LIKE GOVERNOR LIKE AIDES: A'IBOM PEOPLE AREN'T 'ILLITERATES'

By Joseph Atainyang

It is not surprising that some aides of Governor Udom Emmanuel have found no hiding place for their shameless faces, after their paymaster fell so low with his divisive utterances against Oro. They have made bold steps to show loyalty and declare that they will perish with their master. Even if they may have had no public oath of office, they clearly have their allegiance to the governor who must detect their tunes as a piper.

One becomes petrified getting to see them follow the footsteps of their gang leader. But this proximity and uniformity in their thoughts and reasoning can never be a surprise. It is to be expected, because like others will keep saying, "anywhere belle face na front." Hence, they are determined to join the governor in twisting facts before the public.

Unfortunately, Akwa Ibom people have never been illiterates. We can read and write, and we can employ clear logic in our intellection to beat their faulty predictions. The ultimate result is that the Governor's wishes to confuse, mislead and defeat the people whom he once called "stack illiterates", becomes completely paralyzed.

In their attempt to save the face of their paymaster, they juggled the logic and place it upside down. They tend to conjure the emotions of reasonable minds towards believing that Oro is not a peaceful society. Like it is elsewhere, there are many people from other ethnic groups within and outside Akwa Ibom State who are resident in Òrò. They are testifying that Òrò is a very conducive place to be. Infact, all the pressure of marginalization targeted at Òrò is also being suffered by them. They are obviously facing such pain as "indirect objects" do in grammatical analysis. The pain is directed at Oro people, but these innocent residents of Oro are facing it too. So, those who feel their focus is to punish Oro with underdevelopment and political emasculation, must understand that their kith and kin are also suffering.

Òrò is ever peaceful. Those who are getting misty that development cannot thrive in Oro because it is not peaceful, must trace the origin of chaos. They must be sincere in reporting whether their endless jealousy is not why Oro is protesting. That the state isn't smoky after persistent years of marginalization, outright provocation and undue oppression, cannot be attributed to something else. It is because of the inherent peaceful nature of the Òrò people that they (oppressors) are finding it pleasant to walk over their (Òro's) portion.

The Governor's aides heard their paymaster clearly when he opened wide his mouth to abuse the third largest ethnic nationality in the state. Governor Udom is just one person who prickles the reserved emotions of hundreds of thousands of Oro people by his utterances. But his aides came to save his face by trying to edit the governor's very own choice of words. Of course, if he wanted referring to "some Oro people", he would have safely done so. But he was careful as a 'literate' person to say that "Oro people are the cause of his failures." The implication is simple. The Governor is asking the rest of the state, to forgive his poor performance in all areas of his administration, simply because Oro people petitioned the investors. He is subtly asking the rest of the state to take up arms against Òrò for not allowing him to "construct the seaport and reduce the threatening unemployment rate of 51 percent in the state." But is he calculative in his reasoning? The answer is no.

As I will consistently say in this piece, Akwa Ibom people are not illiterates. We have never been illiterates. We know the governor was insincere because he knows that the seaport will give jobs to hundreds of thousands of Akwa Ibom citizens, regardless the fact that it is cited in Òrò. To be clear, the same number of jobs the seaport will generate if sited in Òrò, is the same that will be obtainable where it is taken to. So, those trying to accuse the Oro people of not allowing the governor to build the port for job creation must get it right.

Like the Governor, his aides keep minding their business by carefully copying their paymaster to say that the relocation of the seaport was for "technical reasons." Unfortunately, they, like the governor, have remained unable to explain to Akwa Ibom citizens what these technical reasons are. They are afraid to tell the people that scientific considerations placed Okposo Bay near Ibaka at number one (1). The same consideration placed Unyenge at number four (4). But in their usual ethnocentric psychic furore, they decided to change the location to suit their exclusive commandeering inclination.

