“We can make our economy better that what it is today. What is required is for us to look again at the decisions we make about the things we consume, things we produced, and the ways that will boost rather than hurt the economy” - Professor Edet Akpakpan, a Professor of Economics.

The economy of a given society is the sum total of how the people and government of that society organize the production and distribution of goods and services in it. As Professor Edet Akpakpan, a renowned economist, puts it, the economy of Akwa Ibom is the collection of the productive activities in the State all the enterprises and other organizations that have something do with producing and distributing the goods and services people want to consume within and outside the state.
The economy of Akwa Ibom plays significant role in the sustenance of the state. For one thing, we would agree with economists, that it is from the economy that we get all the goods and services we consume. Economy encourages employment creation and income earning and determines behaviour of prices of goods and services. More importantly the quantity and quality of goods and services produced by the economy, if any, determines what the state sells to and buys from other states.
From the forgoing it could be deduced that three principal actors play crucial role in the working of the economy of the state; the consumers, the producers, and the government, who is responsible for regulating the productive activities. The weakness or otherwise of the economy depends on the contributions of these actors. For example, if any of them is weak, we would have a weak economy and vice versa. It is therefore pertinent for all the actors to contribute their quota efficiently for the development of economy of the State.
Frankly speaking, although there has been some level of improvement in recent times, all has not been well with the economy of Akwa Ibom State. The State is a perpetual consumer, depending on other state for nearly everything; even food like garri, yam and so on. Put it simply, the state hardly produces to sustain the economy, the situation experts say does not augur well for the economy and future of the state.
The implication is that job opportunities are not created and income-earning opportunities are not generated, thereby widening the gap between the rich and the poor and increasing economic and social inequalities in the society. This explains why many still regard the state as under-developed. To this end, if the state wants to reduce poverty, improve the quality of life of her citizenry and earn national respect, it is the high time she addressed her economy.
One possible way to reposition the economy of the State is through entrepreneurial development-encouraging more people to enhance their technological competent and utilize their knowledge and skills for the production and distribution of goods and services for consumers, thereby sustaining economy. This implies that once more and more people undertake productive activities willingly and efficiently, the level of development on other state for our needs would be reduced drastically.
It is against this background that the University of Uyo, through its Centre for Entrepreneurial Development in conjunction with Conference of Village Heads in Akwa Ibom organizes entrepreneurial creation workshop for rural dwellers in the state. The workshop which is the sixth in the series, according to the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Akaneren Essien, is to create entrepreneurs in the state and make people more interested in starting and running business. Represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration) Prof. Edet Akpakpan, Prof. Essien posited that entrepreneurial development is the only way to develop the state and her economy.
“Unless we wake up and initiate and run business enterprises, we are not going to see the development that has been our desire. Unless the society makes good use of this idea generated by the university there will be no change,” he maintained. The choice of the grassroot people for the workshop, the Vice Chancellor noted is significant “Every person matters in the business of developing the society. Every person has a part to play,” he observed. The workshop, he said, is predicated on helping the rural people particularly the youth harness and utilise their talents towards wealth creation. At the end of the workshop which continues today, participants, it is learnt, would not only become gainfully employed but would also serve as employer of labour, thereby becoming self reliance.
