Four brothers, six cousins in Akwa Ibom State governorship race
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Akwa Ibom State is a classical example in political tolerance. As at now, brothers and cousins are battling for the governorship. Our Akwa Ibom State correspondent, JOHN OGBEDU focuses on the family battle for Hill Top Mansion.
There is one spectacular feature about politics in Akwa Ibom State. That is the culture of political tolerance which permeates the state’s body polity such that even twins within one family can vie for the same political office without qualms!
This drama was first staged in the days of the defunct ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic in the then old Cross River State, which is now composed of Akwa Ibom State and Cross River State. The place: the Oron nation and where two Amana brothers Chief Edet Amana and his younger brother, Chief Mfon. No amount of persuasion could sway either of the Amana brothers from Oron, a minority ethnic group in Akwa Ibom State, to step down for the other. At the end of the day, the Elder Amana, who had tasted more Christmas festivals than the other one emerged victorious in the election, with the younger one falling in line.
24 years after this brother-stand-against-brother political contest, the same scenario, even with greater gusto, is playing itself out again in Akwa Ibom State. This time, it is not only that two brothers are slugging it out to replace Governor Victor Attah at the Hilltop Mansion three cousins from one family as well as two other cousins from another family are also in the governorship race in the state. Specifically speaking, the two brothers angling to rule Akwa Ibom State from May 29, 2007, all things being equally Senator Ittah Ekarika, current Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Internal Affairs and his younger brother, Udoma Bob Ekarika, the a medical doctor and present Commissioner for Works and Transport in the state.
The senior Ekarika has opened a one-storey campaign office at the Abubakar Atiku Way in Uyo, the state capital while his younger brother, Bob’s state-of-the-art governorship campaign headquarters is still being “dressed†for official opening any moment from now. Senator Ittah Ekarika is somehow reserved. But, his younger brother, Bob, is outspoken and sometimes regarded as stubborn, brash and arrogant. On this perception, Dr. Bob Ekarika, in an interview with an Uyo-based tabloid in July this year, said, “People have been saying that (Bob) Ekarika is very arrogant, very rigid, not friendly and the rest of the things, but, it borders on principlesâ€. He explained that since Akwa Ibom State had suffered undue deprivation, he needed to apply “stringent measures†(as Commissioner for Works and Transport) “to overcome some of these hurdlesâ€.
Added to the credentials of Bob, a serving public officer is the indisputable fact that he is the son-in-law of the incumbent governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, whose only daughter, Felicia, is married to him (Bob). At a point, the grapevine was filled with rumours that Governor Attah was hell-bent on ensuring that his daughter becomes the next First Lady of Akwa Ibom State, come 2007, once Bob takes over from him. The governor has, however, maintained a studied silence over this rumour. But for the fast, smooth-talking and confident Bob, marrying the serving governor’s daughter is no crime and no big deal in his quest for a place at the Hilltop Mansion in Uyo. Hear him: “I think it (governorship race) goes beyond looking at somebody as being lucky to marry somebody’s daughter. This is an issue that borders on governance. I want to tell you that marrying the governor’s daughter doesn’t change my name. I am Dr. Udoma Bob Ekarika. I am not Attah in any way!
“So, for people to have their own opinion, they are free because this is democracy and somebody can express his own opinion genuinely. There were many people, who did not believe in me two years ago. But, today, they are saying that Attah has proved beyond reasonable doubt that if the mantle of leadership is given to me, I will move the state forward and that I will carry everybody along.†On insinuations that he is depending heavily on his marital affinity with Governor Attah to secure his victory at the polls, the never-say-die Bob retorted, “If you read your Bible very well, God doesn’t make a mistake. The Bible says, ‘he who finds a wife, finds good things in life and will receive special favour from God’. So, if in addition to my qualities, I have found a good wife and it would make my job (governorship aspiration) easier, so be it.â€
At the other end of the Ekarika political theatre Senator Ekarika, Bob’s elder brother, is playing out his own gubernatorial theatrics, insisting that with age and “enough experience†on his side, the road to the Hilltop Mansion would be a smooth one for him. “Some people use to ask me, ‘who should be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State?’ Some people say the oldest man. Some say the youngest man. I think both of them are wrong. The question should be, ‘who can do the job?’ So, any person considered fit, irrespective of age, should be given the chance. We need a person who can do the job well. You can be old and competent. You can as well be young and incompetent and in that way, you are not fit to ruleâ€, he asserted.
