By Edidiong Udobia

Between February 2016 and April 2018, I had the privilege of serving as Press Secretary to the then Member representing Mkpat Enin State Constituency in Akwa Ibom House of Assembly, Hon Otobong Ndem. The job had its highs and lows. There were the “wow’’, the “awwn’’ and the “hian’’ moments. There were times the job would want to make me feel like the world was my footstool, and there were other times I felt like the beast of burden. After more than two years on the job, I had seen enough that there is hardly anything strange to me about image making as far as Akwa Ibom State is concerned. However, as a professional, there are lines I could not and would never cross. I had shared a little of that experience in my memoir, “A Tougher Test: Juggling Politics, Media and Character’’.

About a week ago, I shared a link of my report on the current Mkpat Enin debacle in a WhatsApp group, and a certain individual made a profane comment to the story. To paraphrase his words: “Now that the Chairman has won, all these sponsored journalists will hide their face in shame’’. I made findings and I discovered that the individual is a keen loyalist of the chairman. I can only recall having such adrenaline rush twice in my career. The first was in the build-up to the 2019 NUJ election, when a supporter of the then Commissioner for Information told me that I was too insignificant in journalism to say that “a whole commissioner’’ will not produce the state chairman of NUJ. I simply told him to go and wait for my response after the election. The second time was when a Joseph Okon, an SA to the Governor, tried to drag me into the silly infighting in the government. I responded accordingly in both instances.

That comment by a loyalist of the chairman changed the scope of my involvement in the case. It is preposterous to trash-talk anybody with such audacity when you're defending criminality. We might not be an ideal politically upright society, but our situation has not gotten so hopeless that evil should dare to stampede goodwill with such effrontery. Nobody can genuinely contest the fact that the chairman of Mkpat Enin Local Government Area, Mr Aniekpon Ekpo is culpable in the allegations leveled against him. The evidence are indisputable. However, if for any reason, the powers that be decide to give the embattled chairman a “soft pedal’’ (whatever it means), Mr Ekpo's legion of calamitous loyalists must be made to understand that it is not a triumph of evil over good, or a victory for corruption against agitation for transparency and good governance, but only a temporary relief for impunity.

It is crystal clear that the common definition of image management in Akwa Ibom is “massive attack...massive defence’’. But herds-media will not always win. It will never take the place of strategic engagement in perception management. The overreliance on mob media in the name of showing loyalty is detrimental to the dynamism of image making. The hallelujah boys who had trumpeted the chairman into many of the problems he is facing today, later resorted to slandering those who demanded for transparency and accountability in the council, but now that the curtain is up, a mere humming of truth has disharmonized the symphony of Aniekpon's orchestra. Parading a cult of ragtag internet supporters does not translate to having the intellectual powerhouse needed to manage a political crisis like this.

It's okay to support and defend one's boss, principal or political benefactor with zeal, but being overzealous will almost always backfire. On Wednesday, September 29, 2021, the member representing Mkpat Enin State Constituency in Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon Victor Ekwere held his mid-term constituency briefing where the who's who in the state politics attended. However, the chairman of Mkpat Enin, Mr Aniekpon Ekpo did not attend the event, which prompted the Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Aniekan Bassey to politely express his displeasure. Barely days after, an aide to the local government chairman came online to tell the Speaker to apologize to the chairman over his remarks at the constituency briefing. Clearly, the boys perfectly learnt the art of arrogance and insolence from their oga.

At a meeting last week, hosted by the state commissioner for Works and Fire Service, Prof Eno Ibanga with Aniekpon Ekpo and the 10 councillors who initiated the petition in attendance, Mr Ibanga kept hammering on the damages that Aniekpon's overzealous supporters have caused to the case with their inciting, provoking and boastful remarks in public space. In very plain terms, he was asked to tell his supporters and loyalists to refrain from making unguarded utterances on the case because they were doing him (Aniekpon) more harm than good. If he acted on the advice or not, is yet unknown. What is public knowledge is that the revelations from the ongoing investigation by the House of Assembly Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs are too appalling for any logical defence to be made on Aniekpon's behalf. So whether his loyalists choose to continue in their massive attack or switch to massive defence, it will all amount to complete foolishness.

True loyalty is founded on principles and rooted in good conscience. It is not a melody from a choir so a million gram of praise singing cannot equate to an ounce of true loyalty. It is unfortunate that Aniekpon had to learn his lesson the hard way. But it would even be more unfortunate if public office holders in the State fail to see the Aniekpon experience as a wake up call. There is a thick line between citizens expressing their honest opinions on public matters and loyalists deliberately making injurious, defamatory, or disrespectful comments against others in the name of proving loyalty to their “leader’’. Once that line is crossed, the unwritten law of politics permits the sins of the followers to be visited on the leader.

By the way, this is just a side comment on loyalists and trash-talking. The conversation on #MkpatEninPeopleVsThePeopleOfMkpatEnin will continue after this brief time-out: Dori me, Interimo ayapare, dorime. Ameno, ameno. Latire, latiremo. Dori me.