22 July 2019
The word that really comes to mind in trying to describe the attitude of the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State governor, Mr Christian Ita, in his response to journalists in the state who are carrying out their constitutional duty, is “unfortunate”.
The unfortunate press statement, where he said the governor would not be distracted by blackmail, alluding to press men reporting what is going on in the state, really makes one questions Ita’s claim to have a journalism background.
How can you be lashing out at journalists for doing their job? Should they be praise-singing your boss???
The CPS is his statement decried a perceived negative spin given to the governor’s policy of acquiring land to establish farms, describing it as blackmail, in obvious reference to the wide reportage of a recent position of the Cross River House of Assembly. He used the words “wicked”, “mindless” and “unconscionable” quite loosely to buttress his message. In this particular instance one has to ask how can reporting the apprehension of the state lawmakers about the governor’s arbitrary grab of about 9000 hectares of land in every LGA across the state for opaque agricultural purposes, be a crime? Why can’t the governor explain to the people what he is trying to do? Are we not in a democracy? Why does he feel he can force down anything he likes on the people? Is he an emperor?
On the issue of industrializing the state he Ita was even talking about, one would wonder if that is the way to go about it. So you build factories and start looking for land to plant the raw materials – a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, I must say, an unprofessional way of doing things. This clearly shows the government has no agenda, government has no direction. The government has no good plans for its people. You build a cocoa and rice plants with no plan of a farm to feed it, then all of a sudden you wake up from sleep and decide to arbitrarily grab people’s land across the state, especially in the wake of the RUGA controversy in the country. This RUGA agenda shall not work in CRS in Jesus name! Amen.
The governor is ready to sell Cross River and if we don’t wake up and resist/reject him, posterity would not be kind to us.
We would not keep quiet and watch the state being destroyed because of one man’s interest and lust for money,, while praise singers like (Ita) who have been given peanuts urge him on. It is clear the governor is desperate for money now, given the NFIU’s recent directive about local government funds going directly to the local governments. Right now anywhere he hears money can be made, he is ready to do anything, even if it means sacrificing our state, because he cares about no one else except self and his family members.
The governor should know that he can't/won't acquire people’s land by force. That is the height of criminality. .
Since he took over in 2015, this government has been shouting about signature projects, superhighway and deep seaport? The question to ask government today is where are these projects? Mr Chief Press Secretary??
Among many other losses, over 28, 000 trees have been lost because of the so-called superhighway, yet we have nothing and no one is talking. Instead of having moved one step forward, we have rather lost all steps! Yet, no one is asking questions. The government does not, and is not bothered to explain anything to anyone. This is bad.
For the press secretary who is pushing this agenda of arbitrary land grab, of course to justify his paymaster, I would like to challenge Christian Ita, to leave by example and first donate a piece of land as his contribution to the RUGA project of his boss.
I am not afraid to speak up because even if they come after me as usual,, the struggle to save Cross River will survive. Amen…
It is good that these people working against this state have children… tomorrow, their children will ask questions. They will hear the stories and how their parents sold the soul of the state. They will hear how some persons mortgaged their heritage and how their future was sold for the sake of a plate of porridge. They will hear!!!
Ita in his utterances has shown how unprofessional he is by stooping so low to personalize his vitriol. Cross River State is not about any individual or person. Why won’t the CPS dwell on, and tackle the issues as they are, rather than resorting to personalizing his attacks!. This smacks of gross professional incompetence and a crass lack of ideas.
Hear him, “To turn truth upside down or use journalism as a platform to hurt people because you have a request that is not met must have its legal consequences.”
What exactly is Ita talking about here? What does he mean by turning truth on its head? Is there anything that was reported that is not true? Let Christian admit the truth, instead of going public to desecrate a profession he claim to be part of, just to please his paymaster.
For the benefit of the doubts, let me state here clearly that journalists in Cross River are doing a good job. If there is one or two who may have sold their souls to him (Ita), giving him the impetus, and making him feel he can talk down on journalists in the state,, he should be called to order.
In as much as there may be those who may have brought themselves down to be bought, let him also know that there are those committed to fairness and objectivity and there is no way he can win a war against the will of the people.
An African proverb has it that a wise man never knows all, but only fools know everything.
A word is enough for the wise! MAY GOD SAVE CROSS RIVER STATE. Amen.
