The Race for (2011) Governorship Election is Still On

Contrary to general assumptions, as evidenced by telephone calls and personal emails I have received, the court case between ACN and PDP, which was held today (January 26) at Uyo was not postponed. What happened is that the PDP asked the Tribunal to dismiss the contention brought by the ACN on technical reasons. According to PDP, the original 180 days, or six months, apportioned to listen to the case had expired since November 15, 2011; therefore, it is wrong for the Tribunal to entertain the matter. Each side tendered arguments on the matter. The court will return from deliberations on February 7 (2012) to issue its rulings.

 

Experts say the Tribunal will have to decide on one of two decisions; side with the request of the PDP and throw away the case on technicalities or dismiss the petition of PDP for lack of merits. If the PDP argument is rejected, the case will then go to trial. 

 

It may be recalled that there are precedents to guide the Tribunal in making a decision. For example, in a similar case, which involved Nsima Umoh and Senator Ita Enang, the PDP lawyers made a similar argument that the 180 days had expired. The Tribunal in Uyo sided with the PDP and dismissed the petition brought by Mr. Nsima Umoh (ACN). Nsima Umoh filed an appeal with the Appeal Court in Calabar. Yesterday----just yesterday (January 25, 2012) ---the Appeal Court in Calabar overturned the ruling of the Tribunal in Uyo, in favor of Nsima Umoh. What this means is that the Tribunal in Uyo has no choice but to set a date, in which both sides will have to come in and present arguments as to whom actually won the Senatorial position for Uyo District.

 

On the matter of the dispute of the governorship election between Senator Akpan Udoedehe and Mr. Godswill Akpabio, analysts say the PDP is just using the 180-day argument to buy time. All the analysts contacted agreed that the petition submitted by the PDP will not hold water. One analyst said, "even if the lower court agrees with the PDP, it is very certain that the Appeal Court will overturn it, just as it has done in the case of Nsima Umoh versus Senator Ita Enang."

 

There are those who may wonder why Mr. Akpabio and the PDP are fighting so hard to make sure that the dispute does not go to trial. Insiders say what the PDP and Akpabio are scared of are the available unexpected and unprecedented evidence that were submitted by the ACN to the Tribunal as proofs that Akpabio and his Party blatantly rigged the gubernatorial election of April 26, 2011.

 

According to a reliable source, who was involved in collating all the evidence sent to the Tribunal, "If you see what (evidence) we shipped to the Tribunal, you will be amazed. It took three truck-loads to transport all the materials to the Tribunal. Among them were videos and still-photos in compact discs that would prove how the entire election was rigged. We even have the 2007, yes 2007, ballot papers that Akpabio supporters stuffed in ballot boxes just to increase the number of votes for him. We also went around the entire State and collected the ACN ballot papers that PDP supporters stole and scattered everywhere. Well, I cannot be more specific than this because I don't want to give out too much information."

 

While Mr. Akpabio may not have the opportunity to see all those evidence, sources say PDP lawyers have disclosed their existence to Akpabio. This may explain why PDP and Akpabio are fighting tooth and nail to have the case dismissed on technical reasons. Such a dismissal would put an end to all those evidence being disclosed to the public. According to another insider, "people keep talking about bribing the judges. I can assure you that once the judges have the opportunity to see all the evidence, by the time the case ends, they will be so overwhelmed that even if they (the judges) had taken bribes from Akpabio, they would have no choice but to return those bribes."

 

However, no matter how one looks at the matter, the truth is that the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election is still an on-going business. While Mr. Akpabio is still basking himself in glory as the Governor, no one should be surprised if one day, the verdict comes in to say "you are out!" Akpabio must go and Akpabio will go; it’s only a matter of time.

 

Written by

Ikpafak Thompson Essien

The Voice of the Poor Masses

Defender of the Oppressed

Social Critic

A native of Ibibio nation of Ubium Republic extraction, now living in the safe and beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, where no AKPF, ADUMA, ADV, and Akwa Ibom State politicians can reach.

Ojukwu, 1967 versus Jonathan 2012: Is it déjà all over again?

By Ekerete Udoh

In the next few weeks, the remains of General Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu-the Ikemba Nnewi will be committed to mother earth-thus ending in a physical sense the life of man who will remain forever a colossus in the annals of Nigerian history and our struggles to form a prefect or mutually respectful union. Given what has happened in our polity lately- the drum beat of war and internal anxieties, given the concerns of safety that has been manufactured and nurtured by Boko Haram and given the inflammatory rhetoric that are being spewed by certain ethno-cultural organizations, one is left with no choice but to wonder whether it is déjà all over again!
In 1966, Nigeria was on a precipice-and its corporate soul and essence were dangling precariously on the edge. Six years after independence, the chasm and zero sum tendencies of the ruling elite had alienated and poisoned the fountain of unity. Hard ball political tactics were employed by those who commanded the instrument of power and coercion. Those who legally constituted themselves into viable voices of opposition were hounded, traumatized and eventually jailed. Thousands of innocent lives were wasted at the altar of depraved political gods and as the military watched and squirmed at the wanton level of corruption and carnage, they stepped in and cleaned the Augean stable.

