A front page story in the NEXT-on-Sunday edition, read in Lagos on 2nd May, 2010 captioned “Waiting for Godswill” and anchored by one Tolu Ogunlesi, was a reminiscence of what could be obtained in an environment where you have a maximum ruler.
The story had it that, thanks to the provision of a functional airport in Uyo as against a previous situation where people living in Akwa Ibom would first fly to Calabar and by road to Uyo; the Akwa Ibom governor was supposed to fly into the state on Wednesday 28th April, 2010 after a three weeks stay overseas (one week of that as a result of the Iceland's ash outburst).
That 28th May, the story was, “Those people gathered in their thousands (cultural troupes and traditional rulers) adorning brilliant attires T-shirts, face-caps and traditional outfits, all emblazoned with the stern-looking face of the Governor”. It continued that there was large presence of “gun-toting policemen and Road Safety Corps that cordoned off (from vehicular movements) the road leading to the airport at a roundabout several kilometres without given a thought for the fate of arriving and departing travellers”.
The travellers were disgusted and made uncomplimentary comments that they have not seen this type before and describing those that gathered in many adjectives as “jobless people”, waiting for the governor. One woman sneered “knowing the governor, he will not arrive till about 11p.m”, yet another was that the airport should be renamed from “Akwa Ibom International Airport to Akwa Ibom Recreation Centre”.
Worse to the sneer of the one woman, the governor disappointed the crowd by arriving the next day from Abuja, NEXT revealed.
This is not how to govern in a democratic era. What has this country and their rulers (not leaders) turned into?
Simon Ufie, 44 Balogun Street, Oshodi-Lagos (usimonufie@yahoo.com)
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