I would have written you all individually. But since you are all brothers from the Southsouth, I have taken the liberty to make it a joint New Year missive.
Consider this my New Year contribution to the development of the goose that lays the golden egg, which has made us all lazy and unable to diversify.
Permit me to start from Akwa Ibom. Governor Udom Emmanuel, please pardon me for poke-nosing into your affairs. Why? It is all about the Uyo Church tragedy on which I have written a couple of times. In the spirit of the New Year sir, ensure the victims of the tragedy do not die in vain by punishing those complicit.
Sir, last December marked the first anniversary of the tragedy at the Reigners Bible Church. On the occasion of the anniversary, I had raised some posers: Will we ever see the White Paper of the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which you received on July 7, last year? That day when Justice Umoekoyo Essang, who chaired the panel, presented the report to you at the Executive Council Chamber, Government House Uyo, you said: “I want to thank you for this great job that you have done and to assure you once again that the recommendations of this report would be taken seriously. We would do everything to implement and prevent future occurrence of this tragedy. May this affliction never occur the second time”.
You also used the occasion to commiserate with families of those who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.
Sir, one of those it took away was Josephine Effiom. You too survived by the grace of God. The founder of the church, Pastor Akan Weeks, had his leg broken.
Effiom, who was a polytechnic student, a friend said, “was one of the first three brilliant chaps in my class”. Effiom was the face of a tragedy in a house of God, where fear should have been the last thing on anyone’s mind.
As typical of our nation, no one appears sure of how many people died. The day after, we saw figures as high as 160 in the media. It was attributed to the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who later denied it. Police gave the figure as 29. Commissioner for Health Dominic Ukpong said 26 people died in the unfortunate incident.
Your men who crawled out of death’s hole had interesting testimonies to share. Your Chief Press Secretary Ekerette Udoh said an iron rod nearly cut his neck, but eventually hit him on the back. The cap of his left knee was broken and pains travelled all over his body.
Your Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh, who joined the State Executive Council only some one week earlier, thought he was watching a movie when the pillars started coming down. He was on his way out of the church to catch a flight when tragedy struck.
The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) said the tragedy was caused by shoddiness. Sir, I want to plead that you should please ensure that those who overtly or covertly contributed to the tragedy must be punished. The Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc tragedy must not happen again. One way to do this is to implement the recommendations of the Justice Essang panel. Anything short of this will be a disservice to the memories of the dead.
Let me move to your brother in Rivers, Governor Nyeson Ezenwo Wike. Sir, I write this with fear in my mind because the last time I wrote you, my friend who is your media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu, described me in terms I am still contemplating.
But that notwithstanding I will make my New Year request. On Monday, you addressed the good people of Rivers State on the January 1 killings in Omoku. 23 innocent persons were killed.
In that broadcast, you released a list of 32 who you accused of being responsible for violence in various local government areas of your state. According to you, some of them embraced the Amnesty Programme you initiated but later reneged.
You offered to pay N20 million to any person who volunteers useful information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of any of the 32. You had harsh words for the late Don Wanny, who you described as “notorious cultist, kidnapper, terrorist and murderer”.
You also assured the security agencies of your determination to continue supporting them to have these criminals apprehended and brought to justice.
My request Your Excellency is that you should work with all possible to see that the bad boys are run out of town or arrested and prosecuted. Rivers is a beautiful state and should be for only beautiful people. The ‘ugly’ ones should have no peace.
Let me stop there Your Excellency before I write anything that will incur Nwakaudu’s anger. Your Excellency, Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, my request is simple: find a way to manage the former First Family. I know you will disagree with me about your not-too-good relationship with the former First Family, especially embattled ex-First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.
I foresee a situation your loyalists and the former First Family’s will be at war over who gets what in the state.
My next stop is at the doorstep of Your Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki. Sir, towards the end of last year, a battle broke out between two business moguls, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu over a mining site in Okpella.
Since the battle started I have had cause to feel that the state government is taking sides with one of the parties.
Your Excellency, I want to believe that these signs are not clear enough. May be I need to change my eye-glasses. That notwithstanding, my plea is that both Rabiu and Dangote have contributed immensely to our economy. They are men who without many will be jobless. So, when a dispute arises between them, the right thing is to allow it to be resolved through civilised means. There is a court case over the dispute and I plead that the law should be allowed to take its course.
Your Excellency, I am troubled each time your media aide issues statements which give the impression that you are willing to sacrifice one of these men. Please, let the law take its course. Abeg!
Delta is a state dear to my heart. A part of my wife comes from there. I don’t have a request Your Excellency, Governor Patrick Okowa. Let me just congratulate you for allowing the train of charade called local government elections in Nigeria to berth in your state. I will not expatiate.
I end this all with Cross River helmsman Prof. Ben Ayade. My request is simple: get the doctors back to work. The Cross River State Branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) earlier in the week directed all its members to immediately withdraw their services following the abduction of another of its member, Dr Emem Udoh, in Calabar.
Yes, this is not Your Excellency’s fault largely but as the chief security officer, it is your duty to ensure safety of life and property. On this basis, do more to end kidnapping and other crimes in the state.
The doctors must come back to work to ensure innocent lives are not lost to non-availability of medical hands to attend to emergency cases.
I also appeal to Your Excellency to work with the Cross River State House of Assembly to pass a law prescribing severe punishment for those convicted of kidnapping in the state. They should be made to lose the proceeds of the crime, such as houses, hotels and so on.
Bye for now, Your Excellencies.