Meanwhile, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) earlier done for location one, with which they obtained approval, is still being deployed for their manipulative location choice. They haven't explained to Akwa Ibom people that their choice location is only obtainable with a Dug Out Port, where a mass area of land will be carved out for artificial Harbour. Still within this frame, is the apparent likelihood for constant dredging. Question is, why go through the stress when a natural Harbour lies some metres away? These will never be part of their chorus in defense of their paymaster.

Again, defenders of Ette are bereft of ideas, resulting in their poor use of biblical analogies. The matter between two harlots and King Solomon being employed is laughable. They refer to Oro as the careless woman who after discovering the death of her child came to steal from another, asking Solomon to kill the remaining child for peace to reign. They rely on the matter to say that Oro is asking the seaport to be taken to another state, if it is not in Ibaka. This is the poorest logic any human person could think of, no matter how illogical and unreasonably derailing they may be. Oro has never asked the seaport to be taken out of the state, if it can't be built in Oro. That's a lie from the pit of hell, deliberately concocted by agents of darkness to negotiate a different topic.

They demonize Oro for writing a petition that scares away investors. To interrogate their skewed verdict against Oro, let's understand what it means to write a petition. The lexical item, 'petition' simply denotes "a formal written request made to an authority or organized body; a written request or call for change signed by many people in support of a shared cause or concern." The word 'petition' means the same thing as "appeal, cry, desire, entreaty, plea, prayer, solicitation, and supplication." Question is, if Oro people pray, plead and entreat the governor to look into their concern, isn't it proper for him to respond to them?

Similarly, if the governor refused to listen to Òrò, can't they make same presentation to other authorities to visit their predicaments? This is exactly what Òrò did as a people. Since Governor Udom Emmanuel believes that Oro does not deserve his attention, they went to the investors whom they knew would not joke with the issues. Is that why the Governor should pitch Oro against the rest of the state, asking that Oro be held responsible for his failures? Truth is, if Udom cannot behave like a leader who must neither be selective nor vindictive in his duty, then he will continue to fail because every leader exists to dispense justice. I have stated it elsewhere and I should reiterate it; only people who can't think clearly will pardon the governor for his leadership failures and then proceed to laying blames on Oro.

History has recorded the many atrocities of various leaders of this state against Oro. From the days of the Mobil terminal forcefully taken from Ibaka to Ibeno, to the days of the first refinery taken to Port Harcourt during the Shehu Shagari era, Òrò will continue to reflect on what nature had against her by bringing her to this part of the globe. Today, the Calabar Port has failed because it was designed for Ibaka but forcefully taken to Calabar as a Dog Out Port. Sadly our leaders are still beclouded by hatred against Òrò. They can't resist the temptation of sidelining Òrò because of the thinking that Oro has no population to effect a reasonable political decision. They have seen that Oro is a blessed land who can't be cursed by the darkness of the heart of man. This hardness of heart may be for a purpose. We must be conscious at watching whether those persecuting Òrò are not close to getting their reward from He who sits over the affairs of men.

As for the corporate lies being told by both the Governor and his aides against Oro, they would remain frustrated because Akwa Ibom citizens are not daft. Even though they may join their paymaster to think that Akwa Ibom citizens and residents are 'illiterates' as the Governor one said in 2016, they would be disappointed because it is not so. Akwa Ibom citizens and residents are very knowledgeable and have the capacity for clear thinking. The citizens can't believe their incendiary comments about a race, after they (Òrò people) have been provoked to take their destinies in their hands. And like Chris Abasi Eyo would say, "Oro is being insulted. Oro is not a person; it is a place. All haters of Oro will go away; but Oro will remain until Jesus comes."

Joseph Atainyang is a journalist and public affairs commentator.

The writer is not even ashamed that his kinsmen sabotaged a refinery project that was supposed to be cited in the state but was taken to Portharcourt

This is another project that will benefit the state, but you guys choose to scare investors away by sending useless petition to them because of the name "Ibom Deep Seaport" as against Ibaka seaport

Continue working against the state, it will backfire one day

Useless people