Dear Mr. Secretary:
Today, a child in Akwa Ibom State, who may be as young as five (5) years, may not know the detail and all the intricacies of government-sponsore d assassination, which seems now to be a common prevalence in the State. Honestly, sir, the child knows one thing about assassinations; it is a criminal activity, which is always perpetuated by government agents. If a child of that age in Akwa Ibom State can be so apprehensive of such a diabolical act committed by those who profess to kill and maim for and in the name of government, just imagine what perceptions that child’s parents, friends of his parents, the neighbors that live around his parent’s house, and all the people of Akwa Ibom State harbor for such a government, which runs an administration of which you are a high ranking officials.
It may be soothing to your ego (and probably your fears) for you to imagine that there is a single person in Akwa Ibom State who truly believes that the killing of Chief Paul Inyang is not an act of your government. It is on record that Chief Paul Inyang attended a meeting of the PDP Caucus a day before he was gunned down, right in front of the door-entrance to his church. At the Caucus meeting was Obong Victor Attah, a man whom Governor Akpabio hates with a passion, because Akpabio has been known to tell anyone who cares to listen that Obong Attah is responsible for all his political woes. And the late Paul Inyang has been known to be a very strong supporter of Obong Attah’s position; to dismantle the present status of PDP structure in Akwa Ibom in order to guarantee a fair, free, and balanced up-coming election in the State.
In tune with the views of Obong Attah, as well as the views of many progressive people in Akwa Ibom State, Chief Paul Inyang was known to have confided in people that the present structure of the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, where the brother of the governor is the Secretary and also where the governor’s yes-man is the Chairman, will certainly not augur well with President Jonathan’s determination to see Nigeria enjoy the fruit of fairness and equity in electing their leaders. This strongly held progressive principle was the reason Chief Paul Inyang did not hesitate to attend the Akwa Ibom State Caucus when invited by Obong Victor Attah, who was at Uyo at the time.
Your government has been known to be an organization of little or no tolerance to opposition and criticisms. Learning that Chief Paul Inyang attended a meeting in which Obong Victor Attah was present was, in the minds of you people, the last “betrayal” your Governor could stomach. How could a man who purports to support the Governor be seen among a group of people considered as “enemies of the State.” To you and your Governor, anyone caught doing such a thing has committed a crime punishable by death. And that is why Chief Paul Inyang was assassinated in the early hours of Sunday morning. He was in a church listening to a sermon delivered by his Pastor when one of your agents went inside the church, whispered to his ears that he needed to come outside (of the church) to receive a message sent by the Governor. The farthest they could allow him before he was gunned down was just to go through the doorway. He slumped and died, instantly, in front of the House of God and before all the worshippers.
This particular incident is not the first instance in which a high-profiled indigene of Akwa State was assaulted while attending a church service. It happened to General Edet Akpan. Your explanation and insinuations that your government has no hand in the death of Chief Paul Inyang is annoying to the people and they consider the content of your “Press Release” as insult to their intelligence. They believe that the reasons for your promptness to issue a disclaimer is not because you care so much for the assassinated Chief. People think, and rightly so, that you are afraid because you think a repeat of reactions that took place when General Edet Akpan was kidnapped are going to repeat themselves.
First, as soon as Chief Inyang was murdered your Commissioner for information, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, was very quick to blame the crime on opposition. As if on a second thought, he announced that someone has been apprehended. Then your turn came. Sir, let me tell you what Akwa people really think of your behavior regarding this matter. They see you and Aniekan Umanah as the embodiments of the inherent fears, which are tormenting Governor Godswill Akpabio. Akpabio is scared stiff that he is losing the election to Akpan Udoedehe, a man who is actually a nightmare to Akpabio.
When General Edet Akpan was kidnapped, the public was told that a suspect had been napped and arrested. That was the end of the story. Till this day, no one hears about the arraignment of anyone who was involved in the crime. In less than 24 hours after Chief Paul Inyang was assassinated yesterday, as mentioned earlier in this letter, your Commissioner for Information quickly announced that a suspect had been napped and is in custody, a fact, which you have also confirmed. Mr. Secretary, no one believes you. No one believes your Governor. The people don’t trust you and they don’t trust your Governor. Everyone believes that you are hiding the truths from the public. Personally, I think the perceptions and views of the masses are correct; you are not forthcoming in your explanations to the people.
