Opinion Akwa Ibom State Politics: We Want Zoning but How? There is nothing wrong for a community or a group of people to demand equity and equal representations for themselves; I am all for it! And no matter how skewed it may sound in the brains of those who have nothing to gain from it, I don’t see any reason why a single individual should be chastised for demanding equity in government and self-determination for his or her own people. The only problem I have is how the demands of the issue agitated for could be practically accomplished. It is one thing to say I want this or that for my people. It is another thing to come up with the channel with which the demands could be delivered. What I have in mind here is the demand by our brethren of Eket Senatorial District, who are passionately shouting for their rights to produce the next governor of Akwa Ibom State. Some of the agitators have stated that Akwa Ibom State will fall apart, unless the next governor comes from their district. Others, notably our brother Ime Akpan, have crafted a slogan of “Justice 2015,” which many have construed as a blackmailing-propaganda. Many are asking: who is denying justice to whom? Is it really about “justice” or is it about fronting a credible candidate of choice for contention? Like nearly everyone else, I have never read, heard from, or ever been told by anyone, that the people of Eket Senatorial District have been banned from contesting for the governorship race of 2015. I am not aware of any section of the Nigerian Constitution which states that indigenes of Eket Senatorial District can’t contest for governorship in Akwa Ibom State. And I don’t think there is any section of the PDP (the ruling party) charter which forbids contestants from Eket District from contesting election for positions at any level. So what are all the agitations of “it’s our turn” all about? The “it’s our turn” concept is nothing but propaganda designed to make noise. And the more I read about it on the social media, the more stupid it sounds, especially when one considers that those who are making these noises are supposed to be men and women of higher aptitudes and intellectual balance. Let me explain why I say this. The people of Eket Senatorial Districts cannot fold their arms and wait for the federal government, INEC, PDP, and even the State Government to issue an edict intended to summarily ban, warn, or forbids other senatorial districts (Uyo and Ikot Ekpene) from contesting for any elected position in the state. If that is what the people in Eket district are looking for, then they will wait till thy kingdom come, because it will never happen. Democracy, even as practiced in Nigeria, is not supposed to be a government of partition, crafted by partitioners, for the interest of partitioners; the good intentions of the majority must be considered too. If the political activists, elders, and political leaders in Eket district really have good intentions towards the welfare of the masses, whom they claim to represent, then they must stay off the Internet momentarily, search their various communities for a credible candidate, who can represent them and then come back to the Internet and other social and mainstream media to sell and promote such a candidate to the people. On the basis of behind-the-scene scheming and maneuverings, analysts who are very well informed on political issues of Akwa Ibom State, have concluded that several contestants from all the three local government areas will enter the race for governorship. And indicators are pointing to the possibility that by the time the campaign for 2015 begins in full swing (say in the middle of 2014), Akwa Ibom State will have at least two, or maybe three, major political parties for the people to make their choices. Therefore, if the people of Eket district continue to waste their precious time singing the meaningless mantra of “it’s our turn,” by 2014, they may be in for a rude awakening during which they will discover that time has passed by them and that they have been wasting their energies practicing and preparing their sermon for delivery to the wrong congregation. Yes, the people of Eket Senatorial District have every right to demand for equity in the political dispensation. But what is not right is the idea that such equity should be regarded as their inalienable rights; it is not! If the voters in Eket district seriously want the next governor to come from their area, they need to deliberate seriously on how to produce one. The expectation that, just because no governor has ever come from their district since 1999, therefore all the other districts must go into hiding or remain in hiatus for Eket to produce their own is nothing but a myth, day-dreaming, and utopian. 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 politician can reach.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 19:47:23 +0000