The Chairman, Conference of Village Heads, Eteidung Efiong Eberefiak said workshop would go a long way in changing the sentiment of rural dwellers on business and inculcating in them that there are several business opportunities at the grassroots. Dr. Aniefiok Essien, Dean Faculty of Business Administration University of Uyo, stated that the workshop provides a forum for the interchange of business ideas and experiences to move the state in particular and society in general, forward. The key question therefore is, can the entrepreneur change the society especially at this time of global financial crisis? Some economists believe that entrepreneurs provide the creative innovation destruction that could bring energy to the economy even when large companies suffer greatly. To them entrepreneurship has a number of advantages over great big established companies and has remained a crucial catalyst for economic growth.
Dr. Ntiedo Umoren is the Director, Centre for Entrepreneurial Development, University of Uyo. To him entrepreneurs are agents of societal transformation socially, economically, culturally, politically, and technologically. “The most important contributions that entrepreneurs bring to society are; their capacity to be innovative and their ability to generate new jobs. These efforts by entrepreneurs tend to dictate the way every society thinks and reacts to environment. The clear example is that Western Society changed for good the moment an entrepreneur invented electricity, just as our own society changed with introduction GSM phones in Nigeria”, he noted.
For Professor Edet Iwork, the Pioneer Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Development, the rural dwellers are entrepreneurs who play significant role in economic development of any society. Professor Iwok therefore urged them to continue to enhance their entrepreneurial skill knowledge and engage in cottage industries. He also enjoined them to form co-operative society in order to harness the community's wealth into useful productive venture for the benefit of the state and the society at large.
That entrepreneurial creation workshop comes at a time the world is marking Global Entrepreneurship Week, amidst global financial crisis, makes is significant and worthy of receiving more than usual attention by government, corporate bodies, NGO's and public spirited and business minded members of the society. The week long event which runs from 17 to 23 November, 2008, is a worldwide initiative aimed at exposing young ones to entrepreneurial ideas and innovation with a view to encouraging them to turn big ideas into reality by thinking about, starting, and doing businesses. It is a civil society initiative to promote entrepreneurial aspirations of young people everywhere.
The initiative is arguably meant to forestall future financial crises by making sure that the business ideas of today. It is entails making the right choice now about the kind of world “you want to live in tomorrow and then create it in leaders of tomorrow”, the youth by helping them to start out on the path of success. During the week, partner organizations in 75 countries including Nigeria will be planning and conducting a wide range of activities designed to inspire, connect, mentor and engage young people with a view to helping to them to acquire the value knowledge, skill networks and values needed to grow innovative and sustainable enterprises.
Global Entrepreneurship Week is a combination and expansion of two successful initiatives: Entrepreneurship Week USA 2007 and the inspiration behind it, Enterprise Week: which was initiated in 2004 in the United Kingdom. The amalgamation of the turn initiatives is expected to boost this calculated attempt to re-launch the idea behind free enterprise as a boost to economic growth in the international arena. Given the track record and success stories of the two initiatives the Global Entrepreneurship Week promises to be a huge success.
In 2007 alone, Entrepreneurship Week USA single-handedly brought together over 1,300 partner organizations in addition to 3,707 individuals events with 781, 449 people attending these events, excluding over 21 million people reached with the message through the mass media. Interesting, all the 50 governors in the United States endorsed the Week, while 350 Universities hosted at least one event to commemorate the Week.
The Enterprise Week on the other hand is an annual week long event in the United Kingdom targeted at thousands of students and young people by providing them encouragement to pursue their dream. Last year, the week attracted 3,002 partner organizations, 5,270 individual events and 584,000 people in attendance. It largest activity was to Make Your Mark Challenge, which involved 38, 00 students grouped into over 2,000 teams. Make Your Mark is therefore the United Kingdom's campaign to give people the confidence, skills and ambition to be more enterprising as well as encourage enterprise amongst young people through enterprising experiences and inspiring stories and working through a network of partners. It is high time Akwa Ibom State kept pace with the rest of the world before it is left behind. This is a new battle front for the State.

