Cross River must stop the enthronement of heartless thieves in succession as Governors, we must get it right this time, otherwise, we are doomed! By Obi OJAGE
GOVERNOR Ben Ayade of Cross River State is working and we all as APC members in the State must help him wheather the storm especially those who have not benefited from the system for one reason or the other. Forward ever, backward never: “APC must retain its rulership position in Cross River with Ayade now on the saddle to give it a flipping touch” before his exit where he is expected to take his place of honour for a job Well-done.
PROFESSOR Ben Ayade is a special breed, give it to him. Despite some of his notable aberrancies understandably so as one operating within a system that encourages certain anomalies. One thing you can’t take away from this Obudu born elite, besides his intellectual prowess, risk taking and smartness, is his intrinsic belief in the power of “people’s support”, be they big or small people’s”. Ayade gives you a sense of pride undiscriminated to enable you do his biddings either in short or long term. It’s a rare gift. And he does so with less ignoration for a young man with lots of energy and power of oratory with which to confront his adversaries.
A lot more young Cross Riverians who are less endowed today, could now feed or own a car of their own. Or that which is given to them by government generously to drive to enhance work and at the same time bloat their ego and boost their moral to give in their best at their own level. Not because they worth much, but because Ayade cares. They now own houses, engaged to daughters of Eve and could afford to enroll for a Degree Program for those of them who are academic inclined. Which hitherto could not have happened but for Ayade’s style of leadership tagged: “Everybody who stays close and loyal; matters”. So when these lots move, they move in their trojan phantom and apparels.
IT is the “grabbers” and not the “people” who staged a fight against Ben Ayade while in PDP. But It took a differently turn when he crossed over to his new party the APC where the opposite became the case. The “grabbers” in APC decided to join Ayade in their folly instead; leaving behind their supporters at the mercy of Ayade’s men. These, left with no Shepard’s rudder to navigate through sudden dangers except for their appellation for being “Old members” were the “people” who welcomed the Governor triumphantly as their savior after a long period of stay in a faction prone party rudderlessly with no hope in sight. The Governor’s coming was a blessing indeed to them. But the “grabbers” within didn’t allow them access to Ayade.
BEN Ayade uses his power of oratory with an uncommon act of benevolence obsequiously and inexhaustibly to lure those disposed to him in the direction of his thinking, not minding the cost. And they in turn in appreciation; remained glued to his apron strings whether or not they believe in his course. That’s wisdom on both sides, isn’t it? And that’s how partisan politics should be played to avoid common betrayal, treachery and backstabbing.
YOUR supporters are your strength in a democracy in addition to the money you may have to throw around with caution. Money alone can’t do it successfully, otherwise General Mohammadu Buhari would never had been President of Nigeria, coming against former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who was armed with tones of money allegedly withdrawn from the Central Bank in Dollars by his National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) on one hand and those huge oil money in Dollar Bill brought into the field to execute the killer-punch by former Federal Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke on the other were all distributed to execute the fight to retain power.
PROMINENT Churches in the land were given huge amount of money in Dollars. Including notable Prayer houses, shrines, and selected Marabout. All the senior and functional PDP members across including chief Femi Fani-Kayode took their share of Dollars to fight against Buhari in that election to retain power as the ruling party in order to protect the sources of their loot to no avail. Same thing happened during the 2019 Presidential Elections between Buhari and former Vice President Alhaji Atiku Abubaker. All of which Buhari won convincingly due to the cult support he had and nothing else.
THEREFORE the supporters are key to any Democratic establishment. And must be seen to be strong, capacitated, and unrelenting. Attention must be given to them. And not the other way around. The issue of not rewarding loyalty is satanic. And which is what the current leadership of APC must seek to address in the immediacy. And have it eradicated from its psyche completely to stamp out the prevailing sellout tendencies of members in states controlled by it.
THERE are too many complaints of mindless subjugation and deprivation where party loyalist are deliberately sidelined especially those who’ve shown implicit faith in the party without any reward in place whatsoever as a compensation where offers of political appointment are extended to them by those in positions of authority now fronting for Mr. President and not the selected thing nocturnally going on involving those who didn’t do anything except for the lies and blackmails of others they carry about to those at the Presidency. I am a typical case in point. Not everybody can stand ingratitude without a revolt.
OTHERWISE they may be an implosion ignited at some point as we proceed towards 2023 elections, which might not be influenced by the opposition but that caused by the negligence of those who have made significant sacrifices in their individual commitment in seeing to the growth of the party and in defense of Mr. President. Just as it has been said openly by many that during the reign of PDP, whatever was being stolen from the country’s treasury got to everybody one way or the other to avoid détente. For a hungry mouth breeds an angry man.
