ORO 2015, NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER: - President, Oron Union, Abuja Branch - Barr. Isikong Isong, President, Oron Union, Abuja Branch As the steam of the Akwa Ibom 2015 governorship is intensifying in Abuja, just as it is in the state, many Akwa Ibom people are baring their minds on some issues of common interest as they affect the state. In this interview, Barr Isikong Isong speaks on a number of issues both as an individual as well as in his capacity as President of Oron Union in Abuja. According to him, “It appears we are begging to be identified as part of the state or begging to be seen as part of it, that is the way Oro is today” Offong Okodio and Barr Emem Benson from Democracy in Action were on hand to chronicle his views. Excerpts: Good afternoon and welcome to our media platform Good afternoon and thank you Sir, we would like to know who is Barr. Isikong Isong. Barr. Isikong Isong is an ordinary Oro man.He is a lawyer by profession; and he is the president of Oron Union here in Abuja. He works with the Security Exchange Commission here in Abuja. And I will like to add that Barr. Isikong Isong is an ardent lover of Oro. We understand that you are so passionate about Oro and right from your secondary School days, you have been following up issues and events and attending meetings wherever it had to do with Oro. In Lagos, we learnt you were Oron Union president and now while in Abuja, you are Oron Union president. What brought about such passion? First, let me correct one impression. I was not Oron Union president in Lagos but the longest serving legal adviser of the union in Lagos; and I served in so many other capacities, one of which was secretary of the land acquisition committee in Lagos. That was very passionate to me, because the property which Lagos has today, that plot of land was actually purchased by us – Engr. E. J. Ekere was the chairman of that committee, and I was the secretary. We did everything possible to secure that land for Oron Union in Lagos, which is the same thing that the Union under my leadership in Abuja will try to replicate, by the special grace of God. I am a typical Oro man; when people would ask me where I come from, I always tell them that I am a typical Oro man. Oro man to the core; if there is any way to describe it. I have been very passionate about Oro because I was born in Oro, I was brought up in Oro, I attended all my primary and secondary schools in Oro. I attended Methodist Boys High School in Oron, when the spirit of Oro nationalism was so high. Oro was a very beautiful place for one to grow up. Even when I was in Methodist Manse, where I finished my elementary education, I was very passionate about Oro even in that tender age, because we used to have a football club called Oron club which we used to play football between Oron and Ibibio, Oron and Annang, as at that time. That used to stir up the spirit of Oronism in us. In Boys High School, it was a different ball game. I was attending Oron Union meetings even when I was in the Methodist Boys High school. In anything that had to do with Oro, I was at the forefront. While I was in higher school, I was secretary of Oron Union at the school of Basic Studies and also at the University of Calabar, when Oron Union had grounded because of problems, because of bickering, because of embezzlement and all manner of things. I and Barr. Edet Asugno Eyo, he was the president and I was the secretary, we did every thing possible and brought Oro Students Association up again to its feet from its crawling. I can tell you that at that moment, you know, we were very poor students but some of us were not as rich as some others were; so the paltry sums that were given to us to cater for our needs, we were using it to traverse the whole of the state. Sometimes, my father would see me and say what are you looking for in Oro; he would not know we would becoming to solve one problem or the other. We were using the paltry sums given to us to sort out issues having to do with Oro. I remember when there were issues between NAMOBA of blessed memory and Victor Akan of blessed memory, you know, it was we, the students, who ensured that that problem was solved. So, I always have the Oro blood in me. When I went to Lagos for my law school, in 1989, the first thing that I asked for was “where do they have Oro meeting?” I, Barr. Edet Bassey Eyo, Engr. Inuikim Ikemba, we deemed it fit to get to know where Oro meeting usually take place at Eyu primary school, and we started attending immediately, even at the law school. So when eventually I started my service still in Lagos, I had already became a legal adviser in Oron union, with several posts. So, Oro’s blood runs in me; I do not know why but to me, God knew why He made me an Oro man. Provision of services to my community stands tall amongst all my visions in life; without it, I feel completely empty. So, God has always been by my side; so He endued me with the spirit of Oro; and he has kept me this far, I give glory to Him. Its like Oron Union branch in Abuja is keenly aware of the politics in Akwa Ibom State; and I understand you were recently in the state. How was your experience while in Akwa Ibom State , in terms of the political development so far? Akwa Ibom State is a beautiful place. The Governor of Akwa Ibom State has changed the face of that state positively. If you also listen to news nationally, Akwa Ibom has been made to be very active in the poltics of Nigeria. If you drive through the