By Comr. Ogar Emmanuel Oko
Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the first African Secretary-General of the United Nations, once observed in his address “Democracy, Media and the United Nations” at Columbia University that “the universality of coverage is an important objective, and press attention is like a beam of light which illuminates where it shines and leaves all else in obscurity.” That insight remains profoundly relevant in today’s political landscape.
In Cross River State, political relevance is increasingly defined not just by performance, but by visibility. The media—particularly social media—has become the marketplace of political legitimacy. Yet, only a handful of political actors in the state appear to understand and strategically deploy this reality. As a result, much of what transpires in government remains underreported, leaving the public vulnerable to half-truths, misinformation, and outright falsehoods.
Politics abhors a vacuum, and where information is absent, propaganda thrives. Those who dominate the media space often shape public perception, sometimes irrespective of the substance of their actions. In Cross River North, for instance, a few politicians have mastered the art of media engagement. Senator Prof. Stephen Odey Ph D, Esq, alongside Senator Jarigbe Agom and Pol.Evg. Alphonsus Ogar Eba , Esq., through platforms such as Jari Media and Plug Media, have consistently ensured that their activities (newsworthy or not) —are visible to the public. This deliberate media strategy has paid dividends in perception, reach, and political capital.
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Credit must be given where it is due. Their media teams have effectively projected their principals, reinforcing the truth that in modern politics, visibility is power. Unfortunately, many other political actors in the state have failed to grasp this reality and are paying a heavy price for their silence.
Nowhere is this more evident than in Cross River Central Senatorial District. Senator Eteng Jones Williams has increasingly been portrayed as politically inactive, with detractors spreading the narrative that he is “jonsing.” This narrative is not only misleading but demonstrably false. By legislative standards, Jones ranks among the more effective voices in the Red Chamber. His challenge, however, lies not in performance but in perception.
While his legislative outputs remain largely undocumented in the public space, his would-be challenger, Hon. Oden Ewa, has aggressively occupied the media terrain—deploying influencers, PR strategists, and coordinated digital campaigns across the state. The result is a classic case of optics overpowering substance, where loud presence eclipses quiet performance.
The lesson is simple but brutal: politics today rewards those who tell their stories consistently and convincingly. The electorate tends to believe those they hear about often. In the absence of counter-narratives, misinformation becomes accepted truth, and silence is mistaken for incompetence.
In the end, controlling the media narrative does not necessarily mean manufacturing achievements; it means communicating them. Those who ignore this reality risk being politically erased, regardless of their competence. As Boutros-Ghali warned, where the media light does not shine, obscurity reigns.
Comr. Ogar Emmanuel Oko
Rabbit Punch
