By Essien Ekpeyong
Yesterday as I drove round Calabar, there was so much for cameras to capture. The city was agog with celebration. Calabar was in complete excitement. One would think we are already in December and it was carnival. Yes, Calabar was in a carnival-like mood!
Taxi drivers, youths, men, women, traditional rulers, all came out to celebrate the emergence of Sen. Prince Bassey Edet Otu as governor-elect. The entire city was indeed enveloped in the euphoria of victory.
Season of sweetness is here because our Sweet Prince, the peoples sweetness, Senator (Prince)Otu, has happened on us. He is our fresh breathe, a new dawn.
However, as we celebrate as sons and daughters of the South, it is imperative to note it down in our history books and in our hearts, that at a time we were betrayed by some of our own respected elders and leaders from the South, an Atam man, His Excellency Governor Ben Ayade, stood by us and made this “Season of sweetness” possible.
Let’s not forget that the likes of former Governor Duke, former Deputy Governor Effiok Cohbam, Barr. Eyo Ekpo and many others rejected power coming back to the South and fought against it but Ayade insisted and today this dream has been actualized.
For Donald, it was purely about wickedness, pride and selfishness. Donald wanted to be the only Governor in the history of Cross River State of Efik extraction. Make no mistake, the little goodwill he enjoyed in the South before is completely gone now. He will surely be a victim of continous mockery on the streets of Calabar
This election was a battle everybody keyed into irrespective of tribe or zone. Gov. Ayade championed the back to South movement and made lots of sacrifices for this to be possible.
Take it or leave it! He sacrificed his senatorial ambition. What if he had used all the resources at his disposal to make sure he won his senatorial election, and then the opposition prepared and came back with a counter attack in the North? Trust me, this celebration would not have been possible.
That sacrifice cost Ayade his return to the Senate but gave us about 20,000 votes difference in the North, a very significant figure to emerge victorious in this election.
Ayade held his cards to his chest, until this governorship election. He committed more to this election than even his own election. Obudu votes alone would have guaranteed his return to the Senate, but despite the manipulations and provocations, he stayed calm and planned ahead for the Sweetness we are all celebrating today.
Now, look at the results from the North. PDP won Ogoja, which they refer to as their stronghold by just 1,000 votes as compared to the about 9,000 in the National Assembly election. APC won seven out of 10 wards in Ogoja. Results were manipulated in Jarigbe’s ward, else APC would have won Ogoja.
In Obudu, APC won with a margin of about 9,000 votes as compared to the 900 in the other election. In Yala APC won with about 9,000 votes as compared to the 1000 in the last election. PDP lost Obanliku this time around to the APC, in the last election they won Obanliku with about 3,000 votes. In Bekwarra PDP won with about 200 votes, as compared to the about 7,000 in the last election.
This statistics clearly shows that results were manipulated in the National Assembly/Presidential election. Gov. Ayade had all the resources and power to fight it, but he preserved his resources and power for the governorship election.What a sacrifice!
Former Governor Imoke boasted in a video that afterall Prince Otu was someone they retired from politics. According to Liyel, Prince Otu had lost two Senate elections in the past, and there was no way he will win governorship. So how then did Prince Otu win a governorship election after two failed attempts to return to the Senate? It is very obvious that the Ayade factor played out.
On March 19, 2021, Ayade warned the PDP not to dare him, else they will see a new Cross River State. He meant every word of it. Today, Cross River is the only APC State in the South South, with two Senator’s out of three, five House of Representatives members out of eight, 20 House of Assembly members out of 25 (Note that 1 is Labour Party in Yala 1, adopted by APC due to a supreme Court judgement that nullified the primaries of the APC in Yala 1 State Constituency).
With APC at the center, it means Cross River stands to benefit a lot. This was made possible by Gov. Ayade. So as we celebrate this season of Sweetness, we should always remember, that it was sponsored by Ayade. He kept his words, sacrificed his return to the Senate for us to have this day. Ayade is the hero of this election and Cross River South owes him eternal gratitude.
Ekpenyong, a Marketing Communication expert and Social Affairs Analyst lives in Calabar
