THE PARADOX OF IBOM MEDALLION

THE PARADOX OF IBOM MEDALLION:


Written By
Dr. Inyang Oduok





Everyone is his own individual tone. Now is Pastor Bush’s turn. According to Bush, Godswill Akpabio’s exit is sure to user in combo “of pastors, elders, evangelists, economists, lawyers, doctors all forming what he calls Ibom Medallion with Umana Umana as its political star who will drive the aspirations and ideals of Ibom Medallion with” Akwa-Ibom community as its students- quite an interesting proposition, isn't it?

EXAMINATION OF MEDALLION:

CHARACTER:

The group has become grotesquely dictatorial even before it takes off. You are automatically a member of the group if you are a professional living in Akwaibom or out of state or country – a fundamental assault on our freedom of choice and association.

THE GROUPS’ AVOWED GOAL:

“Akwaibom project belongs to us all, its time we partake in deciding those to be at the helm of the affairs of the state,; so that we can assist in articulating policies that will impact on the economic well being of our people with the sole aim of having a better state ..”

The group it seems advocates a transformation from unchecked individualism of Akapbio administration in which Umanah Umanah is a dominant player to the same Umanah Umanah “who will drive the aspirations and ideals of Ibom Medallion” and not that of the people of the state. This will force the state into crises because of the group’s arrogant overreach in imposing its alleged candidate and its elitist opinion on the rest of the citizens of the state. This is not what our people want.

QUALIFICATION OF UMANAH UMANAH AS A STAR CANDIDATE:

As I pondered on Medallion’s claim of Umanah’s competence to govern our people, I looked back and saw a poignant scene of families presently languishing in grieves in the state. Three to four months behind in the payment of teachers’ salaries who teach our young ones and Civil servants whose December salaries are yet not paid by Umanah and Akpabio administration.

The shock of alleged state “sponsored terrorism” abuses and cruelty to our people while Umanah, our churches and Clergies like Bush remain muted and in some cases benefiting economically and praying for the redemption of the perpetrators and a guaranteed place in the Kingdom.

I thought of a government which has a policy to resort to the use of brutal force in circumstances deemed totally improper, unnecessary and deadly. I thought of our people who are maimed, brutally assaulted by repressive government of Akpabio administration in which Umanah is a principal actor.

All these cruel practices are not necessary to preserve internal order and discipline or institutional security. They are arbitrary and purposeless, brutal and cruel and contrary to contemporary standards of decency. I could not help but ask myself the question, do these people really have consciences?

Due process clause of the constitution requires that pre-trial detainees not be punished at all because the state does not acquire the power to punish them until it has secured a formal adjudication of guilt in accordance with due process of law. But the record of Akpabio -Umanah administration is replete with instances in which political detainees are brutalized, humiliated and in some cases murdered in cold blood.

I look again intensely and even in an area like free Secondary Education of our children that I may have given Akpabio administration some credit, I also saw it sprinkled with evil.

The so called free Secondary Education is nothing but an attractive nuisance. It is a blanket open door policy without any requisite safeguards like residency requirement and is intended to encourage people from the neighboring states who incidentally are Akpabio’s in-laws to migrate to our state to neutralize Ibibio majority –an avowed policy of Akpabio- Umanah administration. With no comparable employment opportunities created to absorb the new immigrants, they resort to robbery and all kinds of criminal activities that now plague the state.

Then I could not help but question the legitimacy of Pastor Bush’s claim of Umanah’s fitness as the messiah to redeem the state from the very evils he has help create. I could not help but conclude that Pastor Michael Bush although a pastor is fascinated with worldly pleasure and business, money, contracts and Akwaibom projects and support for corrupt governments and its leadership. For if Pastor Bush’s attention were focused on things eternal –truth, righteousness, justice, the love of our state and its people, he would never have truthfully lay claim to Umanah’s fitness to govern our people.

I can go beyond and state Pastor Bush’s additional problems- the difficulties of a Clergy indulging in politics. For one thing, there is a big wall separating the church and the state. The church is not a political institution. Therefore, the Priest should stick to gospel as much as the State should stay away from the business of the church. “The church and its disciples cannot and must not take our economic destiny in their hands nor should Pastor Bush’s Mandellion and its elitist disciples.” There is a church- state divide- the two don’t mix.

What then you may ask, is the role of the church and its Clergy when our people are being murdered, kidnapped, abused and persecuted by repressive governments disguised as democracy?

Is the policy of inaction by the church and Pastors like Bush when God’s people are being murdered, kidnapped, abused, brutalized, persecute even in their backyard not a functional equivalent of the decision by the church and their clergies to violate the liberty granted them by their creator? In other word, do the church and its clergy have a distinctive role to defend God’s people against the evil practices of oppressive governments?

It appears Job might offer us some help. “When doubt and temptation mar moral instinct, God, through the spiritual self” as Job says, “approaches mankind sometimes in slumber” or as in this case this writer “to impress his instructions that men may change from their wicket ways.”

Pastor Bush needs to retire Umanah to a life of repentance for the evils he has substantially rained on the lives of God’s people of this state. Hopefully he can forgive him.

Sodom and Gomorrah , vile with debauchery of a nameless crime were not deserted by the Angel of Love until the fire which they had lit their souls had consumed them.

If Pastor Bush does not retire Umanah to a life of repentance but insist on fielding him as his star candidate for 2015 Governorship election, then the evil which he had lit in his soul may consume him as did Sodom and Gomorrah .

The Evangelists Jonah, the Sam Jones of Hebrew theology, exhorted the adulterous Nineveh many times to repent as we do now exhort Umana to retire to a life of repentance and save our people the repeat agony of Akpabio-Umana administration.

David, while intoxicated with love under the seductive embrace of Bathesheba as Umana is intoxicated with ill gotten wealth of two corrupt administrations, heard the voice of Nathan. Surely, God is no respecter of persons and will speak to mankind if only they will not stiffen their necks and harden their hearts. The Governorship slot for the 2015 election under PDP is for Eket Senatorial District . Those who have ears let them hear.

Akpabio’s influence in Akwaibom state will go with him. The state will not be saddled with existential enemies- hooliganisms, vandalism, murder, kidnapping, arrogance and violent political style - never again shall we allow anyone rot such evil upon our peace loving people.


Dr. Oduok, a political analyst writes from Atlanta, Georgia