My Appeal To Akwa Ibom People...Laary Esin

I am compelled by the request of my fellow indigenes of Akwa Ibom and by recent  events in Akwa Ibom State, to share my views on the ongoing debate, surrounding the  zoning of the seat of Governor to Akwa Ibom to South Senatorial district, also known  as Eket Senatorial District.  My view on this very delicate issue was properly captured  in my December 2013 Christmas message to the people of Akwa Ibom State. I am,  therefore, reprinting relevant portions of that message for the purpose of restating my  position on the future direction I believe we as a people ought to consider, as we  prepare for the upcoming elections of 2015.

“As the year 2013 draws to an end and we celebrate the birth of the Prince of  Peace, we also must reflect on the  sights and sounds that defined our  experience in 2013. I am, therefore, confronted with the hope that I have  been deserving of your friendship. I thank you for your kind words, your  constructive criticisms and the  encouragement you have extended to  me in 2013 and in the years past. I hope you have found my friendship beneficial as well.

As I reflect on your comments and contributions on the myriad of issues we have discussed and analysed during the year, my wish for the young people, who rightfully or wrongfully admire and commend my life, is tempered by your expectations of me. I am therefore, aware of the fact that as a result of the hope and trust you have placed in me, the decisions and positions I take on the many political and social issues of our time will have far greater impact on your lives, than any five seconds handshake, a photo-up or a one line txt exchange on facebook. As I read your numerous comments and messages posted on my facebook wall, I am consumed by the high expectations and confidence you have entrusted in me.

Since my foray into Akwa Ibom politics in 2006, I have lived each day of my life reminded of the responsibility I owe each and everyone of you as I continue to do my very best to live up to your expectations. If I have failed you in any way, please, blame it on my head and not on my heart for I am only human; but largely, I have done my very best to stay the course and to keep the faith.

My actions and decisions during my short political career, though not all perfect, have left me with no regrets. I made those decisions and took those actions, knowing fully well that the consequences of failure may be dire, but nonetheless I stood by those  decisions because I believed them to be the right decisions at the time. I am a part of  all that I have met, like Tennyson says. My friend and former boss His Excellency,  Governor Donald Duke, once told me it was best in any political situation to do the  right thing, and I have since discovered that the “right thing” does not always yield  direct personal rewards in politics.

In 2006, due to circumstances beyond my control in the Eket Senatorial district

Senate race, I was compelled to launch a bid for the governorship much earlier in my  political career than I had envisaged. But that “unpopular/audacious” and very  expensive (financially and otherwise) decision and 30 days campaign endeared me, it  seems, in ways that I never imagined possible, to you and many in Akwa Ibom.

Your  support placed me 3rd in a fiercely contested PDP primary. That decision also brought me face to face with the myriad socio-economic challenges of our fellow citizens in Akwa Ibom, and the urgent need to meet those challenges. I am fortunate to have gone through that experience, because I got to appreciate the hardship of the ordinary citizens of Akwa Ibom. I also discovered the unity, shared history and culture that exist among our various ethnic groups, and the conviction therefore, that ethnicity is  but a minor factor in the peoples mind as they decide on who governs them; and  should remain so.

As the 2015 elections ascends the horizon, our commitment as citizens of Akwa Ibom  must be, as it has always been, to a struggle that promotes peace, unity, fairness, equity and equal protection under the law for every citizen of Akwa Ibom.  The 2015 Akwa Ibom State governorship election should therefore, not be treated as an ethnic issue, but rather it should derive its narrative from the urgent and fundamental need for equity and justice without compromising Akwa Ibom State’s dire need for sustainable economic development. Difficulties over ethnicity based discrimination exist in every city and state of the country, producing in many states including ours, a rising tide of discontent that threatens the public safety.

In a time of such domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity across the state should be able to unite, regardless of their ethnic identity, party or politics to find a sustainable solution in the interest of the state. We are confronted primarily with a moral issue. It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the Nigerian Constitution.  At the heart of the question is whether every citizen of Akwa Ibom is to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow citizens of Akwa Ibom, as we want to be treated. These are the fundamental issues and the  questions we must ask ourselves as we prepare for the 2015 elections.

The majority of our fellow citizens of Akwa Ibom agree, as they did in 2006/7, that the  time has come for our state to fulfill its promise of equity and justice once again.   Events in Abuja and elsewhere across Africa have so increased the cries for equity that no State or Country can prudently choose to ignore them.  The fires of frustration and discord are burning across the globe, North and South,  East and West. Where legal remedies are not at hand, redress is sought in the streets, in demonstrations, parades, and protests that create tensions and threaten violence and threaten lives. This can and must be avoided at all cost as we sue for equity and Justice for all in Akwa Ibom.

We face, therefore, a moral crisis as a state and as a people. It cannot be solved by insensitivity, arrogance and unreasonable demands, neither can it be sustained by demonstrations in the streets and vexing press conferences and publications. We must  speak our truths quietly and clearly remembering that the struggle must be about the  development of Akwa Ibom State. A great change is at hand, and our task, our obligation, is to make that revolution, that change, peaceful and constructive for all.

Those who do nothing are inviting shame as well as violence. Those who act boldly  are recognising justice, equity, development as well as reality.

The many challenges I have faced during my political career have tested my leadership skills and political ideology like none other. Armed with the conviction that the ideals of democracy are to be nurtured and preserved by the party, and that It is through this fiduciary (the party) that the voting right of the individual as enshrined in our constitution and the electoral process as described in the electoral act is protected and implemented, I view the political party therefore as the sacred instrument of the democratic process in any polity. Where the party fails in its responsibility to the people, then democracy at large is doomed. The national arm of our party, the PDP, guided by its constitution, must intervene timely through the state arm of the party to reassure all concerned.

Finally, recognising that Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District’s yearning for equity in the 2015 governorship election must itself be void of unfairness and injustice, and it must be supported by every citizen of Akwa Ibom in every community across our state, I want therefore, to pay tribute to those Ibibio, Anang, Oro, Ekid, Ibeno, and Obolo sons and daughters who have been working tirelessly in their communities and in communities across the state to solicit the support of our fellow citizens in this struggle to make Akwa Ibom a state where equity and justice reigns. I salute them for their honor and courage.”

My wish, therefore, for all of us, as we prepare for the 2014 and 2015 elections, is that we should find the courage to support unity, equity and justice for all. For in the final analysis, it has to be about Akwa Ibom,  Period!