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.)
