Aniekan Umanah’s reaction on the 6th February edition of Community Pulse, page 2, over a 10-page letter I wrote accusing him of arranging someone to impersonate me among other things did not come to me as a surprise.
As a Commissioner for Information and Communications in Akwa Ibom State, one expects Aniekan Umanah to be versatile in the act of informing and communicating. Instead, he chooses to use gutter language to cast slur on my impeccable character. I would not have bothered to respond to his voodooliciously concocted lies but according to Dimba Igwe who is a victim of Umanah’s gobble de gog, “if you ignore the language, what about the brazen lies?”
Mr. Commissioner went about to sniff for dirty about me but found none.
Expectedly because of his penchant for noise making, he aligned with Community Pulse newspaper to publish blatant lies against my person.
Umanah’s delusional response can be classified into five, thus:
1. He accused me of being an extortionist when he said “FredFish is a serial liar who used the TELL Magazine case to extort money from the government”. On September 2, 2011, almost a year after I had been in court, the governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, called and urged me on in the TELL case with the promise to support and pay my legal fees, and by the underlined statement made by Aniekan Umanah’s, he has called the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief (Dr.) Godswill Akpabio an accomplice in the act of extortion. Does it mean that Chief Akpabio who supported and urged me on is an accomplice to extorting the Akwa Ibom State Government?
2. Mr. Commissioner alleged that the idea of going to court was usurped by me from the “author in anticipation of pecuniary gains”. Before filling a suit against TELL, I had written TELL magazine a letter through my lawyer Samuel Okon, Esq, dated 19th November and titled: RE-LIBELOUS PUBLICATION AGAINST AKWA IBOM STATE, where I demanded for an apology to the Governor and the State on three National Dailies and 100million (one hundred million Naira) within seven (7) days or I would be compelled to seek redress in court. I have never gone to anybody or group of persons before to ask for money to prosecute the TELL case. Umanah has been the person who had urged me on several occasions to write an executive summary to the governor so as to get assistance which I did but he never came back with such money after collecting it.
3. Mr. Commissioner alleged that he has been helping me to settle the lawyers I hired while the case lasted and had even referred me to relevant ministry that equally assisted me. Aniekan Umanah’s statement here is like that of a drunken fisherman. My lawyer’s legal fees have not been paid which was why I wrote accusing him of conspiring with others to collect the money meant for my legal fees. Instead of addressing the accusation, he is claiming to be an investor in the case by paying my lawyer fee. Can Umanah who is well known to be very stiff-fisted pay my legal fees running into millions? If he does, on what capacity did he pay the fees? Is it as a commissioner of Information or as an investor?
4. Mr. Commissioner called me “a blackmailer who has allowed himself to be used to sling mud on people” for whistle-blowing his act of impunity against myself and other citizens of the State. I have an impeccable character that is well known to the commissioner himself. I have never blackmailed anyone before and anywhere in the world. Instead, I have been championing a cause against blackmailers as evident in an article at the back page of The Pioneer, Monday April 19, 2010 titled: Akpabio, the intellectual leader we need.
5. Mr. Commissioner questioned my Patriotic stance to defend Akwa Ibom at all times. I wish to educate Mr. Commissioner that, patriotism is service before self. It is fighting with your personal money for your State and not with Tax Payers money. Those who know me better can testify to my untiring spirit and love for service. Patriotism is when the governor of your State call you and urges you on to win a case in court for him and you go ahead to win that case; that’s patriotism. I have no regret whatsoever for fighting to defend the governor’s hard eared reputation.
Bearing in mind the above and his purported media briefing, as published by Community Pulse of 6th February 2014, page 2, it would serve the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Communications well to answer the following questions as a measure of putting in perspectives his role in the allegation he raised against me on account of my taking TELL Magazine to court in December 2010:
1. Why did Aniekan Umanah, the loquacious image maker of the Akwa Ibom State government, keep quiet since December 2010, when I instituted legal action against TELL Magazine for defamatory story against the governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, till February 2014, before letting the public know that I “used the smokescreen of TELL Magazine to extort money from the government”?
2. Why did he keep quiet since that December 2010 before letting the world know that I “usurped” the legal action against TELL “from the author in anticipation of pecuniary gains”?
3. Who is “the author” of the case?
4. As a loyalist of the Akpabio-Led Government and a patriotic Nigerian, which he claims, why did he allow me to go unperturbed without using the machinery of government, which he cannot deny not having access, to stop me from extorting the Akwa Ibom State government, and from usurping the “author” of the legal action?
5. Why “had he been helping” me “to settle the lawyers” he “hired” for me while the case lasted since he was aware that I was out to swindle the government of which he is a key official?
6. Can he recognize the lawyer he “hired” for me if he comes face to face with him?
7. Can he mention any of the “relevant government ministry he referred” me to and that “have equally assisted” me?
8. Why did he “refer” me to other “relevant government ministry”, whereas he claimed he knew I was on a mission to defraud the government he serves as a mouth piece?
9. Does Aniekan Umanah have additional responsibility in the Akpabio-led Government of playing the role of accomplice to those who want to defraud the government that has etched his name and of which he has been feeding fat?
10. Can he name the personalities in “the relevant government ministry that equally assisted” me?
11. As the Chief Information manager of the present Akwa Ibom State government, can he mention those I “allowed” to use me “to sling mud on the people”?
12. Can he explain unambiguously “the failed attempt to make a goldmine out of the case” and to how that caused my resorting to the letter I wrote him privately?
13. As a wizard in information management, which he has been giving impression of being, can he mention the “detractors” that he claimed used me “for cheap political points”?
14. Can he confront the governor with the allegation of being an accomplice to an extortionist?
The earlier Commissioner Aniekan Umanah comes up with sincere answers to the above questions the better for him. On the contrary failure to do so will not only indict his qualification as the Akwa Ibom State Government image maker but could cause the highly celebrated government of Chief Godswill Akpabio untold embarrassment.
As an elder brother of mine, whom I still have filial respect for, I would advise that, if he cannot provide satisfying answers on the question raised above, to the sophisticated Akwa Ibom public within few hours, he should honourably resign to serve himself and the hard-earned reputation of the present Akwa Ibom State government from further embarrassment. Additionally, on resigning, it is advisable that he should go for further studies on how to manage his image, in particular and that of any organization or institution, particularly public-friendly government like that of the master performer, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio.
In conclusion, let me state here unequivocally that this effort of mine, is particularly targeted at ensuring that Aniekan Umanah does not further drag the image of the uncommon transformation effort of Akpabio government to the mud. By so doing I have decided to take this route even with the risk of my life. Though I have implicit faith in the Almighty God and the Chief Security Officer of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, the Akwa Ibom public, should by this information know that if anything happens to me or my life, my present Honourable commissioner will have further answers to provide, in addition to the above, to the Akwa Ibom people.
Tom FredFish, is a Youth Activist
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