Akwa lbom to the World: The Wonders of Governor Udom Emmanuel
The assertion; “the world is a global village”, has been proven to be true in Akwa lbom state, courtesy of Governor Udom Emmanuel-led administration. However, be that as it were, there is no gainsaying that the greater percentage of the world’s population for instance, are resident in towns and cities. Yet, these are the urban centers that collectively contribute massively to the global economic output. Thus, going by this reality, this part of the globe, Akwa Ibom, is not exempted
That is why, as our cities expand, urbanization itself is intensifies, thus, our communities are impacted by the global challenges, which Governor Emmanuel of Akwa lbom state, considers, an opportunity for sustainable development. Accordingly, his (Udom’s) current drive for industrialization in Akwa lbom, is stressing growth and development and progress, in terms of economic and social factors, ranging from income to wealth, and from wealth to job creation, and from job creation to good quality of life for Akwa lbom citizenry.
Perhaps, the overall object of this socio-economic development might have pointed to the improvement of the social and material well-being of our citizenry, including social institutions with the sole aim of achieving the highest level of human development. Whatever that might be, evidences on ground are testimonial that Governor Emmanuel has meant well for our state and all Akwa Ibomtes.
Thus, in his (Udom’s) approximate calculation of worth, he has come to reasoned that, for such degree of socio-economic development to be successfully achieved in Akwa lbom, certain drivers must come to play. And one of such drivers is infrastructure. Therefore, being an erudite economist, he had understood how important and paramount income is, in assessing economic impact of a state like Akwa lbom for instance.
Interestingly, the world over, available statistics have proven how Airports create thousands of jobs and generate considerable income and by extension, contribute significantly to the overall economic activity of its surrounding region. Notwithstanding growing concerns over the global challenges associated with socio-economic global factors, Governor Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom state has shown commitment to give Akwa lbom a well defined place within the global map.
Accordingly, although, time will not permit me to describe the remodeling of one of Nigeria’s Internationale Airport with world-class facilities, which according to Governor Emmanuel, his administration is aiming at repositioning Akwa lbom state as an aviation hub in Africa. Nevertheless, the multi-billion naira state-of-the-art terminal building at Obong Victor Attah International airport, Uyo, Akwa lbom state is worth mentioning in this piece.
The international terminal building is designed to meet the highest level of intelligence and smart building standard, and it is competing with any of the internationally ranked airport terminals across the globe. For instance, the security architecture is very high, with finger print digital pass or card pass, all for the purpose of detecting both passengers and staff in the airport.
The facility also has assorted fire prevention methods, such as, fire extinguishers and fire water sprinkler system and fire detectors (heat, smoke and temperature detectors) and (FM 200) automated fire suppression system. More so, the international terminal building has three floors and is designed to accommodate over one million passengers per year with a total area of construction of about 30,000 square meters.
The facility has a digital self check-in by a robot pre-planned, and counter check-in as well, with five bridges and staircases and seven lifts and four escalators, which are pressure sensitive and only move when a passenger is detected on it. Interestingly, a special roof that is expected to last up to 200 years without changing its colour, is conceptualized for the international terminal.
The facility has an automated system that checks bag contents, including the departure area with outlets of an international airport runway. It has a sick bay and staff lodge too. The world-class remodeling of Obong Victor Attah International airport is never a surprise to Akwa lbom people, especially the international terminal building, given the fact that it was designed by experts from Nigeria and United Kingdom and United States of America and Turkey.
Currently, Akwa lbom, as a state in Nigeria is operating five modern and efficient fleet of aircrafts called, ‘Ibom Air’. Ibom Air operates the youngest fleet amongst Nigeria’s airlines. This fleet strategy is in line with Governor Emmanuel’s vision to make Ibom Air a world-class African regional airline.
A key benefit of Ibom Air’s very modern fleet of Bombardier CRJ 900 aircraft is that they all come factory-fitted with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters. HEPA filters are high-intensity filters that do not just filter dust, but effectively capture greater than 99.97% of the airborne microbes in cabin air, including microscopic particles such as bacteria and viruses. Cabin air in HEPA equipped aircraft generally pass through the filters every 2-3 minutes, removing contaminants and greatly enhancing the quality of air in the cabin.
Having said all of the above, l want to land this piece by arguing that, although there are quite a number of airlines operating globally, nevertheless, what distinguished Ibom Air from other airlines is that, one; they are the youngest fleet of aircraft, two; they deliver the trademark services, and you can count on Ibom Air for schedule reliability and on-time departures, as well as, superior service. I rest my case!