NO one gives you power for free. You work for it. Either by applying yourself in being the best in your ability to do exceptional things to bamboozled others to see things your way or by using force variously to fight your way through. It is more of a spiritual endeavor and application which involves accommodation of those who are homogeneous with similar good intentions than being an issue of mere manipulation. Those who manipulated the vulnerable to attain power at all cost often had many sad stories to tell when the exploited are awaken to the reality of their subjugation and deprivation of what is truly theirs as a compensation for their contributions being taken away by the grabbers that abound. You may manipulate the weak successfully in politics.
But at the long run the Lord Almighty standing for the weak and vulnerable, would cause you to be defeated at the election ground in subsequent elections in spite of the powers of the gods you did sort. Be it man or spirits.
POWER is given by the Lord of Host, however, it does come nevertheless, it is He that enthrones and dethrones. And the voice of the people is the voice of the Lord. You neglect them at your own peril. You can’t neglect the people and expect to get power. It won’t abate.
THE success of Prof. Ben Ayade today in APC is in the displayed of that mantra: “That is to say if you fail to reward loyalty from the bottom up, no matter how powerful and rich you are or maybe, you’ll certainly be standing alone in partisan politics. And a tree, they say, cannot make a forest. That is what keeps PDP as a party together despite the people’s negative perception of its rule in the past.
WHAT Cross River State needs now than ever before, is to stop the enthronement of heartless thieves of its citizens been brought in succession as Governors. And the State would catapult itself to greatness at all levels within two tenures of selfless leadership regardless of the platform or the zone from where the person hails.
GOVERNOR Ayade in his wisdom has laid a solid foundation within his tenure so far; for sustainable growth in the development of the State, whether or not his concept of reinventing the State from its dwindling economy and aloofness endemically through industrialization as a priority of his government which comes against popular demands of something different had fruitified, what he has on ground today in his noble attempt at industrializing the state, is a big leap from the past.
WHAT he has put on ground so far now constitutes the bases for industrialization to be placed on first charge for consideration during budgetary allocation. It is one of priority investment in Cross River erected to be inherited by whoever succeeds the current Governor regardless of where the person is from not withstanding the party, these projects would certainly pose a challenge requiring completion.
I MUST say here with all sense of modesty and critic that Prof. Ben Ayade has done far more within his tenure as Governor of Cross River, our beloved state than both Mr. Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke who last governed it in terms of the establishment of concrete and lasting structures for the economic development of the state when fully completed.
THE only difference between them and which is why Ayade is been overtly castigated followed by a highly biased criticism by those who are used to the glamorous activities of both Duke and Imoke that trips and reaps barely as a short term benefits which are limited only to a certain class of people, is Ayade’s abhorrences to the use of platitudes to endear himself to the people at the expense of what he considers as a serious business the state is now engaged in with numerous potentials to bring into fruition a far more better life to the people and a lasting solution to their sufferings than the palliative they craved and still does in total ignorance of its atrabilious effects.
WHILE both Duke and Imoke were sensitive to the complaints of the masses over what they needed in the immediacy such as the fixing of potholes where they’re broken, prompt evacuation of refuse bean where they’re heaps and perhaps the regularity of Water Board to pump out water to assuage some of their Local burdens, Ayade cares less and refuses to be distracted from his set goals of industrializing the state.
And he believes that those things or complaints from the public can best be handled by concern citizens who have benefited so much from the system than leave everything for Government alone to shoulder. Or the Chairmen of Local Government whose duty is it to take care of such demands in their Local environment including the municipal Government. Ayade maybe right. And as it seems, there is wisdom in that assertion.
WE all are aware of the efforts that were being put and the heavy indebtedness it has brought to the State owing to the amount of money borrowed by the administration of Mr. Donald Duke and Imoke for the singular purpose of harnessing the State Tourism potentials amongst other sundry demands to attract foreign visitors which was a success in a way initiated by Duke especially the expansion of the Capital City of Calabar to encourage development and the maintenance of sanitation across the State. Including the building of roads to farm of Imoke’s Government which was meant to take government to the people at the grassroots as a deliberate policy of government to engage them. All of which have now collapsed. Where then have all these heavily invested projects taken us to? How do we account for the money when they’re all moribund riddled with elephantiasis? And the state is made to pay the debts when the said projects are all now dead. Why?
IT is because the success of these ventures were tied to foreign determinism’s. Their successes where to be made possible solely by forces out of government and beyond the reach of those who conceptualized them without the required inputs to drive it coming from them.
