Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade is taking a step to finally address the squalid and deplorable living conditions of the host communities of the Obudu Resort in Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River State, by promising to build a befitting accommodation for the community.
According to the statement released on Monday by the Cross River state government, the governor decried the living condition of the host communities, after paying a visit to some of the areas. He also said he will be spending one week going round the area to see things for himself. He said:
“Right here at the Ranch when you look to the left and right, what you see in the entire place are the aborigines, the original owners of Obudu Cattle Ranch.
They are relegated to the worst form of human existence; reduced to want, in body, in spirit, in soul and in the most sub-human living conditions with collapsing roofs and huge massive temperatures that run your blood chill and your bones cold,” he said.
He added further that:
“I decided to take a guided tour to spend one week with the people to feel their pulse as we prepare to make the Ranch the most attractive centre for visits in Nigeria. I want to see how the citizens, the aborigines have been living side by side with the glaring reality of the luxury of the ranch resort.
As I see this, my heart bleeds that I have failed to be sensitive to the people who need government most. And so my government is committed to constructing social housing to change their course and prove to them that God uses humans as a vessel.
I therefore make a commitment to make your town and your place look beautiful as well as to exterminate this kind of extreme poverty.
My performance efficiency should be measured by how much I have lifted people from extreme poverty to comfort not by how many culverts, how many bridges, how many superhighways, how many deep seaports I have built. The real growth is human growth,” he said.
The governor added that he will bring smiles and happiness to the host communities of Obudu Resort , as he believes in the human happiness index, adding that:
“I want to be assessed on the basis of how happy these people are with the onset of me being governor. When I leave office, what will be the difference I have in their lives? Until I make such a difference, I would have failed as governor.
I have therefore directed my Commissioner for social housing to immediately mobilize and move to site to begin construction work as my administration is committed to make a difference in the lives of these people,” he said.