There is a shameless
charade going on in Akwa Ibom State’s current transition politics. It is the
miscalculation of taking the people of the state for granted, by some greedy
politicians, who in their desperation to perpetuate their evil agenda of
exploiting Akwa Ibom forever, drafted Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel into the
Governorship race of 2015. First appointed as Secretary to the State Government
on August, 31 2013, after Obong Umana Okon Umana was booted out, for declaring
his bid to become governor while still in office, the sickening game plan
became clearer sooner than later.
Udom Emmanuel, like
diseased bolt from the blues, was dressed with the acronym Mr. Right. For a
governorship slogan, the pinned him with other adjectives like: Udom is Right,
Udom Correct and Udom Size 2015 and other such tautologies. The promoters of
the Udom brand, that was inherently dead-on-arrival presented him as a
thoroughbred professional and Mr. Integrity. A man whose supposed honesty,
uprightness and honour made him rise to the position of Non-Executive Director
in Zenith Bank. A man who was saddled with managing huge resources in the
banking sector because he could be trusted. Unfortunately, only a few people
are deceived by that false start in his race for 2015.
We have to stop and
put Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, our new “Mr. Integrity” as he loves to be addressed,
on the just crucible of true integrity “aptitude test” and see if he can score
an E-rate pass mark.
Mr. Right, shockingly
began his political pipe-dream on a wrong foundation. Someway back, precisely
on September 10, 2013, Udom obtained by trick and naked fraud, a membership
card of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to which he never belonged, and
perhaps never dreamt of joining, until his managers persuaded him to come and
be their Governor. On that day, Barr Emmanuel Enoidem, the Commissioner for
Special Duties and the council chairman of Essien Udim, Hon Nse Ntuen
supervised and executed that deceit. Enoidem reportedly took away the Awa Ward
one party register, to Uyo. By the time they were done, Udom’s name was
smuggled into the party register and imposed as number three on the list, while
the original bearer of that card number was wickedly removed.
Udom’s conscience saw
nothing wrong in this. To him, evil might, becomes right, when Udom is the
beneficiary. The people should judge if such a shady character can be trusted
with power, if forgery is something he is at peace with.
Udom’s character
becomes more questionable when we consider his last birthday outing last July.
Ephraim Inyang, Chairman of the Transformation Initiative, a political group
canvassing support for Udom in their goodwill message, celebrated his
52nd birthday. On the contrary, other persons close to him felicitated
with him on his 48th birthday.
The good people of
Akwa Ibom as it is, do not know the true age of the man who wants to be their
governor. Are his desperate handlers once again, up to another hanky panky,
trying to play “Ojoro” with the Mr. Integrity’s age? Between the two ages of 52
and 48, one is right and one is wrong. We may even end up with both being
wrong. Is that a character we can trust? One who cannot come clean with
something as elementary and natural as real age?
Udom’s greatest
weakness, is that he is a complete stranger, not in Akwa Ibom, but in her
politics. The worrisome thing is, politics is about the most important
life-wire that makes for a progressive, prosperous and stable society. Forcing
in someone who is at odds understanding the political history, culture, forces
and stakeholders at play in any entity, amounts to planning for certain
disaster. Udom makes it worse by trying to hide this deficiency.
He does not know
anyone. Not the party chieftains, elders or leaders. He does not know the
political officeholders of yesterday, and is hardly conversant with the current
crop of political office holders, elected and appointed. Udom is unfamiliar
with the critical mass of activists, youth and women leaders or groups, royal
and religious leaders, even journalists and captains of civil service and
private sector drivers.
To mask this
weakness, rather than demonstrate determined effort to overcome it, he pretends
to know everybody who he meets as he embarks on his consultations and campaign
deploying the street-boy greeting, “my man”.
Senator Efffiong Bob
in apparent jest of this said at Asan Ibibio on September 5, 2014, during the
grand reception of Oboong Victor Attah , said, he does not want a governor who
does not know his name, only to address him as, “my man”, each time they meet.
A story is told of a
certain Elder statesman from Ikot Ekpene who on meeting with Udom during his
consultation tour asked Mr Right, “Do you know me?” rather than humbly confess
that he doesn’t know the man, Udo lied, “Chief, I know you,” in the hope that,
the man would grant him the benefit of the doubt. Udom was tongue-tied and
embarrassed when the elder statesman shot back “so what is my name?”, to which
Udom had no response. Do we trust such a lying face, heart and tongue? Was that
the right etiquette for building enduring friendship, relationship, alliance,
association or brotherhood? The answer flies in the wind.
Udom’s penchant to
claim what he does not possess also gives cause for concern. His handlers
trumpeted his purported endorsement by the Ibibio Elders Forum as sole
candidate for the 2015 governorship race following his consultation visit to
the forum. A spurious claim that, the Chairman of Ibibio Elders Forum, Dr Okon
Akpan loudly refuted as wrong and false. The forum had to take generous news
time to debunk the claim of Udom and his team. It was the same story when
the Itai Afe Annag, HRM Akuku Pius Iside came out to vehemently dismiss as
untrue, news and claims of purported endorsement of Udom by the Annang apex
cultural group.
The Afe Annang
endorsement claim was more serious and laughable, because, Udom and his team
were not even received by the Itai Afe Annang himself when they came calling,
as was the case with many other governorship aspirants. It was the Obom Afe
Annang, Dr Akpan S. Okpongette that received Udom, was it right, that, Udom’s
promoters went to town pushing the false claim of endorsement by Afe Annang,
when they didn’t even meet the custodian himself.
The bitter truth is,
that, Udom’s character flaw betrays his futile struggle to project himself as
an honest man, who can be trusted. Akwa Ibom people are tired of deception from
their leaders. They have suffered enough from people of questionable character,
reputation and standing. As we reach the critical turning point of 2015, they
cannot afford the gamble of entrusting their fate and collective destiny into
the hands of a man whose personality is shrouded with controversy.
People in government
and who seek to govern others have a moral responsibility of being truthful,
transparent and accountable to the people they seek to lead and govern. That is
a principal requirement for leadership. Judged upon this yardstick, Udom is
WRONG, and cannot be RIGHT at the same time.
The people of Akwa
Ibom must say no to zoning of the governorship to any particular senatorial
district. We must all accept what the father of modern Akwa Ibom, H. E. Obong
Arc. Victor Attah has said that there should be an open contest with a level
playing field for all aspirants. Uyo and even Ikot Ekpene senatorial district
also have a right to present aspirants to the office of Governor.
James Udo Edet writes
from Lagos
Culled from Insight Newspaper