The January 15 coup- led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu had disproportionately killed the cream of the northern political and military class. The spirit of revenge on the part of northern soldiers was thick and palpable. Whether by design or by accident, the leaders of the January coup had been mostly Igbo speaking officers mostly from today’s Delta state. The northern soldiers had concluded that the coup was executed to foist Igbo hegemony over the rest of the country. It didn’t help matters that the man who succeeded the rump of the Balewa administration was the highest rankling military officer in the land-the Igbo-Umuahia Ibeku born General Thomas Umunakwe Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi. To the northern military and political establishment, the Igbo hegemonic thrust that the late Northern Region Premier-Ahmadu Bello had warned in 1952, was now a clear and present danger.

In the counter coup that ensued, Major General Aquiyi Ironsi-the highest ranking officer who in the order of military tradition, had stepped in and assumed the leadership of the county, was brutally murdered by the northern coupists. Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon-the Chief of Army Staff-not easily the most senior officer, but the one ordained by the coupists was named the Head of State and Commander- in -Chief of the Armed Forces. The Eastern Region Military Governor-Lt.Col. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu- being a stickler for military tradition and order, refused to accept the leadership of Gowon-insisting first to know what had happened to the substantive Head of State-Aguiyi Ironsi and second, why Brigadier Ogundipe-the next most senior army officer did not automatically take over the reins of the country.

The blood-letting that was going on in the military-targeting the Igbos and other easterners soon devolved into other levels of the society, as Igbos were hounded in the north and slaughtered like rams. Easterners were advised to come back to their regions by Ojukwu, many of whom were attacked and killed on their way back to the east. After series of talks and meetings aimed at resolving some of the knotty issues of our existence as one nation- issues that were unfortunately not resolved, the country was plunged into a 30- month long civil war that cost billions of dollars and millions of lives.

The war ended in 1970 with the “No Victor no Vanquished policy “. Ojukwu who had led that secessionist bid was offered asylum by Houphouet Boigney-then the President of Cote’d’Ivoire. He was later pardoned by the Second Republic administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, from where he plunged into the political waters and ran for a senate seat in the then Anambra state, losing to a little known medical doctor-Edwin Onwudiwe- a move many had felt was orchestrated by his own party, fearing that he would dwarf and take center stage were he to be elected into the senate.

Until he died last November, Emeka Ojukwu has always asserted that we should come together at a national conference and talk things over about our corporate existence. He has always asked for the implementation of a true federalism-fiscal and political and that the issues that led us to war in 1967 were still prevalent with us. Sweeping them under the carpet while thinking all is well with the polity is akin to postponing the evil day he has always cautioned.

Now fast forward to the present. In 2010, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan-an ijaw academic from the Niger Delta state of Bayelsa was thrust into the presidency by the National Assembly legal construct called-“Doctrine of Necessity”. The country had been almost plunged into constitutional crises following the refusal on the part of then President-Umaru Y’ardua to hand over power to his deputy as the constitution stipulates following his illness which had rendered him incapable of executing the office of the president of the republic. The machinations and despicable subterfuge that was pulled by those who came to be known as “The Cabal” had rubbished the spirit and letter of the constitution and had pitied the south against the north. The underlying reason for the lack of proper handover of power to Jonathan many had observed was the morbid fear by the northern establishment that President Jonathan will interpret a different script were he to be allowed to succeed Ya’rdua- a script that may write or pare down their power and influence. For such narrow and parochial instincts, the nation in their reasoning should plunge into an ungovernable pit. The Doctrine of Necessity rescued the nation from that near constitutional crises.

President Jonathan, in the full exercise of his constitutional rights, offered himself as a candidate for the presidency of the republic-setting himself and the south on collision course over the principle of zoning which the north had claimed was reserved for them to produce the president, even if Y’Ardua succumbed to death through natural means. The resultant fight over who would become the presidential candidate of the PDP had seen the Adamu Ciroma led northern group selecting former Vice President-Atiku Abubakar as the Northern Consensus Candidate. Needles to repeat here, Atiku Abubakar lost at the primaries and was routed by President Jonathan who went on to campaign and win the presidential election in April last year.

The election of Goodluck Jonathan-Nigeria’s first Niger Delta born president appeared not to have been accepted by a cross section of the people-especially some from the northern part of the country. There has been talk-largely unsubstantiated- but clearly not without foundation, that certain elements in the north had promised to make the country ungovernable in the aftermath of Jonathan’s election. To these people, the new political alignment represents an affront-an assault on their hitherto stranglehold on power.

