Akpabio: A Statesman Or A Con Artist? – By Peters Ikpe

RE: ANNANG PEOPLES FRONT RED ALERT! (1)

My dear brothers,

I read with great consternation a press release, purportedly come from you with the caption: ANNANG PEOPLES FRONT RED ALERT! In the said press statement, you tried frantically to vilify the governor of Akwa Ibom State, His Excellency, Deac. Udom Emmanuel with all manners of unrestrained language.

 I want to aver that Distinguished Senator Goodwill Akpabio started all this imbroglio now engulfing Akwa Ibom State! Perhaps, he has not been in the spotlight for a while, so to create a cynosure for himself, he let loose his diatribe against Governor Udom Emmanuel to shoot himself to the spotlight again. I really wish you did not join in this baseless fray, but sought to instill peace.

Or perhaps in order to deceive Ikot Ekpene LG people that he cares about them so much, he opened his mouth to belch venom on Gov. Emmanuel, a man who is protecting him from facing justice relative to all the vile and heinous crimes of his perpetrated when he was in power.

If rational thinking was part of Akpabio’s hallmarks, he would have just picked a phone and called his successor, as usual and told him that there was the need to revisit his (Akpabio’s) abandoned projects in Ikot Ekpene; projects that have already swallowed billions of Naira during Akpabio’s era.

But to throw decency into the wind and expect everyone to give him a standing ovation was a deranged thought, to put it mildly.

You are now talking about tribe issue and dared to bring Governor Emmanuel into your tribal politics, but if we are to venture into such narratives, Akpabio is a tailwind and wildcard of tribal sentiment and activation. He was the governor for eight good years. Granted the Uyo, which is the capital of Akwa Ibom was given a facelift, other local governments in Uyo Senatorial District like Etinan, Uruan, Nsit Ubium, Nsit Atai, Ibesikpo cannot be said to have enjoyed Akpabio’s tenure. We cannot even mention Oron Nation as a whole which was abandoned with no tinge of government presence. The then representative of Oron in the Federal House of Assembly, Hon. Robinson Awak tried to air on TV the poor roads and decayed infrastructures as well gross neglect in the Oron area, but Akpabio ditched out millions to media houses to block the airing of the video. Part of it only saw its way through the YouTube.  

In Eket, Esit Eket, Onna, and Ibeno, can someone mention one project that Akpabio executed or even attempted but abandoned? There is forgotten Qua River Hotel, there is a moribund Qua Still Company in Eket, did Akpabio not know about these structures or companies? Of course, he knew. But as a Machiavellian tribalist,-in-chief, he turned his eyes to the bush.   

In Mkpat Enin, Ikot Abasi, and Eastern Obolo what impact did we have from Akpabio? What did Akpabio do in any of these local governments?

The only legacy Akpabio left behind in the Uyo and Eket Senatorial District was a reign of terror; and a litany of corpses, I mean dead bodies that littered the streets. Elderly women like Mma Philomena, and the Paramount Ruler of Nsit Ubium were among the victims whom Akpabio’s hatchet men clawed to death; as well as the late Glory Udo whom his marauding demons went and slaughtered.

Are you still talking of tribal war? Okay, wait a minute. During his reign, Akpabio ensured that different companies and organizations that were on the ground were crushed utterly, while upcoming ones were not allowed to touch the ground as long as they were from Uyo or Eket senatorial districts. That was Akpabio. Any doubt about this? If Akpabio continued to sponsor diatribes and attack on a sitting governor of Akwa Ibom State, the people of Akwa Ibom will not fold their arms and watch him.

I recalled how Akpabio vilified Obong Victor Attah, his mentor for complete eights of his stay on the Hilltop Mansion. He rallied and sponsored all manners of vicious campaign of calumny on this elder statesman. What crime did Attah commit against him? Of course, none maybe the only crime was making Akpabio a commissioner for eight years and allow him to become a governor. This is the same Obong Attah that bore the brunt of humiliation not just for Akwa Ibom, but the Niger Delta and was almost crushed by Obasanjo’s administration over resource control struggle. What has Akpabio struggled for the people? Oh, Ikot Ekpene-Uyo road that he neglected?

Another unique legacy of Akpabio was the 31 industries he built in a dream world. In the heal of his second term electioneering campaign, on national television, Akpabio promised the people of Akwa Ibom 31 industries  based on each local government. Even after he won the second term election as governor, he was besieged by media men, he affirmed that he could not joke with the people’s mandate as his promise of the 31 industries was sacrosanct. He even told the Akwa Ibom people in Diaspora that his readiness to build such industries was irreversible. 

Today, the only industries Akpabio left behind are different group of cultists that are marauding the state maiming and killing innocent people. Such groups have even taken dominance in part of Annang community and are killing people in broad day light. With this, do you see Akpabio as a statesman or a con artist?

 We thought Akpabio was a statesman and will be advocating for Akwa Ibom not a section of the state. But he has exposed himself as an unrepentant tribalist. We will one day be completely free from Akpabio’s claw, fangs and hegemony. 

““A golden chance for “moral transformation and spiritual rebirth”. So Akwa Ibom edemme (wake up) dakkada (stand up) and vow that never again must we tolerate such evil in our land. Indeed the time has come that “we must create ourselves anew”. If we should fail to make the best use of this chance, we will have only ourselves to blame…” Obong Victor Attah

Conclusion

Perhaps, if Akpabio has a different choice for a governor in 2019 that he wants to support, he should be able to summon the courage and tell us point-blank instead of going through a winding way.

But one thing is sure, no matter whatever the hawks are planning, Udom till 2023.

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