Both the expertise and patronage were all expected to come from outside of the country to make them functional and profitable in a regular and sustainable bases. Such as the development of the State Tourism of Duke which was meant to attract foreign visitors in their large numbers to make it successful. It was not something to do with selling and buying which is determined more by what we produce as a State where there is bound to be a ready market because of the share size and purchasing power of Nigeria owing to its population.
But these involves the appreciation of those who would patronize the services and features which are designed or attracts more of foreigners than those within the country to attain the required success. So you see. Its a concept flooded with innuendos.
THE absence therefore of a solid and lasting structures put in place were its bane. It ennobled retrogression. Such as the erecting of permanent tourist sites which were unavailable except for Tinapa which became a conduit for embezzlement.
In addition, there were supposed to be a well equipped five or seven star hotels scattered at different locations of where these tourist sites are; with good road networks. Including and not limited to having a company established that handles transportation whose duty would be mainly to take these strangers and visitors to the various locations by land or air which involves having in place, the state own airline to facilitate that. And such body was supposed to operate as a separate entity away from government. All of which were not in place.
THE only thing on ground proper was the Carnival Commission which was also not well funded as a company out of government (I live to be corrected on that aspect) with powers to source for funds on their own however they knew best to run itself without government interference.
For these structures to be absent, it made it a nullity and unattractive for further investment by an incoming government especially those having different perception or who does not see it as a priority.
NO incoming government would’ve easily have embraced those moribund projects as the Tinapa concept initiated by Duke owing to their complications, I’ll motivated approach and the intensive capital involved to complete no matter the broadness of appetite of the person at the head in his support for great and lofty initiatives is, such complicated an unplanned projects would constitute a distraction to contemplate investing in it. And the current government of Ayade is too wise and foresighted to fall into such trap.
AYADE’S government on his part has decided instead to engage in projects that has gestational period of fruiting devoid of complications with potentials that are long lasting such as the massive industries he is trying to put in place which would have the capacity to run itself with patronages from within the country as a business concern when completed. While at the same time lessens the burden of government through the employment of citizens who would’ve had to look up to government for employment of job opportunities which are rarely there for a State that takes pride of its civil service status.
NEVER again shall we remain a Civil Service State in perpetuity and gladly so often where those entrusted with its development ethus had rather stollen away that which they came to meet ignominiously. The infrastructures that were in place before their arrival such as the large Government buildings were all sold indiscriminately to friends and relations. What was left in the State’s treasury in terms of money were allegedly squandered. They therefore added nothing phenomenally to the growth of State than what they took away. Its as bad as that. That too must stop thenceforth.
WHAT the State needs now is someone of President Buhari’s disposition or near it; to be Governor. One who is seen fairly to be selfless, less covetous, unwavering and one not inclined to primitive stealing which they often do with the assurances that someone of the same propensity of stealing shall come onboard through imposition of those of their kind to cover their lane of thievery in succession.
WE’RE cocksure the Lord shall throw up such individual within our fold in APC. And we’re on it surreptitiously. We’re ready to work hand in gloves with the Governor Ben Ayade to bring this about, the Lord willing.
THE need therefore to caution Ayade whom they advised in a recent writeup on social media to be mindful of certain individuals they feared might not protect his interest amongst those now angling to succeed him; is totally uncalled for as that represents the past. We’ll resist the recycling of thieves as Governors in our state.
However, no one can determine a Man’s heart in the construction of the face of what he holds inside of him to be unleashed when he so chooses. Support the best. And you’ll get the best, short and simple.
WE must resolve to break from the past of allowing successions of thieves in whatever guise to govern us any longer here in cross river. That has been our bane of underdevelopment. We must stop witches and wizards from dancing over our common future.
LASTLY, don’t you forget that I, Comrade Obi Offiong Ojage is the best choice for the position of National Publicity Secretary of our great party APC from the South South zone with track record of performance in that field. Doggedly proven with razzmatazz, if the party truly rewards loyalty. And not given to sycophants and lier’s but those with something to show like myself.
I didn’t just come. I have been on this lane for over a year writing to prove myself worthy of acceptance as the right person for the job of National Publicity Secretary. It can’t just be only those from the West or Middle Beltans, we from the South South deserve such position too. This is why I have come.
AND as one who has sacrificed so much thanklessly, using my time and resources in propagating the party and in defense of President Mohammadu Buhari who is the leader of the party from dissident groups and those sponsored as Jobs-men to smear his hard earned reputation under the guise of opposition; for purposes of bringing down the government under his leadership. And I have been consistent in my defense. My works are all there in the public domain as a true party man. Talk is cheap!
“End Time Message!”
GOD WITH US…
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