state, if you are coming in from Calabar, the state is a beauty to behold. In fact, you would miss some of the very old boundaries that you knew about, because places have been dismantled, houses have been demolished, new roads have come up, you have bridges crossing and criss-crossing everwhere. If you are driving towards the axis of Aba and you are also opportune to visit other cities in Nigeria, may be you have opportunity to leave the shores of this country to other places, then you would see that Akwa Ibom, in these areas I have mentioned, is comparable to any city in the world. But if you take a walk coming into coastal area of Akwa Ibom where you have the ethnic nationality of the Oro people and the Eket people, then you begin to ask yourself whether you are still in Akwa Ibom or whether that is a different State entirely, or whether that state has a government at all. There is where you would begin to ask yourself questions, which would certainly cast doubts as to the sincerity of purpose of the development of Akwa Ibom. If you take a look as you are passing through the Airport; from the Airport as you are branching to come to Oro, you would realize that the journey that used to take barely 15 minutes now takes more time as you are winding through stretches of roads which are already becoming death-traps; and by the time you enter Okobo Road, you discover that you are going to some abandoned cities. In the ‘70’s when we were growing up, the road to Oro was so beautiful, well tarred, if you enter that road now, you will ask yourself whether it is the same state that Oro is. When you get into Oron proper, in fact, you will begin to ask yourself, what sins we have committed in the state. May be we may wish to beg that we should be ceded to Cameroun, but we are from Akwa Ibom in Nigeria. So, to say the least, the development strides which the government of Akwa Ibom has achieved is underscored by the very deplorable roads infrastructure situations in Oro. There is nowhere in Oro that you can hand-pick. Secretariat Road used to be a road that show the beauty of Oro, but now that road, immediately after the local government secretariat, is not something anyone can appreciate. So, we just wonder; sometimes when we come to Oro we begin to weep. Oron Road was a piece of beauty for the Oro people, because that road, if you take your bearing from Lagos or from Badagry which is the last point in the South West and as you are going towards the last point in the South-South, you will see that road is the last point from Badagry. From Badagry to mile 2, you come to Lagos – Ibadan Express Way, and you then stop at Shagamu that takes you straight to Oron Road which ends at the water -Oron beach. But as I am telling you now, you cannot get to Oron Beach right away if you don’t make a detour, because the road has been divided into two places. Oron Road does not exist anymore. The way it is, if we are not very careful, Oro itself may not really exist, it you want to speak about it statistically, Oro may no longer exist if the roads which we suppose to use no longer exist. Our houses are being submerged by erosions and there is nothing the government is doing about it. So, it is deplorable! Parts of Akwa Ibom State are enjoying the beauty and the developmental strides and uncommon transformation of the current governor. Those strides are rarely being seen in the Oro section and indeed the Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District of the state. It appears we are begging to be identified as part of the state or begging to be seen as part of it, that is the way Oro is today, and its quite unfortunate! Judging from recent development, don’t you see that there is serious conspiracy to delete Oro from the map of Nigeria. That is when you look at it from the point of view of nationalism, as being sentimentally Oro, one can say yes, but looking at the point of view of being rational, one would say, well, I don’t see where that conspiracy comes from. If you see from the point of view of trying to wipe us out as a people, because as a people, we have established ourselves, we are the ones to help others to wipe us out but I think the Nigerian government will not allow us to be wiped out. So, I don’t see that conspiracy but I see a situation where there is serious scheming to reduce us to nothing. I am not seeing the conspiracy as you may call it but I see the conspiracy as a tacit effort for Oro to be dehumanized, because nobody can wipe us out.I share that sentiment; I share that sentiment, that may be there is a conspiracy somewhere, I want to believe that nobody will succeed in wiping us out, because Oro will rise against it. Alright! The tempo of political activities over 2015 governorship in Akwa Ibom have increased, and these have thrown up a lot of issues. Among the issues that have been brought to the fore is the proprietary for governorship of Oro extraction. As the president of Oron Union, Unity Branch in Abuja, I would want you to speak on this. Well, let me say that I am vantage to speak on it, not really as the president of Oron Union but also as a lawyer. You will recall that the type of the Union that we have is not expected to do politics as a political party. If we want to do that kind of politics, then we have to seek permission and apply to INEC to make us a political party so that we can now play politics. But you can also recognize that in every society, such organization functions to project the interests of that society, but in doing