By Daniel Agbor
Renowned Cross River statesman and scholar, Rt. Hon. (Chief) Orok Otu Duke, Ph.D., has released a reflective poetic tribute titled “Fly High, Our Silver Bird: Fly High!” in honour of the Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency Sen. Apostle Prince Bassey Edet Otu, following his recognition as Silverbird Man of the Year 2025 and The Sun Newspaper Man of the Year 2025. In the evocative piece, Duke portrays the Governor as a symbol of renewed hope and steady leadership for Cross River State, celebrating what he describes as a quiet but determined effort to restore the state’s pride and direction. The poetic reportage blends history, faith and political reflection while calling on Cross Riverians to rally behind the Governor’s vision of sustaining the state’s identity as the “People’s Paradise.” The tribute concludes with a stirring refrain urging the Governor to “fly high” as destiny and service continue to guide his leadership journey.
Excerpts below:
Fly High, Our Silver bird:Fly High!
(For Governor Bassey Edet Otu, Silverbird “Man of the Year, 2025 and The Sun Newspaper, Man of the year 2025”)
Cross River is proud of you,
Fly high,our Silver-bird,
Fly high,
Sail on by,
Your time is on.
Like a bridge over troubled waters,
You are to ease our minds,
Your time has come to shine,
All your dreams are on their way.
You were energised to do more for us:
You spread your tentacles,
You spread your wings,
The celestial bodies saw your deeds and strides
And could no more blink nor look away,
So The Sun led the eulogy with an embrace.
Then you ended the Year 2025
As a SilverBird.
Cross River is proud of you,
Fly high,our Silver-bird,
Fly high,
Sail on by,
Your time is now.
What do you say to a man who stole your shadow,
Just to prove a tribal point?
Same unpatriotic megalomaniacs that Stephen admonished;
“Which of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute?(Acts:7:52)
And they even killed those that foretold the Promise.
The story of the ground is better narrated by the cricket.
They called our state “Paradise”,
A place to be,
We all know why.
But some people came and raped our land,
Nobody stopped them,
The shadows of the past still hung,
Heavy in the air
And our people were no more smiling.
The chilly winds blew down,
From the hills of Obudu and Obanliku,
Through our Forests and Plantations,
To the creeks of Calabar South and Bakassi.
Helplessly we had stood, with bated breath,
And watched the sad Sun sinking into the Bight of Biafra.
Cross River is proud of you,
Fly high,our Silver-bird,
Fly high,
Sail on by,
Your time has come,
In the name of destiny,
In the name of God.
Fate never rushes revenge
And God lifts his servants silently.
In silence you have toiled,
And created a ‘Season of Sweetness’.
Then they open new frontiers
And attempt to create a division,
To satisfy their endless greed
To stymie our State’s needs:
We have to remain the “Peoples’ Paradise”,
In the name of Destiny,
In the name of God.
We are proud of you,
Fly high, our Silver-bird,
Fly high,
Sail on by,
Your time is on.
Like a bridge over troubled waters,
You are to ease our minds,
Your time has come to shine,
All your dreams for us – are on their way.
Rt. Hon( Chief) Orok Otu Duke Ph.D
Duke Town
