KEY ISSUES ABOUT CONSENSUS GOVERNORSHIP IN CROSS RIVER STATE

KEY ISSUES ABOUT CONSENSUS GOVERNORSHIP IN CROSS RIVER STATE There can be no bigger office in a state, any state, than the office of Governor. Perhaps that is why the hunger or passion or zeal to occupy that office is always so impassioned and sometimes fratricidal. There is no doubt that there is much to gain by being the Governor of a state, never mind the homilies about patriotism, passion for service and so on that are the general punchline of most aspirants on the campaign trail. The Governor of the state is the temporary Lord of the Manor, the representative of God within that time and space, an official King Kong for an unbelievable sublime period of four or even eight years during which (in the Nigerian reality) he can make and unmake men, turn celebrated idiots into monarchs and change the life story to good or to bad of all those who come under his orbit. THE FEAR OF THEIR OWN SHADOW It is not a surprise therefore that the contest usually becomes fierce, employing every arsenal of trickery and blackmail to trump all foes, to browbeat and intimidate. Sitting Governors also must insist on who they want, most times a lackey, a whimp or a lick- spittle. Someone who is encumbered in some form or manner and who could never insist on the proprieties of justice, equity and good governance. They do so to prevent the upstanding and the principled for fear of their own shadows - that ugly long shade that tags along behind them in all its ugliness and dreaded miasma. No Governor in contemporary Nigeria wants to be succeeded by anyone who is his own man. THE GOVERNOR WANTS HIS OWN MAN In Cross River State, the trophy has become a hydra of some ilk, like the dreaded face of gorgon medusa, that inscrutable head of true ugliness that terrorises both the small and the mighty. The Governor will give his right hand to handpick his successor who will be his puppet while he remains the puppet master. But the law is an ass, rigid, stoic and uncompromising. The Governor is finding it difficult to follow the rules and still have his way. Fela Anikulapo Kuti calls it 'stalemate' in one of his classic songs. THE POWERFUL EFIK MINORITY Anybody who is new to Cross River State will believe that the Efik's are the dominant majority tribe. But alas, they are not. The irony is that infact and indeed the Efik's are a small minority who are very enlightened, very sophisticated and very organised. They are also very suave in the art of tribal blackmail and the threat of violence against whoever stands in their way. The Efiks have over the years remained contemptuous of other tribes in the state, preferring Ibibios with whom they have linguistic affinity, to the other Cross Riverians who they derisively refer to as 'ATAM" a nebulous term that hints at a people of lower culture. They demand the Governorship come 2023 without the humility of negotiating with the majority tribe, Ejagam/Bakor general stock, who hold the advantage of numbers are spread all over the state. Governor Ben Ayade it now appears has been sufficiently overwhelmed and is playing the Efik music right now, daring the majority and risking a voter backlash. One hopes that the Benue state scenario where the Idomas can have their say but the Tivs must always have their way does not replicate itself in Cross River. This is because the over - Efiknisation of the Governorship in 2023 is quite capable of rousing the sleeping lion in the real majority in the state. And there is no knowing what a "foolish" people who suddenly realise that they hold substantial power may do. THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER While Governor Ben Ayade expects the rest of the aspirants besides the anointed one to roll over and renounce their ambition he himself was very trenchant on Channels Television a few days ago when he declared that he was not going to accept any consensus in the Presidential race in which he is involved if such a process does not follow the rules. Yet in his own state which he leads as Governor, he is doing everything to thwart the rules and install his single - handed pick no matter whose ox is gored. The Governor is also said to be running elections for two offices having secured nomination forms for the Presidency and for the Senate. The brazen inconsistencies of the Governor himself have become a source of worry to those who are looking up to him for leadership and moral example in public office. The rumour mill is busy with theories and conjectures. Some say that the Governor himself wanted Asuquo Ekpenyong Junior, but his Junior brother preferred Senator Bassey Otu. Yet others claim that the Governor's sisters actually wanted Ben Akak, another aspirant. Wether these theories are true or false, what is important to note is that the Governorship of Cross River State is too much of an important position for members of the Governor's family to choose, like a piece of rapper for a family member's birthday. Democracy demands that legitimate delegates as prescribed by the Constitution of the Party and the Electoral law should be given the opportunity to choose a Governor of their choice through a transparent Primaries election. This is the least that Party members expect before they are forced to demand the enforcement of their rights through the courts of the land. Sylvanus Nentui writes from Abuja.