Mr. Enobong Akpan Ikoiwak,
from Effoi in Eket Local Government Area speaks on why his political
organization, Akwa Ibom Democratic Project (AKDP), is leading the campaign
against zoning in 2015 governorship in Akwa Ibom State.
You are from Eket Local Government Area and yet you
have remained one of the strongest voices against zoning of the governorship
position in Akwa Ibom State. But ironically, Eket Senatorial District where you
belong is saying that it’s their turn to produce the next governor in 2015 after
the tenure of Chief Godswill Akpabio?
Yes, I’m from
Eket Local Government Area. But that shouldn’t becloud my senses to the extent
that I cannot recognize truth and realities. The truth is that zoning has never
been in place in Akwa Ibom. Let’s take the 2007 election that produced Governor
Godswill Akpabio, for instance. Except I’m wrong here, zoning by my own
understanding means giving the exclusive right to a particular area at a
particular period to produce a governor for our state. If such exclusive right
was given in 2007 to Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District where Governor Godswill
Akpabio is from, how come we had the likes of Nsima Ekere, Dr. Samuel Udonsak
and Larry Esin, all of them from Eket Senatorial District contest the 2007 governorship
primaries? In fact, it’s on record that Nsima Ekere who had the backing of the
then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Obong Ufot Ekaette, had a
good showing in the 2007 governorship primaries during that primaries. I am not
against Eket Senatorial District producing a governor in Akwa Ibom; I am
against mediocre and pretenders to the throne hiding under the cover of zoning
to sneak into such exulted political office. Even as we are talking right now
we are yet to see credible governorship aspirants from Eket Senatorial District
come out; all what we hear is “it is our turn! It is our turn! It is our turn!”
Are you saying that there are no solid Politicians
within Eket Senatorial District that could have popular support for 2015
Governorship Election?
But that’s the question
we should be asking the proponents of the so-called zoning? We talk too much
and so loud about zoning as if Eket Senatorial District does not have politicians
that can attract popular support across the entire Akwa Ibom State. I strongly
feel that it would have even been a better approach, one that requires less
energy and could eventually yield better results if the senatorial district had
spent this much time marketing possible aspirants from its area, instead of
talking about zoning every passing minutes. The race for 2015 is going to
expose a lot of political mistakes and inadequacies of Eket Senatorial
Districts, one of which is politics of envy, bitterness, blackmail and ‘pull
him down’ among politicians in the area. We cannot be ignorant to the fact that
politicians within the Senatorial District, especially in Eket Federal
Constituency, for the past years have been walking the path to self-destruct,
busy blackmailing and mounting political roadblocks against one another, all in
the name of self-survival. The few good ones who don’t play it dirty seem so
disconnected with the ordinary people, and are not also acceptable to most other
politicians in the area. So, the plain truth is that Eket Senatorial District
has a leadership crisis at hand that needs to be resolved as quickly as
possible. If the politicians in Eket Senatorial District were to be that
united, if they were firm believers in the principle of zoning and if they had
had their eyes on 2015 governorship race, they would have come out in one
strong voice to persuade one of their own who is from Ikot Abasi Local
Government Area, Chief Frank Okon from pursuing his governorship ambition as he
is currently doing in the law court! If Frank Okon had won Governor Akpabio
through judicial pronouncement, would we still be talking about zoning today?
Have you been under pressure by your people to drop
your opposition against zoning?
Initially, yes.
But the pressure has greatly reduced because our people are beginning to
understand both sides of the arguments. The people of Eket, especially the
youth are too intelligent to be perpetually deceived by those who have betrayed
their trust. Like I earlier said, 2015 politics is going to be some kind of
referendum on the leadership we have in Eket Senatorial District. If you ask
for my sincere opinion, I will tell you there is no clear-cut leadership in
Eket. There is no mentor-figure for the youths to look up to. There is nobody
to give direction; people are just thinking about themselves and their families
alone. There is so much greed, so much distrust, so much disconnection between
our elders and the youth. There is no nexus between our representatives and the
people. Everyone lives for himself. Now tell me, how can we produce a governor
under such situation. Leadership, as we all know, is a process. It is not
something you attain overnight. Therefore, if the people that we have experimented
upon have truncated the process, what then is to be expected of the Senatorial
District? Our people are like sheep without shepherd. Therefore, let our elders
go back to the drawing board and forget the issue of zoning. Let our people put
their house in order so that when another opportunity comes they will be better
prepared to take a shot at it. But as for 2015, the bitter truth is that we are
not ready yet.
Politics is game of numbers. Without zoning, how can a
smaller ethnic group like Oro produce the Governor of the State?
I always love to
use Larry Esin, from Oro, as one good example of a likeable politician because
of the way he branded himself, couple with his record of achievement while
working with the then governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke. Larry Esin,
before now has had that broad-base appeal that made him looked okay as a
potential for the governorship position of this state. And from my personal
analysis, he was in a good stead to help realize in the nearest future the
Oro’s dream of producing a governor in Akwa Ibom State, if not for his later-day
characterization as a zigzag politician because of his crossing over from one
political party to another. If he had focused his mind on his senate ambition
in 2007 and not caved in to the pressure from Oro Think Tank which caused him
to change his mind mid-way and went for the governorship position, Larry Esin
would have probably won the senate seat, and from the vantage position of the
senate he could then set his eyes on the governorship. My advice to Oro is that
they should groom politicians who will have state-wide appeal, get into the
mainstream, team up behind a popular aspirant, get involve in some political
horse-trading, and negotiate for a smooth road to governorship position in the
nearest future. They should be mindful of the fact that the concept of zoning
in Akwa Ibom governorship race is as unclear, intriguing and confused as those
campaigning for it. They should be mindful of the fact that people who keep
talking about us zoning the governorship to each of the three senatorial
districts in Akwa Ibom, wouldn’t want to mention that there are Ibibio elements
in all these three senatorial districts and that there is every possibility of
Ibibio in Ini or Ikono local government area picking the governorship when
zoned to Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District! A similar scenario could occur in
Eket Senatorial District where we have Ibibio in Onna, Mkpat Enin, and Ikot
Abasi local government areas.
What impact has Akwa Ibom State been able to create in
regional and national politics?
It is very obvious that within the
South-South of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom State stands out as a role model in terms of
leadership and infrastructural development. Governor Akpabio has proven to the
region and, in fact the entire country that genuine development is possible.
Today, many states are trying to emulate his effort in this regards. And
because of the type of leadership that we have in the state, Akwa Ibom has
become a key player and a strong voice in national politics.
Culled from Weekly Insight
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