Several facebook timelines and even online media platforms, including IKPAISONG REPORTERS have carried reports on the afore-mentioned headline since Wednesday.
This article has nothing to do with whether or not Senator Godswill Akpabio rebuked his media aide as reported. I'm not even interested in the reality or otherwise of the widely publicized misunderstanding between Senator Godswill Akpabio and Governor Udom Emmanuel nor do I intend to contest the veracity of the fake figures bandied as the voter population of Mbo and Oro Nation.
Iam bothered by the part of the report which quotes Senator Akpabio as reacting to the replacement of Sir Etekamba Umoren by Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem as Secretary to the State Government thus:
"Why would I be happy that Udom Emmanuel values 80,000 votes from Oron than 500,000 votes from Annang?" "Why would I be happy that Udom Emmanuel values 8,000 votes from Mbo LGA to 95,000 votes from Essien Udim LGA? "
Initially, I regarded the report as a huge joke and a fabricated story which would be disowned by the Senator considering the fact that it seeks to mock the people of Mbo Local Government Area in particular and Oro Nation as a whole.
Unfortunately, more than 24 hours after it was first published, neither the Senator nor his team has condemned or disowned it. Does it mean they haven't seen it? Is it true that Senator Akpabio made such denigrating comment about Mbo LGA and Oro Nation? If the unfortunate comment didn't emanate from him, does he consider it or the people it seeks to denigrate too inconsequential to deserve a response?
Whatever is the case, I wish to discourage the continued use of population to taunt Oro Nation. Oro may not compete in population but nobody can deny her significant resource contribution to the State. Comments like the one quoted above, whether real or fabricated, are capable of sowing seeds of discord and disharmony in the State. It's capable of permanently denying that part of the state the much needed sense of belonging.
Does Oro not deserve more than the Secretary to the State Government? Much as we appreciate this gesture, nobody should make it look like a gift to an undeserving beggar. Why must population be the crux of the argument? If the post was given to any other part of the State, would there still have been this report? If yes, would population still be mentioned as the reason for disqualification?
Whether Senator Akpabio actually made the comment or not, the fact that population was mentioned at all in that context leaves much to be desired about how we view and treat one another in the State.
I think we should stop acting as if the only thing that counts in the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria is population. As important as large population is, it doesn't provide instant answers to our developmental challenges.
The Almighty God, in His infinite wisdom decided to bury crude oil deposits in those parts of the state which don't enjoy the benefits of a large population. What they lack in population, they provide in resources. Is that not good enough? Doesn't it qualify them to have representatives in the arm of government which dispenses the proceeds of crude oil sales?
Bayelsa State has a population of about one million seven hundred people in only eight Local Government Areas. I'm not sure it's actually bigger than Oro Nation. It has produced Vice President and President of the nation when most far bigger and more populated states are still dreaming of that possibility.
Whatever entitled Bayelsa State to those big offices ahead of other states in Nigeria, also entitles Oro to everything which is available in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria. Oro isn't second class in the State because of its comparatively lower population.
It would be unfortunate if Senator Godswill Akpabio made such a discriminatory comment. It would be even more unfortunate if it was fabricated and nobody felt concerned enough to disown it and put the records straight.
Let me add that there's no community in this state where all the component parts are of equal sizes. Ditto Local Government Areas. Does that make the smaller units inferior to the bigger ones?
It's not yet too late for Senator Akpabio to repudiate that statement if it didn't emanate from him or his acquiescence will be rightly viewed as admission and/or the justification of its contents.
Let us consciously work towards promoting peaceful and harmonious co-existence among the different parts, sections and segments of our dear state.
Omen Bassey.
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