For some time, public discourse surrounding the Obudu German Hospital and British Canadian University has been mired in conjecture, misinformation, and deliberate obfuscation. Initially, the argument peddled in the public space was that these projects did not exist. However, with incontrovertible evidence now available and widely corroborative, the debate has shifted from questions of existence, which is now indubitable, to questions regarding their ownership and provenance.
The veracity of the matter is straightforward: the Obudu German Hospital and the British Canadian University are products of the intellectual capital and developmental foresight of the former Governor, Professor Ben Ayade. His administration, in its determination to transform Cross River State across all ramifications, adopted government–private partnerships as catalytic mechanisms for developmental acceleration.
It must, however, be clearly stated that Public–Private Partnerships (PPP) in Cross River State did not commence with the Ayade administration. Even the Federal Government routinely adopts such partnerships. Before Ayade, for example, the administration of Governor Liyel Imoke built the Bekwarra General Hospital and handed it over to a private firm for management. Similarly, the Tinapa Studio was constructed by the state government and subsequently assigned to a private individual to operate.
In Ayade’s case, the projects undertaken by his administration were duly advertised, and Cross Riverians were given the right of first refusal. Yet, across all the advertised projects, only two Cross Riverians submitted bids, one for the Cocoa Processing Factory, awarded to someone from Ikom and the other for the Ekori Toothpick Factory, awarded to a native of the LGA. In the cases of the Obudu German Hospital and the British Canadian University, management was entrusted to reputable agencies. The agency overseeing the British Canadian University is particularly distinguished for acquiring and transforming government assets into functional institutions, as seen by its notable interventions in Edo State.
To set the record straight, the conception and execution of the British Canadian University and the Obudu German Hospital followed due process through the Cross River State House of Assembly. Both projects were conceived under Ayade’s leadership and actualised through symbiotic partnerships with reputable private agencies. These initiatives were neither clandestine nor surreptitious; rather, they followed transparent legislative procedures.
Both are Public–Private Partnerships duly approved by the Executive Council and the Cross River State House of Assembly, where extensive jurisprudential deliberations were undertaken before approval was granted.
The British Canadian University was designed as an incipient but ambitious complement to the Cross River State University of Technology, which was deficient in core faculties such as Medicine, Law, Artificial Intelligence, and Engineering. Although these programmes have not yet commenced, the long-term vision remains intact. As the university expands, it is expected to run these courses, and all responsibilities concerning the establishment of the required facilities shall rest solely with the private partner.
The introduction of such specialised disciplines requires sophisticated laboratories, advanced machines, and complex academic facilities which the state could not singularly finance at the time. Thus emerged the strategic decision to adopt a public–private investment model. The initial proposal was a 30/70 fiduciary partnership, wherein the state would retain a 30% stake in future responsibilities and profit. However, after evaluating long-term implications, the House of Assembly, exercising institutional prudence, directed a reduction of the government’s stake to 10%, to prevent undue financial encumbrances on the state.
In the same vein, the Obudu German Hospital was established under a public–private partnership framework. Available documents reveal that the state’s financial participation constituted only a small percentage of the overall investment, while the private partner provided a preponderant share over 95%, covering land acquisition, construction, medical infrastructure, and associated development.
If not for political reasons, I don’t see why someone would criticize government for going into public private partnership. Public private partnership to me is the solution to the issue of lack of continuity of some government facilities. Imagine if the two oil factories built by the Ayade administration in Bekwarra (Nyanya and Gakem) were privatized, just imagine what they’ll become today.
While it is axiomatic that citizens must hold leaders accountable, such scrutiny must emanate from a sincere, objective, and patriotic standpoint. Accountability that is weaponised for political expediency, particularly as ambitions heighten ahead of the 2027 electoral cycle, poses a pernicious threat not only to individuals but to the collective progress of the state.
The pivotal question remains: Were the projects executed, and are they functional today?
The answer, supported by irrefutable evidence, is yes.
