by Ikpafak Thompson Essien
AVAILABLE reports have confirmed that Bishop Samuel Akpan is
consulting with leaders of various communities in the state because he wants to be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State.
That Samuel Akpan has had the opportunity to walk the corridor of power is not in doubt. The problem is what he has done with the privilege of having access to the leadership of Akwa Ibom State. He has always allowed the privilege of his closeness to the leadership to intoxicate him such that he frequently would behave as if he was above the law. Samuel Akpan may be serious about his aspirations, but the man is a devil and a killer; Akwa Ibom State cannot afford such a man at the mantle of its leadership.
For merely making his intention (for governorship) known, Samuel Akpan should be arrested and charged for treason and for other crimes against humanity. In another society and perhaps in another time, he could have been arrested and remanded in prison. Not so much because of his political affiliations and principles. But rather for heading an organization that was responsible for maiming and killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Akwa Ibom people.
Samuel Akpan may be a Bishop of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star Ministry, but the other side of his personality is that of a man who is possessed by satanic worshipping, ritualistic invocations, devilish incantations, and superstitions. Everything that is against the doctrine of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Stars is what Samuel Akpan—Bishop Samuel Akpan—endorses and craves.
During the governorship campaign of 2006-2007, Samuel Akpan repeatedly urged Godswill Akpabio into believing that in order for him (Akpabio) to win the governorship race; he must invoke the spirit of his late uncle, Ibanga U. Akpabio. After the election and as soon as Godswill Akpabio was announced the winner, he and Samuel Akpan led some of his trusted campaign-staffs to the gravesite of his late uncle, where rituals were performed.
In preparation for the campaign of that period (2006-2007), Akpabio had formed an organization of thugs, known as the Akwa Ibom State People’s Forum (AKPF), which was designed to go after those he perceived as his political opponents. As a reward to Samuel Akpan for his contributions towards his victory, Godswill Akpabio placed Samuel Akpan in charge of the organization (AKPF) under the prestigious title of “International Coordinator.”
As soon as Samuel Akpan assumed the leadership of AKPF, Akwa Ibom State politics became transformed from what it used to be into a game of intimidations and assassinations. Since 2007, when Godswill Akpabio was first sworn in as the governor of Akwa Ibom State, AKPF became an instrument of terror under the leadership of Bishop Samuel Akpan.
In a petition sent to President Goodluck Jonathan, complaining about the attempt by Akpabio to shut down Ibom and IbibioNation fora, the moderator of Ibom Forum, Tom Mbeke Ekanem, described AKPF thus: “From his early days in office, Gov. Akpabio began to act like someone who was possessed or a person with mental problem. Unknown to many was the fact that Gov. Akpabio, before coming to office, had secretly set up a group called AKPF (Akwa Ibom People Forum). Their primary goal was to kill, maim and destroy any potential opponent to the governor. All hell broke loose. Akwa Ibom became the killing field, and the kidnapping and assassination capital of Nigeria. AKPF was only disbanded following pressure by the federal government as a result of so much out-cries by the citizens. But its members continued with their terrorist activities nonetheless.” (http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10900724-tyranny-and-the-breeding-of-terrorism-in-akwa-ibom-state-nigeria).
In an article published in the National Mirror on March 2013, Samuel Akpan “initially used the AKPF platform to control council chairmen and councilors in the state, a development that made him so powerful, but Governor Akpabio gradually whittled down his influence and with the emergence of another parallel group, Akwa Ibom Democratic Voice (ADV), gave those who were disenchanted with his style of running the AKPF another platform, thus weakening his AKPF. Akpan, who is currently the chairman of Akwa Ibom State Road Maintenance Agency, is from Eket Senatorial District and may be limited by the enormous resources needed for the governorship project.” (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/2015-politicians-battle-for-akpabios-seat/.)
In 2010, when Godswill Akpabio refused to support his ambition for the senate seat representing Eket District, Samuel Akpan threatened to use his AKPF to destabilize his (Akpabio’s) governorship campaign. This is howGlobal Concord described what took place:
“But while trying to show loyalty to Obong Ekaette, the tide is fast reversing against the governor as Bishop Akpan is re-grouping his AKPF structure to offset the governor’s plan. It was reliably gathered that the AKPF boss who, alongside other forces, brought the governor to lime light in 2007, may align with opposition to raise his political profile up the notch in 2011 or be compensated with a choice political office. Already, beneficiaries of the Bishop Sam’s contentious consensus candidacy in the last council election in the state who still maintain their allegiance have started working against the governor. One of them who confirmed the frustration of Bishop Akpan in the Akpabio scheming told the Press that “it is a known fact that the governor is not supporting Bishop Akpan in his senatorial ambition. In our meeting with him he has told us whenever the occasion gave rise to it that he is not a party to the senatorial ambition of Bishop Akpan, so we have known that long before now”. Speaking further, the source viewed the unfolding scenario as a suicide mission on the part of the governor who he said can hardly boast of a viable campaign structure and a grip of the PDP structure without Bishop Akpan in the line. He said: “Governor Akpabio’s fraternity on this issue is a suicide mission if you ask me. Take a closer look at the state structure of the party, analyze how the officers came in, you will see that Bishop Sam is indispensable in this regime. So whatever is the case, the AKPF which you know is strong and is still strong may not dance to that tune if the governor maintains his stance” (http://globalconcord.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/gov-akpabio-dumps-bishop-sam-akpan.html).
With all the above information in mind, one can adduce that the desire by Samuel Akpan to govern Akwa Ibom State is not to solve the madness that Akpabio will leave behind, but to introduce and enhance terror in Akwa Ibom State by using his organization to terrorize, maim, and kill innocent indigenes of the state.
The atrocities that Samuel Akpan couldn’t use his influence to induce Akpabio into carrying out, if he is allowed to become the next governor of Akwa Ibom State, he will use AKPF to commit those atrocities, thereby making Akwa Ibom State a living nightmare for all its indigenes.
If he becomes a governor, Samuel Akpan will terrorize the people, kill them, and kidnap anyone who will dare question his polici
es. If he becomes a governor, the governance-style of Samuel Akpan will be worse than that of Godswill Akpabio. Akwa Ibom people have suffered enough under the ugly leadership of Godswill Akpabio. They cannot continue the suffering by dealing with another Satan in the person of Bishop Samuel Akpan.
I hereby call on the people to mount a vehement opposition towards the aspirations of Bishop Samuel Akpan for the governorship of Akwa Ibom State. To endorse him would be equivalent to wishing the people a governance-style lead by a man who is evil, ritualistic, vindictive, and in darkness. Please let’s work together to stop Bishop Samuel Akpan from occupying the Hilltop Mansion in 2015.
- Ikpafak Thompson Essien is a political analyst based Portland, Oregon.