Senator Ekarika, who picked his words carefully, warned against selecting the state governor through experimentation or gambling, pointing out that, “in the case of Akwa Ibom State, so many wrong people are gambling with our future.†He accused some governorship aspirants in the state of nursing “their own private agenda; they want to make quick money. They don’t consider whether they are good or not. “Well, I don’t blame them for wanting to improve their personal statusâ€, the senior Ekarika argued and added “but, I think that is selfishness when it reaches the level of selecting the chief executive of a stateâ€.
Nigerian Tribune has observed that the Ekarika brothers, who are gunning for Attah’s job, have cautiously avoided, as much as possible, trading words with each other on the seeming irreconcilable political differences and their unwillingness to step down for each other. Whereas the elder Ekarika hinges his “bright chances at the polls†on his experience, the younger Ekarika is more outspoken and assertive, hinging his possible victory on the high quality of his service delivery, first as Health Commissioner and now, Works and Transport Commissioner in the state. In addition, he has the status of “son-in-law to Governor Attah†to his credit. The question is, does being the governor’s in-law really matter in Nigerian politics?
As the Ekarikas battle to outwit each other within their family circle, which Nigerian Tribune learnt, has tried in vain to “settle†the brothers, another equally fierce battle is raging in the Etiebet family in the Annang-speaking area of state, where the Ekarikas also hail from. The embattled former national chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Atuekong Don Etiebet had reportedly given the green light to his cousin, Obong Aniekan Donald Etiebet to run for the governorship of Akwa Ibom State under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). For the record, Aniekan is the son of Don’s elder brother, Chief Donald Etiebet, former NPN governor of the old Cross River State in the botched Second Republic (October-December 1983).
With the strong support of his father (Donald) and uncle, Don Etiebet, Aniekan had begun his governorship race enthusiastically, only to be called upon a few weeks later by Don to bury his gubernatorial ambition and queue behind him (Don). Blue murder, Aniekan thought, as he is said to have politely declined, as at press time, to step down for his uncle. Prior to Don’s formal notification of the state branch of the PDP on July 17, to contest the governorship primaries in the party, certain groups had kicked against the decision by Don to go into the race. One of such groups, the Akwa Ibom Development Project, in a release, dated July 5, made available online to the Nigerian Tribune in Uyo, said, “At best, Etiebet should continue to remain an elder statesman and kingmaker rather than seek to become the king himselfâ€.
Signed by its president, Abasikeme Sampson and Public Relations Officer, Mfonobong Afia, the release further advised Don against vying for the governorship race in the state. Doing so, according to the body, “might end up demeaning himâ€. It adds that “Etiebet should know that those who are beating such drums for him are trying to disgrace him. He should, therefore, not yieldâ€. However, Don has yielded to what he told newsmen early in August in an interactive session at his residence in Uyo to the “cries from my people that I should come home and contest the 2007 governorship election in the stateâ€. Ever since Don formally joined the race, the former Petroleum Minister has been banged left, right and centre by persons and groups feeling he has “brought himself down†by his action.
But, Don does not feel the same way. He told journalists in Uyo that if his people had cried out to him to return home and represent them as a councilor in his local government area, Oruk Anam, he would have gladly done so. On the other hand, his cousin, Aniekan, is intensifying his governorship campaign. His campaign office at Ikot Ekpene Road, near Ibom Plaza, in Uyo is a beautiful sight to behold. It is bedecked by his larger-than-life portrait, an indication that he is ready to do political battle with his uncle, Don. When Nigerian Tribune visited the office, which is undergoing renovation, last Friday, Aniekan was said to be out of the office. But, preparations were being made by his campaign team to hold a meeting same day.
In fact, in this struggle in the Etiebet family, another group, the Akwa Ibom Youths Front, in an open letter written to Don, claimed that Don’s elder brother and former governor, Chief Donald Etiebet, had advised Don against joining the 2007 governorship race in the state. “Your elder brother (Chief Donald Etiebet) must have seen farther than you when he warned you during your discussion with him on this (governorship) matter that you should not attempt to present yourself for election as governor, that you would be disgraced. You have decided to ignore him,†the group said and then assured Don that it will disgrace him, using legitimate means to stop him in his track.