The step-up efforts of the Islamic sect-Boko Haram to sow fear and mayhem through the novel idea of suicide bombing to some analysts represent the upping of the ante on the part of those who are determined to derail the Jonathan administration. The spate of bombings-first at the Police Headquarters in Abuja, the UN Building also in Abuja and the sickening slaughter of innocent Christians who had gone to church to celebrate the birth of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ in Niger state on Christmas day, the senselessly slaughter of Igbo traders in Mubi-Adamawa state and the drum beat of war that has been going on all over the country present s clear and present danger to the corporate existence of the nation.

Like 1967, southerners based in the northern states have started heading back to their states of origin and vice versa for the northern in the south. The chord of unity appears to be dangling dangerously and is held together by a very tiny thread that could snap if mature handling is not expended.

As preparations get under way to commit the body of the late Head of State of the defunct Republic of Biafra-General Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, perhaps we should ask ourselves this question: Can we all get along at least for the sake of our children? Must we, for narrow reasons attempt to plunge the nation into another needless ethnic conflagration? Is the nation not bigger than a sectional interest or should we sacrifice all we have archived since 1970 at the altar of political tin gods who must always exercise power, failure of which the nation must go down in flames?

In the middle of this, it was heartening to read the thoughts ascribed to former military President-General Ibrahim Babangida where he canvassed for true federalism and asked Jonathan to seize this moment to restructure and institute a regime of social and political engineering aimed at devolving power form a highly centralized one at the center to those of the federating units. That was what Ikemba fought for and died, still believing the moment would come. Making power at the center less attractive will lessen the zero-sum tendencies and parochial impulses that our political class exhibits. Mr. President, this is a moment to do just that: Please seize it! And kudos to General Babangida for initiating this conversation.

WHY BOKO HARAM IS My 2011 MAN OF THE YEAR

By Manasseh Umoette
The year 2011 finally came to an end while a new year began with great hope, anxiety for a robust and peaceful new year.
In the year under review, Nigeria as a country had recorded some level of achievements and failures in some aspects of her national life. One outstanding achievement the nation had recorded in 2011 was the successful elections it conducted. While I don’t agree that the election was free and fair as some people want us to believe, the 2011 election was an improvement on the previous ones of 1999, 2003 and 2007. One can say that the election of 2011 was “free”. Free in the sense that for the first time in many years, Nigerian were allowed to vote, people saw the colours and design of the ballot papers. Consequently, we had a smooth transition in the country.
Of a truth, I find it difficult to identify any sector aside the election that Nigeria did well in 2011. If you have such areas or sectors please don’t hesitate to call my attention for I stand to be corrected.
The year ended was a very bad one for Nigeria in terms of sport. We had so much infighting in the Glass house and even had parallel Executives of the Nigerian Football Federation. Consequently, the nations sport collapsed and the country could not qualify for any continental or international sporting competition. Nigerian sport lovers will live with the stark reality in 2012 as the country would not take part in any sporting competition organized by FIFA; the world’s football governing body.
In the power sector, the story remains the same, ours is a nation in darkness. If you need electricity then you must be ready to buy your generating set. Whether NEPA or PHCN, it made no difference. Nigerians are still forced to pay for darkness even when the government keeps promising improved electricity supply.
Our economy did not fare any better as our naira was still prostrating before the dollar. Needless to stress that we hard serious economic hardship with prices of commodities flying to the sky even as civil servants complained that minimum wage amounted to nothing. This, perhaps, informed Mr. President’s intention to remove subsidy on petroleum product which has generated very serious debate among Nigerians. While some Nigerians support the decision to remove the subsidy, majority of Nigerians view it as a way of adding to their sufferings. Whatever the case, the debate rages on as Mr. President insist on doing away with it.
In terms of infrastructure, we have not done well. Just take a look at our federal roads, they are in very bad shape that Nigerians doubt if the re-introduced toll gate on the highways can remedy the problem. Inwardly, some state governments have done much in terms of road construction and development of other infrastructures. Topping the list of such state is Akwa Ibom state.
In the area of education, agriculture, arts culture and other sectors, nothing significant happened during the year.
We witnessed the traditional donation of fertilizers to farmer, the usual ASUU strikes even as 2011 senior school certificate examination result released by both the West African Examination Council and the National Examination Council is said to be the worst in the history for the examination bodies.
How about security? The year 2011 ended, not without a sore point and a great shocker to Nigerians and even the International Community. This is on account of a deadly tidal wave rocking the Northern part of the country in the name of BOKO HARAM. If you ask me, our ever porous security network was demystified and disgraced by the Boko Haram, a controversial militant Islamist group said to be against Western Education, culture and modern science. To say the least, the group held Nigeria to ransom in the year 2011. Security wise, the history of Nigeria in 2011 is a chequered one. During the year, we went through the most painful national trauma of Boko Haram whose emotional scars will remain for a long time.
The sect had within the year proven to Nigerians that they, (not the police) were on top of the situation. They shocked Nigeria with a bombing jamboree which spared no one and no place. Everybody and place was equal before Boko Haram. Don’t forget that the sect bombed the police Headquarters and the Inspector General narrowly escaped them, they attacked military formations, they proved to the United Nations that they were fearless by bombing the UN house, not even the mosque and churches were spared as they also unleashed terror on these places of holy worship.
The Christmas day bombing experience is still fresh on the minds of Nigerians. In all these, the security machinery becomes very helpless and handicapped while Boko Haram held sway.
Mr Umoette is a journalist in Uyo, Aks

