A’Ibom at 33: Condemnations trail logo design, underdevelopment

Etim Ekpimah

The Akwa Ibom State logo, which was unveiled on Wednesday to herald the 33rd anniversary of the state has set many tongues wagging.

It was learnt that while the logo was being unveiled, dissenting voices had already been raised about what Gov Udom Emmanuel and his team were planning to unleash on the people by designing such a weird logo.

Critics on Facebook likened the logo to apparition, others described it as ugly, while some maintained that the logo conjured the image of voodooism, occultism, oppression of the masses, among others.

A Facebook post by former chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom State chapter, Joe Effiong stated that the meaning of the logo is blurred owing to inclusion of so many things.

“I appreciate the fact that Akwa Ibom must have its logo. After all, other states, such as Lagos or even our mother, Cross River, has.

“But must we put everything we have or assume to have in a single logo so that its communicativeness gets blurred by semantic noises?

”Must we bring everything from elephant tusks to orange cross to tilapia to prawn to crab to palm tree to a crowned lion head which final culminates in making it look like those things we see in Nollywood shrines into the logo? Haba!

“Even crab has a pride of place in our logo. Or does that signify the crab mentality of an average Akwa Ibom person, both the leaders and the led? Wouldn’t nkop (clam) have even been better since we want to bring everything out from the ocean? What a logo! Is Cross our only religious culture? Says who? Why didn’t we add Iso Ekpo to further make it even more scary? Did we even consult Uruan people, not only to make input in the area of Ekpe culture, but to also in the extra mundane? We still need them in the logo.

“Our logo, typically, should be like the vernacular translations in the AKBC of the 90s. Shouldn’t every village be represented? Hon. KufreAbasi Edidem should be angry that monkeys are not shown jumping on trees. Where is our Anyang Nsit represented in monstrous apparition? Which living Akwa Ibomite has ever seen a living lion in this state? Or are we just bringing in the lion head for the assumed royalty sake and crowning it to make the logo actually look very occultic?

“Pray, who approved this Atim Okpo Ebot as our Logo. I’m told more than 900 entries were received. No problem.

“But was it subjected to public scrutiny or even criticism? When, where, how? Or was the approval rushed like the “Bill for a Law to Establish the  State Official Symbols and other matters connected therewith”  which scaled through first and second readings on Thursday, September 17, 2020 and on Tuesday, September 22, 2020, it had already been passed into law. And I believe that it must have attracted an accelerated executive assent unlike other development-oriented bills passed more than two years, which have been ignored till date.

“I sincerely believe that this is just a rehearsal, (un)dress rehearsal of the first draft of what our logo would or should be. It will surely be amended, cos it would be dangerous drawing this scary-looking thing on blackboard and forcing our children to study it as civic education.

“Mbok, if this, as it unfortunately appears, is the most important thing to inaugurate to commemorate our 33rd anniversary, at least, it should have been made more sexy, attractive and simpler but more communicative. It should not be a further maths formula.

“It would do us no good if its complicatedness competes with that  of Dakkada Creed, which after five years,  about 95% of Akwa Ibomites, including members of the state executive council,  do not know, cannot explain, cannot recite,  do not feel, and do not care.”

While resting his case, he added that the majority could have their way and even come for his neck.

Respondents to the post, Edoamaowo Udeme, said: “I’ve never seen something so ugly in recent past.” Thelma Etim, said: “Beautify write up! Mkpa ke laughter! I thought the same thing. Couldn’t really synchronise the symbols. So diabolically and fetishy diagrammed.

Iniobong Ekponta said: “Where is “Only God” in this logo? So, after elections, Udom dumped, ‘The Only God’ to embrace and invent voodoo image for the ‘Land of Promise.” Maybe he never consulted some of the living founding fathers of the state, nor the general Akwa Ibom public including his ‘fathers of faith,” for their inputs.

Jatom Asikpo, who responded to another post, said: “I can’t support this logo for our unified state. It should have been placed on scrutiny, criticised and accepted by at least 80 per cent of those that scrutinised it.”

“Perhaps, the fathers of faith would have negotiated for a small space for their ‘Only God’ symbol as a way of spiritually taming the occultic characters that define this fetish work of art.”

Meanwhile, human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, called for sober reflection as the state commemorates 33rd anniversary of its creation by former military dictator, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babaginda in 1987.

Effiong bemoaned the failure by the political class, adding that it was ridiculous for the state to mark its 33rd existence without human capital development in terms of investment in education, agriculture, science and technology, health, and infrastructure.

He said, “I have seen upsurge of messages, commentaries, reactions and responses, advertorials by the state government and by the people of Akwa Ibom State showcasing what they consider to be the gains or the achievements of the state in the last 33 years.

“For me as an Akwa Ibom person, I find these comments, commentaries to be diversionary. The questions I want to ask are, “What is the noise about, what are we celebrating, what do we have to show after 33 years in terms of human capital development, in terms of infrastructural development in the area of investment in education, in agriculture, in technology and science, and in health. What do we have to showcase as a state?

“Beyond the usual deception and the usual politics of lies; what do we have to show after 33 years? I think we should use today to reflect, to ruminate and cogitate in a sober manner the failure of the political class and criminals who have wreaked havoc on the common patrimony of Akwa Ibom people.

“The reality today is that as a state, we have fared very badly. The facts are staring us on the face; these people are notorious. Of the 36 states in the country today, Akwa Ibom is one of the leading revenue earners in the country. If you put Lagos State aside because of the internally generated revenues, there is no other state, except Delta, that one can compare with Akwa Ibom.

“So, the problem has never been paucity of funds. From 2016 to date, the current governor has received over N1trn. And from 2007 till date, Akwa Ibom has earned over N4trn.”