Ita Enang: The Making Of An Akwa Ibom Achan
For those who do not know, Achan had hidden in his tent, spoils of war forbidden by God of the Israelites. The hidden treasures of costly value belonged to the nation of Ai which the Israelites were at the time, feuding. The drastic effect of Achan’s greed was that while the hidden treasures remained in his custody, the warriors of Israel died in their numbers daily as they faced their opponents in the battle field. This continued for a while until Joshua, embittered by what he thought to be God’s forsaking of his children, sought for answers and was told of the enemy within – Achan!
Achan was evidently obsessed by his greed for the spoils that he cared less of his kinsmen wasting daily at the battle field, and for their widows and children. Nether did he care a dime about the passionate pleas from Joshua that anyone in possession of forbidden items, should let go of them. He was neck-deep into his greed until he was caught red-handed.
Like Achan, Ita Enang has presented himself as one who is not bothered about the growth of his people, their challenges and their plights. While complaints about his negligence of his brethren have continued to trail him, his nonchalant attitude and efforts to pull down the State Government is even more rife at the mention of his name.
This same man has hindered the progress of Akwa Ibom in several ways because he feels he is in the presidency and so, has a monopoly of displaying some recalcitrant attitude.
He has also written petitions against the state to the Federal government, calling for embargos on cardinal projects, the dualization of Airport road, for instance.
While this is but one of the numerous stunts he has pulled against his own people, Ita Enang has severally written-off the honest efforts of the state government on the media, including muddling the personality of his governor, Deacon Udom Emmanuel. Just like Achan, Enang has consistently looked down on his leader and paid deaf ears to warnings and cautions from his brethren to stop his destructive devices at the state’s growth and progress.
For all the people of Akwa Ibom care, Governor Emmanuel has been transparent enough as a leader, socially responsible and sensitive to their needs without deception. Why would one man whose vague image amounts to nothingness keep taunting and spiting the goodwill of the State at the national corridors of favour?
With his ugly poor-record-of- any achievement portfolio, which should make him bury his face and voice in shame, Ita Enang still has the shameless audacity to make appearances at radio stations, trying hard to incite the people against the government, while his duties in Abuja lie unattended.
Although he enjoys the responses he gets on such occasions, such only make him look notorious and count less in terms of infrastructural antecedents and human development?
Beyond gaining popularity through bad-mouthing, does Ita Enang have anything to present as a reference for future public trust? The answer is No. Akwa Ibomites have grown beyond this ploy and know better what comes first in terms of leadership. It’s a question of “what have you done” against “what have you said”. When his integrity will be called to question, Ita Enang will discover that he sold what was left of his integrity to his cheap antics. He has indeed lost the social intelligence and healthy rating of his people to his unclean propaganda as Achan did.
Recently, the Achan-like Enang is calling on the Federal Government to stop the 13% derivation given to the Niger Delta states as compensation. Notably, the FG has not constructed a KM of road in Akwa Ibom or brought in even an industry for the economic advancement of the state, and for being the largest producer of oil for the federation, the Niger Delta region only gets 13% dividend for this generosity to the federation yet, someone is calling for a stop of this revenue. Isn’t this the height of witchcraft and pathological self destruction?
If the Federal Government was handling any project at all in these regions, this call would have been justified but this is not happening and rather can call for an increment in this allocation to further the course of the State's development, an acclaimed son of the soil is clamouring that it should be stopped!
Here we are crying of the drawbacks and shortfalls in virtually all sectors of our economy yet, a black sheep is out there singing a discordant tune. Our health sector suffers the lack of basic facilities talk more of innovations; including the agricultural, entrepreneurial, and education sector yet, Ita Enang sees no need to present these even at his leisure hours ‘abroad’? Not even the sincere efforts of the state government in remedying the flaws in these sectors have appealed to his sense of empathy – his greedy selfishness has no doubt beclouded his humanity so much that he is more interested in destroying than in building.
As in the case of Achan, those who vehemently twart the efforts of their leaders will, with their families, meet their waterloo with time. Even an Ibibio adage confirms that ‘aduok ntong ke ntong ase keene’ (any dust poured follows the person who pours it). Time alone will prove this and the people of Akwa Ibom will breathe a sigh of relief when that time comes.
(c) Peters Richard
28092020
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