Mr. Secretary, let me be candid with you; the people want honesty. They want you to tell Governor Akpabio that he does not have to kill in order to remain in power as a Governor. Such a posture is not only barbaric, it is counter-productive and it becomes worse when it is accompanied with lies, such as you are spreading on behalf of the Government regarding this particular situation. I am surprised that it has not yet dawned on you and Governor Akpabio that the more he kills; the more it turns the people’s minds in favor of the opposition. Trying to put the blame of the crime on the so-called opposition is equivalent to trying to stop the spread of fire with petrol. If you think the people are going to appreciate a government known for kidnapping and killing unsuspecting people, especially in places of worship, then you must be living in the Utopia.
You and Governor Akpabio know very well that the opposition cannot match your government when it comes to committing havoc in Akwa Ibom State. The opposition has no ADUMA, but the government does. The opposition has no arsenals of weapons, but the government does. The opponent has no Police Force, but the government does. The opponent has no money, not even close to what your governor makes in one day, but your governor and your government do. In terms of the number of thugs in the street, the government surpasses opposition. What all these means is that there is no way opposition would be able to get away from the type of crimes that currently prevail in the State. That is why every time someone is kidnapped, especially high-profiled kidnappings and assassinations; the people consider it ludicrous when the Government issues public statement blaming opposition.
Nearly all the high-profiled cases of crimes committed in the State seem to have one common characteristic; vehicles with Government-Owned License Plates are always reported by eyewitnesses as the vehicle of operation. Yet, no investigation has ever been done by your Government. As a result, no one has ever been tried, let alone a conviction, in the court of law for using a Government-owned vehicle to commit a crime. This is part of the reasons the people don’t believe you every time you try to blame opposition for crimes that everyone knows are committed by agent of the government.
Another reason people don’t believe you is because they know you are well aware of those agents that commit crimes for Akpabio. Have you ever heard of a man popularly known as “Iraq?” Does the name sound familiar? You may not be comfortable with the name. But this is what the people know of him. He is a killer. He is the leader of the gang that kills for Akpabio. Sometimes ago, the police arrested and charged him with the crimes of kidnapping. But after your government spent N1.5 million to authorities, Iraq was released and his weapons were released to him too. And Iraq is still kidnapping and killing people while you, as the Secretary to the Government, Governor Akpabio, and other key members of your administration prefer to look the other way.
Soon after the Anti-Kidnapping Bill was passed by the Ste House of Assembly, which mandated a death penalty for anyone who perpetrates the crime of kidnapping, a gentleman by the name of Nathaniel Uyo was caught by the police for kidnapping. But he was released later, after Governor Akpabio himself made a personal request to the corrupt Commissioner of Police. You know, and the people know, that Nathaniel Uyo is a cousin of Governor Akpabio. And the criminal is still roaming the street of Uyo, kidnapping and killing people at will. Meanwhile, Governor Akpabio has refused to sign the Anti-kidnapping Bill into law because he knows that it is his own people that will be convicted with the law.
Then there is another diabolical fellow by the name of Prince Ikim. He was associated with and arrested by federal agents for his role in the kidnapping of General Akpan. The people know that Governor Akpabio spent millions of naira to have him released. Today, he is in Uyo and probably is still engaged in kidnapping and political assassinations. Sir, if I know all these from thousands of miles, rest assured that there is nothing that the people in Akwa Ibom State don’t know. And don’t forget, silence is no cowardice. Now you know why erroneously blaming opposition for crimes in Akwa Ibom State does not make sense.
The people demand truths. But since truths are not forthcoming, therefore, they have decided to take matters into their own hands; have patience, lay low, wait for the right day they can vote Akpabio out office. Yes, it will happen because that is the only alternative way to bringing back sanity to Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.
Thompson Essien
Portland, Oregon.
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