By Franklyn Isong
For many who may not know, Dr. Peter Odili is the former governor of Rivers State. He served from 1999 to 2007. He did his best and contributed his quota for the state and its people. During his first tenure, I was residing in Rivers. I had a lot of friends in his government most of them are the big boys of today in the Rivers politics. Hardly a name is mentioned in Rivers politics today without tracing such person to the political generosity of Peter Odili or his administration. As a non-indigene in Rivers at that time, I used to jealous the indigenes, even though, I felt the impact of his largess through the good governance of his administration. At a point, Odili became a household name in the South South especially during the resource control struggle of the Niger delta region. He was generous to a fault. The people of Niger Delta (south south) region admired this man’s kindheartedness and in return, they adopted his usual dressing attires popularly called ODILI - as a common uniform during the resource control struggle, for your information ODILI is now what is known in the fashion world as SENATOR.
Even the six south-south governors including Obong Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom were always adorned with the ODILI attires each time they met to discuss the struggle. I am saying this as an insider in the resource control struggle being one of the vocal youth activists in the ‘South South People’s Conference’ (SSOPEC) chaired by the late Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye, a minority rights activist from Rivers State and deputized by Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, the leader of Ijaw nation, as he then was.
Premised on the south south struggle and SSOPEC serving as the umbrella platform of the people of the region, I and a few other youth activists in the region worked closely with SSOPEC’s leadership and by extension, the governors of the region. We had unhindered access to the governors with respect to discussing and finding out ways to tackling the resource control struggle. So, believe me when I say that Odili’s performance had surpassed that of some of his colleagues in the region and in the country, and so was his benevolence to the people across region.
Hence, I am a living witness of Dr. Peter Odili’s political story as contained in his book titled; “Conscience and History - My Story”.
READ EXCERPT OF THE BOOK BELOW:
"The axiom that 'You never really know a man until he has Power and Money' came truly alive since my period out of office 29th May, 2007. It has been a most revealing and the instructive period of my life. People one had taken from point of street - contact and made members of family: people one had employed straight from school; people who one had no sanguinal relationship with but made beneficiaries of one's generosity in the midst of want; people who professed absolute loyalty and readiness to sacrifice anything in one's defence; people who proclaimed that their own children could not do 10% of what Dr Odili did in their lives.... The list is inexhaustible. All these, on my exit from office, instantly turned their back on me, denied being beneficiaries and indeed joined detractors and political opponents to castigate, denigrate, malign and condemn me. They denied being recipients of anything good from Odili's Government. Some even joined the chorus of 'Crucify Odili' singers. That is the nature of man and his perfidy. 'The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it,' Jeremiah 17.9.
“There is indeed no art for discerning who will stand with you to the end. It is also not a function of sanguinal relations or ethnicity. That is why the list is a mixed salad of friends, fraternal, religious, political, professional, colleagues turned betrayers, even extended family members are included topping the list are: those by God's will we single-handedly invited to occupy positions, those who could not pay school fees or transport their children to school until Odili came into their lives long before I became Governor; those who called me 'brother' and were called 'best friends of Government' on the basis of the tremendous patronages they enjoyed from my administration albeit meritoriously; those who had no leather shoes at the point of contact with me politically and who are today acclaimed success stories; those I assisted to bail out their failing business including banks. People who wined and dined with me every day in office literally and we're privy to most decision and actions of my Government; those whose lives were saved by our state free health care policy and direct intervention; those who held political appointments under us for the 8 years I was Governor and after; foot-runners who became owners of cars through our patronage and assistance. Even those whose wedding were sponsored and funded by us and those who received free medical treatment in our private hospital for many years. That's how deep the betrayal was.
“Like the scripture says 'Many are the tribulations of the righteous but the Lord delivers them from them all.” THE END.
I took the pains to reproduce this excerpt of Peter Odili’s story which is correlated to what is happening to Senator Godswill Akpabio after his 8 years reign in Akwa Ibom State as governor (2007 to 2015). Akpabio was adjudged the best governor at the time. He was praised by all who came his way. Exception of a few fearless social critics like me, whose duties include to put government to check and to hold government officials accountable to the people for their actions and inactions - even at the very risk of our lives and government sponsored media attacks.
In 8 years, I had written countless articles advising Akpabio not to trust the majority of his ‘close’ friends, political associates, family members, sycophants and praise-singers running around him and his government. Then, I was always seen and called “the enemy of Akpabio’s government”, because by nature, I am not a conformist. I believe in asking cogent questions and seeking for answers from the authorities. I am an open-minded social critic cum public affairs commentator. I hold descending view when necessary and I applaud the government when necessary. This is my own way of contributing to the development of our nation.
The long and short of this piece is that, today, like Peter Odili, Godswill Akpabio has been abandoned to his fate by those who hitherto were his close friends, political associates, professional colleagues, family members, beneficiaries and etc, because they were never meant to be around him. They merely pretended to love him for the selfish benefit of what they got from his political generosity and kindhearted disposition while in power. And the likes of us have been vindicated.
My only prayer for now is that as Governor Udom Emmanuel reads this bitter pill from me, let him learn his lessons from the experiences shared in this article and be careful while dealing with those running around him today. They are the same people and same old faces. None of them is new.
They stand for ‘Any-Government-In-Power’ (AGIP) and not the individual in power. Experience they say ‘is the best teacher!’ If they did it to Obong Victor Attah after his 8 years in office; and did it to Senator Godswill Akpabio after his 8 years in office, then your conjecture is as good as mine!
Governor Emmanuel - 'All that glitters is not gold,' - look well!
• Franklyn Isong is a public affairs commentator and conscience of the society.
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