Thursday 16 March 2017

UDOM, THE LIE FACTORIES AND THE MUCKRAKERS By Anietie John Ukpe



Something was wrong with the asset-sharing between Cross River and Akwa Ibom State, when the latter was carved out of the former. Senate Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio, while a governor, had urged for the issue to be revisited. He argued that Cross River State took most of the physical assets; Akwa Ibom State got most of the professional petition writers and cynics. Justification? The cynics have crystalized into a thriving “lie industry” booming with several “lie factories” (local media institutions).

The situation is so alarming that a friend on a recent visit described the media situation in Akwa Ibom State as “confusion in action.” Akwa Ibom boasts of more local newspapers than any other state in Nigeria - if not in Africa and the Middle East. As at the last count, there were over a hundred, most of them with fake addresses. These have constituted themselves into a mendacious "Mars Hill" where they deliberate daily on what new lies and fabrications to peddle. Of course, there are a handful of exceptions to this rule. Mars Hill was the place in ancient Athens where people gathered to discuss new ideas, philosophies or thoughts.

But the cautionary aspect of the saga is that the newspapers (or, if you prefer, lie factories) are the effect not the cause. The root cause of the gutter press proliferation is that the petition writers and cynics have morphed into politicians and thrive in blackmail using these newspapers as “character assassination squads.” They hire anyone and everyone, who has no respect for truth and whose conscience is up for hire, as journalists. They have government officials (particularly those in the executive arm) in their cross hairs.

But things are falling apart in “Mars Hill.” Things are playing out like in the old bestselling song by Jimmy Cliff, “The harder they come (against Udom Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom governor), the harder they fall, one and all…” The people can no more bear the lie vendors and some of these newspapers are beginning to wind down. They are running out of conspiracy theories. Attempts by some Abuja-based political appointees to add some fuel to the dying propaganda fire, has elicited scorn because the Abuja appointees fail the Aristotelian taste of good communication. Aristotle posits that every good and effective communication should have ethos (ethics, credibility), logos (logic, reason) and pathos (emotion, feeling). These they all lack because they are opportunists and journeymen!!!

The cynics had cried that Udom Emmanuel was not a politician, that he would not understand the political terrain and, therefore, would not do well as a governor. They spurn the line like a fable and sought to give it folklore status. One is not sure whether one was stunned by the illogicality of the assertion or astonished by its sheer stupidity. These spin masters had hoped to cast a spell on a core group of unemployed persons who see themselves as career politicians and hallowed members of “Club Politics” by giving the impression that a non-initiate had crashed the party. Emmanuel was an accomplished banker before the good people of the state sought him out to come and serve them. But the cynics made light of this and failed to understand that politics is too serious a matter to be left in the hands of persons who style themselves as "career politicians." 

"Until we have a Chartered Institute of Politicians as a body regulating politics, everyone who claims to be a career politician is jobless," says John Akpaide, a media consultant. To cut the story short, the Akwa Ibom people opted to go with Udom Emmanuel and voted him into office in a landslide electoral victory.

The state is having an “Aha” moment now, contrary to the spin masters' narratives. As governor, Udom Emmanuel, who exudes disarming humor, a charming personality and an infectious confidence, has managed to keep the state above the murky waters of recession. How he does it, must be one of the best kept secrets in Nigeria. However, what is public knowledge is that his strong skill-set and experience in the banking industry, and innate intelligence and resourcefulness have combined to make him a class act in resource management. The state is paying salaries and meeting all the demands and responsibilities of governance. In addition, Emmanuel has embarked on several road and industrial projects - but we would come to that. “If it were not that the free fall of the Naira has led to the prices of goods rising, the recession would have been like a passing ambulance to Akwa Ibom State, kudos to Udom Emmanuel,” says Joseph Thompson, a secondary school teacher.

Acting President Yemi Osibanjo recently joined the chorus of those paying tribute to Emmanuel’s genius. He described him as not only being a performing governor but “fired up” in his pursuit of development and the wellbeing of Akwa Ibom people. Osibanjo spoke in the town hall meeting he had in  Uyo last week. It takes a performer to tap a performer.

In these austere times, Emmanuel has constructed over 250 km of roads, built seventeen bridges and commenced work on a second runway at the Ibom International Airport. All these in addition to sundry other projects like the free education programme up to senior secondary school, payment of West African Examination Council fees for all students in the state, pursued his passion for industrialization  in the resuscitation of Peacock Paint Industry, facilitation of the establishment of Pencil and Toothpick factories, the Coconut Refining  plant,  the syringe factory and many other sundry projects. Through these projects, his administration has scored high and left bold imprints for legacy.

Have all these deterred the cynics on Mars Hill? One is not sure. When the good people of Akwa Ibom understand the game, they change the rules. They are in the darkroom. The darkroom is the room in the pre-digital era where photographic film rolls were processed into negative films in total darkness.  Yes, they are in the dark in various lie factories producing negatives. They cannot afford to turn on the light, and produce positive prints which would hold up Emmanuel’s good works. They are like the man with the muckrake in John Bunyan's classic The Pilgrim’s Progress. They cannot look up from muckraking to see how good the Lord has been to Akwa Ibom in giving the state the right man at the right season. But in muckraking they fail to understand that you cannot confuse a man who knows his way. Udom Emmanuel sure knows his way!

(Pastor Anietie John Ukpe is a public affairs analyst based in Uyo.)

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