that we must do it according to the rules. So, to answer your question, I think that the Oron Union was not established and registered as a political organization; but that is not to say that the Union cannot function to galvanize the ideals of its people towards particular yearning. The Union may not be at the forefront to organize rallies or campaigns, but the Union could be the mouth piece to speak about the political yearnings of its people. That does not mean also that the Union cannot drive the political yearnings of its groups or cannot help its members to achieve their political aspirations. But for the Union to be the one that is standing out as a political pressure group for the community, we would be wrong. But within the Union, every member, as far as you are a man or woman born of Oro extraction or married to Oro, you are already a member of the Union. Every person is a member. The Union can now form or organize a group as pressure group – politically, economically, developmentally and then make it known what the members should do. The Union is a synergized group, an organized group, but not a political group. Perhaps that was the reason Oro Think-Tank was created! Oro Think-Tank supposed to be a group that speaks politically for the Oro people and answerable to the Oron Union, because Oron Union is the embodiment of the Oro people. So, when the Oro people ask you to do something, its like giving you power to hold something in trust for the people. So, Oro people also give their rights to Oron Union to hold in trust for them, so that we can now become an embodiment of a group of people with one voice. When people come from outside, they should not see the fragments of people that are voiceless, they should see a wholesome group that is living as one indivisible entity. That is the essence of Oron Union – Think-Tank was formed to calvanise, to spear-head the political yearnings of the Union vis-à-vis the people of Oro. Recently, there was a publication credited to Akwa Ibom community in Abuja in which six of the Oron Union, Abuja branch members, were signatories. Now,what is the position of the Union against that act which was specifically against zoning and against Oro’s interest in 2015 governorship? What has been the position of Oron Union regarding that publication? You will realize that the said publication had generated a lot of controversies in Oro, Akwa Ibom and in the Diaspora. The publication that you stated has to do with Akwa Ibom community. Some people in Akwa Ibom community thought it fit to express their feelings on the pages of newspapers on some political issues in Akwa Ibom State. First, let me state for obvious reason, that the position of the Union has never changed from what it was when I as president of the Union in Abuja presented an address of welcome in December 2012, when we had the first Oro Day celebration. And I had said that it was very difficult for the address that I gave that time to be completed without talking about 2015. I said that we in Abuja have made it abundantly clear that come 2015, an Oro man, whoever that man is, will be left for God who anoints and makes kings, to decide to become the governor of Akwa Ibom State. This has been ordained by God who shall bring it to pass. Some people are saying that we don’t have the money to spray around; perhaps we do not have but we have other things – the Ojei afangi spirit. I had said, let us be prepared to cross and repair those bridges. Let us learn to be positive in our thoughts and actions; let us believe in ourselves; let us know that sometimes the race is not for the swift nor the battle for the strong but time and chance do make it happen. I still remember that I quoted a great thinker, a great orator, a man of volume who said that the man who wins is a man who thinks he can; if you think you are beaten, you are; if you think you dare not; you don’t, if you like to win but you think you can’t, its almost certain you can’t win; if you think you will lose, you’ve lost. For out of the world, we find success begins with a fellow’s will, its all the state of mind. If you think you are outclassed, you are. You’ve got to think high, to rise., you’ve got to be sure of yourself before you can ever win a prize. Life’s battle don’t always go to the strong or the fastest man, but sooner or later, a man who wins is a man who thinks he can. My position, the position of Oron Union in Abuja has never shifted, has never wavered, has never slumbered, it has never been downgraded. This is our position; this will ever be our position. However, where you many children in a family, some are bound to have interests that are different from others, because all fingers are not the same. Life is all about how you can have patient to allow the thoughts, ideals and idiosyncrasies of another person to be heard, to be portrayed; how you foster peace even in the face of provocation that is all life is. So,, when our friends, our brothers, even after the various conferences that we had in Oro; even after the proclamation we had in Oro, that everbody should move to the same afangi come 2015, about the yearnings of Oro ethnic nationality to also produce a governor come 2015, they went ahead and published that very vexatious publication. You are asking, what is the reaction of the Union? The reaction of the Union would not be different from the reactions of other well meaning people of Akwa Ibom State; we condemned it, its not something any right thinking Oro man should do. But they