The return of Udoedehe

Warmth and comfort in the arms of the party in power not because of principle but belle ideology. The ruling party with high need for such men in its fold to state a point, readily embraced him. They caressed him likea new bride. Wasn’t he? Ekefre was all business and he practically acted so. Like a hot blonde ready for transactional intercourse, he traded whatever he thought was his commodity to the ruling party and became ten million naira richer instantly. Udoedehe and his men after screaming traitor, said the pioneer Uyo PDP chapter chairman was of no political value. Smart talk, wasn’t it?

Traitor? Those who don’t forget things so soon kicked against the inclusion of the word in Udoedehe’s vocab. They pointed to his dalliance with Ime Albert – the beautiful bride he wooed from abroad for Uyo Senate Seat in 2007 – how he screwed and dumped him. They argued he’s got a rich history of treachery.

Perhaps we could excuse the past – his past and detach it from the present. Then, he wasn’t born again. Now, he isn’t only born again, he screams it into our ears. Does the Holy Bible not tell us that old things have passed away and behold all things have become new?

Udoedehe’s affection for his followers was boldly questioned when the state chairman of his party, Aniekan Akpan – now Eket council chair – abandoned him and jumped ship in the heat of the fight on the heels of Bola Tinubu’s three billion naira campaign support fund. The story is a familiar one; midway into the campaign, information had leaked that the former governor of Lagos State invested funds in the project to the tune of three billion naira. In every investment, the investor expects to recoup not only his investment but win a neat profit.

That’s nothing strange. Every politician is guilty of that. It is much more than a debt of gratitude. It is a debt that must be paid – that is expected to be paid – even though sometimes the investee reneges on the agreement at the end. Udoedehe, it was said didn’t inform any of his lieutenants of the windfall. Not even the state Exco of his party. Neither did the funds trickle down to his foot soldiers despite their huge personal sacrifices to the cause.

The message from Akpan was clear – his fears justifiable even if he remains a patient of moral bankruptcy. If their man couldn’t be trusted with Tinubu’s donation, he couldn’t also be trusted to act his words if he became governor. Akpan negotiated. He switched camp and was handsomely rewarded in cash and cars. His expectant wife was flown to Dubai for safe delivery. Smart dude, you would agree.

Whichever way, he lost at the poll and at the court. He left his supporters in the cold. A word of comfort and a shoulder to lean during the council polls would have been a joker. They wandered and wondered if he was worth their loyalty.

2015 hovers, he is back now to ‘speak for those [of us] who cannot speak. He says he is being propelled by his faith; he announced his comeback in his usual boisterous manner – though not spectacular this time around. It is a way that is familiar.

He spoke on zoning as a convenient political arrangement but argued that those who demand for it shouldn’t expect it on a platter of gold. Of paramount importance in the race for leadership is the message of hope, he said. I align myself with his thought here. But it isn’t all about the message. It is the will to live the message. Anybody can aspire for the top job in 2015 but Akwa Ibom People will pay back in the same coin any fella who looted/loots their billions and oppressed them while they serve(d).

It wasn’t only on zoning that he spoke. He took a swipe at the present administration over its failure to act its one industry per local government electoral promise, summing it up as a political gimmick. He described us in the words of legendary Fela Kuti as a people suffering and smiling. People shouldn’t expect him to be giving out money as according to him, he is no ‘Umana Okon Umana…who has been stealing money since he was a Director of Budget’. Hmm! True? Point well raised and noted. Nobody expects Udoedehe to become a Mansa Musa but he could at least, learn the habit of generosity.

That was vintage Udoedehe at his best, firing his shots from all angles. Not my everyday man but I never have issues with his courage. However, where he missed it was arrogating to himself the status of our savior. Udoedehe went on an ego trip in referring us to his ‘sacrifices’ on our behalf and admonished us to be thankful to God for that.

That was the peak of ingratitude – ungratefulness to a good section of the class of common people who invested their time and lean resources in his campaign. It was an insult to the dead who met their untimely end in the course of it and disrespect to their survivors.

March 22 has come and gone for two years now since that Ikot Ekpene stark lunacy in the name of campaign which claimed the lives of those heroes and then ended in a blame game. From neither end, no memorial service, no condolence of remembrance for those lives that were unjustly wasted. How about the families they left behind? Nobody has bothered to care if the departed were bread winners of their families. Yet both the government and opposition keep telling us it is all about us. They even want us to believe them. Well, we do. Don’t we? Someday, we shall learn our lesson.