By Usoro I. Usoro
The question of who has the right to God’s mercy attracted an article in the media recently. Particularly, the Moment newspaper, on December 12, 2011 published a piece by one Emma Etuk, analyzing the various human views on forgiveness. In the main, it centered on Governor Godswill Akpabio right (or otherwise) to attend a crusade; seek God’s mercy or receive favour. The analyst in the said piece, however, submitted thus: that salvation is God’s unmerited gift called grace, offered by his mercies and love; nobody should be carried away by a person’s show of repentance and; that life in Christ is a life-long matter!
The origin of the matter was a spin by an ‘internet hit squad’ coordinated/dominated by Akwa Ibomites based abroad. Thompson Essien, a leader of the internet group (Ibom Forum), which is strongly sympathetic to the opposition, had claimed that Akpabio fell on his knees at a Deeper Christian Life crusade, presided over by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi at Uyo Stadium. According to Essien lives in Portland , Oregon and hardly sees anything good in Akpabio. The summation of his story was that the governor instantly asked people at the crusade to pray for the forgiveness of his sins. He started the article thus: “I never like his style of governance, and never will. I don’t like the man’s personality either. In fact, my spirit just cannot stand Godswill Akpabio”. Then he surprised everyone, concluding: “I commend Godswill Akpabio for taking the giant step to attend the crusade conducted by Dr. Kumuyi. For that, I have changed my mind; I wish brother Gody a Happy and a wonderful Birthday”!
Like flies hovering over dirt, the others feasted on the rumor, giving all colourations and interpretations. They arraigned Akpabio in their courts for all manners of bogus sins and sentenced him. Ordinarily, the spins hardly required any reaction, if ti were true. Moreso, any mortal has the right to request prayers for God’s favour. Indeed, Governor Akpabio, a known devout Catholic, has never hidden his humility, especially when it comes to handing over the affairs of his family; his person; that of the state and nation to God. In fact, he does that on daily bases.
However, Etuk’s seemingly objective analysis took a shocking turn when he claimed that: “God may have had mercy on us, the people of Akwa Ibom State , to witness the actions of a known cultist, megalomaniac and an evil man who, like Paul of old, terrorized our wonderful state, while believing that he was doing us good”. To say the least, the above statement smacks of bad taste. It even sounds irresponsible! Akpabio has never been an unknown cultist, not to mention being a “known cultist” as Etuk claimed. It is clearly an insult to the office of governor to so classify the occupant of that seat, simply because you disagree with his style of leadership.
What evidence has Etuk and his ilk to so embolden them to the point of calling Akpabio a “known cultist”? If anything, Akpabio, since 2007, has been preaching against cultism and such other social vices. He has also implemented policies aimed at changing those hitherto engaged in those practices. For instance, his free and compulsory education policy emerged out of the necessity to fight militancy and cultism with intellectualism. Policies of youth employment, particularly in Integrated Farming Scheme; skill acquisition in the various areas of avionics, etc; as well as their involvement in governance were meant to reform or forestall youths deviating into negative behaviors.
Furthermore, Etuk, a US-based historian and writer, erred in tagging the governor as ‘megalomaniac and evil man’. He also described him as a terrorist. Haba! What a fallacy! Akpabio has never claimed any overrated self importance, beyond exercising the mandate freely and overwhelming given to him by the masses of Akwa Ibom State . He is not a saint, though, and has never claimed to be. Like every mortal, he is a sinner, hence seeks the face of God daily. If it were true that he asked for forgiveness at the said crusade, we would not bother reacting, because his is duly entitled to commune with his God or seek intervention of other believers. The scripture supports such godly action. But to fabricate a story in order to humiliate a governor; to twist facts out of hatred is going over the top. Akpabio may be a sinner; we all are. But he is not an ‘evil man’! And, please, how has Akpabio terrorized the state? When did good, welfarist policies like free medical health; free education; as well as unprecedented infrastructural development, etc, constitute terrorism?
Fortunately, Etuk’s judgement of Akpabio is not based on any foundation. In fact, it is possible he doesn’t even know the person he is judging. Having spent about 31 years abroad, according to him, he was not even around when Akwa Ibom was created. So, he may not be in a true position to know how the state was when Akpabio took over. Perhaps, he merely succumbed to his co-critics, who descended on him after reading his earlier comments on Akpabio. Somewhere, Etuk, who claims to be an expert in ‘evangelical theology’, while reacting to one critic, had stated that, “Gov. Akpabio has a God-given right to seek salvation no matter how huge his sins may be…I have no apology for people who play God. We are all sinners and are saved by grace, mercy and the love of God. I reiterate that if God chooses to save Akpabio anywhere and anytime, that is nobody's business”.
To change stand and condemn Akpabio later, showed him as a man of double standard. Funny enough, like the Americans would say he can give it but can’t take it. For instance, when attacked at another instance, he said: “I am often against persons who use our forum for degenerate causes: abuses, insults, unhealthy attacks, character defamation and/or assassination”… and even threatened to sue one critic.