NLC, strike and Akwa Ibom’s future

By Joe Peter
The leadership of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Akwa Ibom State recently called off its two week-old struck, which many saw as an attempt to arm-twist government into taking wrong decisions. Labours demand included the implemention of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and review the Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure. On the minimum way which Governor Godswill Akpabio recently released N16billion for the clearance of the backlog from April, 2011, the workers demanded that the increment table must be across board.
When the Federal Government promulgated the law establishing N18,000.00 as minimum wage, many states raised concerns most of which pointedly accused the government at the centre of undemocratic behaviour stating that it cannot from Abuja impose a heavy burden on states as it was not in an appreciable position to know the states’ financial obligations and priorities. Many states were categorical about its inability to pay, citing lean financial purses . Up till now, a lot of dust is still in the air. But Akpabio had since started paying the minimum wage, bringing to rest an issue that has remained contentious in many other states.

Yet, the leadership of Labour’s decision to down tools, smacked of bad taste. It showed a lack of appreciation of an act of good faith with goodwill. In the process to whip public sentiment, Labour contrived inane claims nuanced with spurious statistics in a despicable bid to bring the State Government into disrepute. In doing so, they forgot in a hurry that a few months ago, they had given Akpabio an award for the third consecutive times, as the most Labour-friendly governor in the country. The awards came from both the local NLC as well as the national body! The said awards were reportedly based on verifiable records which established and affirmed the administration’s many gestures to workers ranging from “Akpabiomba” being the 13th month salary always paid to workers, restoration of many perquisites to workers, an across board addition of N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira) to the earnings of all retired permanent secretaries, an across board addition of 20% to the earnings of all pensioners. For the minimum wage, as soon as it was announced, the State Government indicated interest that it would pay. Such robust record made Governor Akpabio the darling of Labou,r making the recent postulation of the leadership of Labour that the governor is hostile to workers untenable and suspect. 
For the leadership of Labour that has at different fora made public pronouncements on the exceptional nature of the administration in the area of Labour relations and sensitivity to the yearnings of workers to so suddenly alter its position for reasons that are not validly adduceable to adopt an adversarial role smacks of an execution of a written script that has the signature of the opposition. One is constrained to see it as the metaphorical hand of Esau and voice of Jacob. Unfortunately, the innocent and uninformed workers became the cannon fodders for this incendiary politics denominated by hatred patented by a few enemies of the state of which the leadership of Labour unwittingly joined.

How does one reconcile the adversarial posture of Labour against a government that has alleviated public burden through intervention in health sector, free and compulsory education, enduring public infrastructure complemented with robust welfare package; all of which workers are direct beneficiaries except to see such action from the prism of hatred and parochialism. Akpabio’s administration last year earmarked N52 billion for recurrent expenditure. This year, it has again budgeted N66 billion for recurrent expenditure. What this means in succinct terms is that Akpabio’s administration always provides enough funds for the operations of the civil service which is the hub of government. As a matter of fact, the sums provided for the operations of the civil service bureaucracy alone are more than the budgets of most states. 
Agreed there could have been a few misgivings, misunderstanding or communication lull here and there, but should they have foreclosed dialogue? We learn that while the thought of strike was brewing in whispers with the spurious claims that other states were paying higher than Akwa Ibom State, the governor graciously gave the leadership of Labour a charge to authenticate the claims and revert to him for discussions. But because the leadership of Labour was set for mischief and blackmail with strike uppermost in their minds, they refused to tow the honourable path of dialogue which would have peacefully resolved the matter. Conscious of the high premium any responsible government places on workers, the leadership of Labour initiated an ambush tactics using the weapon of strike to seek the crippling of activities of government. As Henry Ward Beecher noted “greatness lies not in being strong but in the right use of strength”. This is one instance where strength was roundly abused. No thanks to the leadership of NLC in the state.

