STRIKING POINT: Untold Story of Paul Inyang

The late Chief Paul Inyang is generally known as a Politician of no mean repute. The noun, Politician according to oxford advance Dictionary is referred to a person whose job is concerned with political Affairs, especially as an elected member of the parliament. But in African and of course Nigerian  context, the noun,  politician has turned to be a vice and a verb which may be said to mean a person who apply tricks to get to an office be it elective or appointive. It could also be viewed to mean standing at the rear or directly skimming in order to manipulate ways through an orthodox, primitive, illegal, ungodly and of course, unaccepted means called propaganda and or lobbying, including character assassination for others to ascend one political office or the other, be it elective or appointive whether the ascendee is qualified or not to occupy the office. This week edition of your regular and most referred column, we decided to beam after periscope on the late political icon in not Akwa Ibom State only, but Nigeria, who was killed in his country home church, St. Ebenezer African  Church, Mbierebe Akpawat in Ibesikpo Asutan local government area in a gun battle.

The late Chief Paul Inyang must have been vindicated by the Gov. of Akwa Ibom State Chief Governor Akpabio on the above description of who a politician really mean in African context when he (Governor Akpabio) narrated who the late political juggernaut of the present Akwa Ibom really is.

            This great Akwa Ibom son, the governor of the State testified of his contributions to the emergence and sustenance of the present administration without any financial inducement. He said thus, “In 2006,  He (Late Chief Paul Inyang) was the Secretary of the screening committee for the governorship aspirants in the South South and despite all efforts to get the screening committee to disqualify me so that I will not stand election, he shunned money, shunned entreaty, shunned gifts and stood his ground.”

            The governor’s continues his testimony about the late political legend when he said, “I did not go back to Port Harcourt to collect my certificate of screening, a day after I appeared before the screening committee, he (late Chief Inyang) brought the certificate signed by Waziri Adamawa and himself and brought it by himself to my house in Uyo, gave me and returned to Port Harcourt to continue the screening of aspirants from other states of the South South, that shows his commitment and support”.

            On the governor second term aspiration, he added, “In 2009 when we had the extended caucus meeting in December, he (late Chief Paul Inyang) moved a motion for my continuity and insisted that this administration should go beyond 2011 because of the laudable achievement he has seen on ground”.

            Though with all these testimonies, one would think that the Late Chief Paul Inyang should continue to see the state progress from state to stage only to be assassinated in the House of God. If he had wronged anybody, the solution would have been dialogue or expressed it in a competent court of law because we know like other humans, Late Chief Paul Inyang may not have been without some frailties.

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