have done it! So what do we do? The elders of Oro, the national executive members of Oro Union are looking into the issue. I am sure very soon, a decision will be taken on that, and all that there is to be done to the people involved in that ignoble act, so that nobody is going to accuse the other of witch-hunting. But the position of the Union is that we cannot but condemn such attitude, inspite of the fact they may want to say they were exercising their rights or discretions. But it is a fact that the right of any man to do what he likes stops where the rights of others begin; and Oro people had evoked the doctrine of afangi on the issue of 2015 governorship, and those who are trying to steer Oro into confusion, Oro will have to deal with them in a way and manner that will fit such disloyalty. Alright sir! Now, let’s speak on Akwa Ibom State 2015 governorship. With all the intrigues, controversies and politicking, what is your observation? Observations, opinions, perceptions, assumptions most times do not necessarily hold water. I would rather ask myself, what has God says regarding 2015? I want to philosophically tell you that there have been serious movements. I remember when we started this agitation, we were point-blankly told that there was no way that Oro man will ever be heard of planning and smelling the position of the governor of the state; and I asked, why? Some people said Oro has nobody; some people said we don’t have money; some people said we don’t have the right education. They said many things! You have seen with your own eyes how those lies have crumbled over the months, to the extent that our dear governor has said that the position of governor of Akwa Ibom State is tilting towards Akwa Ibom South. That is from the governor of the state. That is an advantage by itself, because, hitherto, that wasn’t the case. Now, as you can see, more information is coming up as our people are working, consulting and campaigning. There is also a movement towards tilting the governorship to the third largest ethnic nationality in the state. Oro people have stepped up the agitations that will decide who to be the governor of Akwa Ibom State by 2015. I will also philosophically say that we are not begging but we are begging. That is to say we deserve it, but that is to say again, we will not take it by force – we have to cross bridges; we have to mend fences; we have to meet people; we have to discuss with people and these people are people who are also parts of the state. So, its not something you can get by force. God Himself has made it that the huddle which might have hitherto been placed for an Oro man to be a governor of Akwa Ibom State is tast crumbling like a pack of cards; and at the end of it, there will be none. And I have asked people; those who care to listen, that we should not fight among ourselves – we should rather think of unity; that should even be the greatest thing we should go back and work on – how we are going to be united and cooperate among ourselves, so that our yearnings will come to pass, so that our aspirations may be realized. Because, there isn’t any Annang man as at today who will come out to say he will want to be a governor of Akwa Ibom State by 2015. If you look at the core Ibibio, there isn’t any person or persons who have come out shaking the state that he want to be governor other than Umana Umana who we are hearing from the gravevine that he is aspiring for the 2015 governorship. I have also read from newspapers when our brother, Umana Umana, was accused of declaring his intension to contest for governor and he denied that he never did –that he had never declared any interest to run for governor anywhere; that he never did any public declaration. So, if you take that into consideration, you can see that there is no Ibibio man who has declared to be the governor of Akwa Ibom State by 2015, though there are people who are working underneath. So, it behooves on us to put our house in order and work hard, and stop talking about what other people are doing, rather, let us be positive and let us put our energy and our resources to what we should do. Let us talk about the Oro project and not talk about what others are doing; let us talk about what we should do. So, 2015, in any way you want to look at it, is the turn of Oro. This is our chance, and we should take it with both hands, because God has given it to us, the world has given it to us; men have given it to us, its only us who are only forced to go out for it. Come 2015, my spirit tells me its Oro man who will be the governor. Its not just going to be an Oro man. For your information, Oro is used to bringing out great men when the chips are down. When it was time to bring out a vice chancellor, Prof Uya stepped in, and he was a great man. When it was time for us to bring out an Inspector General of Police, Chief (Offong) Etim Inyang stepped in, and he was a wonderful man. When it was time for us to produce a deputy governor, Engr. Etim Okpoyo did not waver at all, and he was a great man in that position. When it was time for us to produce a senator, Victor Akan stepped in, and he was a marvelous man and was voted twice as the best senator in Nigeria. We have always produced great men. When it was time for us to produce a minister we produced a world-class minister, in the person of Prof Sunday Essang who was a professor of Economics. So, in 2015, God has moulded, God has prepared, God has stirred up the spirit of a great man somewhere, who is not making