Cross River Local Government Polls: Challenges, Forecast, Expectations

By Joseph Ashia

A few weeks ago, the news for the conduct of Local Government Council Elections in Cross River State filtered in.

While details of its authenticity remain sketchy, pundits, gladiators and interested individuals and groups have swung into action with the usual gimmicks, calculations, alignment and realignments based on their Interests.

As this permutations on those whom the cap will fit across the 18 Local Government Areas and 196 wards of the state continues, aspirants jostling for various elective positions in that election and their supporters should bear in mind that there is a name and a family to protect and a society we will be falling back to after the character assassinations, blackmail, abuses, insults, thuggery, killings and destructions we may have caused during the electioneering.

The experiences of the last general elections where some people chose to tow a dangerous, narrative, characterised by desperation and emotional sentiments are still fresh as the majority are still struggling to come out of the realities of that Elections 9-10 months on.

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Like in the words of former President Goodluck Jonathan, “Let us be conscious that our ambition does not worth the blood of anyone in your Ward or Local Government…”

We ought to understand that we will need each other after the Victory.

I would also like to draw from the words of our Political Evangelist himself, the State Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Cross River State, Barr. Alphonsus Ogar Eba Esq. JP at a recent event in the APC Secretariat, Calabar. His words; “…we need to be magnanimous with our victory…let us be mindful with our choice of words… because we do not know tomorrow…”

Therefore, those who will clinch their party’s ticket and eventually emerge victorious in the main polls should be charitable with their victories.

Their supporters who are usually more ‘Catholic than the Pope’ should be weary of their emotions.

I encourage gladiators that though their interests may be unique, it is not a fight for destruction but for construction.

Let all our engagements and criticisms be civil and constructive after all, victory for one is victory for all

CAVEAT: Joseph Ashia is a researcher and public affairs commentator, and the views expressed in this article are his and not of CONVERSEER and or any of its staff.