Since the outbreak of the dreaded corona virus pandemic, some people because of lack of what to do have resorted to spending most of their time on active social media activities.

Some of them have turned motivational speakers, while some are critics. For the critics, what is it their subject of criticism? Nothing else than to berate the governor of Akwa Ibom State on every step taken to curb or completely annihilate the presence of the virus in the State. To exacerbate everything, they've moved to making comparisons between the present State administration to that of Godswill Akpabio which elapsed few years back.

First, they maintained that if Godswill Akpabio, now Minister of Niger Delta Affairs was still the governor of Akwa Ibom State, coronavirus wouldn't have come into the State. What they are trying to divulge to the world is that Godswill Akpabio is an immortal goalkeeper who wouldn't let any shot enter Akwa Ibom which is like a goal net in this context. I didn't know that the mortal Akpabio I know was nothing but a spirit in human form. Does this entails that the second coming of Christ is now? Maybe he's the Christ and he's already in our midst. This should be story for another day!

For the sake of clarity, let me take a journey few years back, during the outbreak of Ebola in Africa. Senator Akpabio was the governor of Akwa Ibom State during as at then. What was his contribution to the fight against Ebola outbreak in the country?

It's saddening to note that while the then President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan was striving to annihilate the disease in the country, Akpabio saw a money-making venture out of it. On daily basis, there were lies propagated by his government that several people in the State were infected by the disease. Money was pumped into the State to help save the purported infected persons, but at the end of the day, it was discovered that Akwa Ibom had no infected persons. It was too late because already, Bro Goddy had collected the money from the Presidency.

Sometime in 2007 when the then President, late Alhaji Umaru Musa Yaradua was sworn in, he thought it wise that the only avenue where Militant activities could be eradicated in the Niger Delta Region was to grant them an unconditional amnesty. On several occasions, Akpabio who was the governor then had maintained that there's no Militants in Akwa Ibom State. But shockingly, the moment the President revealed the amount of funds budgeted for the Militants, Akpabio ran back to Akwa Ibom State, met with some youths across the State and yours truly, Akwa Ibom recorded the highest number of Militant groups. Some surrendered hunter's gun while some did not even have anything to surrender apart from themselves. To shortened the story, part of the money was given to some State governors to compensate those Militants. Akpabio got his own share, and to the best of my knowledge, the lion's share. Those boys were given chicken change at the tail end.

Akpabio is one man I respect so much. He is someone that can create something from nothing. Here, his praise singers should know that if he was still the governor, Akwa Ibom State by now would have recorded up to 5000 acclaimed confirmed Covid-19 cases, if not more than. The number of cases in the State would have doubled that of Lagos, FCT and Kano merged together. Yes, Uko Akwa Ibom is such a genius. Certainly, the Federal Government would have had to give Akwa Ibom State triple of the money given to Kano and Lagos States. By the time there are real confirmed cases, there wouldn't be money or standard medical facilities for their treatment, and hence, the virus would kill them.

Because he is one that believes in violence, his era as the governor of the State was marked with unceasing politically motivated assassination, kidnapping, cultism and thuggery. These vices were walking unclouded throughout his days in office as governor. Currently, Nigeria has a total Covid-19 death rate of less than 200. If Akpabio was still the governor of Akwa Ibom State, more than 1000 people would have been assassinated by unknown hired assassins within these few weeks. Everyone in the State would have preferred to run to Abuja, Kano, Lagos or even USA and be infected with Covid-19 than to stay in the State and die untimely.

Again, Akpabio as then governor of the State came to see working health facilities in the State, but left them destroyed and incapacitated. So how would he have been able to combat this dreaded corona virus disease in the State? This is to say that the number of discharged cases in the State everyday wouldn't have been entirely impossible. For about a week now, Akwa Ibom State has not recorded any confirmed Covid-19 case. What then should we clamour to have had a man which would have stepped-up our predicaments?

In respect to the few Social Media Paid blackmailers apprehended by the security agents, they should thank God it is not when assassination was working barefoot in the streets of Akwa Ibom. Who are they to have abused, and defamed the government the way they did and then go free during that era? They would have been completely eradicated from the face of the Earth and not even any of their family members would know their whereabout. There wouldn't have been any hashtag like #FreeKufreCarter or #FreeGeorgeUdom. You now see the difference between tyranny and democracy?

For now, I just want to maintain that Akpabio would have done us more damage if he was still the governor of this State. Permit me to go for now, I'll speak again when it is time.