Gladly, there are still those who believe in the dictum of Jesus, the Christ: Giving unto Caesar what is his! Hence, a London-based commentator, Steven Nelson agrees that, “as long as Godswill Akpabio is still the legally recognised chief executive officer of the state, respect must be accorded to him and the office of the governor because in the nearest future, it would be somebody else’s turn and same respect must be shown toward him”. He is worried like the rest of us, “that people from other states ranging from the president of the Republic (Goodluck Jonathan), to Senators to journalists of repute, etc are deeply impressed by the performance of the governor (Akpabio) within this short period, while we from Akwa Ibom that live abroad don't seem to see things from a similar perspective”.
Still, such negative attitudes would neither derail Akpabio’s focus; his determination to leave a positive mark in the sands of Akwa Ibom or his unshakable faith in God. Evidence of his complete submission to God’s superiority became public from his early campaigns in 2006. His motto was and still is: Let God’s will be done! And when he won the election in 2007 and April 2011, he effectively invited God to steer the ship of state. That, surely, has been the secret of his internationally acknowledged success.
Every year, on January 2nd, Akpabio hands the affairs of Akwa Ibom into God’s control. Then, as he put it last year, he sits back to watch the state flourish. That year, he knelt at Ibom Hall grounds and opened his heart to God: “With you, nothing is impossible. (I pray) that with the available resources, we shall achieve the impossible…I hand over all policies of government to you, including the free and compulsory education. We handover the International Airport to you and say Lord, watch over the airport. Your word says unless God watches over the house the watchman labours in vain”.
After the prayers, he confessed to a renewed energy and vision. “Now, I am energised to start the year”, he said. “We have handed over the affairs of government; we have handed our safety; we have handed over our progress, we have handed over our development, unity as a people and the safety of our families to God Almighty”. After every such spiritual exercise, according to the governor, God becomes the “Governor General of Akwa Ibom State ”, while he, the governor, become God’s lieutenant in the affairs of state management.
For a governor to attend a crusade, therefore, is not point for humiliation. Akpabio is not the first governor to honor God by attending a crusade and would not be the last. It is simply a matter of regard to and personal relationship with God. It is also on such premise that he decided to give the Christian Association of Nigeria N100million for a revolving loan scheme. His positive stand with God and his appreciation of God’s mercies are responsible for his commendable donations to christian and islamic groups alike. Such a person should be encouraged both spiritually and politically. He should not be vilified for he least deserves that!
Usoro is the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Godswill Akpabio on Print Media & Research
The question of who has the right to God’s mercy attracted an article in the media recently. Particularly, the Moment newspaper, on December 12, 2011 published a piece by one Emma Etuk, analyzing the various human views on forgiveness. In the main, it centered on Governor Godswill Akpabio right (or otherwise) to attend a crusade; seek God’s mercy or receive favour. The analyst in the said piece, however, submitted thus: that salvation is God’s unmerited gift called grace, offered by his mercies and love; nobody should be carried away by a person’s show of repentance and; that life in Christ is a life-long matter!
The origin of the matter was a spin by an ‘internet hit squad’ coordinated/dominated by Akwa Ibomites based abroad. Thompson Essien, a leader of the internet group (Ibom Forum), which is strongly sympathetic to the opposition, had claimed that Akpabio fell on his knees at a Deeper Christian Life crusade, presided over by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi at Uyo Stadium. According to Essien lives in Portland , Oregon and hardly sees anything good in Akpabio. The summation of his story was that the governor instantly asked people at the crusade to pray for the forgiveness of his sins. He started the article thus: “I never like his style of governance, and never will. I don’t like the man’s personality either. In fact, my spirit just cannot stand Godswill Akpabio”. Then he surprised everyone, concluding: “I commend Godswill Akpabio for taking the giant step to attend the crusade conducted by Dr. Kumuyi. For that, I have changed my mind; I wish brother Gody a Happy and a wonderful Birthday”!
Like flies hovering over dirt, the others feasted on the rumor, giving all colourations and interpretations. They arraigned Akpabio in their courts for all manners of bogus sins and sentenced him. Ordinarily, the spins hardly required any reaction, if ti were true. Moreso, any mortal has the right to request prayers for God’s favour. Indeed, Governor Akpabio, a known devout Catholic, has never hidden his humility, especially when it comes to handing over the affairs of his family; his person; that of the state and nation to God. In fact, he does that on daily bases.
However, Etuk’s seemingly objective analysis took a shocking turn when he claimed that: “God may have had mercy on us, the people of Akwa Ibom State , to witness the actions of a known cultist, megalomaniac and an evil man who, like Paul of old, terrorized our wonderful state, while believing that he was doing us good”. To say the least, the above statement smacks of bad taste. It even sounds irresponsible! Akpabio has never been an unknown cultist, not to mention being a “known cultist” as Etuk claimed. It is clearly an insult to the office of governor to so classify the occupant of that seat, simply because you disagree with his style of leadership.