The Akwa Ibom drama compeled a recollection of Shakespeare’s comment in Hamlet: “Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shall not escape calumny”. At no time has Akwa Ibom State been so celebrated even by outsiders, not because of the face that occupies Hill-Top mansion but the verifiable indices of actions and activities that have corralled into what is called uncommon transformation. The breath-taking changes are there for all to see and for the blinds to feel. People throng the state everyday to behold the wonder that has been wrought in just 4½ years. The concept of destination which was initially a casual refrain has now acquired a life of its own as it is serving out the true meaning of the concept.

But in Akwa Ibom State, cynicism is still being patented by a few who are bent on imploding the state. Labour Union by its very nature and engagement is a discerning enterprise that should insulate itself from pedestrian influences. Labour is often well underscored by the exhaustiveness and profoundness of its leaders who must persist in steering the people only in the right direction. Workers look up to their leaders and the leaders work at earning their trust. The future for Akwa Ibom workers, therefore, depend on how fast the leaders to work to earn the trust of the workers. Already, they have implicit confidence in the government of Chief Akpabio. That was why some workers argued with the leadership of NLC in the State that the strike was unnecessary because Akpabio has proven to be a man of his words. In other words, they urged that the action be called off as the governor has over the years earned their trust both in action and words!

Akwa Ibom 2015: Who’s afraid of Merit? (Back page)

By Ini-Abasi Mboho
The question of where the next Governor of Akwa Ibom State, and the likely successor of Chief Godswill Akpabio in 2015 would come from has dominated political discourse in recent times. Expectedly, many commentators and interest groups have joined the fray to push their positions through. That is how it should be. Democracy allows for debates and plurality of opinions.
The disappointment however is that partisan groups have left the substance to focus on the mundane. Instead of emphasis on the intrinsic qualities of the next Governor and what he would have to offer, we are being assailed by where he should come from. For most people such considerations would amount to sacrificing merit on the altar of mediocrity and this should be strongly discouraged.
For instance in a recent press release, a group which goes by the name: “Eket Senatorial District Forum” stood history on the head through revisionism by attempting to justify (albeit unsuccessfully) why the next governorship contest in Akwa Ibom State should be the exclusive preserve of only aspirants from Eket Senatorial District.
In the release titled “Why Eket Senatorial District Must Produce Akwa Ibom Governor in 2015” the nebulous group went to great length to distort facts and our recent history and seeking to foist its retrogressive position on the rest of the state. The fulcrum of its argument is that “zoning of the office of the Governor has always been part of our political life in Akwa Ibom State,” as if they were all suffering from selective amnesia.
It has already been established before now that at no time since the inception of this democratic dispensation has the position of the governorship of the state been exclusively zoned to any senatorial district. Otherwise the modern day advocates of zoning in Akwa Ibom State would be hard put to explain why the present Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Nsima Ekere, a distinguished son of Eket Senatorial District had contested against Chief Godswill Akpabio for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket in 2006.
The position of the Eket Senatorial District Forum, absurd as it is, would be like changing the goal post in the middle of a football game. This is because never in the history of electioneering in Akwa Ibom State had persons from any particular senatorial district been unconstitutionally barred from contesting for the governorship position, while it is donated as a trophy to another.
One may be inclined to ask: where were members of Eket Senatorial District Forum when their sons, in exercise of their democratic right, contested the governorship of the state against aspirants from other senatorial districts? Or are they telling us that if for instance any of their sons (and they were many) had won the PDP primaries in 2006 against Chief Akpabio, they would have annulled the election and dashed the ticket to someone from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District because it was not their turn? 
