HURDLES FOR DON ETIEBETThe gubernatorial ambition of Don Etiebet faces daunting challenges. Can he weather the storm?
Apart from the unreported friction between him and Otu Ita Toyo, the state PDP chairman, another of Etiebet’s headache is a sensitive matter, one that has generated so much ill-feeling from most Ibibio politicians against the former national chairman of the opposition All Nigerians Peoples Party, ANPP. It is the alleged sacking of 11 permanent secretaries of Ibibio origin in 1983 by Don’s brother, Donald Dick Etiebet who was the governor of the then Cross River State. Last month, Don Etiebet for Governor Campaign Organization went to town with a message that ‘the sins of the father shall be visited on the children and not on his entire race or extended family’, in response to a story by a local newspaper that the ghost of tribalism was haunting the Etiebets. In a surprise display of tactlessness which goes to confirm the alleged feud within the Etiebet family, the campaign organization asked that the burden arising from the issue be put on the son of the former governor, Aniekan Etiebet, who is also running for the governorship of state. Such reaction unfortunately turned out to be seen as a terrible miscalculation that could aggravate the situation in two main ways: One, the former petroleum minister has given a confirmation and a life to the issues of the 11 permanent secretaries which most people thought it was only a rumour. Secondly, picking up such a sensitive matter and throwing it up on the laps of his young nephew may likely be interpreted by his own kinsmen as bad politics, and it could cause a relationship problem between Don Etiebet and his people whose support he desperately needs to become the PDP flag bearer in the state. “His press managers may not be doing the best for him”, says Uwemedimo Nwoko, a legal practitioner and a political activist, “I don’t think it was necessary for Etiebet to react to that issue”. Etiebet is a big fish in Akwa Ibom politics, his plummeting to the bottom of the governorship race would in turn give room for other aspirants to shine and probably pick the PDP ticket. But who among the unwieldy crowd of politicians is well positioned for the challenge? None, it seems, has a clear lead for now over the 53 or so number of the governorship aspirants. Or put it differently, the political atmosphere is still cloudy and confusing. Udoma Bob Ekarika, the out gone commissioner for works and transports and the son-in-law to Governor Attah is very much in the succession picture, and many people reasoned would have had a less turbulent ride to power if not for his unfavourable public image as a proud politician who carries himself about as if he has already won the governorship election, with or without anybody’s support. If speedy branding, as some politicians who appear sympathetic to Governor Attah are suggesting, is what Ekarika needs most for now, then Attah himself, Ekarika’s benefactor and most visible advantage in the race, needs to work and re-work his brain to develop other workable alternative political plans less the son-in-law’s ambition eventually becomes his own waterloo. Although the governor has severally denied adopting a particular aspirant for the governorship contest in the state, the voices against Ekarika’s ambition is gaining more supporters, and getting louder day by day. “It is not possible”, Chris Ekpenyong, Attah’s former deputy was quoted by the Sun newspaper, as saying. “Akwa Ibom is not a dynasty. If anybody should benefit from such arrangement, it should be those who helped built this government”. The issue is also said to have polarized the state House of Assembly between those in favour and those against the governor alleged plan to have his son-in-law as the next governor. One noticeable thing about the ongoing political campaigns, even though it’s just the start of it, is that there are not issue-driven. Potential voters are getting little or no political education from the parties and politicians, it is difficult to say what Aniekan Etiebet, Godswill Akpabio, Nsima Ekere and the rest of the governorship aspirant stand for, so everyone - the party, the aspirant and the electorate - goes parochial. Thompson Essien, a US-based Akwa Ibom indigene, may be rash in his comment here, but it portrays how ineffective the political campaigns have been so far: “I have to say this with regrets that none of the aspirants for the position (of governor) in the state is qualified for the job. None, not even those who had been kind to respond to our requests for interviews, has any viable, concrete plan or programme on how well to administer the state”. Essien and a number of Akwa Ibom indigenes in the Diaspora have been experimenting on the novel idea of doing teleconferences with the governorship aspirants and have featured Nsima Ekere, Nsikak Ekure, Don Etiebet and few others. Essien who hails from Nsit Ubium Local Government Area recounts his experience: “When interviewed, they all provided evasive, unprepared and in most cases meaningless answers to every question…. When I interviewed Elder Samuel Akpan, for example, the first question I put to him was (about) ‘his plans for Akwa Ibom State’. Listen to his answer: ‘Oh, I will have to consult my campaign manager on that then I will call you back’”. Chris Ekpenyong was scheduled to take his turn on the teleconference, but he cancelled it, and that peeved Thompson Essien who promised that if Ekpenyong wins the primaries, he will cast his vote against him. Who picks the PDP ticket in Akwa Ibom, is a billion dollar question, one that becomes more pressing not just for the certainty that a candidate of the party will most likely become the next governor, but because of the latest inclusion of Akwa Ibom South (Eket) Senatorial District as being legible to produce the party flag bearer, alongside Akwa Ibom North (Ikot Ekpene). PDP leaders in Akwa Ibom North call it “a new belated zoning arrangement without the knowledge or the consent of the state working committee (of PDP)”. They condemned it, angrily. The Annang traditional rulers, using the platforms of Afe Annang and Afe Nkuku Annang, were more emphatic and fiery. According to them, zoning in a heterogeneous state like Akwa Ibom should not be based on senatorial districts only. “There should be other local considerations including ethnic preponderance”, they reasoned. “This is because among the three major ethnic nationalities in the state, the Ibibio are found in all the three senatorial districts of the state. They could therefore use their majority and spread advantage to perpetually prevent Annang and Oron from ever producing a governor”. Backed by almost all the governorship aspirants of Annang origin, including Don Etiebet and Ime Umanah, the chiefs spoke of their readiness to resist attempt to deprive them of the opportunity to produce the next governor. In politics, actions, good actions tailored to address particular needs count so much. Since the suspicion is that Governor Attah and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Ufot Ekaette are the ones pulling the strings, the Annang could wisely choose to form a strategic alliance with either of these two men. But would they be ready to let go certain things and go for Udoma Bob Ekarika as their candidate, if they decide to work with Attah? Or can they make a strong case, push Attah a little further and cause the governor to settle for a middle-ranking aspirant like Godswill Akpabio? As time slides away, things are bound to change. Negotiating power could become weak, and strategies no longer effective. By then, the victory songs could be for Udoma Udo Udoma, a serving senator from Akwa Ibom South, or Nsima Ekere, an energetic, intelligent young aspirant from Ikot Abasi Local Government Area. Who knows, it could even be Larry Esin, a relatively unknown but refined politician from Oron. Culled from INSIDER WEEKLY magazine, November 20, 2006. |
Don Etiebet, the “returnee” Peoples Democratic party, PDP, stalwart may be up every morning wishing that it were possible to simply get a pencil and cross out Ime Umanah’s name from his list of worries. Etiebet, a former federal minister of petroleum, wants to be Akwa Ibom’s next governor in 2007, but his supporters fear that a co-aspirant like Ime Umanah, including a legion of others, may just be the spoiler next door. Many people for instance aren’t stop talking about how some weeks ago a political meeting arranged by Afe Annang, a powerful voice in Akwa Ibom affairs, suddenly came to an inconclusive end because of a stir caused by Umanah’s supporters. Such action, some political watchers are saying, is a tip of the kind of payback to expect from Umanah who feels let down by his own kinsmen when he unsuccessfully wrestled for power against incumbent Governor Victor Attah in 2003. Etiebet and Umanah are from the same Akwa Ibom North Senatorial District, one of the two zones that are favoured to produce the next governor.
