By Mike Ukpaukure
When in the year 2006, Governor Godswill Akpabio was described as an “Emerging Tiger” by a publishing house, the people of Akwa Ibom State rejoiced and celebrated, unknown to them that they were celebrating the emergence of a well tailored devil in the state. The Ibibio paramount rulers were not left behind in the celebration train.
The celebration was so meaningless and lacked attraction and colour; it was so void, because these celebrants lacked vision and basis to stand their celebrations, so much that in one of the articles, I stated that “The tiger the ignorant celebrants celebrated would eat them all”. Like the biblical Thomas which the Akwa Ibom State person is noted for, seeing before believing, those blind celebrants saw nothing reasonably factual in my alarm.
The Ibibio paramount rulers may be excused for their part in this blind celebration because they saw Akwa Ibom State in the eyes of our forebears, as a united indivisible state Obong Attah ruled and handed over to Bro. Goddy in 2007.
A state Obong Attah’s resource control war was fought by all persons from all local government areas of Akwa Ibom State as a common war that must be fought and won by all Akwa Ibom people for the benefit of all Akwa Ibomites.
In the resource control warfront we had people like Senator Ibok Essien (Ritman), from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma from Eket Senatorial District, so with ex-governor Victor B. Attah as the General Officer Commanding, they fought together and won the battle for all Akwa Ibom people.
So when the Ibibio paramount rulers saw Bro. Goddy with a name tag of Akpabio, they received him with open hand and danced ignorantly to the lyrics of his demonic music, without thinking whether the lyrics were those of destruction or not, or whether truly this their masquerade was won by a blood head or not. They acted in contrast to the saying of the wise which states that “man must look before leaping”, for here we don’t credit this wise saying to the elders, not at all.
So when Bro. Goddy started developing his colours of destruction the paramount rulers having had their mouths stuck with Bro. Goddy’s “bread of deceit” lacked the capacity to either criticize or retreat for fear of being visited by Bro. Goddy’s weapon of destruction. They saw nothing wrong in Bro. Goddy’s misactions.
I recall when Ambassador Edem was framed up, like comedian Ukwa, washed and dried and dumped, Bro. Goddy’s errand-boy, Idongesit Nkanga was sent by his master to calm the nerves of the paramount rulers over Ambassador Edem’s ordeal. This unholy activity of this status-blinker was highly appreciated by the Ibibio paramount rulers with “Idongesit Nkanga” being rechristened “Idongesit Ikpaisong Ibibio”. I could see him smile away back to his boss to assure him of the accomplishment of an unholy mission.
You also remember the killing in cold blood of Obongawan Maria Ikpe and other Ibibio citizens as the “tiger” went about dealing his admired celebrants, yet the Ibibio paramount rulers saw no reason to call Bro. Goddy and his foot soldiers to order, so as long as Ghana-must-go loads of naira were delivered to their palaces.
As the “Tiger” was doing his thing, the “Tiger” witnessed groups emerging from all corners of the state; some groups were formed by wives of paramount rulers and clan heads to sing songs of approval for the continued operation of Bro. Goddy’s foot soldiers.
So in 2009, the trio of Bro. Goddy, Idongesit Nkanga and Cletus Bassey alias Bishop Cletus Bassey conspired to defy the supreme shrine of the Ibibios (Asan Ibibio), with the unsuspecting Ibibio paramount rulers playing the script to honour Bro. Goddy before a hired crowd of spectators from all parts of Akwa Ibom and Enugu states.
Few days later Bro. Goddy otherwise known by his admirers as “Play-Boy”, while his Uyai Iban Akpabio, Friends of Unoma Akpabio and Akpan Andem Market Women call him “Ebe Mma Unege” designed and tailored a plot to unseat Akwa Edidem Akpabio Udo Ukpa, the paramount ruler of Onna, who for some years had been known as Oku Ibom III of Ibibio tribe in what looked like a palace coup.
Bro. Goddy watched the palace coup, beaming his false smiles in satisfaction and giving credit to the slain Oku Ibom Ibibio III.
Having got the crown off the head of Akwa Edidem Akpabio Udo Ukpa, the paramount ruler of Onna, it was considered that the battle was over, but the deed was yet to be done Bro. Goddy’s way, until not long after the presentation of the slain Paramount Ruler of Nsit Ubium and Oku Ibom Ibibio III, it then looked as though the slain Oku Ibom was deviating from an earlier agreement as he started to show his sponsor through the mirror of crimes committed against the Ibibio people with fire from the Government House. And not so long, the monarch was slain by yet to be identified assassins. Neither the government of Akwa Ibom State, nor the police, nor the State Security Service (SSS) could unveil the mystery surrounding the death or assassination of the paramount ruler and Oku Ibom Ibibio. At his funeral, like my friend Thomas Thomas usually opines “Bro Goddy befriends people at death”, hence the endless funeral oration from Bro. Goddy described the late Oku Ibom Ibibio III as a very good and outspoken representative of Ibibio people.
Of course the Ifim Ibom Ibibio suspended and later expelled Akwa Edidem Akpabio Udo Ukpa for acts of insubordination and illegally parading himself as the Oku Ibom Ibibio III. Why Oku Ibom III, when another Oku Ibom Ibibio III had been killed and buried?
It was no surprise therefore that Bro. Goddy who once swore to deal with the Ibibios resorted to setting the Ibibios against Ibibios by facelessly opting to sponsor and enthrone the expelled paramount ruler.
The proposal confirmed Bro. Goddy as a mischief maker and confusionist whose stock-in-trade was to unleash the order of disunity into Ibibio tribe.
To ensure he was stopped from further splitting the Ibibio tribe, I embarked on a renewed contact to bring sanity to bear on him, by calling Obong Mike Afangideh and Dr. Chris Ekpenyong an ex-deputy governor of this state as well as an experienced Annang son, to call him to order before he smeared himself with dirt arising from one of his dirty acts of misbehaviour and political frustration.
By Saturday, newspapers carried news announcing his u-turn on his proposed enthronement of Oku Ibom Ibibio III on January 13, 2012.
Like I always describe this my Bro. Goddy friend as a trainee governor, it baffles me that he has no knowledge of the statutes of government, neither does he know that he has no right to interfere or intrude in the traditions and cultures of any community.
So when did he get to realize that he was over-stepping on the clean toes of Ibibio people, given the fact that his desperation was overflowing its bounds?
After nation-trodding the country buying awards, and after blackmailing prominent Ibibio sons and daughters, he now resorts to attempts at fulfilling his planned killing of the remaining Ibibio sons and daughters.
I am a titled chief, if he is still very desperate to appoint Oku Ibom for the Ibibios, even when he did not appoint an Itai for Afe Annang or Ahta for Oron, I suggest that I am open to take that TITLE. But then he had better given me Odio Local Government, appoint me the village head, clan head and paramount ruler of Odio Local Government Area, before finally installing me the Oku Ibom Ibibio IV, not III. Without doing these, let those close to him advise Bro. Goddy to allow Ibibios to manage their traditions and cultures as it is the case with other tribes.
He has more troubles in his hands to solve than go about installing unsolicited troubles for Ibibio people.
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