Re: Maritime Academy Oron boils: Offong Francis Eyo, Eteyen Oboho and others lied

Re: Maritime Academy Oron boils: Offong Francis Eyo, Eteyen Oboho and others lied

BY RAYMOND UWEH

The ugly trend of recurring antics and subterfuge by some selfish and mischievous members of Host Communities of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron have made it convincingly obvious and imperative that everything possible and urgent be done to alter the mindsets and obsession of the people, to help them see things in proper perspectives and align with current realities in the promising Maritime Academy under Commodore Duja Effedua (Rtd).

The persistent and ridiculous campaigns of calumny, speculations, insinuations, instigations and repeated masterminded protests ultimately aimed at distracting and giving false impression about the true situation in the Academy still remain a topical subject of concern to stakeholders.

About a week ago, a group of individuals led by a certain chief Francis Eyo and Mr. Eteyen Oboho-a youth leader from Udung Okung Village in Eyoabasi, Oron L.G.A., after deliberation among themselves, decided to carry a corpse on procession across the premises of the Academy.

On getting winds of the information and their plan, the Rector of the Academy, Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua, is said to have visited the village and pleaded with the said chief to shelve such plans and use alternative road to bury the alleged death person, considering the negative effect of such action in the Academy Community.

Whereas they did not succeed due to the superior logic of the Rector, one would have expected them to use dialogue and diplomatic approach so that peace can reign and attention can be given to serious academic matters which are the primary purpose of the new administration Academy.

The rector, in his usual goodwill and corporate social responsibilities to the host community gave the duo of Chief Eteyen Oboho and Offong Francis Eyo some money to help the community sort-out issues associated with alleged dead person, but the ended up pocketing the money and lied to the entire community. Since they were up to mischievous activities they rushed to the press in order to propagate falsehood and cause commotion.

Surprisingly, the people are far from towing the line of reason in the general interest of all. Hence, our attention has been drawn to a serialized article published in four State-based newspapers with the screaming caption: “Maritime Academy Boils…As Core Host Community Protests Closure of Only Access Road”.

Ordinarily, the unfortunate, porous, error-inundated, ill-advised and self-indicting article which investigation has revealed was co-sponsored by the original lynch-pin and Clan Head of Okpo in Oron Local Government Area, HRH Offong Francis Eyo and an indigene of Udung Okung, Chief Eteyen Oboho would have been consigned to the dustbin where it rightly belongs.

However, circumspection and necessity demand that we offer some corrections by way of putting facts straight for the sake of some members of the public who may be confused about the true situation on ground.

1. In the first place, we had all reason not to have associated the article with the person and office of the highly respected and competent Rector of the Academy who is known and addressed in his present position and office as Commodore Duja Emmanuel Effedua (Rtd.). Yet, the maligning article read, “…particularly the Rector, Rtd. Cpt. Raji Efudua whose less than six month tenure…” Considering the haste and unease with which the article was written, we realize that one person was dictating for another to copy and then serialize it.

2. Again, we state with authority and in hunger for any proofs to the contrary that there was neither death nor corpse as claimed by the masterminds of the commotion in the community. Otherwise, we insist and challenge the mischief-makers to produce the name of the deceased, the obituary notice and programme for the said burial. It is therefore most ignoble that Chiefs Offong Francis Eyo and Eteyen Oboho would stoop so low to being used as puppets for the actualization of a plot scripted by the main actors behind the curtain.

3. The ill-fated article also stated in part, “Addressing journalists in his palace after taking newsmen round the closed only access road in Udung Okung Village which the Academy shares habitation with..” We place it on good authority that the chief never met or held any press briefing with any organized press of responsible men, other than the charlatan he commissioned with a few packs of peanut to author the preposterous article. It was just one quack who wrote the article and serialized it in the media.

