in Cross River State.
Akwa Ibom State Deputy Governor, Mr. Moses Ekpo has reasoned that if NNMC was functioning, there wouldn’t have been conflicts as many youth would have been engaged in meaningful job opportunities instead of hostilities as experienced.
Ekpo, who made the observation while interacting with newsmen in Uyo on Wednesday, expressed sadness that immediately paper mill collapsed, communities around there started being at war with each other causing many residents to leave the area.
“When Oku Iboku Paper Mill was there, we never had any conflict between neighbouring communities. But as soon as the paper mill collapsed, communities around there were at war with each other.
“If the paper mill was still functioning, we wouldn’t have the communal conflicts there because many youth would have engaged themselves in meaningful jobs to help them instead of fighting,” Ekpo said.
He recalled that the NNMC established by the federal government at Oku Iboku, Itu Local Government Area, served the warring communities from Cross River State and Akwa Ibom without any rancour between them.
The deputy governor also observed that inability of the federal government to implement Trans-border initiative brought by National Boundary Commission (NBC) has hindered peace process among conflicting communities across Nigeria.
Trans-border Co-operation initiative, a novel idea evolved by NBC to checkmate boarder hostilities and promote inter-border peace and understanding was embraced by state government to tackle conflicts arising from boundaries disputes.
Ekpo, regretted that if the programme was implemented, it would helped in solving border conflicts and restore peace.
He therefore, urged federal government to sincerely implement the trans border co-operation initiative to curb hostilities in border areas.
The deputy governor appreciated federal agencies such as National Emergency Relief Management Agency (NEMA) for assisting the state government in providing relief materials to victims of border crisis and other communities in the state.
