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Mr. Umana Okon Umana
Martin Luther King Jr., the front line civil rights activist, once said “the ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people”.
Unfortunately, this quote describes the reaction of many residents of Akwa Ibom State to the day light robbery of their mandate on April 11 by those temporarily blinded by power of state.
True to our nature, many have already left everything to God and accepted such incongruity as God’s will just as the perpetrators would want it. Some have even started sponsoring felicitations and congratulatory messages to Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, the sole beneficiary of that sham governorship election!
Luther’s quote also describes subsequent events, including the ‘thanksgiving service’ by Udom-Moses Campaign Organization at Qua Iboe Church, broadcast live a couple of evenings ago on AKBC television, where multitudes including reverend clerics fawned about the ‘governor-elect’ expressing platitudes here and there about how free and fair the elections were. The same governorship election, which local and national media as well as international election observers reported as largely flawed and violent thus falls short of what should be described as a free and fair election.
It is only in our clime that religious leaders, who should be revered as custodians of societal value, stumble along with the bandwagon. But, has any of these praise singers stopped to consider the price our state has had to pay for condoning wrong doing by public officers? Who among them can honestly say that he/she did not notice or hear reports about voter intimidation, brutality, ballot box snatching at polling units? Have they reasoned why result of governorship election should be out but that of State House of Assembly, which was simultaneously conducted, is yet to be released?
Well, notwithstanding the avalanche of goodwill messages pouring in, the election tribunal and probably appeal court will soon determine if that contest fulfilled beyond reasonable doubt dictates of the law for a credible, free and fair election. Still, while awaiting the outcome of the legal battle, it is common knowledge that neither Umana Okon Umana nor Helen Esuene and Samuel Akpan contested governorship election with Udom Emmanuel, but against the incumbent governor, Godswill Akpabio and federal agencies including Independent National Election Commission and the Police, who were programmed ab initio to work against them.
Regardless of such setbacks, Umana, who is determined to put an end to impunity in governance of Akwa Ibom State and restore the dignity of the hard pressed people, has decided to challenge the result. Such perseverance, makes him an inspiring leader that wants to break away for mediocrity by taking conscious lawful actions that will compel leaders and citizens to live responsibly. His decision therefore is laudable as it seeks to force the system to play according to the rule of law.
Furthermore, putting this move in perspective, it is the only way questions about legitimacy of last the governorship election can be established, considering how polluted the process has being right from last year’s controversial party primaries where due process was completely ignored and 22 governorship contenders were systematically eliminated leaving Udom Emmanuel, as the sole governorship candidate of the PDP. Alas, Udom Emmanuel’s spurious election victory must be put through the legal test. How did he win, was it by legal votes cast freely by voters at the polling units or was it through ballot stuffing at residents of government officials a day before election?
Someone has to answer to the terror and bloodshed unleashed on Akwa Ibom people before, during and after the elections. Political leaders should be weighed, their statements during election campaigns scruntized for hate speeches which resulted in killing of perceived political enemies. The deaths reported in Abak, Ukanafun, Ibesikpo Asutan, Ibiono Ibom, Uyo and other places must be accounted for.
In addition, the governorship results from 31 local government areas will have to be analyzed in court. The scale of Justice must compare data recorded by Permanent Voter Card (PVC) Readers and what INEC Electoral Officers, EOs filled in result sheets. Would it not be interesting to hear the INEC REC, Mr. Austin Okojie, attempt to explain to the election tribunal, his role in the faulty elections? How will he clarify noticeable discrepancies in results recorded separately by PVC readers and members of his staff? One would love to get explanation for incredible data recorded for number of registered voters, number of accredited voters and number of votes cast as published by INEC in the state.
It will most likely be a case between INEC PVC Readers versus Okojie and his EOs in Akwa Ibom State, as their work during the 2015 Governorship and State House of Assembly Election of April 11, 2015 will be laid bare and weighed by Justice.
From available data reportedly recorded by the PVC machines in the state on that day, Number of Registered Voters and Number of Accredited Voters evidently contradict what INEC officials recorded in their Result Sheets for those elections, bearing in mind that there were no reported instances of manual accreditation.
The PVC reader reportedly recorded total Number of Registered Voters as 1,717,766 and total Number of Accredited Voters as 647, 215, while INEC officials filled 1,548,531 for total Number of Registered Voters and 1,158,624 for total Number of Accredited Voters respectively. Why should such blatant contradiction not be assessed?
Quoting recent report by a local newspaper, for example, in Abak, Code 01, the PVC Reader printout shows that Number of Registered Voters was 72, 087 and Number of Accredited Voters was 21, 585. However, what INEC officials recorded in their result sheet portrays the contrary giving number of registered voters in Abak as 6, 950 while number of accredited voters as 45,358.
In Essien Udim, Code 05, the PVC Reader printout shows that Number of Registered Voters was 94, 194 and Number of Accredited Voters was 39, 291. Curiously, what INEC officials recorded in their result sheet claims that number of registered voters in Essien Udim was 95, 287 while number of accredited voters was 89, 313!
In Uyo, Code 31, the PVC Reader printout shows Number of Registered Voters as 151, 889 and Number of Accredited Voters as 47, 845 in sharp contract from what INEC officials recorded as Number of Registered Voters 150, 230 and Number of Accredited Voters as 47, 990! Where did INEC get more voters to accredited after registration had been completed?!!
In Nsit Ubium, Code 21, the PVC Reader printout shows Number of Registered Voters as 49, 249 and Number of Accredited Voters as 18, 269 but INEC officials recorded in the result sheet, Number of Registered Voters as 47, 067 and Number of Accredited Voters as 28, 956!
In Onna, Code 24, INEC PVC Reader recorded 58, 205 as Number of Registered Voters and 21, 102 as Number of Accredited Voters contradicting data on INEC Result Sheet, which are purportedly 57, 996 for of Registered Voters and 54, 050 for Number of Accredited Voters!
The Police, also must render account of their activities that day. Those who connived with politicians to truncate the electoral process and shot innocent citizens while exercising their franchise must be brought to book.
It is therefore right to challenge that governorship election result less we allow consolidation of the ultimate tragedy Martin Luther King Jr., spoke about in his quote.
On a lighter note however, one would advise sycophants to wait till after the ensuing legal battle has ended before sending congratulatory messages to avoid shooting themselves on the foot because even those presently hob knobbing with the beneficiary of that sham election are no at ease because their jubilation may be short-lived.
Post script:
To habitual supporters of wrong doing, have we not noticed worsening trend of election malpractice and violence in our state since 2007?
Have we not lost our once peaceful and united communities to thugs in starched kaftans because instead of focusing on ensuring that elections of political office holders are through popular and credible votes that empower us afterwards to stand up and demand accountability from those we mandated to serve us in public offices, we excuse their vulgar disdain for transparency and rule of law, groveling before them like slaves?
Have we not created tin gods out of every Akpan, Udo and Udofia that emerge through questionable election process like that of April 11?
Should we continue as if nothing fundamentally wrong happened in our communities during the last electioneering process?
