OPEN LETTER TO MR VENATIUS IKEM: Dear Oga Vena, Goodbye and Welcome!
By Iwara U. Iwara
Most of the first attempts at letter writing, especially for those of us who grew up when letter writing was still an impulsive fad, started our letter writing often as a standard convention with: "Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, depending on when the letter reaches you." This opening came with no greeting complications, rather it targeted the specificity of time in delivery, personalized it and created a built-in closeness that is (often) or will be exploited.
It is no more news that Venatius Ikem, until recently, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Cross River State, has resigned his party position and left the party. He has even travelled home to his native Obudu, North of Cross River State, to "...explain to our Party why I had to leave the PDP and why we have to join the APC at this point in time...", like he wrote on his verified Facebook page. His 'people', have also organised a reception formally welcoming him to the APC.
To those surprised at his movement, it is impish to be because his political movements, back and forth, have been concurrently recorded, either for himself or his people - vague as the definition of 'his people' may be.
In my article, published in April 2016 on www.calitown.com(https://calitown.com/ayade-ikem-the-dishonest-innocence-of-two-fighting-brothers/), I talked about our brand of politics being one where only atrocious (personal) advantages are held up in the end.
But basically, Ikem's back and forth political movements, have helped sustain his political relevance. In instances where he would have been politically obliterated, he has found a way out by making a switch from frying pan to kettle or from kettle to frying pan. In whatever political direction he moves, the idea has constantly remained the same, elevated dining for a personal survival purpose...no politician in Nigeria ignores this - it is not an insult but a fact that cannot be ignored.
Those who cheered on as the flowery speeches competed against each other on the podium in Obudu, do not necessarily remember or have ever known that there was a time Oga Ikem got a thank you gift or is it a political bye bye allowance of $30, 000 (at today's market rate, 40 something million naira) from Goddy Jedy Agba, as reward for his steadfast commitment to the political journey of the latter. In that cheering crowd, even at their local chapter levels, four years of political participation has not seen them collectively earn this amount, no, never, but they can clap, of course at a bigger masquerade because it is their spiritual destiny.
"While our cheerful appearance and charming attitudes as Cross Riverians persist, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are at ease with the convoys, the dulling, the hunger and inability to like they say on the streets, “chop life”.
In the Cross River PDP, comic as it has become, my friend and factional gubernatorial candidate, Julius Udayi, appears to be leading a prayer and worship session to thank God that Oga Vena has vamoosed. So, Udayi who has not yet benefitted from the waters and streams of the PDP is happy that a prime beneficiary of the PDP's largesse like Ikem, has abandoned ship (again) and returned to the junction where he once stood before boarding a hastily departing bus to another "vehicle for contesting elections".
One ragamuffin, in reaction to Oga Vena's recent movement to APC, sent me a WhatsApp message saying: "Please be informed that his defection to the APC does not automatically absolve him or make him a saint. Should he misconduct himself, we will not hesitate to call him to order. We already know him to be a shrewd politician and we have able hands to cut him to size". I will say it again, Ikem is a necessary political boil that has to be carefully cauterised. When he is happy, his verses for vespers are not virulent. If the establishment makes him unhappy, he churns out chaotic well written pieces that pierce the hanging pieces of pacing political peace.
The PDP Ikem maintains is "propped up to support and enable APC and Tinubu win elections. If you have sense won't you rather join them and maybe be recognized for your efforts rather than being traded by someone else for his personal benefit?" Is Ikem talking to Sandy Onor? I am only asking because while his statement is eminently veiled, my journalist instincts tell me that in "being traded by someone for his personal benefit", he certainly has amplified that political convention; permanent friends and permanent enemies are not a rule in politics.
"Before Tomorrow Comes", (as he titled his terse piece before his defection) a tomorrow we only wish is guaranteed, Ikem too must begin to groom political successors, help assign them political responsibilities and refuse to be the only masquerade that receives applause in the village square. His cult followeship should not encourage sheepish followers who have no political ambition or are too subdued to maintain thoughts of a political erection. He must not keep insisting in the village square that he is a lion, a lion needs no introduction because its roar comes with a frightening message. If his political paws constantly injure the hunter's child, the hunter will shoot it to death so the hunter's lineage can survive.
*IWARA is Editorial Lead, www.calitown.com*