What evidence has Etuk and his ilk to so embolden them to the point of calling Akpabio a “known cultist”? If anything, Akpabio, since 2007, has been preaching against cultism and such other social vices. He has also implemented policies aimed at changing those hitherto engaged in those practices. For instance, his free and compulsory education policy emerged out of the necessity to fight militancy and cultism with intellectualism. Policies of youth employment, particularly in Integrated Farming Scheme; skill acquisition in the various areas of avionics, etc; as well as their involvement in governance were meant to reform or forestall youths deviating into negative behaviors.
Furthermore, Etuk, a US-based historian and writer, erred in tagging the governor as ‘megalomaniac and evil man’. He also described him as a terrorist. Haba! What a fallacy! Akpabio has never claimed any overrated self importance, beyond exercising the mandate freely and overwhelming given to him by the masses of Akwa Ibom State . He is not a saint, though, and has never claimed to be. Like every mortal, he is a sinner, hence seeks the face of God daily. If it were true that he asked for forgiveness at the said crusade, we would not bother reacting, because his is duly entitled to commune with his God or seek intervention of other believers. The scripture supports such godly action. But to fabricate a story in order to humiliate a governor; to twist facts out of hatred is going over the top. Akpabio may be a sinner; we all are. But he is not an ‘evil man’! And, please, how has Akpabio terrorized the state? When did good, welfarist policies like free medical health; free education; as well as unprecedented infrastructural development, etc, constitute terrorism?
Fortunately, Etuk’s judgement of Akpabio is not based on any foundation. In fact, it is possible he doesn’t even know the person he is judging. Having spent about 31 years abroad, according to him, he was not even around when Akwa Ibom was created. So, he may not be in a true position to know how the state was when Akpabio took over. Perhaps, he merely succumbed to his co-critics, who descended on him after reading his earlier comments on Akpabio. Somewhere, Etuk, who claims to be an expert in ‘evangelical theology’, while reacting to one critic, had stated that, “Gov. Akpabio has a God-given right to seek salvation no matter how huge his sins may be…I have no apology for people who play God. We are all sinners and are saved by grace, mercy and the love of God. I reiterate that if God chooses to save Akpabio anywhere and anytime, that is nobody's business”.
To change stand and condemn Akpabio later, showed him as a man of double standard. Funny enough, like the Americans would say he can give it but can’t take it. For instance, when attacked at another instance, he said: “I am often against persons who use our forum for degenerate causes: abuses, insults, unhealthy attacks, character defamation and/or assassination”… and even threatened to sue one critic.
Gladly, there are still those who believe in the dictum of Jesus, the Christ: Giving unto Caesar what is his! Hence, a London-based commentator, Steven Nelson agrees that, “as long as Godswill Akpabio is still the legally recognised chief executive officer of the state, respect must be accorded to him and the office of the governor because in the nearest future, it would be somebody else’s turn and same respect must be shown toward him”. He is worried like the rest of us, “that people from other states ranging from the president of the Republic (Goodluck Jonathan), to Senators to journalists of repute, etc are deeply impressed by the performance of the governor (Akpabio) within this short period, while we from Akwa Ibom that live abroad don't seem to see things from a similar perspective”.
Still, such negative attitudes would neither derail Akpabio’s focus; his determination to leave a positive mark in the sands of Akwa Ibom or his unshakable faith in God. Evidence of his complete submission to God’s superiority became public from his early campaigns in 2006. His motto was and still is: Let God’s will be done! And when he won the election in 2007 and April 2011, he effectively invited God to steer the ship of state. That, surely, has been the secret of his internationally acknowledged success.
Every year, on January 2nd, Akpabio hands the affairs of Akwa Ibom into God’s control. Then, as he put it last year, he sits back to watch the state flourish. That year, he knelt at Ibom Hall grounds and opened his heart to God: “With you, nothing is impossible. (I pray) that with the available resources, we shall achieve the impossible…I hand over all policies of government to you, including the free and compulsory education. We handover the International Airport to you and say Lord, watch over the airport. Your word says unless God watches over the house the watchman labours in vain”.
After the prayers, he confessed to a renewed energy and vision. “Now, I am energised to start the year”, he said. “We have handed over the affairs of government; we have handed our safety; we have handed over our progress, we have handed over our development, unity as a people and the safety of our families to God Almighty”. After every such spiritual exercise, according to the governor, God becomes the “Governor General of Akwa Ibom State ”, while he, the governor, become God’s lieutenant in the affairs of state management.
For a governor to attend a crusade, therefore, is not point for humiliation. Akpabio is not the first governor to honor God by attending a crusade and would not be the last. It is simply a matter of regard to and personal relationship with God. It is also on such premise that he decided to give the Christian Association of Nigeria N100million for a revolving loan scheme. His positive stand with God and his appreciation of God’s mercies are responsible for his commendable donations to christian and islamic groups alike. Such a person should be encouraged both spiritually and politically. He should not be vilified for he least deserves that!
Usoro is the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Godswill Akpabio on Print Media & Research
Comments:
This is what the Bible says:
"But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” - Revealation 21:8
OduduAbasi
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