By Itohowo Ekong
Success stirs two distinctive conditions; admiration and jealousy. For people with low self esteem and warped mindset, jealously is a natural inclination. They see everything from the prism of rivalry, hate, bitterness and pettiness. But for the high minded, who are, however, shrinking in number daily, appreciating other people’s successes and learning from them are givens and the only way to the path of success.
Akwa Ibom is known to be a Christian State and its people incurable Christians. Christianity remains the strongest mentor of values in this part of our country . But the question is, where do envy, jealousy, pettiness and hate come from in a society that is dominantly people of one Faith who freely proclaim “Only God” as a mantra? How did we decend to this abyss where the reins of government is used for petty fights with envy , jealousy and blackmail underlining government actions? One can say without any fear of equivocation that the State Government’s sore thumb always sticks out on any matters that concerns Godswill Akpabio, the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, making it to appear as if the destruction of Akpabio is one of the administration’s projects.
When shall Akwa Ibom State as government eschew petty politics from its affairs? When shall the people be spared this manifest shown of shame? This seems to be the recurring question as the ordinary people who are already hemmed in by the parlous economy in the State are daily buffeted by propaganda and innuendos only befitting of fickle minds. The State Government rather than prospect for ways of fixing the economy through a creative management approach, is busy sponsoring propaganda and misinformation against noble leaders whose leadership credentials tower high, making them unworthy of unlacing the proverbial shoes of the leaders whom they target as mortal enemies.
The recent vile propaganda, intent on besmirching the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON, and questioning his credentials as a statesman, falls into the classification of government sponsored propaganda against an illustrious son whose values should have been harnessed for collective good than the haranguing they have chosen. It also goes to show how major players in the present administration in Akwa Ibom have continued to haunt Akpabio without let. But let it be known that unless they begin to be circumspect in their actions towards him, the hunter may soon become the hunted.
Those who are trying to use the event of the death and burial of former governor, late Air Commodore (Otuekong) Idongesit Nkanga to malign Akpabio and reap cheap political capital from it, have failed to advert their minds to the fundamental realities and issues that surrounded that event. To even the stakes, clarify some of the issues and debunk the insidious assertions, it is pertinent to bring some facts to the public square for appraisal, evaluation and judgement by members of the public. I shall therefore attempt to take away my personal bias and present the facts with exactitude, with no embellishments or colouration.
On January 30, 2021, the former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, despatched a high powered delegation led by his Chief of Staff, Sir Etekamba Umoren and accompanied by the Interim Sole Administrator of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Barrister Efiong Akwa and other dignitaries, on a condolence visit to the wife and family members of late Idongesit Nkanga.
Akpabio, in his message expressed personal pain over the death of the former governor, noting that it was through Nkanga that Akwa Ibom fulfilled the dream of owning an airport, when he appointed him Chairman, Airport Development Project. Akpabio also recalled how he made Nkanga, the director-general of his reelection campaign in 2015 and they both evolved a working relationship, stating that he and his wife were deeply saddened by Nkanga’s unfortunate demise.
The Minister expressed regrets over his inability to personally visit the family, citing exigency of national assignment as the constraining factor, but added that it would amount to a complete anathema if he did not register any presence to pay his condolences to such an illustrious Akwa Ibom son.
The condolence visit by Akpabio attracted widespread commendation, with many describing him as a practical elder statesman who views politics beyond the fog of partisanship. They lauded him for charting the route of compassionate politics that would mitigate bitterness and acrimony.
But even in the face of the olive branch that Akpabio waved, the State Government which planned every aspect of the burial, decided to relegate and ignore him. The State Government, as characteristic of its manifest pettiness, refused to extend any invitation to him for the burial . The protocol unit handling protocol activities, did not have Akpabio on its protocol list and so made no provision for a sitting arrangement for him. It could also be noticed that the entire burial programme did not contain anything that bore the imprimatur of Senator Godswill Akpabio, not even a picture of Nkanga with Akpabio, despite the fact he, Nkanga, served as Director-General of campaigns in 2011 and single-handedly appointed him as Director-General, campaigns for Governor Udom Emmanuel in 2015. In the opinions of the government of the day, any history of Nkanga that has anything to do with Akpabio must be expunged. Otherwise, how does one explain that a robust working relationship that started in 2011 through 2015 could totally escape capturing on the supposition that it had nothing remarkable to mention for the period. Yet the persons behind these machinations who did everything to discourage Akpabio from attending the event, are the ones sponsoring baleful and malicious publications, condemning the former governor for not being at the funeral. If they wanted him, why did the burial committee not extend invitation to him? Why did they not publish Akpabio’s condolence letter that we are told was sent in early enough? Government must rise above this pedestrian and ugly trend or practice, and act in a responsible and dignified manner to justify its existence.
Akpabio is one of the former governors of Akwa Ibom State. There are others including His Excellency, (Arc.) Obong Victor Attah who was Akpabio’s predecessor and foremost Akwa Ibom son. He is also of Ibibio stock just as the late Air Commodore (Otuekong) Idongesit Nkanga. It is on record that Obong Attah did not attend this much vaunted but discriminatory State burial. It is not also known that he paid the family any condolence visit, as Akpabio did. But no one has querried why Obong Attah, a former governor, was not there. These traducers and purveyors of politics of bigotry have seen everything wrong with Akpabio’s rationally excusable absence from that burial but have seen nothing wrong with Obong Attah’s inexcusable absence. What a way to expose one’s hypocrisy!!! It is a a shame that we still have these sets of people in Akwa Ibom State and even more sad that they occupy the high echelon of government. With them and such putrid mindset, we are doomed.
I am still at a loss to why Akpabio, our best foot forward at the national stage is the target of sustained vilification and planned destruction by our people. It is more worrisome that those preparing booby traps for this high minded political juggernaut, are people whose political light would not have shone without Akpabio. But they have chosen to crucify him, using ethnic card and dubious political rivalry. Whatever it is, Akpabio’s purity of heart and ever growing goodwill would make him triumph above their evil machinations.
Ekong hails from Akwa Ibom State
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