Godswill Obot Akpabio: Still the Most Hated Man in Akwa Ibom State
There are those who may be of the opinion that the word "hate" is too strong an emotion to evoke, but no matter how one feels, the truth is that Godswill Akpabio is the most hated person in Akwa Ibom State. Akwa Ibom people hate him so much that if they had any chance, they would tear him into pieces, sweep every remnants of him out of the state, and push him and all his remnants into the Atlantic Ocean.
The people see Akpabio as a wicked man who, since 2007 when he became a governor, has deliberately rendered them into a state of penury, hardships, and rancor. They see Akpabio as a man who has stolen, misused, and mismanaged their God-given resources. And they see him as a man who has transformed Akwa Ibom State into a den of kidnappers where political assassination, kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery have become routine activities. Before, and it wasn't until Godswill Akpabio became a governor, none of these vices was a prevalence in Akwa Ibom State.
No one (other than Judge Karfarati) knows exactly what will be the outcome of the pending case between Frank Okon and Godswill Akpabio; the ruling may turn out to be in favor of either man. But because of the hatred for Godswill Akpabio, the indigenes of the State are already discreetly gearing up in preparation for celebration over a victory, which they assume will occur on July 12, 2012; it is the day the court in Abuja will decide if Akpabio committed any fraud by forging the signature of Dr. Nwodo (who had been forced out of office as the Chairman of PDP before the PDP Primary Election of 2011) on a Certificate of Clearance in order to qualify himself as a governorship candidate.
It may be boring for the indigenes of the state if I waste my time here to list all the travesties of Godswill Akpabio. But for the interest of non-indigenes, let me just site three recent instances of how Akpabio is wasting the people's money.
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
In July, a group, which is celebrating its “7th Annual Atlanta Gospel Fest Music, Health & Wellness Festival coming back to the beautiful Georgia World Congress Center located at 285 Andrew Young Boulevard on July 27,28, & 29 2012,” has invited Godswill Akpabio for Award. According to the citation to justify his invitation, “Governor Godswill Obot Akpabio, is the honorary recipient to receive the Man of the Year Lifetime Achievement Humanitarian Award. He has distinguished himself as a disciplined, hardworking and humble person. A devout Christian imbued with true greatness wrapped in simplicity and a strong, unshakable faith in the will of God.”
It is should be noted that Pat Akpabio has also been invited to perform at the show. And who is Pat Akpabio? This is how she is described by the group; “Pat Akpabio an Atlanta – Georgia based gospel singer – the only African inducted into the Grammy's Record Academy as a voting member, a trained financial analyst with a bachelors degree, a proud mother of three and the worthy wife to attorney Ibanga Akpabio – the Akwa Ibom State Secretary of the ruling party in Nigeria – the People Democratic Party (PDP) operates outside of the box or is not governed by the dictates of conventional wisdom is to state the obvious.” For more information about this group, please visit www.atlantagospelfest.com (click on “Who's Coming” at the top of the page and go to items #2 and #6 at the bottom).
It is not clear if Godswill Akpabio has made any donation to the group. But there are speculations that it would be an unusual situation for Godswill Akpabio to be given an Award by groups or by persons without any financial contributions.
Chief Akuma of Kuje
I am told that Kuje is a Council Area around or near Abuja. A couple of months ago some youths of the area contacted Godswill Akpabio and told him that the kingdom of Kuje intended to issue an award to Akpabio during the celebration of their Silver Jubilee. And they asked for a donation of N25 million, which Godswill Akpabio gladly paid. What Akpabio did not know at the time, until it was too late, was that the youths lied to him. As soon as Akpabio made the donation, his bunch of Personal Assistants found out that the entire thing was a hoax, but the N25 million was gone. Akpabio reported the incident to the SSS; there was nothing the agency could do to recover the money: talk of fleecing Akwa Ibom State.
The Silver Bird Award
It was recently announced in the media of how Akpabio was given an award at the recent ocassion hosted by Silver Bird Company. Reliable sources have confirmed that Godswill Akpabio actually gave the owners of Silver Bird the sum of N500 million to host the ceremony. When Chief Dangotte, one of the richest men in Nigeria, was invited to the ocassion, upon hearing that Akpabio gave so much money for the event, he turned down the invitation and complained about the way Akpabio was wasting the people's money. But out of courtesy, he sent down one of his clerks as a representative.
It may be of interest to mention that about two or three years into the governorship of Godswill Akpabio, he had awarded a contract of N30 billion to Ben Bruce for the construction of an entertainment center which is popularly referred to in Akwa Ibom State as the Tropicana. Mr. Ben Bruce is the owner of Silver Bird Company. The sum of N20 billion was paid up-front to Mr. Ben Bruce, but as of this writing, the Tropicana is yet to get off the ground, even though more money (some say as much as additional N20 billion) has been paid to Ben Bruce's Silver Bird Company. It may also be of interest to know that in 2011, Mr. Ben Bruce contested for the governorship of his home state; he lost woefully.
Written by
Ikpafak Thompson Essien
Portland, Oregon,