Updates

“… to simply see development as an improvement in people’s welfare and well-being falls short of the mark. Development should be about lasting change. Development should not only be about improvements in the welfare of citizens, but about the capacity of the government to provide the environment for the welfare and wellbeing of the people on a sustainable and long-term basis.”

“I am sure what is happening today in our nation would shock and deeply despair the ennobling spirit of nationalism that the late Zik lived for. As despairing as things are in our nation today, we cannot give up on Nigeria. The late Zik himself did not give up on Nigeria, even when he could have. If he had fallen for the rabid fight for regional supremacy over the forces of nationhood which he championed, possibly the Nigeria we have come to know today, may not have existed, so we owe him our collective debt of gratitude.”

“This institution(UNN) is the only university which bears Nigeria’s name and the only university which was opened as part of the celebration of Nigeria’s independence by Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandria Kent on October 7, 1960. The Alumni of this institution sometimes use a car sticker with the legend, ‘An alumnus of UNN is ahead of you…naturally. ‘Today, you need to move from being ahead naturally, to being ahead nationally. You want to be ahead in solving the many complex and intricate problems that beset and threaten our nation.”

“…what Akwa Ibom needs may not be the same with Enugu or Lagos. But central to any of these is the drive to provide infrastructure and industrialize. Even advanced societies still invest in upgrading and providing more infrastructure for their people. As we speak the United States plans to spend over 3 trillion dollars to revamp its infrastructure and turn its high-flying technological place to a new berth. If a country as advanced as they are is doing this, then we are are expected to do even more in this regard.”

“Just a week and half ago, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, GCON, while commissioning The DAKKADA TOWERS, our 21-storey smart and intelligent building, the tallest and smartest in the South-South & South-East and the 7th tallest in Nigeria, described Akwa Ibom State as the emerging industrial hub of the nation.”

• Governor Udom Emmanuel at 61 Founder’s Day Lecture, UNN