As Companies In Akwa Ibom Are Folding Arms

By UbongAbasi Ise

The Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Monday Uko, in a recent phone conversation with this writer, had frankly admitted the inundation of criticisms that comes his way and that of Governor Udom Emmanuel despite numerous successes recorded by this administration in the area of sports. He said media has pilloried the political office holders in the state to the extent that they couldn’t help other than being impervious to the unending attacks as a way of survival. With this assertion by the sports commissioner, it becomes clear that some of the public figures in this dispensation have developed thick skin to criticisms to the extent that one needs to use sledge hammer to break the veneer before getting to the subcutaneous part of them. But what Mr. Uko said which really sparked my concern was that why sports struggle is because companies all over Nigeria are increasingly becoming unresponsive in sponsoring sporting activities in the country. Even spectators in Akwa Ibom are no longer willing to pay gate fees to watch home matches of club sides domiciled in the state. As a result, the burden of sports sponsorship, according to him, dwells solely on the shoulders of the state government. He pointed out how this administration is managing Akwa United and Dakkada United in the Nigerian Premier League without getting sponsorship from companies and individuals.

As Team Akwa Ibom was hoped to be participating in the national youth festival billed in Edo State which was to commence from March 20th 2020 but botched by the dread of Covid-19, the sports commissioner was noting, as a matter of fact, that if one would be observing Team Akwa Ibom at the sports festival, the absence of the companies’ brands on their sporting kits in Edo would prove that the sponsorship of the team solely lie on the head of state government. If what the commissioner said is anything to go by, then it is disappointing that companies in the state are not paying obeisance to their corporate social responsibilities. Because of their indifference to supporting sports, there are constant complaints on lack of payment of duty tour allowance (DTA) to personnel participating in the sports festival over the years, including non-payment of subventions to sports associations. And because of non-involvement of the companies, it’s only football clubs that are enjoying support in the state while about 37 other sports and their associations are neglected and are receding to the lowest ebb.

Similarly, the companies in the state appear to be folding their arms in the face of this covid-19 panic. If peradventure the epidemic breaks out in Akwa Ibom, would the burden of containing the fatality still hang on the state government’s neck alone? Besides, the outbreak of the virus has exerted ripple effect on the world economic system largely as a result of the lockdown in the core producing economies. In fact, the third world is awaiting major economic shock in recent history, and if it happens as speculated, would the government alone help keep businesses from drowning? In other climes for instance, there is JPMorgan which has pledged $50 million to help struggling customers, and $8 million in aid to small businesses. Amazon recently announced a $5 million Neighborhood Small Business Relief Fund to provide cash grants to local small businesses in Seattle, United States. According to information on Forbes, Yelp has also declared the company’s provision of $25 million in coronavirus relief for independent restaurant and nightlife businesses. In Akwa Ibom, what do we expect from our numerous companies making huge sales in the state?

Zenith Bank, for instance, is one of the banks that make humongous sales in Akwa Ibom. This bank controls bulk of transaction involving the state government. From the monthly allocation coming from the federation account to the payment of entitlements of the state’s public officials, about 1% of the amount transacted would go to the Zenith Bank PLC. We expect this is bank to give back to the state something tangle that is capable of shaping the future of Akwa Ibom youths through sports as well as helping support the state’s indigenous businesses through interest-free loans as this would help them survive economic downturn induced by the deadly coronavirus.

We have oil companies like Mobil Producing Nigeria, Frontier Oil, Seven Energy, Sterling Energy Exploration and Production Company Nigerian Limited, (SEEPCO), and the likes whose operations had already made our environment susceptible to all manner of environmental maladies. They have the corporate social responsibilities to put measures in place to safeguard population of the host communities in an event of Covid-19 outbreak in the state.

There are industries in the state that variously produce syringe, meters, flour, plastic etc. They too should help in providing at least hand sanitizers to Akwa Ibom populace. Isn’t it fathomable that the state’s population means a lot to their businesses? If the epidemic decimates half of the population, God forbid, wouldn’t this translate to the unprecedented sales declines to them? It is a common idea that the pandemic has affected their operations and proceeds but it would be terrible if they fold their arms and watch their customers’ base eroded by the virus.

It is very risky to depend 100 percent on the government, even when it comes to the matter of life and death because we don’t know when the officials would begin to play politics. This is where companies are needed to come in and play complementary role, especially, as the world is waging war against the common enemy of humanity.

Yes! I am UbongAbasi Ise. For comment, please send SMS to 08189914609 | email: ubongabasiise@gmail.com

©The Sensor Newspaper

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