noise at all; you don’t even know him; he will come out and steer an unprecedented transformation of Akwa Ibom from where the uncommon transformation will stop. So, let Akwa Ibom people wait for the digitalized governor who is coming to make everyone proud in every sense of development. Judging from the developments in Akwa Ibom State, politically, economically, socially, would you say Oro, as an ethnic nationality, is well treated? It will be so easy to answer that question, but I will not want to answer that question judgmentally. I will answer that question in a way we in the legal profession would say it isres ipsum liquitor; that is the action speaks for itself. If you go to Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District, you will see the uncommon transformation. If you go to Akwa Ibom North West, you will see the uncommon transformation of our dear governor. But if you go to Akwa Ibom South, you will see how the place is looking so deserted. Its not whether they are fairly treated or there may be some ways they are fairly treated which we cannot see; there may be areas they are fairly treated but let us also see them. It is good to be fairly treated and we can see and not to be fairly treated and not see it. We want to be fairly treated and we can see it and not to be fairly treated and cannot see. There appears to be divergence of views on the issue of zoning in Akwa Ibom State; come 2015 governorship. Some are of the views that it should be on the basis of senatorial district while others are of the view that it should be based on the ethnic tripod. What will be your view on this? You see, people are very deceitful, when it comes to something that they have interest, they try to weave it so that it no longer have the taste as it used to be. There is nobody in Akwa Ibom State who doesn’t know that Akwa Ibom is made up of three ethnic nationalities; the Annangs, the Ibibios, and the Oros. There is nowhere in history that can be disputed; that is why if you are driving into Akwa Ibom State at the Ibom plaza, you have the three forks symbol representing the make-up of the state. People should not fool us because of politics, because, if because of politics you try to distort history, after politics, will the distorted history still stand the test of time? So, for the purpose of history, let history be! When the governorship was made to move to Annang, we cannot overemphasize the fact that our then governor, Obong Victor Attah made a pronouncement in a meeting that they had, it was clearly stated that the governorship rotates within the ethnic nationalities of the state, not within the senatorial districts. When the present governor came to be a governor, it was because the governorship was zoned to the Annangs. And it is so unfortunate. Very fortunately Ikot Ekpene senatorial district is made up of Annang communities and one or two Ibibio minorities. So, the composition of that senatorial district is not as we have in Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District; where we have other ethnic nationalities of Oros, Ibibio, Ekids and Eastern Obolos. The peculiar situation you have in Akwa Ibom South is not what you have in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district. That was the basis and we have been working with that. Now that is the turn of Oro ethnic nationality to bring out a governor, they have began to distort history, because their interest is that an Oro man should not be a governor; an Oro man is this, an Oro man is that. Why should that come in now. The zoning that should produce a governor by 2015 should not be based on senatorial district, it should be based on ethnic nationality. That is why we are saying that it is our chance; we don’t even want to go into how many times the other segments – the other people of Akwa Ibom South Senatorial District had taken their own turns to produce governors and deputy governors. We don’t want to go into that because it is seen, it is known. We may be small but we have great minds and we have great people. President Jonathan comes from a very small place, he would not have dreamt it but because God wanted him to be the president, that is why he is there.God has ordained an Oro man to be a governor come 2015; whether we talk about zoning, proprietary or otherwise of zoning, or ethnic nationality or whether we want to talk about senatorial district, Oro man will be there; because God has said it and so it will be, and that is what is important. Others are just jostling just to twist history, just to deceive people and tilt the pendulum to the people who are majority. As a follow up to that question, recently, a prominent Oro Son, a lawyer and former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General in the state, Barr. Victor Iyanam, expressed the view that the clamour for zoning in Akwa Ibom State amounts to a gang-up against the Ibibio ethnic nationality. Do you share this view? Barr. Victor Inyanam as a Nigerian has the right to share his views on whatsoever topic that is on the floor for individuals’ opinions but those views will not stand the test of time. Let us go into politics and let Victor come out to prove that what he says is right. There is no way I can share in such views, because that view isn’t correct. When Ikpoto Oro, Chief Inyanam, was alive, Oro was Oro. Such statement would be followed by serious sanctions.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 17:15:49 +0000
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