By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
The quiet riverine settlement of Edemaya in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area erupted in jubilation on Friday as the Nigerian Air Force swapped combat gear for community service and left with a royal honour.
In a ceremony thick with drums, cheers and symbolism, the Air Force commissioned a brand-new classroom complex at the permanent site of Edemaya Unity College and, in return, the grateful community crowned the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, with the traditional title “Ufan Edemaya” literally, Friend of the People of Edemaya.
The honour captured what residents described as a rare moment: a military institution arriving not with operations, but with opportunity.
The project, a fully furnished block of three classrooms, staff rooms and a principal’s office was executed under the Chief of the Air Staff Special Intervention Programme, a non-combat initiative designed to deepen civil-military relations.
Representing the Air Chief, the Chief of Civil–Military Relations, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet, said modern security goes beyond weapons.
According to him, trust between citizens and the military has become a strategic asset in fighting insecurity.
“Winning hearts and minds is now part of national defence,” he declared. “Communities that trust security forces provide information that defeats crime.”
He revealed that ten similar projects have already been completed across Nigeria, each targeted at communities connected to retired senior officers.
The Edemaya project was dedicated to a son of the soil, retired Air Vice Marshal Iboro Harry Etukudo, whose four-decade military career began in 1985.
For Etukudo, the classrooms represent more than bricks.
They represent access.
The community founded Edemaya Unity College because many children could not secure admission into overcrowded public secondary schools.
Now, the new building becomes the first major infrastructure at the permanent site.
He appealed to the Akwa Ibom State Government to adopt and expand the school to meet growing demand.
At the climax of the ceremony, elders presented a staff of honour to the Air Chief symbolically adopting the Air Force as a community partner.
Residents said the title was earned, not ceremonial.
They cited years of humanitarian outreach and development projects across host communities.
The Air Chief, in a message delivered on his behalf, urged residents to maintain peace and support security agencies with credible intelligence to eliminate criminal networks.
He also encouraged youths to consider careers in the armed forces.
Representing Governor Pastor Umo Eno, the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ubong Essien Umoh, praised the intervention as grassroots development in action.
He said the project aligns with the state’s drive to improve learning standards through modern infrastructure.
What unfolded in Edemaya was more than commissioning, it was a shift in perception.
The Air Force arrived as protectors.
They left as partners.
In a country battling insecurity and distrust, the message from the riverbank town was unmistakable:
Sometimes national security begins not in the battlefield but in the classroom.
