Ita Enang: Akwa Ibom’s 21 Century Biblical Achan

Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant on Niger Delta to President Muhammadu Buhari has recently been on the news for wrong reasons. In earlier capacity as aide on National Assembly, he failed to create the needed harmony between Villa and National Assembly. Back home, Akwa Ibom citizens see him as a fellow “who is not bothered about the growth of his people.” According to them,  Akwa Ibom  challenges and plights are of less concern to Ita Enang, to say the least. Complaints about his negligence of his brethren have continued to trail him. Significantly,  Ita Enang’s penchant to obstructing the developmental strides of governor Udom Emmanuel seems to be unacceptable to the people. In this piece, Peters Richard presents the situation as it is

Ita Enang, Prsident Buhari’s aide on Nigeria Delta can best be described as the Biblical Achan. The story of Achan in the Bible is not strange to Sunday school faithful and Bible scholars. Achan’s disdainful and despicable  action, is documented for generations to read, learn and take a cue.

For those who don’t know, Achan had hidden in his tent, spoils of war forbidden by God of the Israelites. The hidden treasures of costly value belonged to the nation of Ai which the Israelites were at the time, feuding.

Achan’s greed had drastic effect. While the hidden treasures remained in his custody, Israel warriors  died in their numbers daily in the battle field. This continued for a while.  Joshua, embittered by what he thought to be God’s forsaking of his children, sought for answers. He was surprisingly  told of the enemy within – Achan!

GREED

Achan was evidently obsessed by his greed for the spoils that he cared less of his kinsmen wasting daily. Widows and children wailed endlessly. Achan didn’t care a dime about Joshua’s passionate pleas that anyone in possession of forbidden items, should speak up. He was neck-deep into his greed until he was caught red-handed.

Like Achan, Ita Enang has presented himself as one who is not bothered about the growth of his people. Growing complaints about his negligence of his brethren is visible to the blind. His nonchalant attitude and efforts to pull down the State Government is even rife at the mention of his name.

This same man has hindered the progress of Akwa Ibom in several ways. He feels he is in the presidency and so, has a monopoly of displaying some recalcitrant attitude.

It is on record that he has written petitions against the state to the Federal government. He has called for embargos on cardinal projects, the dualization of Airport road, for instance.

This is but one of the numerous stunts he has pulled against his own people.

 Ita Enang has severally written-off the honest efforts of the state government on the media. This  include muddling the personality of his governor, Deacon Udom Emmanuel.

Just like Achan, Enang has consistently looked down on his leader who called for caution. He has paid deaf ears to cautions from stakeholders  brethren to stop destructive devices at the state’s growth and progress.

For all the people of Akwa Ibom care, Governor Emmanuel has been transparent enough as a leader. He has been  socially responsible and sensitive to their needs without deception. Why would one man, whose vague image amounts to nothingness, keep taunting the State at the national corridors of power?

DERELICTION OF DUTY

While his duties in Abuja lie unattended, Ita Enang has shameless audacity to appear on radio inciting people against government.

Although he enjoys the responses he gets on such occasions, such only make him look notorious and count less in terms of infrastructural antecedents and human development?

Beyond gaining popularity through bad-mouthing, does Ita Enang have anything to present as a reference for future public trust? The answer is No. Akwa Ibomites have grown beyond this ploy and know better what comes first in terms of leadership. It’s a question of “what have you done” against “what have you said”. When his integrity will be called to question, Ita Enang will discover that he sold what was left of his integrity to his cheap antics. He has indeed lost the social intelligence and healthy rating of his people to his unclean propaganda as Achan did.

Recently, the Achan-like Enang is calling on the Federal Government to stop the 13% derivation given to the Niger Delta states as compensation. Notably, the FG has not constructed a KM of road in Akwa Ibom or brought in even an industry for the economic advancement of the state, and for being the largest producer of oil for the federation, the Niger Delta region only gets 13% dividend for this generosity to the federation yet, someone is calling for a stop of this revenue. Isn’t this the height of witchcraft and pathological self destruction?

If the Federal Government was handling any project at all in these regions, this call would have been justified but this is not happening and rather can call for an increment in this allocation to further the course of the State’s development, an acclaimed son of the soil is clamouring that it should be stopped!

CONCERNS

Even when there are concerns about shortfalls in the economy, a black sheep is out there singing a discordant tune. Our health sector suffers the lack of basic facilities talk more of innovations; including the agricultural, entrepreneurial, and education sector yet, Ita Enang sees no need to present these even at his leisure hours ‘abroad’? Not even the sincere efforts of the state government in remedying the flaws in these sectors have appealed to his sense of empathy – his greedy selfishness has no doubt beclouded his humanity so much that he is more interested in destroying than in building. 

Like Achan, those who vehemently thwart the efforts of their leaders will, with their families, meet their waterloo with time. Even an Ibibio adage confirms that ‘aduok ntong ke ntong ase keene- any dust poured follows the person who pours it. Time alone will prove this. By then, the people of Akwa Ibom will breathe a sigh of relief when that time comes.