ENGR. UFOT EBONG ON THE CROSS

By Ofonime Honesty

Dear readers, to begin this piece, join me on an intellectual trip to ancient Greece. Centuries ago, Socrates the famous Athenian philosopher attracted the anger of the Greek government with his non-conformist disposition. His mission was “to free the people from the tyranny of established norms and beliefs.” His reputation skyrocketed even as he kept churning out perceived controversial teachings.

To cap his audacity, Socrates opposed the Greeks’ agelong tradition of worshipping plenty gods by declaring that there is a divine God whose power supersedes that of the gods and goddesses of Greece.

Socrates lived at a time when opposition to widely held views and policies of government were seen as an abominable act which could attract a death penalty. But he was not deterred. And the Greek government had seemingly tolerated him enough! Pronto, a jury was set up. He was charged with weighty charges of blasphemy, impiety and corrupting youths.

Dear readers, during trial, Socrates held his ground. He admitted that he did not believe in the gods of Greece, but however denied the assumption that he was corrupting fellow Greeks with his teachings. He told the jury that rather than prosecute him, they should praise him as a hero and public benefactor. Ouch!

The jury which was set up by the Greek government delivered a premeditated verdict of ‘guilty’ against Socrates. He was handed a death sentence. Socrates was given a jar filled with hemlock (a poison) to drink. He drank it confidently like water. He died moments later.

Enter Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly. When popular tabloid Global Concord drew attention to perceived flaws embedded in the loan scheme codenamed Anchor Poultry Borrowers Scheme, praises followed. Also, pundits likened it to the opening of the mythical Pandora’s box.

A cursory look at the list of beneficiaries revealed many shortcomings. For instance, identical names appeared severally, would-be beneficiaries are believed not to have been picked on merit and blah, blah, blah.

And legislators at the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly waded into the matter during plenary. After deliberation, an Ad-hoc committee was set up to take further action on the matter. The trio of Special Assistant to Governor on Due Process and Technical Matters, Mr. Ufot Ebong, SA to Governor on Agriculture, Mr. Moses Armstrong and a consultant for the scheme, Mr. Austin Ndaeyo, have appeared before the committee for questioning. Interestingly, Armstrong bluntly confessed that he knew little or nothing about Agriculture prior to being appointed as SA on Agriculture.

Also, a twosome has appeared before the committee to tell how they were “defrauded” by the consultant.

No doubt, the House of Assembly utilized her constitutional powers to appraise the scheme, but what is however incoherent is the modus operandi adopted. I disagree with the oft quoted ‘end justifying the means’ cliché. Common sense dictates that the means should always justify the end, not vice versa.

For a start, the dust raised by the alleged refusal of Engr. Ebong to initially appear before the committee has refused to settle. Engr. Ebong said he was outside the country when he was notified of the committee’s invitation. And the committee did not waste time in issuing an arrest warrant on him. Was the fire brigade approach necessary? Moses Armstrong, who was very much around, appeared before the committee. Ebong promised to appear immediately he arrived Akwa Ibom - a promise he fulfilled.

Forget about the media report wherein he (Ebong) was quoted to have accused the legislators of being angry with him for refusing to issue out slots in the scheme. The committee which is peopled by matured men should conquer emotions and confront this issue with clear minds.

Heaven knows that I am not holding brief for Engr. Ufot Ebong but methinks a plot is underway to give a dog a bad name just for sake of hanging it, just as it happened to Socrates of yore. Several actions and inactions confirm my view. Ufot Ebong has invariably played into the hands of special people. Even his wife has not been spared.

The committee’s primary objective is to investigate, but a deliberate tilt towards sensationalism is very glaring. Having kept close tabs on the issue, I can boldly decode that Engr. Ufot Ebong, courtesy of the statement he allegedly made against the legislators, has been marked for demolition. Forgive me if I am blunt, but truth is, I don’t know how to mince words!

And where do I derive my stance? Several sources! One of the sources is the invectives bandied in the form of reports and features penned by media aides to legislators and House of Assembly correspondents. Few days ago, I read a feature wherein it was alleged that Ufot Ebong has been tamed and will be made to vomit all the monies he made from the scheme. Another one bluntly accused Ufot Ebong of being a thief, and lauded the leadership of the House of Assembly for fast-tracking the process of bringing him to book.

The foregoing speaks much of double standard and gross ignorance that, if at the end of the investigation, the Assembly officially indicts anyone, those indicted will have opportunity to defend themselves in court and, if need be, appeal against the enforcement of the recommendations of the Assembly. That is why the legal system exists! The burden of proof lies with the accuser.

I repeat, emotions should be discarded in this case. Acting in fury and calling Ufot Ebong unprintable names is a premature option and a wrong tactic. He is someone’s husband, he is someone’s father. This is a qualified Engineer who was doing well in the petroleum sector.

Any suspect is deemed not guilty till proven otherwise. Even an armed robber caught in the act with rifle and blood stains on his hands is a suspect. How much more someone who is under investigation? It is only a court of competent jurisdiction that has the power to change someone’s label of being a ‘suspect’ to ‘convict’.

Engr. Ufot Ebong and co. deserve fair hearing as promised by the committee’s chairman, Hon. Idongesit Ituen of Itu State Constituency. If Ufot Ebong actually accused the legislators of demanding slots in the scheme, it behooves on journalists to investigate and ascertain the veracity of such claim.

Singing the ‘crucify Ufot Ebong’ chorus even when he is yet to be proven guilty is a tactic which I refuse to subscribe to. Such tactic demeans the journalism profession.

As a matter of fact, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Onofiok Luke, has been severally condemning the presidency’s handling of cases involving former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki; former Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh et al. According to him (Mr. Luke), the media trial and refusal of the presidency to okay Dasuki’s release even when granted bail in court is wrong. If the perceived persecution of Dasuki by the media is wrong, then the Assembly media should be cautioned against doing same to Ufot Ebong and co.

As the media organ of the legislature, the Assembly Press Corps should realize that it has a very crucial responsibility of feeding the masses with matured, balanced and well reported information. Writing Assembly related news and injecting it with opinion isn’t professional. I was taught as a student of Mass Communication that news should be presented the way it is for the masses to read and deduce independent meaning from it. Kudos toEnwonoabasi Elisha of the Nigerian Pulse Newspaper and John Ernest of Newsfront Newspaper for providing undiluted updates on the issue.

While waiting for the outcome of the case, Engr. Ufot Ebong and co. should conduct a self reassessment. If they actually had a hand in the perceived flawed process, they should not fail to apologise to Akwa Ibom people and face the consequences that will follow.
Again, till evidence against those being grilled is proved beyond reasonable doubt, their dignity deserves to be intact. We should not be living in the 21st centuries and still behave as those who summarily executed Socrates.

In the Bible, two thieves were crucified on a pair of cross alongside Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was executed just like Socrates. The premature crucifixion of Engr. Ufot Ebong is a wrong move because: (1) He is not Jesus Christ (2) He is not a convicted thief.

(Ofonime Honesty is a journalist and general affairs analyst. honestyofonime@yahoo.com 08025286082)