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By Our Correspondent
When Governor Umo Eno assumed office in 2023, one of the major pillars of his ARISE Agenda was the promotion of agriculture and food sufficiency. The governor passionately encouraged all citizens of Akwa Ibom State, including civil servants, teachers, traders, artisans and professionals to embrace farming. To further demonstrate his commitment, he designated a day every week for farming activities as public holiday, urging residents to cultivate crops both for consumption and commercial purposes.
Three years later however, some teachers at QIC Primary School, Nung Ukot Itam, Itu Local Government Area, believe events unfolding around an ongoing road construction project have contradicted the spirit and intent of that policy.
The teachers are lamenting what they describe as the destruction of their farms by a contractor handling a road project beside the school. According to them, the farms were cultivated in response to Governor Eno’s call for increased agricultural participation among public servants.
Investigations by Century Newsfront revealed that heavy-duty equipment, including tractors and pay loaders deployed by Nsik Engineering Limited, the company handling the project, demolished sections of the school’s perimeter fence while extending the road corridor. In the process, crops cultivated by teachers within the school environment were destroyed.
The affected teachers said they had invested substantial portions of their salaries in the cultivation of vegetables, cassava, maize, and other crops, hoping to harvest the produce for both household consumption and additional income.
“What happened here is heartbreaking,” one teacher lamented. “Government encouraged us to farm. We obeyed. We used our salaries to clear the land, buy seedlings and maintain the crops. Today, everything has been destroyed and nobody is talking about compensation.”
Another teacher who pleaded anonymity expressed concern that the incident could discourage civil servants from participating in future agricultural initiatives. According to the teachers, despite their complaints, neither the contractor nor any relevant authority has visited the site to assess the damage or discuss compensation.
The destroyed farms now lie abandoned around the perimeter lines, with damaged crops gradually decaying under the weather. The sight has become a source of anguish for the affected teachers, many of whom had anticipated a successful harvest season. While the road project is widely regarded as a welcome development that will improve transportation and economic activities in the area, stakeholders argue that development should not be pursued at the expense of citizens who faithfully complied with government policies.
Observers note that if the allegations are true, the failure to compensate the affected farmers raises questions about the level of coordination between government development projects and its agricultural empowerment programmes.
For the teachers of QIC Group School, the issue is not opposition to road construction but the apparent neglect of their losses. They insist that government cannot encourage farming on one hand and remain silent when those who heed the call suffer avoidable destruction of their investments on the other.
They are therefore appealing to Governor Umo Eno and relevant authorities to investigate the matter, assess the extent of the damage, and ensure that adequate compensation is paid to the affected teachers. As of press time, no official response had been received from Nsik Engineering Limited regarding the allegations as calls to management of the company were not responded to.
