By Linus Obogo
Under the velvet hush of Calabar evening, Governor Bassey Otu’s illumination of the 2025 Christmas tree unfurled like a grand civic overture, an orchestration of light, memory and political grace. What might have been a simple ceremonial gesture transformed into a spectacle of symbolism, shimmering with the rare elegance of a leader who understands the choreography of continuity.
As the Cenotaph bathed in golden luminescence, Otu summoned not only the festive spirit of the season but the deeper, more resonant spirit of unity. The optics were arresting: standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his predecessors, the governor turned a public square into a stage where the past and present clasped hands beneath the glitter of shared legacy.
In a political landscape often fractured by rivalry, this tableau of harmony glowed like a defiant star over Cross River’s civic horizon.
The governor’s tribute to Clement Ebri unfurled with reverence, painting the former leader as the quiet architect of modern Cross River. Described fittingly as “the father of modern Cross River,” Ebri’s foundational reforms in agriculture, education, health and infrastructure were re-cast not as relics of a distant past but as living tributaries feeding the river of contemporary governance. Otu’s words became petals on a wreath of gratitude, offering the state a moment to breathe in the fragrance of its own political genealogy.
In highlighting Ebri’s pioneering contributions, the governor signalled that development is an inheritance, one that must be cherished, nurtured and continuously adorned. It was a reminder that no society blossoms by severing itself from the umbilical cords that bind or roots that first broke the soil.
The celebration flowed seamlessly into homage for Donald Duke, whose era had reimagined Cross River with a flourish that fused audacity and artistry. In invoking Duke’s transformation of Obudu Ranch, creation of CRUTECH and, above all, the birth of the now-iconic Carnival Calabar, Otu revived the rhythm of a season that once thrust the state into global cultural consciousness. The night’s lights danced like echoes of Carnival floats, as though his legacy had momentarily slipped back into the present to take a bow.
Duke’s own reflection—that Carnival Calabar remains a unifying symbol—felt like a quiet benediction on Otu’s gesture, affirming that the culture of celebration is also a culture of belonging. Through this lens, Otu’s recognition became an elegant reaffirmation of Cross River’s identity as a place where colour, creativity and community converge.
With similar tenderness, Otu honoured Liyel Imoke and Ben Ayade, crafting a bridge between administrations as distinctive as they were consequential. Imoke’s era, celebrated for administrative brilliance and deep structural reforms, was positioned as the steady, disciplined heartbeat that fortified the state’s social and institutional architecture. Ayade’s tenure—bold, inventive, and industrially ambitious—was acknowledged as an eruption of transformative energy that propelled Cross River into national discourse.
By placing these divergent styles within the same glowing frame, Otu demonstrated a political generosity that elevated the night beyond ceremony. It became an affirmation that the state’s progress is a mosaic, each tile glistening with its own integrity, yet luminous only when viewed together.
Thus, as Otu pledged renewed devotion to human capital development, tourism, rural upliftment and industrialisation, his words floated over a city already shimmering with symbolic intention.
The lights that crowned the Calabar skyline did more than usher in the Yuletide season—they illuminated the promise of a polity learning to honour its past while striding into its future.
In celebrating those who once held the reins of leadership, Otu carved a pathway for a new era defined not by discord but by dignity. The night’s brilliance became a metaphor for governance itself: when guided by respect, memory and unity, it possesses the power not just to brighten streets, but to brighten the soul of a people.
Obogo, is Chef Press Secretary/Special Adviser to Gov Otu on Media and Publicity
