Akpabio: Playing God in Akwa-Ibom

Akpabio: Playing God in Akwa-Ibom

By Henry Onyema

God is supreme and no man can take his position in the affairs of men. Second to God in hierarchy of power is the voice of men. This is why it is often said that the voice of the people is the voice of God (Vox pupil, vox die). From history, privileged mortals who attempted to play God in the affairs of men have often been reduced to dust.

Akpabio

From the biblical era of King Nebuchadnezzar to the new age of civilization, history is replete with the dire consequences that met with men who dared to equate themselves with God. Nearer home, the case of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha is still a lesson that men on the part of infamy, choose to ignore.

In Akwa Ibom State, fondly referred to as the land of promise, a familiar scenario is playing out. A mere mortal is playing God is the affairs of the people of Akwa Ibom.

When in May, 29, 2007, Godswill Obot Akpabio was sworn-in as governor of Akwa Ibom State, the people rejoiced. True to the expectation of the people, his two term administration was replete with evidence of quasi-development. But just like every relay race, the baton must pass to another. When it was time to go, Akpabio did not find his then Deputy Governor, Obong Nsima Ekere, worthy to take over the mantle of leadership. Having worked together for about  four years, Akpabio perhaps saw something that no one else saw.

Then, he saw a man who lacked the requisite leadership trait to steer the affairs of his people. He saw a man who was not good enough to be Deputy Governor of Akwa-Ibom State, much more a governor.

Instead of his deputy, Akpabio pinched his tent with Udom Emmanuel – a man though relatively unknown in the political terrain but had made tremendous impact in various fields of human endeavor. Though a humble and quiet achiever, Emmanuel’s enviable record of achievement became a marketable niche for Akpabio who along with elders of the state and party stakeholders went to every town and village in the state to convince the people that Emmanuel is the anointed one.

The result of the 2015 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State showed that the people were with one voice in their support for Udom Emmanuel.  He did not only win the election, but did so with an unprecedented landslide. Attempts to scuttle the victory through the courts failed as the wise Supreme Court Justices upheld the will of the people.

Three years down the line, Akwa Ibom people certainly have not regretted their decision to elected Udom Emmanuel as governor. More than ever before, the state remains the choice destination for investors. The level of human capital development in the state is incomparable anywhere in the country.

The state once known as a civil service state now boasts of large manufacturing companies spread across major metropolis in the state. Peace and security which hitherto was an illusion in the state, now reign. People now go about their duties without fear because a Governor who truly cares for his people is in charge.

This was the situation in Akwa Ibom until recently when Akpabio began to play God in the affairs of the state after his controversial decampment to the All Progressives Congress, APC – a party he once called all manner of detestable and unprintable names. Perhaps plagued by amnesia, Akpabio suddenly began to tell the world how he single-handedly made Udom Emmanuel Governor of Akwa Ibom State. Akpabio’s shameful outburst was not only an insult on the good people of Akwa Ibom but also an assault on democracy.

What Akpabio simply meant by his utterance, is that in 2015, the will of the people didn’t matter. Akpabio meant that whether the people voted or not, Udom would still have emerged governor by his magical wand. Akpabio appeared not to know that even God is his almightiness still requires the people, especially in a democratic setting, to chose who becomes their leader.

For record purposes, Akwa Ibom people trooped out to elect Udom Emmanuel as governor in 2015. The people expressed their freedom to choose a leader for themselves through a democratic process not through the coercion of an emperor as Akpabio would have the world believe. Akpabio, hard as he is trying, certainly cannot change this narrative. The people know who they voted for and will restate that decision come 2019.

Done with the lies of how he imposed Udom on the people, the same individual is again attempting to sell to the people, Nsima Ekere, whom he rejected in 2015 and called all manner of devious name back then. Akpabio must really believe in his haughty mind that Akwa Ibom people are either naïve or stupid.

In 2015, Nsima Ekere was not good for Akpabio, but in 2018, he is now the latest saint. Akwa Ibom people need to be wary of Akpabio and his strange style of politics. They must never forget that Akpabio forced Ekere to resign as his deputy. He told everybody then, that Ekere is not capable of taking over from him. Now he is going over all the place asking people to vote for him. Akwa Ibom people must reject this folly and tell Akpabio in no uncertain terms, that he is not their God and they the people matter.

When a leader begins to speak from the two sides of his mouth, it is evident that his decisions on critical issues cannot be trusted. Akpabio has demonstrated by his action and utterance that he is not a man the people should reason with. The resources and faith of over 5.6 million people cannot be entrusted to a man who sees nothing wrong in warring against the very people on whose back he rode to fame.

• Henry Onyema is a legal practitioner based in Lagos.