President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent visit to Akwa Ibom State, the first since he was elected more than three years ago was a missed opportunity which he should have used to present his scorecard in his bid for re-election.
Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who led a litany of his party stalwarts to launch his campaign in Akwa Ibom State, the first of such in the series of electioneering campaigns leading up to the scheduled general election beginning next month, was visiting Akwa Ibom State for the first time in more than three years.
After the much-hyped and media blitz over the launch, many were left wondering whether the import of the campaign had been achieved and whether it was worth it.
First, the visit generated much controversy in many aspects, from the venue to whether the state governor, Udom Emmanuel would be allowed to receive him at the airport and to the appropriateness of the date of the event.
There was a breach of protocol at the airport when the president’s wife recently visited the state when the governor’s wife was almost not allowed to receive the vice president.
Before the president visited Akwa Ibom State for the launch of his presidential campaign, the Ibibios, the majority ethnic nationality in the state who are considered to be the fourth largest in the country had fixed same date for the coronation of their newly installed king, His Eminence Solomon Etuk as the Oku Ibom Ibibio IV.
His predecessor, Obong Robert Obot, Oku Ibom III was assassinated in 2011 when political killings, kidnapping and other violent crimes took their toll in the state during the tenure of Godswilll Akpabio as governor.
Regarded as the patriarch of Ibibio nation and with the date for the coronation already fixed, the APC had insisted that the coronation should be moved forward to give way for the presidential campaign launch. Many had argued that if an Emir in the northern part of the country were to be installed or to be given staff of office, the Federal Government or the party in power not dare to insist that such an important cultural and traditional event be postponed but had happened in Akwa Ibom State and APC eventually had its way.
As the controversy over the date was resolved, the issue of the venue became another major sticking point. While the state government insisted that the use of the Akwa Ibom international stadium for the event would hurt the playing turf and scuttle the chance of the stadium hosting international matches, APC insisted also that it had the right to use the facility at all cost.
According to Ita Solomon Enang, a former senator and special adviser to the president on National Assembly Affairs (Senate), the president has the right to use any facility in any part of the country maintaining that the party would not hesitate to use force in order to have access to the stadium for the presidential campaign launch.
Thanks goodness, the matter was amicably settled without the use of any force after the “little misunderstanding” was sorted out and the stadium put to use by the party.
And when the party officials and the president got to the stadium, with the party leaders including women and the governorship candidate of the party in the state, many indigenes of the state were wondering and speaking aloud what they stand to gain if they should vote APC.
For instance, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, minister of transportation had boasted that Boko Haram insurgents had been restricted to only Borno State unlike in the past but did not mention the increase in the casualty figures of service men being killed almost weekly by the insurgents.
According to him, the party has fulfilled its promises to improve the economy, ensure security of lives and property and fight corruption, insisting that the party had promised to bring change to the country and has succeeded in doing so.
Bola Tinubu, the party national leader’s speech at the event that further showed that the party was not ready to reward Akwa Ibom for its contributions to the national economy when he admitted that though Akwa Ibom State is an oil producing community, it has nothing to show for it, a statement which speaks directly to the neglect the state had suffered over the years.
And when President Buhari finally mounted the podium to speak as a presidential candidate, he failed to tell the crowd and party supporters his achievements in concrete terms, what he has done in Akwa Ibom State since his assumption of office in terms of projects executed and others in the pipeline. For instance, the Calabar Itu highway constructed many decades ago which the Federal Government says contract for its construction has since been awarded, has yet to achieve any significant percentage of completion.
In fact, what President Buhari said was no different from what he has been saying at different events across the country: the fight against corruption and insecurity and the focus on the economy. In a speech that did not last up to 10 minutes, the president ended his presidential campaign launch without any word of succour or comfort. It was a platform that he ought to have fully used to sell his party to the state with the hope of winning more votes in the coming elections. In all, it was a missed opportunity for the party in which many in the state believe that its achievements in the last three years are not visible enough and are at best more of unfilled promises.
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo
