Recently, a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai, reflecting on insecurity in Nigeria, blamed politicians for the creation of the conditions that make society insecure. Sadly, he did not give details. However, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio, Nigeria’s incumbent Senate president stepped in to help shed more light on how politicians create the conditions that fester insecurity and in the process, take the lives of young people, who, contextually, play no role in the events that lead to such political decisions. In doing that, Akpabio points Nigerians to how they could easily overcome the challenges of insecurity and enthrone peace, which has been severally identified as a necessary ingredient for development.
The occasion was In Akwa Ibom. Precisely at a special interdenominational thanksgiving service to commemorate the 36th anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom state. The event held at The Apostolic Church, Obio Imo Street, in Uyo. On that day, Akpabio mounted the rostrum and spoke, not like the President of the Senate or a political leader, but like a disturbed father who is tired of endless bloodshed and is, therefore, out to ensure that there is peace.
To buttress his perspective on peace, Akpabio went down memory lane and told the story of the genesis of the crisis between Akwa Ibom and its sister, Cross Rivers state, specifically at Itu (Akwa Ibom) and Akamkpa (Cross Rivers). He said: “When the South-South had a Senate President, there were a lot of problems between the then Cross River State and Lagos, which was the capital. The result was an overnight law that was made in order to address some of the problems. And that law ceded the clan of Ndiya in Itu Local Government to Akamkpa for political purposes. So, in 1983 the people of Ibibio land did not know that the land had been ceded to Akamkpa. In 1992 when the zero party election came, a Vice Chairman emerged from Ndiya in Itu and somebody stumbled on that overnight law that was given to FEDECO and the person said ‘you can’t rule us, you are not from Itu.’ The result was that he was sitting in the office and some youths entered and he was butchered and caught into pieces. Till date, we only have the picture of the blood, the body was thrown into the ocean – that was the genesis of the crisis between Oku Iboku and what we call Odukpani today. That is why we don’t have boundary between Itu and Cross River State.”
The sad reality, as it now is, is that youths who were not born when the Lagos decision was taken, and who probably also, were not born when Akwa Ibom was created, have shed blood over issues that they lacked adequate knowledge of. Also, those who were killed, have no knowledge why they had to die the way they did. Read him: “Many children from Akwa Ibom that returned from abroad, many families were killed in the night when they landed at Calabar Airport on their way to Akwa Ibom. Those children did not know why they were dying. The young people that went to abroad and made money came back and were murdered on that road whenever crisis came. Till today, many of those families cannot give answers as to why their sons and daughters were killed.”
At the base of this crisis, Akpabio said, was politics. He said it was a problem “that was created by politics.” Akpabio also said “we, the political class, are always the ones that take actions that result in bloodshed, which will leave behind either happiness or will leave behind tragedies for families yet-unborn.” According to Charles Kettering, head of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947, “a problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.” Akpabio did not stop at identifying the problem, he also proffered workable solutions. This is where he is different. First, he spoke to the youths and said “in 1987, you were a toddler. Thirty years after, you are now an adult. Please, do not inherit the enemies of your fathers, make your own friends and make your own enemies by yourself. And when it is well with you, then remember that 100 friends are too few and one enemy too many.”
He also spoke to political leaders when he said “do not create any situation where a group or any ethnic group will feel that they are second class, third class or fourth class citizens,” adding that “We cannot cause crisis because of people’s quest for power.” According to Akpabio, “the mark of a good leader is to listen to all shades of opinion, but take the one that will bring you peace, take the one that will bring peace to the state, take the one that will guarantee the peace of future generations.”
This, no doubt, is an uncommon mindset and a different perspective on the quest for peace in Nigeria. If we search deeper, we will agree with Akpabio that political decisions have been at the root of almost all the crisis that had set Nigeria back. If we extrapolate his exhortations to the youths and political leaders, we may have found the missing link in the quest by every Nigerian for peaceful co-existence. As a matter of fact, most of the crisis that have been recorded in Nigeria, especially those that had led to waste of life and property, have either been created by rumors or misinformation spread by political actors. Some have also been orchestrated by the quest for political power. This is where Akpabio makes deep meaning and leaves humanity with a peek into the workings of his mind. These may just be his prescriptions for the good of Nigeria. And, he set the ball rolling by demonstrating something that is rare between political leaders when they transcend state level politics and become ‘Abuja politicians’.
Political crises, and threat to the peace of many Nigerian states, have been anchored on the contest between ‘Abuja’ and ‘home’ based politicians. But Akpabio set the example of how it ought to be. He tells Pastor Umo Eno, the governor of his home state that “there will be nothing like Abuja bloc; there will always be Akwa Ibom bloc.” This further expands the understanding of Akpabio’s mindset as a political leader who would rather build with peace. This is a new lesson in the Akpabio leadership metric which has seen 61 years of wisdom. And, it is for the like of this peacemaker that the Holy Book at Mathew 12:34 said “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks… a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things”.