Joseph Odok|10 May 2016|5:45am
It was a great day the day before yesterday as APC had a retreat for key players and stakeholders. One key thing that every stakeholder held constantly on his/her lips is restoration of internal democracy. The absence of internal democracy is the reason for the collapse of political and socioeconomic relevance of Cross River State in recent times.
What informs our choice of a political candidate in recent day Cross River State is the leader's greed and projection of their economic greed. Thus, a once adorned Cross River State especially in the days of Donald Duke has suddenly become the people's disgrace. Where did we get it wrong? Where did we offend the gods of our land? Surely the present state of Cross River State depicts a picture of the gods angry and abandoning us; with calamities wrought on our soul. Things have fallen apart.
We got it wrong when political rapists invaded our land as opportunists that turned the state to private property for personal aggrandizement. We got it wrong when our stakeholders collaborated with political hawks to rape us dry leaving us with huge debt profile, unemployment, poor educational system, neglected poor, abandoned and impoverished retirees, poor infrastructures, stinking streets, leadership characterized by the 'governor say' and not the people's choice. We got it wrong when we voted because of Maggi cubes and mortgage values and excellence, we got it wrong when we began raping ourselves of our common patrimony and preferred playing the role of praise singers to the enemies of the state. We got it wrong when we neglected local content and began building castles on air; when we neglected agriculture, scholarship, excellence and began celebrating mediocrity.
The gods are angry with Cross River State. The signs are clear because political hawks have invaded our lands with many atrocities. The gods are angry with Cross River State of today because of the erosion of common values. One wonders why large scale fighting and killing, increasing insecurity and kidnappings have ceased to be the concern of our leaders. I recall the crisis between Boje community and Nsadop in Boki LGA was a common discussion in the National and State Assembly but the Yakurr crisis is never mentioned anywhere today by our law makers. One wonders why our representatives no longer care about the common man but how to share our common patrimony.
I took a journey to dig into why the governor has not paid local government staff. The more I dug the more I hated previous administrations. A group of scavengers got loans and mortgage the local government funds. They did not use the fund to developed or build the state but shared this money thereby enriching themselves and strangulating the third tier of government and the engine of development as envisaged in the constitution.
Conscience is an open wound that only truth can heal so it is time to tell ourselves the truth that our leaders are increasingly failing us especially our legislators. It is true that the 'governor say' syndrome has often rapped us of the best and deified ineptitude. It is time to get it right now. The sorry side is our leaders make cash and lose leadership at every point of engagement with no legacy after political engagement. I love the politics of the south with leaders like Asiwaju Tinibu to hold on, the north with people like Buhari to rely on, but who can fill the space as a leader of the south south and south east? Who can fill the space as the leader of Cross River State with legacies to justify such award? The answer blows in the winds.
The charade called PDP primaries has just increased pepper to injury, yet power mongers are celebrating being favoured because the cliché 'the governor say' favours their greed. I hope they will not cry tomorrow when governor achot (say) does not favour their greedy interest tomorrow? I pray they don't let hell lose if what is done to A today to favour them is done to them tomorrow?
The solution to our problem is greater participation in defining our crumbling state. This lies in internal democracy. PDP woefully failed us in this regard in the recently conducted Congresses hope APC does not disappoint us too?
Joseph Odok
Is a University Don & Social Change Agent