The members of Eket Senatorial District Forum and other such groups agitating for the unconstitutional and undemocratic barring of aspirants from other senatorial districts should listen to the wise counsel of one of their own and a distinguished son of the zone with strong democratic credentials: Mr Larry Esin. In a recent post in his facebook wall, Mr Esin said: “The question of our role in the governance of our State in 2015, a responsibility we welcome with open arms, will occupy and engage our thoughts and actions for the next three years. And rightfully so! 
“But let us not be consumed, blinded and misled by the fledgling believe that it is "our turn" now. It has always been our turn. For as long as we have been a part of Akwa Ibom State, it has always been our turn and responsibility to vie for any political office and offer solutions to meet the development challenges of our State. 
“The Ibibio's, Anangs, Ekid's, and all other ethnic groups will express their fundamental right to serve their State in 2015, and we cannot fault them for doing so. Oro will win the governorship not by evoking "Zoning", but by presenting the best marketable Oro candidate in the race and giving 100% of our support to that candidate period,” he said.
Mr Esin should know better and he cannot be faulted for having this democratic disposition and not joining in undemocratic agitations even when he may be a beneficiary. In 2006 Mr Esin (as already noted, from Eket Senatorial District) had a shot at the governorship in the state and indeed put up a credible performance by coming third in the PDP primaries which Chief Godswill Akpabio won. In the 2011 governorship election in Akwa Ibom State, he was the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). 
In none of these instances had the Eket Senatorial District Forum been on record as having asked aspirants from their zone not to contest against a candidate from Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District. In any case, as always been the case, there were candidates also from Uyo Senatorial District because electoral contests in Akwa Ibom State have always been open for all. It therefore smacks of political mischief for the Eket Forum to suddenly wake up from a deep slumber and attempt to rewrite the political history of Akwa Ibom State through crude revisionism.
The interest of most progressive Akwa Ibom people is not where the next Governor will come from but what he would be bringing to the table. There is no doubt that Governor Godswill Akpabio has greatly transformed the state from a largely pedestrian civil service state to a destination of choice in Nigeria through the provision of world class infrastructural facilities. The people desire a Governor who would take the state to the next level.
Let me concede that it is the democratic right of people of Eket Senatorial District to vie for the Governorship of the state, just as it is the right of any other Akwa Ibomite, as guaranteed by the constitution. In the process, they have to put their best materials forward, and there are many of them. The campaign on who will govern Akwa Ibom State in 2015 should be hinged on the agenda of the aspirants and not their ethnicity. 
Any aspirant who is sure of what he has to offer would not be afraid to compete with others. Rather than dissipate their energy on zoning and attempting to rewrite our recent political history, those agitating for the so-called zoning should channel such energy towards producing a marketable candidate that can hold his own. Seeking to close the democratic space even before the election could only foist a mediocre on a State with many intelligent people.
Many people desire a Governor in the mould of Chief Akpabio who will approach governance with a liberal disposition in appointments and execution of projects, a Governor whose constituency would be Akwa Ibom State and not his Senatorial District alone. The campaign by Eket Senatorial District Forum is suspicious and has the potential in alienating a large segment of Akwa Ibom people. It gives the unfortunate impression that whoever should emerge from such an undemocratic process of shutting the democratic space would come with a baggage and an ethnic agenda to execute.
Mr Mboho, a Public Affairs Analyst writes from Uyo.

