Last year December, the city of Uyo was thrown into mourning when Reigners Bible Church located along Uyo Village Road caved in and killed many people. This occurred during the consecration of Pastor Akan Weeks, the founder and leader of the Church.
After the incident, a panel of inquiry was set up by the Akwa Ibom State Government with the primary objective of investigating into the immediate and remote cause(s) of the church collapse, and to proffer solutions tobuilding collapse.
The panel commenced sitting early this year. Persons involved directly or indirectly in the building of the church attended the sitting either as parties or witnesses. A lot of revelations were made in the course of the proceedings of the panel.
The panel was given three weeks to submit an interim report to the government. However, over two months have passed since the panel last sat, and Akwa Ibom people are yet to know the findings of the panel. It was expected that upon the conclusion of the sitting of the panel, the panel would submit its report to the state government and the state government would then issue a white paper on the incident and take necessary disciplinary actions against persons (natural or artificial) that were complicit in the church collapse.
Alas, that has not been done. The panel, as a matter of fact, is yet to properly conclude its sitting; lawyers that appeared in the panel are yet to finally address the panel on the totality of evidence laid before it and on the culpability of their respective clients.
Given the huge passage of time and the fact that the state government has not said anything about the panel of inquiry, it is safe to assert that the state government set up the panel of inquiryat the time of the incident to merely calm the agitated nerves of the people of Akwa Ibom State. The panel was constituted for political and not genuine reasons.
Proceeding from the aboveassertion,it is not out of place to accuse the state government of committing ‘grand’ deceit against its people; the state government has pulled a fast one on its citizens. The deceit is termed ‘grand’ for the following reasons: first, the state government set up the panel and funded its activities with tax payers’ money when the government knew from the onset that it was not ready to see to the actual conclusion and report of the panel. Second, lives were lost in gory circumstances. It is therefore irreprehensible that government would ostensibly set up a panel to probe the church collapse with no real intention to see to the end of the panel. Third, government functions in a position of trust, especially in a democratic society as ours. The people cede their power of representation and decision-making to a few set of people (government) who will genuinely represent and protect their interest. It therefore operates as a total betrayal of trust for the state government to set up the panel with no serious intention.
Some persons doubted the sincerity of the government in setting up the panel from the onset. This is because Pastor Akan Weeks, whois one of the persons the panel set out to investigate, hasclose affinity with the state government. The state governor was personally present during his consecration.
Another reason which gave rise to the doubting of the sincerity of the state government in setting up the panel is the complicit of Uyo City Capital Development Agency (UCCDA), the statutory body whose responsibility was to maintain building standards of the collapsed church, in the incident. During the proceedings of the panel, it was revealed how the church bribed the Agency not to enforce standards against the poorly-constructed church. Money that was used in the bribery was tendered as exhibit. Thus, government on this basis could not allow its agency to be implicated because doing so would indirectly implicate the state government.
Governance, as observed by JairamRomeshi, is about taking tough, even unpopular, decisions. Governance is about exercise of willpower and leadership over and above friendship and affinity. The oath of office for public officials enjoins them to exercise their power without fear or favour.
The Akwa Ibom State Government has not held unto these tenets of governance and has not just failed its people, but has deceived them into thinking that the panel set up by the government was done to genuinely address the issues of the church collapse. The state government has refused to send a strong warning to people that cut corners that illegal actions have consequences.
Neither the pastor of the church, the contractors that handled the church building, nor the officials of the UCCDA that collected bribe have been made to face the law. What message that the government is sending? The government has loudly sent a message that anything goes; that anyone can breach the law and walk scot-free.
It is not too late for the state government to redeem itself. The state government should ensure that the panel concludes its sitting and have its report published. Upon the release of the report, government should take steps against those indicted by the panel’s report and roll out necessary measures to avoid a recurrence of building collapse in Akwa Ibom State.
The victims of the church collapse seemed abandoned. The government should adequately compensate the victims and the families of those that lost their loved ones. It is a moral burden that the government must discharge. The state government has also a legal duty to compensate the victims given that it was its agency (UCCDA) contributed to the collapse of the church, i.e., UCCDA failed to do what it was required by law to do. Had the UCCDA done its work, the collapse would not have occurred.
Our leaders must always strive to lean towards leadership over partisanship and friendship. Leadership calls for action and any leader that signs up for leadership should always be ready and firm to make decisions that, though may be hurtful to a few number of people, is for the well-being of the majority of its citizens.
The voices of those that died in the church collapse cry for justice, and their bodies turn violently in their graves.It is only when the state government has taken a definite step against those that caused their deaths and paid necessary compensation to their families that their souls would find repose.The time to act is now.
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