4. One would also have expected the Chiefs to act with a measure of decency and sense of recent history that grey-headedness and office would have exhibited. But they goofed and forgot that the said road had been closed for the past seven(7) years. Through out the tenure of Engr. Anthony Isiodu as the then Acting Rector of the Academy down to the days of Mr. Mkpandiok Mkpandiok, Chief Francis Eyo and Mr. Eteyen Oboho never protested nor carried corpse on procession through the Academy If, as claimed in the disjointed article, the community has been using the road since 1979, what was the basis of Chief Francis Eyo’s said negotiations with the Rector in the recent circumstances? Does the community seek approval from the Rector to use all the roads around them? We cannot take anything for granted in concluding with confidence that, by their insistence to use the road even when there were alternative routes, Chief Francis Eyo and co-travelers had evil plots to prosecute against the Academy or the person of the Rector.

5. The article also described the Rector as ‘insolent”, ‘unbecoming” simply because he boldly refused to dance to old tunes played by selfish minds. Chief Eteyen Oboho, for instance, should have been honest to himself to admit that he did not go to the Rector to negotiate on the matter of access road for a corpse, but to importune and pressure him to break rules and give him contracts or pay some unsubstantiated outstanding, which the Rector had no hand in and valiantly refused to oblige. Now the self-styled Chief Oboho is claiming to speak the minds of others. When did Chief Eteyen Oboho who had been surviving on the goodwill of the Academy become the mouthpiece of the people?

6. It must be mentioned here that Eteyen Oboho, the self-styled youth leader was a security personnel in the Academy, but due to his inordinate ambition to amass wealth he resigned and started parading himself as contractor and was patronized by his inlaw Mr. Mkpandiok A. Mkpandiok the immediate past acting Rector who awarded some contracts without due process. Eteyen Oboho should be reminded that era of sharing money in the Academy was over. Hence, the need to stop the gangsterism. Things are now done differently.

7. The acrimonious article has also revealed by strong inference the deep-seated ill-will and hatred that the syndicates have against the non-indigenous Rector which have resulted in the series of stage-managed protests the Academy has witnessed in recent times, sponsored by the same group of persons who feel that their dreams and ambitions had been thwarted by the appointment and presence of Commodore Effedua.

According to the article, “the royal fathers...the women…youths decided to stage a nonviolent protest to appeal to the Federal Ministry of Transport to send the Rector parking from the Maritime Academy, Oron”.

This can hardly be surprising. Which non-tribe Rector of the Academy had the community not fought? Which of them in the past had they not always sought to make life uncomfortable through false allegations, petitions, protests and diabolic attacks as it is the case in the present? It would appear that this group of unrepentant syndicates of atrocity in the Academy needs nothing more than repentance and deliverance.

Against the above, it must be emphasized that, as a man of honour and peace, the Rector had indicated from the first day of his arrival that he will carry the host communities along in the scheme of things via Corporate Social Responsibility.

This is evident in the grading of several feeder roads which traversed through Eteyen Oboho’s compound; renovation of palace of Oron Paramount Ruler; and employment of more than twenty(20) indigenes of Oron as casual staff with good pay package among others.

The Rector also had series of meetings he personally arranged and held with Stakeholders and relevant groups where he revealed his modus operandi and lauded the efforts of Akwa Ibom State Government, the Commissioner of Police and other security chiefs, the Council of Oro Traditional Rulers, Oron Union, and the Executive Chairman of Oron Local Government Area for ensuring that there is relative peace in Oron and its environs.

As a Rector duly appointed by the Federal Government, he deserves some respect. Therefore, directly or indirectly insulting him or belittling his office is an affront to the discretion of the Federal Government and Mr. President.

Chiefs Francis Eyo and Eteyen Oboho must be wary that the moment their principal financier who is under the investigation of anti-graft agency is unmasked, they will scramble into hiding. We therefore advise Offong Francis Eyo and Eteyen Oboho to desist forthwith from misleading the public and creating an impression that there is tension and crisis in the Academy Community just to champion their personal cause.

The Academy belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria, not to any individual or group in the mold of Eteyen Oboho and Francis Eyo. A word is enough for the wise.