The Akwa Ibom Governor, Godswill Akpabio found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons this weekend, and surprisingly, as a result of an occasion built around joy, celebrations and merriment. His crime was the lavish gifts he promised music star, Tuface Idibia and his bride, Annie, at their traditional wedding in Eket, AkwaIbom State.
In a show of magnanimity and possibly overjoyed that the music star had picked his wife from the state, he promised the couple 2 new Toyota Prado jeeps and also promised to send a delegation of 30 persons to attend the white wedding holding in Dubai later this month on this state’s behalf. He did not stop there, as he also promised to renovate the Eket-Ibeno Road, which has remained in a bad state for a long time, is to be fully rehabilitated before the next child dedication ceremony of the couple.
This singular action of the governor stands as evidence of the profligacy of our governments and the insensitivity they have towards the people. It is a gross abuse of public trust to use public funds on lavish gifts that do not have any direct bearing or impact on the people of the state. Tuface should see this gifts for what they are, trojan horses of sorts. For by accepting these gifts, Tuface will be reinforcing the negative behaviour, governors like Godswill Akpabio demonstrate in their brazen disregard for fiscal accountability and transparency concerning the way they mismanage public funds.
Surely, Governor Akpabio has not run out of ways to improve the lives of his people, especially considering the fact that his state receives the highest allocations from the Federation Account. While the wedding of Tuface and Annie in the state might have brought it a great deal of positive publicity and even pride, taking from the public till to buy outlandish car gifts for the couple, and even sponsor a 30-member delegation is a complete misplacement of priorities and a waste of money. It reminds me of the Biblical story of taking the lone sheep of the poor man and giving to the rich man with 99 sheep.
Akpabio is known to be a serial waster of public funds. Last Christmas, his gift to the people under his domain was movie theatre tickets subsidy. Meaning the Silverbird Group got to benefit even after being awarded a multi-billion Naira contract to build Ibom Tropicana, where their cinema is housed.
Even worse is the statement of the governor that the Eket-Ibeno Road that has long been in disrepair would be repaired before the dedication of the next child of the couple is an indirect way of telling the people that ply the road daily and in the towns linked by it that they are not as important as the couple. This almost borders on insultive.
The onus now falls on Tuface to do the right thing by turning down both the gifts of the cars and the offer of sending a 30-man delegation to his Dubai wedding. He should remember the songs he has sang advocating for good governance which struck the right chord with Nigerians. This is the time for him to put words into actions and reject these gifts that have the potential of making him look anti-people.
A simple rejection of the gift will send a loud and clear message to Governor Akpabio, and other leaders in government that public funds are to be used for public good, not for private gifts.
Wisdom is profitable to those who use it.
Below are the lyrics from the Tuface Smash Hit, For Instance:
VERSE 1
See, for instance
Say I be one wey dem give chance
Say I be one wey dey make plans
For all man to benefit abi
To make we disagree
I fit to create chance
But now I am not of importance
Cos now I am looking from a distance
And that’s why you give them the chance
To do all that and
To turn us to victim of circumstance
Them just dey ignore our existence
Them take excuse dey use excuse to buy chance
Ai, them no know say we dey
Them dey use us dey play
And we get another singlance
anytime we stand for resistance
hold them in the act of exploitance
Abi we just be living in a trance, lord
Oh my God!
Ala oyi e!
CHORUS
If you feel what am feeling
If you feeling my flow
And you know say it is so
Ala oyi e!
In your house or you in a motor
and you dey a go slow
Ala oyi e!
you feel that this thing is affecting your being
And is killing your soul
Ala oyi e!
Ala oyi e!
For the thing wey you see
Wey edey make you ala oyi e!
See this type of thing we we dey feel
Wey edey make we dey want to dey
Ala oyi e!
Even if I want to dey cheat
I go still dey want to dey
Ala oyi e!
Stand, look around you
And I bet you go dey want to dey
To dey ala oyi e!.
Ala oyi e!
For the thing wey u see wey make you ala oyi e!
VERSE 2
For instance
Say emi Baale of Nigerians
Shey I go dey respect your own stance
Shey I go create a scenery for better to plenty
To dey make we dey give chance
Instead of to dey pack the money go France
To make suffer to full in abundance
Dem make me to wanrun away
To a place where ebi say
I go dey feel like Europeans
Where them go respect my skills for instance
Where them no go just dey dey play pranks
On top of people wey walk away
Wey give them the key
To dey chop to their substance
When them dey just we be freelance
Their looting no dey give us the chance
Repentance no dey their plans eh
Edey create annoyance for my heart
So ala oyi e!
Hopefully, 2baba remembers the lyrics to the song.