Suspension of Ifa Ikot Akpan Village head, Market demolition: Injustice taken too far by Frank Archibong, Charles Udo
By Emmanuel Ufon
In an attempt to score cheap political points and impress their Boss ( which at some point may not even be aware or he indirectly sent them) the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Frank Archibong together with his co-traveler in the Ministry of Environment and Solid Minerals, Mr. Charles Udo, have upturned the practice of democracy to authoritarian military dictatorship style of governance.
The politically ill-motivated and unjustifiable suspension of Ifa Ikot Akpan, Etoi Village head, Eteidung Edem Aniedi Ebong for three months with effect from 1st December, 2022 after demolishing the only community market is simply a de-feathered chicken tactic to fight perceived opposition which has so far turned our nascent democracy into an authoritarian system of government.
A village head of a community such as Ifa Ikot Akpan is not an houseboy or a staff of the ministry that the commissioner will just wake up from the wrong side of his bed to suspend from office without due process,
else President Buhari would have suspended Gov Udom Emmanuel from office for the ENDSAS protest if the village head who went out of his place on Sunday morning unknown to him that the only community market will be demolished without notice, was suspended because his community protested.
I humbly called on the Maintain Peace Movement set up by the state to look into this injustice and abuse of human dignity, further dialogue should take place between the government, community, the village head and the market people of Ifa Ikot Akpan, alternative and safe market should be provided for the people.
Those who lost their wares, stalls and shops following the demolition of Ifa Ikot Akpan market should be compensated.
In the spirit of fairness to humanity , Panel of Enquiry should be set up to affirm if proper procedures were followed and adhered to especially by all government officials indicated as involved in the demolition of Ifa Ikot Akpan Market, including the policemen that were used to molest the villagers during the market demolition and all parties if found wanting should be disciplined accordingly.
Personally I feel aggrieved about the young man, Mr. Victor Edet that was beaten up the Community on the instructions of Charles Udo, he should seek redress in the Court of Law.
As citizens we should not be scared to hold government and its officials accountable to their actions and inactions they are not God but mere humans like us who are just opportune to lead.
Gov Udom Emmanuel’s administration came up with a self reawaking ‘Dakkada’ mantra with hope of industrialisation and to help the people but sadly today slips and slide down a slippery slope that slithered the state into the current state of disarticulated consumer—state status only known for politics as means of livelihood of the people who are dreadfully devalued , ever-elongating unemployment line, making a mockery of ‘Dakkada’—a scornful sobriquet which Akwa Ibomites are gradually becoming feeble because of hunger, poverty and stagnation as a result of use and dump politicians.
Looking at a graphic demonstration of the fickleness of the human mind, Joseph Stalin (1878-1953, former leader of the defunct USSR), plucked off the feathers of a chicken and dropped bits of wheat towards it as he walked around his compound. The profusely hemorrhaging chicken followed Stalin everywhere, pecking on the wheat. Likening this coldhearted scenario to political engagement, Stalin said thus: “this is how easy it is to govern stupid people; they will follow you no matter how much pain you cause them as long as you throw them a little worthless treat once in a while”. This illustration speaks volubly to political leadership in Akwa Ibom State.
I write to change narrative, correct anomalies in the society not to incite the people against government, yours truly is not a card carrying member of any political party. Here the government of Udom Emmanuel have failed the people, Udom came up with a reawakening mantra ‘Dakkada’ instead of demolishing the only market in the community he would have relocated the market from where it was to a location of his choice for the people of Ifa Ikot Akpan as a government that is not insensitive to the plight of his people in these hard times – deploying a de-feathered chicken tactics to command follower -ship.
May our people not succumb to this chicken antics – chickens are easily frightened hence, in American parlance, lily-livered persons are referred to as “chickens”, and the act of withdrawing from a competition or likely brawl is referred to as “chickening out”. A de-feathered chicken loses its bird essence; when bleeding, running becomes traumatic; with open pores, its susceptibility to decease is very high thus accentuating its vulnerability. A de-feathered chicken is therefore in a precarious state of being. For all intents and purposes.
Akwa Ibomites were “fully feathered flying fowls” under the government that brought true industrialisation like the ongoing Champion breweries in Uyo, Biscuit Industry in Ikot Ekpene Sunshine Batteries industry, Abestonite industry in Oron, Qua Still and many market for our community people.
Our demand for befitting market and industries across the three senatorial district, especially in Ifa Ikot Akpan ( not only in Onna communities) shall be sacrosanct.
Recently, a sitting governor who did not want his name on prints was quoted as saying that “Nigerians don’t have the capacity to unite because they are burdened by poverty. We have taken away from them their dignity, their self-esteem, their pride and self-worth so that they cannot even organize…We [the elite] unite; (the citizens are) already in hell”. This is a candid admission of elite class culpability regarding the deplorable economic state of affairs in Nigeria. In other words, this statement declares that it is the elite that have brought so much hardship in Nigerians.
The truth remains that acrimonies amongst the elite are orchestrated to mislead the public. In reality, they are united in looting the nation’s wealth. They have weaponized poverty and kept the citizens weak, confused and, therefore, malleable.
Akwa Ibomites and the people of Ifa Ikot Akpan in particular are profusely bleeding and perceptibly pained chickens; borrowing the words of Stalin, some have arguably become stupid people who have consistently followed their political leaders irrespective of how much pain is inflicted on them.
Anarchy is gradually creping into the governance of our state, at a slightest suspicion of playing opposition one risk the chance of his or her building being demolished by government, suspended while in office or his entire community market stands demolished as illegal market.
A micro-minority of Akwa Ibomites lives in obscene opulence while the overwhelming majority languishes in penury.
Akwa Ibomites should not allow themselves to be deceived into believing that the government they voted into power is more powerful than the electorates hence they can be deceived with penny on election days.
Given the above, Akwa Ibomites sadly continue to follow their Stalin-hearted leaders as they shamelessly shilly-shally across political party lines completely devoid of any philosophy or ideology other than the “I, me, mine” ethos that characterize political participation in the state. Late Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961), once lamented that the problem with Africans is that they complain about bad leadership but when the opportunity comes for election, they still elect the same group of people.
Also, Madibo Keita (1915-1977) averred that “when the citizens of a nation deem their most accomplished thieves as the most electable…theft becomes their national creed”. The full weight of these statements is still with us and the suspension of the village head of Ifa Ikot Akpan is a case in point.
