By Joe Iniodu
Since Obong Bassey Albert, alias OBA made public his withdrawal from the Akwa Ibom governorship race in 2015 to bid for the senate seat of Uyo Senatorial District, criticisms and commendations have trailed that decision. But the scale tilts more on the side of criticisms by his teeming supporters who view his countermanding of that bid as a betrayal of their collective hope. On reaching this rash conclusion, they fail to see the core values of justice, equity and good conscience in that noble decision. They also fail to recognize the aphorism of party supremacy as a core index of party politics. And in this case since the party had spoken through its National Working Committee (NWC), the highest decision making organ of the party, compliance was a given to any true party man.
But his tribes of followers see things differently and would not be entreated to any other thing than the fact that he ought to have stood the election. They submit that they were ready to perish with him if that were to become the fate of the project. For them, the language was “forward ever, backward never” with no alternative considered in the matrix. Again for them, Oba was a personal project, an entitlement that needed to be driven with the fuel of passion. And so with sufficient passion infused in the project, the supporters were galvanized to the peak of frenzy with possible fatalities as fall out.
It is a fact that when people are in such state, reason and rationality desert them. Their actions become instinctive and tendentious and not easily amenable to fairness and good conscience. Bassey Albert’s supporters are still in that state of frenzy till date. They still do not find any fathomable reason for Albert’s withdrawal from the race. One of them who was able to show a retention of rationality noted that the withdrawal has brought a corresponding loss of panache for the governorship race. He stated that Albert’s non participation has taken away the trill, glamour and excitement the governorship nomination promised. The less elevated minds are not bothered with the colourfulness the exercise promised. In their opinion, Oba has failed them irredeemably. The withdrawal amounts to betrayal and they may not find a place in their hearts to forgive him for such act of treachery. Well, such submissions are just momentary fits of anger that time and reasoning will heal.
Obong Bassey Albert has through the years built a network of enduring friendship across a broad social spectrum. His advent into the governorship race was to depend strongly on the relationship he has cultivated. Many believe that he learnt a lot from his boss, Chief Godswill Akpabio who used his days as commissioner to build a groundswell goodwill that was to translate into a vehicle that earned him the governorship seat in 2007. And so like Akpabio, Albert used his seven years as commissioner for finance to expand his coast of goodwill through an uncommon generosity that is only comparable to that of his boss. Albert is said to have extended gifts of cars to more people than any other commissioner. He is also said to have given financial assistance to people across social strata. A story is told of an indigent whizkid who had scholarship to study abroad but had no ticket and other essentials for the trip. The young lad is said to have gone everywhere but found no help. One day he narrated his pathetic tale to somebody who is an acquaintant to Obong Albert. The then commissioner who was not even in the country quickly arranged a ticket which was forwarded to the boy through the mediator’s box. He also directed the mediator to where he could pick up cash complement for the boy. And so the boy’s fate which was earlier sealed by poverty had a turn around. Albert has made himself relevant to the people using the tools of generosity and empathy.
The effusive affection the people accord him is a compensation for his consistent interventions in the lives of people in dire need or verge of despair like that of the boy. For such kind actions, many love him passionately especially those that have benefitted from him and they are countless. Yes they love him but are they ready to reason with him? God has admonished that those who love him must do His will. This does not connote force. In this same vein, those who claim to love Bassey Albert must reason with him. He must not be forced to go against the grundnorm of justice, equity, fairness and good conscience. These are time-honored values that enjoy divine endorsement. It is possible that those who go against them do not work with God. And the lost of God’s partnership is an invitation for failure and perhaps disaster.
Obong Bassey Albert’s decision to withdraw from the governorship race attests to his leadership vision among other things. Other appendages like loyalty and gratitude are also critical element in this context. Having worked with Governor Akpabio for seven long years in a very ministry, it would be scandalous for such robust and cordial relationship to be sacrificed on the altar of inordinate ambition. As a leader endowed with vision, Obong Albert has realized that if he burns his bridges today, he may reap a whirlwind tomorrow. And that as a young man, the future beckons with even greater hope. How would he then profit from an attempt to be governor at cost to lives and relationships and perhaps a pyrrhic victory when there would be an opportuned time for him to walk into the same seat trailed with support and blessings of youths, women, elders, friends and boss. The intercourse of fate and time favour him. What he needs now are righteous actions to connect providence to the other elements. The withdrawal from the race in 2015 is part of that righteous action.
Many, however, do not understand this. They are looking at the end, not the means. Those who reason in the expedient mode do not entirely love Obong Bassey Albert. They are seeing him as ATM available to dispense largesse. In their opinion, if he becomes governor in 2015, they would have fame and funds. Even if he does not win as the odds of zoning and equity would be arrayed in his course, he can at least continue to spend money on a scale bigger than contesting the Senate seat. And so for them, they must goad him to contest the election whether he likes it or not for their underlying selfish interest. But with the man showing wisdom and foresight by withdrawing, the likes analyzed herein are very disappointed. For Obong Albert, it is better to err on the side of caution and righteous actions than follow the multitude to do the wrong.
Obong Bassey Albert has demonstrated that desperation is alien to any genuine sense of service. He has also proven that moral values and even the concept of justice have primacy in political pursuits. As a leader with courage, he has steered the people out of a cauldron of mayhem in that delicate decision. That decision must compel our commendation to him and rebuild our goodwill for him. It also impels us to pray the Holland’s prayer model which goes thus: “Lord give us leaders. A time like this demands great leaders whom the lust of office does not kill; leaders whom the spoils of office can not buy; leaders who possess opinions and a will; leaders who have honour; leaders who will not lie…” Let those who seek to serve the people as leaders cultivate these qualities to ease public perception of them and that way minimize misunderstanding them.