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| L-R: Eyo Ndem and Princewill Odidi |
3 May 2020
Ambrose Bierce famously defined politics as a “strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage.” In other words, there are bound to be hidden interests behind every attack or counterattack. As someone who is politically aware and exposed, I’m privy to a considerable amount of (privileged) information and that’s why throughout today, I’ve been impatient with the Cross Riverians who have failed to see beyond the ordinary on Wike’s recent brazen and unprovoked media attacks on Gov Ayade. Let me go to the point —Wike has vowed to give his close friend, a top, active politician in CRS the PDP’s Governorship ticket come 2023- maybe in his thinking, CRS is now an annex of Rivers state! Nobody from outside CRS will solely chose our Governor for us. See, in 2023, the people are going to have the rights of first refusal -we and not the godfathers will choose our leaders! That said, on behalf of Cross Riverians, I’m very grateful to Liyel Imoke and even Wike for the role they’re currently playing in cutting Gov Ayade to size -but again, I insist that the assignment of choosing the next Governor must be left for us.
As it stands, CRS is too broken financially to have a Governor who would be looking forward to the monthly FAAC allocation & who lacks the ability to geometrically increase the state’s IGR from the get-go and also source for funding for signature capital projects. If I’m asked to present a well thought out choice of a candidate who fits the bill, I’d suggest two: Architect Bassey Ndem & Mr Princewill Odidi. The former for his famed administrative abilities and genius & the latter for his humane persona, international reach and mentorship abilities. Cross River state would be all the better for it if one of these two choices takes over the helm of affairs at Peregrino come 2023. Like they say, 24hrs is a long time in politics- apparently, two years is much longer. Till then, these two choices remain the state’s best bet. There are a number of others who have started subtle campaigns already but I would advise them to use the next year to prove to the people beyond doubt that they’re capable.
I also hope that Gov Ayade & former Gov Imoke use this short article I’ve put up as some kind of guide. Which camp takes 2023 (irrespective of which party they support) would depend largely on the choice of Governorship candidate presented or supported; one with the backing of the people.
Simon Utsu is a public affairs analyst
