A dog that remembers a delicacy it devoured previously will always lick itsmouth intermittently. That is why a popular axiom in local parlance in thestreets of Uyo, or any other locality in the present day Akwa Ibom goes that 'ewa atoyo se akedia akoro inua.'Similarly, a puzzle that rings in the minds of millions of Akwa Ibom people, at present times, is why the desperation for control of the state by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), even in the face of apparent non-acceptance and poor organisational structure and mechanism.Politics, as the saying goes is a game whose central theme is competition for power. In the true sense of it, it is played between two or more interested parties (not necessarily registered political parties); it could be at home between two siblings or in the church.At the end of the day, a party becomes victorious and just like in the game of football or any other sports, the losing party, or aspirant as the case may be, is expected to salute the eventual winner. They embrace each other and move along as people committed to the cause both had vied for. Even in the game of boxing, in which the winner emerges as a result of 'beating up' his opponent, they are usually made to embrace each other after slugging it out. A game is a game, whether it be football, volleyball, basketball or tennis.However, the quest for the soul of the hottest seat in Akwa Ibom took a different dimension when some Yoruba elite led by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu allegedly made overtures to Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, whose political fortunes and popularity in the state was already descending to the abyss, especially following his dismal outing as a junior minister in the federal executive council and unceremonious booting after less than a year in office.Of course, with the arrival of the ACN in the state, also came the introduction of a dangerous dimension in the politics of the state whose people are known by the prefix Peace-loving. The March 22, 2011 disastrous calamity that befell the people of the state as the Ikot Ekpene people watched with awe their brothers being killed and some shops set on fire by the rampaging 'campaigners for positive change ' is still fresh in the minds of people.That same day, innocent civil servants were pursued out of the state secretariat, and most of them sustained severe wounds, while scaling the perimeter fences to escape from the ACN marauders, who branded themselves as landlords that day. It was really an episode in the state history not worth remembering, nobody enjoyed the new brand of politics that came with such vindictive havoc on innocent people. Not even the unsuspecting commercial and private motorists who were chased, beaten up and had their cars destroyed. That day, everybody caught was compelled to deny supporting Akpabio.The fight, sorry the game for the soul of Akwa Ibom by the ACN s is not unconnected with the Ekaette phenomenon, that was the nomenclature for the only viable industry in the state. It was the order of the day for Nigerians, especially those in the Western part of the country, and most especially Lagos, to come down to Akwa Ibom and get honest, hardworking and humble youths who are engaged in menial jobs of all sorts by their bosses.It was a common practice to have the girls from the state renamed Ekaette (a name they were all familiar with) by their masters and mistresses. The different assignments for all the Ekaettes included babysitting, cooking, sweeping and selling wares. For the boys, okada, gatemen, gardeners, drivers and office messengers were reserved for the Okons, Etims, Effiongs, Akpan and his younger brother, Udo.Even the former Minister of Information, Prof. Dora Akunyili confirmed this during a visit to the state. In the full glare of the state governor, and ranking citizens, she confessed that her cook of 10 years was actually an Akwa Ibom girl.Governor Godswill Akpabio came into governance with a determination to restore the dignity of the Akwa Ibom child, and provide him/her with a secured future. He enacted the child rights and protection law, making it mandatory for all Akwa Ibom children to go to school free of any charge. This policy meant that Ekaette and all her siblings from all parts of the country, and even outside the country returned home to the warm embrace of the education-loving Akpabio government.By the second anniversary of the free education programme, the population of school enrolment had tripled with many, who were before than house helps, abandoning their trade and setting sail home bound for western education.It is the realisation of this decline in the house help industry of Akwa Ibom that has led to the desperate and illegal bid to wrestle power from the Governor Akpabio led-government.Just like a dog that reminisces on what it had consumed, the regional party (ACN) is still counting her losses, following the dismantling of the house help and menial jobs industry by Akpabio and co. Even the broom symbol of the party which reminded the people of Akwa Ibom about that unfortunate history of mental and physical slavery did not help ACN in Akwa Ibom. It is noteworthy to also add here that the broom in the western or civilised clime, portrays nothing short of witchcraft-another trend that has been exterminated from Akwa Ibom by the development - oriented Akpabio.Just as Governor Akpabio has constantly said, the industry of house helps has been handed over to other Nigerians, the people of Akwa Ibom State are now poised to embrace the massive industrialisation spree being packaged for the state in the current dispensation.For now, Ekaette the house help has become Ekaette the Managing Director, and having failed woefully in Akwa Ibom, ACN will have to look elsewhere for empires to plunder just as they plundered us for decades.Ndueso writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
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