Editor: One of the most remarkable statements that the Governor of Akwa Ibom State Chief Godswill Akpabio made during the National Good Governance Tour was his bold declaration that in 2006 when he emerged the Akwa Ibom State gubernatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) he did not emerge because of zoning.
According to Governor Akpabio during the town hall meeting, “If you ask me, I will tell you that I am not a product of zoning. I am a product of the people. In 2007, 58 people from Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene senatorial districts, all contested the primaries, and after the people had spent five days on the street, they finally voted who they wanted and said let’s God’s will be done,” he said. But no sooner had the Governor made this submission than he has become a subject of blackmail by a group which calls itself, Ibom Mandate Assembly. I shall return to this.
The Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Elder Sam Ikon is on the same page with Governor Akpabio on this. In a widely published interview, Elder Ikon is reported to have spurned the idea of zoning in the 2015 gubernatorial election in the state. “I am not a fan of zoning and I want to make it very clear. I am a fan of effectiveness, efficiency and capacity because today in this state, the Governor has come to show that even if somebody is not from your place, he can still touch your life,” the Speaker said.
The postulations of Chief Akpabio and Elder Ikon on the issue of zoning in Akwa Ibom State reflects the thinking of majority of the people of the state that rather than fish in the troubled water of zoning in 2015, Akwa Ibom people should search every nook and cranny of the state to bring about a leader who would consolidate on the Uncommon Transformation of the Akpabio administration.
Not even the most ardent proponent of zoning can fault the assertion by Governor Akpabio that he was not a product of zoning, because as he said, in the two PDP primaries that he emerged the candidate of the party, he contested against other aspirants from the other two senatorial districts. An aspirant from Eket Senatorial district, Mr Frank Okon is still in court challenging the emergence of Chief Akpabio in the 2011 PDP primaries.
The fact remains that even before the advent of Governor Akpabio, there has never been a time that the gubernatorial race in the state was contested by aspirants from one senatorial district. The race has always been open to all and at the end of the day the people have always cast their lot with whomever they think would best work in their interest.
What the advocates of zoning in Akwa Ibom State are saying are a bit weird and has no precedence neither can it stand the democratic test. They are saying that only gubernatorial aspirants from Eket senatorial district should be allowed to contest the PDP gubernatorial primaries. What this means is that aspirants from other zones should be barred from seeking nomination under the party.
As has been observed, such undemocratic act would have set a very dangerous precedent never seen in Nigerian politics. In fact rather than strengthening their quest for power shift, what the advocacy for zoning has done has been to diminish the aspirants from Eket Senatorial district and portray them as incompetent and lacking the wherewithal to aspire to the high office of the Governor. It may be in their interest to halt further campaign as it is a waste of time and resources.
Personally, I don’t think that Eket senatorial district lacks capable men and women who have what it takes to aspire to the governorship of the state. A zone that had produced Chief U. J. Esuene and Dr Clement Isong as Governors in the past cannot be said to be lacking in capable human capital. It is however intriguing that instead of marketing the aspirants, who can give good accounts of themselves, and they have them in abundance, they have expended so much energy on zoning in a manner that suggests that aspirants from the zone are incapable of competing in a free and fair contest.
In response to Chief Akpabio’s declaration that he was not a product of zoning, what we are hearing from the advocates of zoning are empty threats and scare-mongering. For instance in a recent open letter to Governor Akpabio, Ibom Mandate Assembly openly attempted to blackmail the Governor. Hear them: “Your Excellency, we must not fail to state here that any attempt to manipulate, compromise, subvert or pervert the zoning and rotation policy of the party shall spark off unprecedented crises, tension, fragmentation and instability within the party and the consequences can be foretold-the party shall suffer mass defection to other parties and protest votes.
“The truth is that any political party that presents a governorship candidate from Uyo or Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District for the 2015 elections will be committing a political suicide. Whether by default or by design, your successor shall come from Eket Senatorial District. That is the popular demand of the generality of Akwa Ibom people,” the amorphous group said.
They did not just stop at threatening the Governor; they also threatened his ethnic group, the Annang. “Your Excellency, as a governor from a minority tribe, if for any reason, you allow yourself to be manipulated by few unscrupulous elements from the majority tribe to scuttle, truncate or tinker with the zoning and rotation policy of the party, be rest assured that you will be the last governor from your Annang tribe and indeed any other minority tribe in the state.” And this is the same people whose support they would need to actualize their goal! Such has been the idiocy of a group which claims to be campaigning for equity.
Ibom Mandate Assembly should know that political power is not acquired through campaign of calumny, threat, scare-mongering and blackmail rather, through negotiations, horse trading and compromises. Indeed, instead of reinforcing their case, the current threat by Ibom Mandate Assembly (which is being sponsored by an aspirant) has alienated a large section of the state, more so since the foundation has been falsehood. People are scared that their militant and desperate posture is to foist an incompetent leadership on Akwa Ibom people.
The election of Governor Akpabio should be a great lesson to all. Here was a man, a dark horse so to say, who had no god-father nor depended on the so-called zoning. Instead he depended on the people who were very desirous of a change in the way government was being run. The people from all over the state defied all odds and pitched their tent with him and today they have been vindicated through the massive and unprecedented transformation of the state.
In 2015, Akwa Ibom people are desirous of a leader who would consolidate on the achievement of the Akpabio administration. As Governor Akpabio has shown, a Governor does not need to come from a particular area before he extends development there. The people desire a development-minded leader with a disposition towards making the whole state his constituency and not one who comes with a “zoned” mentality. The least of their consideration would be where the leader would come from.
Mr.Ini-Abasi Mboho, a public affairs analyst, writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
