For months, Ibom Plaza stood in silence — a hollow reminder of neglect in the very heart of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State’s capital.
The fountains were dry. The giant screen was blank. Walls peeled under the weight of time, and the once-iconic Offot Ukwa statue slowly surrendered to decay.
Today, the plaza breathes again.
When our reporter visited the facility on Tuesday, the transformation was impossible to miss. What was once an eyesore has been reborn as a masterpiece of art, leisure, and public space — a carefully curated beauty to behold.
Across social media, excited residents shared photographs of the upgraded facility, commending Governor Umo Eno for restoring a landmark many had written off.
A Plaza once left to wither
Ibom Plaza was not always this alive.
Once a rallying point for tourists, families, artists, photographers, and football lovers, the centre fell into visible decline after years of poor maintenance. Small business owners who depended on the plaza for survival were forcefully removed by the Akwa Ibom State Government, with assurances that upgrades would follow. But months passed. Nothing happened.
The empty, fenced space became a symbol of a broader governance issue — displacement without development. Media reports, including earlier stories by PREMIUM TIMES, questioned why a strategic public asset was allowed to rot after livelihoods had been disrupted in the name of renovation.
Public pressure mounted. Then, quietly, the plaza was shut down for upgrades, with the state government eventually rising to the occasion.
‘We needed to reclaim the plaza’ — Eno
Governor Eno, who formally reopened the facility on Tuesday, 23 December, framed the upgrade as a deliberate act of reclaiming public space.
“We needed to reclaim the plaza and make it a place where we can all gather like a town square to watch movies and listen to a live band,” he said.
The governor announced the establishment of a security outpost, restricted operating hours — opening at 7 a.m. and closing at midnight — and plans for a master plan for the area.
“The best is yet to come to this plaza,” Mr Eno added, disclosing a future vision that includes a flyover linking Wellington Bassey Way, separating vehicular movement from commercial and leisure activities beneath the proposed flyover.
‘This place was completely dead’ — Uyo council chairperson
At the reopening, the weight of that history hung in the air.
Standing before the refurbished facility, Uwemedimo Udo, chairperson of Uyo Local Government Area, recalled the original vision behind the plaza.
“This place was completely dead,” Mr Udo said, stressing that the decline was never the intention of former Governor Victor Attah, who delivered the plaza to the people on 26 December 2002 as part of his urban renewal programme.
“But I’m happy today that you’ve brought life back to Ibom Plaza,” he told Governor Eno.
Mr Udo assured residents that the plaza would not relapse into neglect, pledging continued maintenance and collaboration with agencies responsible for the facility.
From ‘den of criminals’ to civic space
For Anietie Eka, chairperson of the Uyo Capital City Development Authority — the agency supervising the plaza — the reopening marked a decisive break from a troubled past.
“Over the years, this place became a den for criminals,” he said.
He described the transformation as a return to the plaza’s founding identity, which Mr Attah once named “the beauty of vision.”
That vision, he said, is now visible again.
Water Fountains dance again
Now, Ibom Plaza tells a different story.
The once-dried water fountain is alive again, dancing in rhythmic sprays that draw curious onlookers. The restored Offot Ukwa statue stands proudly, no longer crumbling but commanding attention as a reclaimed cultural symbol.
The giant television screen — once a relic — now beams again, restoring a feature that once made the plaza a modern public attraction.
Flowers sway gently, softening the concrete edges of the space. At night, the water fountain sparkles, light reflects off the water and walls, creating a renewed sense of calm and invitation, residents told PREMIUM TIMES during the visit.
A living gallery in the open
Perhaps the most striking change is the art. The walls are no longer bare. They tell stories.
Beautiful, carefully executed paintings line the plaza, including portraits of Akwa Ibom’s civilian governors, woven into a broader narrative of history, identity, and continuity. Other artworks add colour, texture, and curiosity, pulling passersby closer and urging them to pause.
Ibom Plaza has become a living gallery — an open-air exhibition where art and public life intersect. It is, once again, a space to hold, admire, and experience.
Even the tall flower trees have not been overlooked. Carefully painted in Akwa Ibom and national colours — orange, green, and white — they rise as quiet symbols of identity, adding to a facility that is once again a beauty to behold.
But the upgrade goes beyond surface beautification.
Tourism sits at the heart of Governor Eno’s economic blueprint, the Arise Agenda, with Ibom Plaza now repositioned as part of a broader strategy to revive leisure and tourism in the state.
To drive that vision, the government is developing the Arise Park Resort, upgrading the Ibom Icon Hotels, and completing long-abandoned projects at the Ibom Tropicana Entertainment Centre and the International Conference Centre— moves aimed at restoring Akwa Ibom’s place on Nigeria’s tourism map.
Why Ibom Plaza matters
Ibom Plaza’s decline mattered because of what it once represented.
Akwa Ibom State, home to a FIFA-approved international stadium, has hosted Nigeria’s Super Eagles and visiting foreign teams. Players, officials, and tourists often converged at the plaza — taking photographs, relaxing, and absorbing the ambience of Uyo.
That era faded as neglect set in.
With the current upgrade, there is a renewed hope that the plaza can reclaim its role as a social and tourism hub — a place where locals and visitors intersect, presenting the city at its best.
READ ALSO: Akwa Ibom seals off plaza for ‘maintenance’ after PREMIUM TIMES’ report
Livelihoods on hold
Yet beyond official optimism, displaced livelihoods linger.
Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday, Emmanuel Sunday, a photographer, welcomed the upgrade but urged the management to consider former occupants in allocating spaces.
Another photographer, Sunny, said he was among those forcefully removed before the renovation. “I was one of those forcefully removed,” he said. “My livelihood depended on it.”
Similarly, Comfort Akpan, a former kiosk owner, appealed for inclusion but expressed fear that post-upgrade costs might shut her out. “I want them to just approve a space for me to continue my business,” she said.
For residents like Victor Okon, however, the revived giant screen already holds promise. “This is where I’ll be watching live football matches,” he said, referring to the English Premier League and Champions League.
The lingering question
Yet, beneath the admiration lies a familiar worry.
Akwa Ibom, like many parts of Nigeria, struggles with a weak maintenance culture. Public projects often shine briefly before slipping back into neglect.
The question many residents now ask quietly is not how beautiful Ibom Plaza looks today, but how long this beauty will last.
Will this restoration be sustained? Will traders and creatives be reintegrated thoughtfully? Will maintenance be institutionalised rather than reactive?
“To think that the Plaza was shut down for almost two years and it took only two weeks to turn it around tells us: when there is a will, there is a way. We only hope that the jobs were not done in such a hurry to meet the Christmas deadline as to diminish the quality,” Herbert Batta, a professor in the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, University of Uyo, said in a Facebook post.
For now, Ibom Plaza stands renewed — proof that decay is not irreversible and that public spaces, when cared for, can restore civic pride.
Its rebirth is welcome. Its survival will depend on consistency, transparency, and care.
