THE PEOPLE OF IKOT OFFIONG: LETS HEAL THE WORLD. LETS SHARE THIS UNTIL IT GOES VIRAL. Growing up as a child in Calabar I remember my good friend then Myrtle Eyo Offiong she is from Ikot Offiong only goodness knows where she is now. Well the story is the people of this clan are Efiks and were having boundary dispute with the people of Akwa Ibom the Oku Iboku people. As a result of the conflict and the way they were being killed a governor that truly cared relocated them to Calabar about fifteen years ago governor Donlad Duke. From then on they have been relocated and displaced severally to different places but they insist on going back home because that is where their hearts are they are a small community of fishermen and that is all they know how to do, that is their means of livelihood. Donald Duke gave each family then N10k to go back but they could not because the boundary dispute had not been resolved. Now the situation is so bad that hunger and deprivation is killing as many as four of them a week and the corpses are kept in some ramshackle huts until they are able to take them to their homes of origin for burial. This whole situation is like a pogrom i swear you may not agree but that is how i see it. In life they are not given a chance in dead they are still suffering indignation this is absolutely inexplicable. It makes one wonder really. I am just imagining this situation and inside me I am dead literally. The land that Liyel Imoke relocated them to now has been sold to developers the new vendors would soon take over and now the question is where do they go? Something imminent must be done as something ominous is lurking somewhere and if care is not taken the community would be depleted into oblivion. How daunting can that be? The government and their snail pace action are saying they are trying to resolve the dispute but when would that be? In fourteen years nothing had been done. Can you just imagine? A white man says his home is his castle they may not have had much but they were happy with the little they had, they were happy living in their ramshackle huts as long as they live with their own and that too is their castle. Okonkwo Cyril one of my most respected young fb friends wrote a very moving and poignant article a couple of days ago that article probably is the best I have read this year…..….it brought tears to my eyes from where I could not say nor recognize......... he said we are all connected at a deeper level all of us. In Kabalah we are taught that everyone you meet in life from the mad man on the street, the cobbler, the arm robber, murderers, book haram, the news caster on your television set, your vendor, your banker, your doctor, the market women and men we are all related and connected at a level you would not dare to imagine. That is why we are and should be each other’s keeper. This is why when you hurt someone you also hurt yourself I wish I had known this when I was born maybe I would have avoided a lot of hurt in my life too. These people want to go back to Ikot Offiong can someone please talk to the community chiefs, to the elders, the two governors to please appeal to the communities to allow them be and allow them live they have been in that community for over 100 years and rightfully that is where their DNA’s are that is where their ancestors were and that is where they are from. But can’t we just live together as one big community of humans? Can’t love that all the religions of the world preach about be the binding factor and unifying elements in our hearts? First and foremost we are humans living on earth and we have the inalienable right to live as such and be at peace and harmony. Can’t humans just accept and embrace that simple fact? What can I do? I wish I know. What should we do anyone please suggest something.. Their plight just kills me. They too deserve the right to live well and be treated with respect and kindness because there is no difference between them and me and you and you. Our government does not care or give a damn, should we not care nor give a damn too? But if you do please what can we do? We must create a little space in our hearts for the living Michael Jackson said and I concur. Is there a space in your heart please think what can we do? We are now a very small community of humans living on facebook. Move out of your comfort zones dare to do something different today, dare to save a soul for the love of humans. Don’t tell me you are praying for them for prayer would not cut this…folks need help and action now. Tomorrow may be too late. #THINKING#
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 00:21:41 +0000