By Dan Etokidem
''A nation without memory is a dangerous society''- Dr Reuben Abati
Tell me your enemy and i will tell you what you are. Tell me your hatred and i will tell you your character. - Fulton Sheen
Histories are more full of examples of the fidelity of dogs than of friends.- Alexander Pope
On May 7th, 2016, the world gathered in Abak to bid farewell to an illustrious Annang son, Dr Ime Sampson Umanah.
We all know him. We all know what he stood for. We all know his contributions to the development of Akwa Ibom State. We all know his sacrifices towards the upliftment of the Annang nation.
Who killed Ime Umanah? I will tell you. After all, it is open secret. He was accused by his fellow Annang brother. Someone he once helped in life. He was not even allowed the right to be heard by his kinsmen. Not by the Itai Afe Annang, nor Afe Akuku Annang or Annang elders. He was paraded before newsmen like a common criminal by the DSS. I almost cursed that day in my life, the descent to extinction of the Annang race, designed, programmed and stage managed by one of our own. His accuser was everything: accuser, investigator, prosecutor, judge. He was the maker of the law and the interpreter of the law. He stipulated punishment for crimes not committed and how to administer the punishment to his tormented victim. In fact, his accuser was 'God' and his death was to be Godswill for the Annang nation.
No one told the emperor he was wrong. Or at best, hear Ime Umanah's version of the story. Nothing was done to reconcile these two illustrious sons of Annang. Because of money or the lack of it, the Annang nation sold their conscience and became part of the conspiracy to kill Ime Umanah. They forgot his sacrifices, they forgot his contributions, they forgot all he did. Ime Umanah was downcast as he could not believe what his own kinsmen were doing to him. At a point he vowed never to be buried in Annang land. "They don't deserve my corpse when i die," he declared. It took the intervention and passionate plea of one of his most trusted friend who was present when he uttered those words before he took back the curse he placed on his people. Because of money, he was taken to Golgotha. Nobody could question the emperor. Not even the church. CAN before now was already compromised. More partisan than the political parties and more political than the politicians. Crucify him, crucify him, they all chorused, so long as they left Ukana, the temple and pentagon of lies, deceit, betrayal and death with bags and cartoons loaded with blood money.
In death many thought having successfully killed him to achieve political goals he would be allowed to rest in peace. But what happened? I will tell you. The next day the matter came up in court after his funeral, his accusers and killers argued with vigour and grace that they are not aware that he is dead. The joke did not end there. They refused to accept a copy of the burial programme tendered. "He is not dead", they insisted before the court. Not even when Pa Moses, the Deputy Governor was present at his funeral as a representative of ISIS and other officials of the regime.
The Annang nation today is indeed a lost generation in dire need of redeemers to reclaim the land from its blood thirsty invaders. Whether the reclamation process will bring about the much needed regeneration i certainly cannot confirm or disclaim, at least for now. Even in the grave, Ime Umanah weeps for his people but remains greater than his tormentors. Who framed him? An Annang man. Who was his accuser? An Annang man. Who is the Attorney General with the mandate to persecute him even when the blind could decipher that it was politics at its most detestable and despicable zenith? An Annnag man. From which tribe were the ones given money to issue press releases and disown him? The Annangs.
On August 4th, 2016, his killers surprisingly after months of denial finally accepted that he actually died. The court struck out Ime Umanah's name from the charge leaving the Information with only the first accused person, Ikemesit Iyire.
Now wait for this- The former governor of Akwa Ibom State and now Senate Minority Leader, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio (You know/remember him?) has been slated to appear before the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo on November 23, 2016, as a witness in charge HU/49/2010, involving The State v. Dr. Ime Umanah & Ikemesit Iyire, the man whose petition to the Directorate of State Security in 2010 led to the filing of the Information against the accused persons.
God keep us alive to see November 23, 2016. I cant wait to see Akpabio in court testify against the late Ime Unanah. I cant wait to hear him tell the world what transpired before Ime Umanah died "a natural death".
I cant wait to see the man, who after the former Chief Judge of the state, Hon Justice Idongesit Ntem Isua, ruled then that the confessional statement the state obtained from the first accused person was obtained by oppression, accused her of bias and decreed that the matter be transferred to the present court, where it started de novo in court.
What a pride to the glory of the Annang nation it will be! I pray Akpabio should not come to court alone on November 23. God may not forgive some people if Emen, Prince, Ibanga, Nsentip, Uloma, and all the descendants of the Akpabio dynasty do not accompany him to court. His crowd of jesters, sycophants, praise singers, political pastors, Annang Paramount Rulers/Chiefs, Youth and Women groups should all be on hand to usher him into the court premises. Let the shout of "You are a leader" rent the air. I want to hear them sing, "Eyen Abasi Amanam O, Owo inamke nkpo ikan ado". Let them chant "What money cannot do, more money can do" as they usher Akpabio into the courtroom to testify against Ime Umanah. After all, the nightmare continues, the tragedy of a lost generation which started in 2007 did not end in 2015 but prolongs and will linger for a very long time.
This is the story of the 21st century Annnag. A sad narrative of a great nation turned into a pitiable sight to behold by foreign invaders in collaboration with local co-conspirators. But we are yet to fully come to terms with the tragedy of what stares us in the face as Annangs. By the time we realise, especially the young generation carried away by the madness of the moment, pray let it not be late because many who ought to have spoken out against the horrow of the day and the massacre of the night saw nothing, did nothing, and said nothing.
Before 2007, the Annnag nation was a clearly distinguishable social entity in the geography of Nigeria. It was distinguishable not only by its location but outlook to life, religion and life style. But today the reverse is the case. What Annang is witnessing today is an economy full of mortuary of dreams due to politics of exclusivity, intellectual immobility, political gangsterism and clobbered social development masterminded by bad, opaque and visionless leadership and corruption. We live in a dream world where we engage in self deception inebriated as we are by the mania of greatness. We pretend not to know that we have become a laughing stock, a parish nation and an object of ridicule. All these happening in the name of God but without the consent of God.
The time has come for the Annang nation to look at the past. We must look at our past no matter how bleak or gloomy it is. Though looking back entails a journey down a sorrowful engulfed memory lane especially 2007-2015, we just have to if we must avoid past mistakes. There is no future for a people who deny their past. At least, we have killed ourselves more than we have helped ourselves in recent past. This is one tragic irony we will surely live with and will definitely haunt the Annang nation for years to come. But of what benefit has it brought to us as a people? For the sake of money, power and fame? Though the hottest part of hell is already reserved for those who in the face of unspeakable moral crisis in the recent past took refuge in neutrality, can someone please tell Senator Godswill Akpabio that we (All Annangs), owe Late Dr Ime Umanah the duty to allow his soul rest in peace? Or are we going to continually be exploited, raped, disgraced, reduced to slavery, humiliated, abandoned, neglected and ruined by the very fruits of our womb? What a continuation of a self inflicted agony! When shall the Annang nation become the author of their destiny rather than the architect of their misfortune? Indeed, certain atrocities cry to God for vengeance. When will the Annang nation take off their rose-coloured glasses and have a close look at ourselves as a people with sober eyes?
What a shame!
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