When confronted by journalists at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar in Cross River State penultimate Friday while waiting for the arrival of President Olusegun Obasanjo, on his cousin’s refusal to step down for him, Don simply said, “that was before I joined the race†as he quickly walked away, further questions from newshounds, who reminded him that his cousin’s posters and banners welcoming OBJ to Akwa Ibom State were all over Uyo Metropolis. Even Senator Ekarika, has an advice for new entrants into the PDP. He said they should queue behind the old, surviving members of the party for at least two years before they venture to contest any election on the PDP ticket. “If somebody was in another party yesterday and today, he joins PDP and tomorrow, he declares that he wants to be governor of Akwa Ibom State, and he wants it on PDP platform, that is unreasonable. That is not possible.†he said.
In Akwa Ibom State now, Obong Aniekan Donald Etiebet is not the only relation of Don Etiebet that is in the governorship race. Another aspirant, Elder Samuel Akpan, a business magnet and owner of Akro Transport Service, a conglomerate with fleets of ‘luxury’ buses, is also Don Etiebet’s cousin. Elder Akpan, whose campaign office is strategically located at the ever busy Itam Unity Roundabout in Itu, just one kilometer to Uyo town, is the child of Don Etiebet’s sister! So, either way, Don is hedged by his “stubborn†cousins, Elder Samuel Akpan and Obong Aniekan Donald Etiebet.
The battle of cousins scrambling to replace Governor Victor Attah in the Government House, also goes beyond the Etiebet’s domain to the parlour of the Akpabios in Essien Udim Local Government Area of the state. There, Obong (Barrister) Godswill Akpabio, present Commissioner for Lands and Survey and his cousin, Mr. Isong Akpabio, a journalist and former Public Affairs Manager of oil giant, Mobil Producing Nigeria, are also in the 2007 gubernatorial race. The only difference among the Akpabios is that Isong has openly kick-started his campaign while Godswill, still a serving commissioner, is yet to openly join the star-studded governorship contest. But, his foot soldiers are already in the battlefield, preparing the grounds for the attack. Godswill’s amiable disposition and closeness to Governor Attah placed him in the front-burner.
While brothers and cousins are busy attempting to make the Akwa Ibom PDP governorship race a “family affairâ€, the hard-fighting philanthropist and director of Newswatch magazine, Dr. Ime Umanah, has warmed himself into the hearts of Akwa Ibomites with his entry into the PDP family. He flew the ANPP flag in the state in 2003 against the incumbent governor, Obong Attah and is in the race now to continue from where he stopped three years ago. In any case, as the struggle for political offices intensifies in Akwa Ibom State, Nigerian Tribune recalled that the national secretariat of PDP had vowed that it will not interfere in the nomination of PDP candidates at any level of the party. Senator Ahmadu Ali, PDP national chairman, said in July this year in Uyo that only the names of elected nominees at the primaries received from wards, chapters and state branches of the party would be forwarded directly to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by Abuja without doctoring.
One of the governorship aspirants, Dr. Bob Ekarika agrees with Senator Ali on this issue of not tampering with the lists of elected candidates for the party for the 2007 general elections. “Let me tell youâ€, he said, “that time has passed when PDP will sit in Abuja and appoint somebody, who will rule the state. Never! The election will be done here and the voting will be done here. So, the people will vote for somebody they trustâ€.
Meanwhile, the reported endorsement of power shift in 2007 from the majority Ibibio ethnic group to the Annangs by Governor Attah and the powerful state Council of Chiefs, has made the governorship battle a predominantly Annang affair. The front-runners in the race, the Etiebets, Ekarikas, Ime Umanah, Akpabios, Chris Ekpenyong, Engr. Ibok Essien, Elder Samuel Akpan and so on are all Annangs. With the intimidating presence of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, dwarfing other political parties, political analysts assert that the 2007 governorship election in the state will be won and lost at the PDP primaries at all levels of the party. Picking the PDP ticket at the primaries in Akwa Ibom State is as good as winning the 2007 general elections. Hence, the fierce battle, even among brothers and cousins, to excel at the PDP primaries in the state.
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