Six Central Banks, including the Bank of England, have cut interest rates by half a percentage point in an effort to steady the faltering global economy. No decision on UK rates had been expected until Thursday - and the move puts the interest rate at 4.5% from 5%. The US Federal Reserve has cut rates from 2% to 1.5% and the European Central Bank (ECB) trimmed its rate from 4.25% to 3.75%.
The unprecedented step failed to cheer world stock markets. The central banks of Canada and Sweden and Switzerland all took similar action in the co-ordinated move. China also cut its rate, but by 0.27 percentage points. European and US initially reacted well to the news but later turned lower as investors were unconvinced that the rate cuts would really solve the financial crisis. In New York, the main Dow Jones stock index ended down 189 points or 2% at 9,258.1 after weaving in and out of positive territory.
The last time the Bank of England cut rates in a special meeting was on 18 September 2001 - when rates came down from 5% to 4.75%. In the UK, some mortgage lenders also immediately passed on the rate cut to borrowers - trimming their variable rates.

The Cross River State Government is partnering Canadian International Development Agency (Cida) to improve facilities at its College of Health Technology to ensure its accreditation. Governor Liyel Imoke stated this when he received Julia Bracken, head of Cida Nigeria during a courtesy call to him in his office.
Imoke commended the good work of the agency and said the state will work hard to strengthen the relationship between the parties, promising that government will bring the college to a standard where it will be accredited.
He lauded the agency in its effort to improve the state's data-base, disclosing that most of the state's programmes, projects and policies can not take off because of lack of guiding data-base to see them through, assuring that the state will also look out for other areas where it will seek its assistance. Bracken said the agency shares and partners Cross River in its health programme by providing inputs to the upgrading of its College of Health Technology with the training of its staff and the provision of facilities for it to attain its focus on health care delivery.

The consortium of Microfinance Bank (MFB) directors and chairmen has frowned at the granting of microfinance banking licence to universal banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). At an interim capacity workshop organised by the CBN for non-executive directors of MFBs in Lagos last week, directors of microfinance banks lamented that the extension of microfinance licences to deposit money banks is a disincentive to the evolving microfinance industry.
The chairmen and founders of microfinance banks vehemently accused the apex bank for deliberately killing the dream of entrepreneurs in the microfinance banking in the country. According to the committee, while competition at home with commercial banks was already stiff, those from in coming players from abroad are not helping matters. This, they say, has led to unhealthy competition between deposit money banks and MFBs as poaching of customers and staffs is now the order of the day.
The directors say that deposit money banks with microfinance subsidiaries now take other microfinance banks as competitors thereby withdrawing all assistance they are supposed they are to render them as correspondent banks. Akin Obasa, chairman, MCB Microfinance Bank, said “since MFBs are not allowed to dabble into sophisticated banking practice, the big banks should also be excluded from participating in MFBs for sanity, continuity and fair play.” He said the entrance of commercial banks into microfinancing is a policy summersault and a deliberate lack of practical knowledge from the regulatory authorities as well as injustice on the part of microfinance banks.
Chief Akinwunmi Titilope, chairman of Prolific MFB, cited the instance of International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank, which promised to provide funds to aid microfinance banking in Nigeria, “but instead bought into Accion MFB, the world's largest microfinance bank when it opened a branch in Nigeria. Shortly after this, Zenith bank and Ecobank bought into it”. He also gave the example of Blue chip MFB, the largest microfinance bank in Africa whom he alleged “Intercontinental Bank brought to Nigeria to start Blue Intercontinental MFB.” UBA, he pointed out, also joined the league and started its own microfinance bank which presently has 50 branches and capitalised to the tune of N3 billion, while Oceanic Bank has promised to carry out microfinance activities in all the branches of the bank nationwide.

UK banking shares have plunged on fears that more financial institutions may need government assistance.
HBOS dropped 42%, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) fell 39%, Barclays shed 9% and Lloyds TSB was down 13%. The bosses of the UK's biggest banks met Chancellor Alistair Darling to discuss financing late on Monday.
The Prime Minister, the chancellor and the Bank of England governor are meeting to discuss the crisis. The chairman of the Financial Services Authority, Lord Turner, is also taking part in the talks, which will consider government proposals for stabilising the financial system and longer-term reform. Downing Street denied it was an "emergency meeting", adding that it would focus on "ongoing action". Barclays has categorically denied that it has requested any capital from the UK government.
RBS confirmed that the meeting with Mr Darling had taken place, but blamed the share price fall on two very large share trades taking place, which under stock market rules meant that the shares were temporarily suspended. Lloyds TSB has declined to comment. The Treasury said it did not comment on whether or not meetings were taking place. Monday's meeting was attended by Mr Darling together with Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, and Adair Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority.
Representing banks were the chief executives of RBS, Barclays and Lloyds TSB. The Treasury is understood to have been formulating a plan that would allow the government to provide extra funding to the banks in exchange for stakes in them. The government said it would not speculate about what policy options are being considered, but repeated Mr Darling's assurances from Monday. "As the chancellor said yesterday, we will do whatever it takes to maintain stability and support a well-functioning banking system," a Treasury spokesman said. But some experienced politicians were convinced that there must be action this week. "The government will inevitably have to recapitalise the banks," Geoffrey Robinson MP, and former Labour paymaster general, told newsmen.