POLITICIANS AND POSTERS (2) by Precious Udoinyang

Last week we considered the poster in terms of its quality. We tried to diagnose the politician based on how his poster looked. But then, since deception is the name of the game, as far as politics is concerned, even the posters are meant to deceive the gullible and unsuspecting. So in effect, you can not really tell everything about the politician by one cursory look at a poster quality. But, one thing that usually gives the politician away is his or her posture on the poster .And so today we dare to browse through the many postures we usually see in our political posters and what they mean.
To start with, when a politician appears too smooth and made up in his or her poster, something is wrong somewhere. Either the photograph used for the poster had been taken many years ago or there are things the politician is trying desperately to conceal, age or current state of physical health for example. Take late President Yaradua’s posters in 2007 for instance. Anyone who saw how polished his face looked in those posters would have instantly given him a clean bill of health. Yet at the time he was contesting that election, he had already undergone kidney transplant, was on dialysis and had many health complications which allegedly even caused him to slump at one of his campaign venues. Yet, looking at the posters, you wouldn’t know all these. See how posters are meant to deceive? 
Again, the actual pose of the politician effortlessly betrays the politician’s intentions for the people. There is usually the “straight-face” pose. Here the politician looks straight into the camera with his or her face squared up, eyes not blinking. His aim of taking this kind of pose is to deceive you, the unsuspecting electorate into believing that this particular politician is a straight-forward person. You are to hold the very dangerously-erroneous position that this politician can be trusted. Normally, this can lead the untutored to support this politician in the false belief that good governance will be their reward. How wrong.
In another case, the politician appears relaxed on the posters. For this kind of posture, there is nothing tight or formal about this politician. He or She appears quite calm and genteel. And guess what?, This is supposed to be a picture of confidence meant first to scare the opponents and also to deceive the electorate that this politician is friendly and accessible. But, all these is deception because the aim of this relaxed and confident posture is simply to confuse you into the electorate in to believing that this your representative will be accessible and approachable, People actually seeking re-election into various offices are very fond of this kind of pose. This is usually a fall-out of the fact that after being “given” the mandate that first time, this your representative “turned tiger”. Armed Policemen and overzealous security details made it impossible to have access to him or her. The phone number you were used to communicating with this politician was now permanently in “voicemail” mode. But now that another election is around the corner, there is the need to deceive you with a new posture starting right from the poster. If you fall for it, then you are most unfortunate because as far as this politician is concerned, the relaxed, friendly posture also ends on the poster. He or She still remains the same mean, ruthless, self-serving and thugs-paying politician who will not mind spilling a few drops of blood, including yours, if the occasion demands, Posters are truly meant to deceive.
Even so, the fact that some people do not know how to pretend even spills over unto their political posters, Take a situation where a politician takes a picture for his or here poster backing the camera just managing to show the face from an angle. It is a classic “guyman” pose. But for a political poster it is actually rubbish. Yet, this arrangement is meant to show the electorate that this politician has style and also does things in a unique way. The aim of this kind of poster is to confuse the electorate into believing that this politician will bring innovations into governance. And, this can eventually prove to be true as this politician may come up with new ways of stealing public funds. However, when you see a politician with this kind of posture on a poster, just know that there is vital information being passed to you, namely, the politician should not be trusted. This is because, this kind of pose is meant to show the electorate very clearly that this politician will simply turn his or her back on them once “given” the mandate.
But, perhaps, the most embarrassing of all the postures on posters is the one where the politician comes out laughing. It does not matter whether it is a grin or a smack or actual laughter, whenever a politician has cause to come out laughing on a poster there is trouble, big trouble. And, these kinds of politicians are rare, very rare. But, just in case you happen to see them, try to decode the salient tones behind that laughter and your blood may run cold. 
Actually, the laughter by a politician on a poster is supposed to make the politician seem friendly, uncomplicated and easy-going. It is supposed to make you, the electorate, believe that this is one person who will give everything to protect your interest. The idea of this politician hurting you is completely out of the question. The laughing posture is supposed to give you the impression that this is not only a politician but also an ally. Indeed, you have never “had it so good.” Ha..Ha..Ha.. But, what does this politician actually say via that posture on the campaign poster? Well, this politician is actually wondering how gullible and easily-deceivable you, the electorate, have managed to remain all through the years. The joke, therefore, is on you. Before this politician burst out laughing so profusely, there must be things tickling him or her. Maybe, the whole idea of you, the electorate thinking that power is in your hands is laughable because the politician knows that this is not true. How can it be true when the votes are shared in the confines of INEC offices while you, the electorate, goes about with a worthless paper called Voter’s Card? Maybe, the politician is tickled by the fact that you, the electorate, continue to eat the crumbs and drink the dregs when in fact, it is the politician and his immediate family and close friends who eat the Lion share of everything in the name of dividends of democracy. See?
The bottom-line of the whole thing is that politicians, the world over, are politicians and will ever remain politicians. The game is eternally garnished with treachery, trickery and deception, and, it is the man in the street that usually is the worse for it. Every time, they come against us, the common people with everything in their arsenal. At times you may even find them go against each other with feigned ferocity as if the whole political class wants to self-destruct. Yet, soon after, you see these same sworn enemies winning and dinning together and plotting the next onslaught on the long-suffering public. In the words of Robert Nesta Marley, “you can fool some people sometime, but you can not fool all the people all the time”. Meaning, by their posters, you shall know them.

Mboho USA Fights Back, Insist on Autonomy

- Fingers MMI Nigeria in Okuibom crisis
By Franklyn Isong
It is not yet uhuru in Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio (MMI), the umbrella socio-cultural youths organization in Ibibio land as a faction of its members in the United States of America has dismissed with levity the disclaimers placed on them by its headquarters in Nigeria, insisting that Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio USA, Inc. is autonomous and remains separated from the Nigeria headquarters of the organization.
Trouble started in Mboho when some members of the body in the united States of America wrote to letter to its headquarters in Nigeria declaring autonomy of its chapter from the Nigeria headquarters. The group had alleged amongst other things that the leadership of the Nigeria MMI got itself involved in politics and had not communicated with it on issues affecting the growth of the body.
The USA MMI action was countered by the Use Ubeh-led Nigeria headquarters of the body. The headquarters was to later expel those involved in the action and published their disclaimers in some newspapers in Nigeria.
But unrelenting, the USA group has written another letter to MMI Nigeria where they proffered more reasons for their actions and maintained that they remained a separate entity from the MMI Nigeria.
The three-paragraph letter which was signed by Akparawa Joseph Ibokette, the General- Secretary of MMI, USA, Inc. and made available to Weekend Insight, further accused the leaders of Mboho in Nigeria of getting involved in Nigeria politics, noting that it has elected its national officers with Akparawa Sylvanus Okon as their National President.
The letter read part: “Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio USA, Inc. is an autonomous non-profit and non-political organization, which was started in 2005 and is duly registered in the United States of America.
“On October 16, 2011, Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio USA, Inc. separated itself from Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio in Nigeria because of serious irreconcilable differences, including inappropriate communication, lack of information and respect, involvement of leaders of MMI-Nigeria in politics, which hinders its proper representation of the Ibibio community and its citizens in Akwa Ibom State. This separation will allow Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio USA, Inc. to conduct its business, elect its leaders, and remain a voice for its community without seeking political clearance from Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio in Nigeria.
“Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio USA, Inc. has elected Akparawa Sylvanus Okon as its interim National President. All appointments and directives from Mboho’s headquarters in Nigeria are therefore void and non-binding on Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio USA, Inc.”
When this paper contacted some of the aggrieved members of MMI USA, Inc. through their telephone lines on the crisis, though, they however pleaded anonymity, because, according to them, they had already spoken as a body through the press release, but, they pointedly said that, “the crisis rocking Ibibio land in Akwa Ibom State today as it concerns Ifim Ibom Ibibio and Okuibom Ibibio stool is politically-engineered by the leaders of Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio Nigeria because of their selfish interest in the 2015 general elections in the state. The leadership of Mboho Nigeria has been infiltrated by Akwa Ibom State Government who uses them to perpetrate crisis in Ibibio land so that Ibibio people cannot unite and speak in one voice while other ethnic groups in the state are united and speak in one voice.
The aggrieved members contended that, “The leadership of Mboho Nigeria are politicians and some of them are holding political offices in Akwa Ibom State Government as compensations given to them for using Mboho to fight against their own brothers and sisters in the 2011 elections in favour of their pay-masters who are from other tribes in the state. They are not speaking for Ibibio people but for their political interests. None of them has ever supported the cause of Ibibio people. They are only eating fat from the state government in the name of speaking for Ibibio people while they are actually deceiving and betraying Ibibio people.
“They are only using Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio in Nigeria as a platform for their selfish and self-seeking political interests in the state. They were sponsored and installed in leadership positions of Mboho by those in government authority today, so, they rather work against Ibibio interest, than work against their masters and sponsors in government.”
Meanwhile, the International President of Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio, Akparawa Nse Ubeh has dismissed all the allegations leveled against as leadership as cheap blackmail. He also made the assertion when Weekend Insight contacted him on his telephone on Wednesday, January 25, 2012.
Akparawa Ubeh said, “there is no crisis in Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio both in Nigeria and in USA chapter or any chapter for that matter to the best of my knowledge. Messer Sylvanus Okon, Joseph Ibokette and their cohorts are not members of Mboho because they were expelled from the organization for insubordination and lack of respect to constituted authority.”
“Sylvanus Okon is not the chairman of Mboho in USA chapter; the chairman of the USA chapter is Prof. Ekwo. Mr. Sylvanus was angry that he was removed from office of the USA High Commissioner of Mboho Mkparawa. That office is my prerogative as the President of Mboho to appoint someone to fill it. Sylvanus Okon has served under several other president of Mboho as the High Commissioner before I came into office, and we said he should give another person the opportunity to also contribute to the development of Mboho in USA chapter and he became annoyed and wanted to split Mboho so during one of our congresses in our international headquarters in Uyo, Sylvanus Okon, Joseph Ibokette and their cohorts were expelled from Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio on adoption of the recommendations of the USA chapter of Mboho.
“The matter as I speak to you now is in a court in USA. They cannot split an organization they did not form. They joined Mboho just five years ago while Mboho has been in existence for over 20 years. Prof. Ekwo is the chairman of Mboho in USA so call him and also hear from him too.”
On the involvement of Mboho Mkparawa Ibibio in the crisis of succession rocking Okuibom stool in Ibibio land, Ubeh explained; “I am the President of Mboho, I am not Mboho. Mboho has its organs and structures that takes decision on any issue. The decision to support the Paramount Ruler of ONNA Local Government Area, Akwa Edidem (Dr.) Akpabio Udo Ukpa to ascend the Okuibom throne was unanimously taken three years ago when I was not even the President of Mboho.
“When the decision to install Akpabio Ukpa came up few years ago at the State Council of Chiefs, it was Mboho that opposed it on grounds that the Okuibom II, late Usonyin Okon Ekpo was yet to be buried. We told our monarchs then, to wait until the bury the Okuibom II. We also told them to count Mboho out if they still want to go ahead with Ukpa’s installation. That was why His Excellency, Governor Godswill Akpabio, asked us to be involved in the settlement of the conflict that had existed between the family of Okuibom II, Ifim Ibom and the state government.
“The paramount rulers cannot now say they want to follow Ifim Ibom Ibibio constitution after Ukpa had been selected and presented to Ibibio people. We took the decision to support Ukpa because, we want our Paramount Rulers to learn to also stick to their words no matter the situation. They are the ones playing politics with the Okuibom stool and not Mboho because we stand for the truth and we have no regret whatsoever supporting Akwa Edidem Akpabio Ukpa as the Okuibom Ibibio III. In fact, if we have another opportunity, we will still support Ukpa for the stool.”

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