The Third Force is first and foremost a protest of the people, the sponteneuos rise of an alternative platform with an objective to form a popular government by a people who know that, “To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.” ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox
This is especially true for a State like Akwa Ibom where the political ecosystem is bipolar in orientation and experience.
Akwa Ibom people value their democracy and desire development but right now, they are very angry and frustrated.
They include stakeholders and elders who no longer have an input in the administration of their only state; masses who have waited in vain for the dividends of democracy; a suffering-and-smiling political class; disenfranchised delegates; aspirants who could not test the popularity and acceptability of their vision at the primary polls; Civil Servants with delayed salaries, unpaid leave grants; youths with very uncertain future; etc.
To say that the anger has reached boiling point is to put it mildly. But as civilized people, Akwa Ibomites and residents in the State who have become disenchanted have chosen the vehicle of Ballot Revolution rather than the barbarity of violent protests.
That is because they are in agreement with the Great Soul, Mahatma Ghandi that, “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
Knowing the severity of the task ahead and the fact that its success depends on a leader with depth, compassion, experience and deft managerial sagacity, Akwa Ibom people are anxiously waiting for the Leader of the People’s Movement in the State, Obong Bassey Albert (OBA).
They are waiting for him to not only give them direction but to also energize their determination to populate the new political vehicle in the State, drawing wisdom from Buckminster Fuller’s assertion that “To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
As the “ballot protesters” mass into one formidable peaceful and organized political vehicle, the Young Progressives Party (YPP), now is not the time for endless speculation, timid reservism or selfish neutrality.
In the words of the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
How you react to the existing political reality in Akwa Ibom State is a testament to who you are as a person, orientation to community service and compassion for other humans.
No one who values the human, economic and infrastructural development of this State will want to reinforce the experience of the last seven years or to be associated with political parties with legal and structural albatrosses.
In fact some patriotic Akwa Ibomites gifted with the spirit of clairvoyance or political prognostication have already preemptively moved to the well named Young Progressives Party (YPP).
Obong Bassey Albert (OBA), being a leader who listens to the yearnings of his people, has led his people in the right direction by decamping to YPP.
It would have been a great surprise if OBA and his impressive political architecture did not follow his teaming supporters to YPP.
He clearly upheld the Mahatma Ghandi’s dictum embedded in: “There goes my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader”.
The exodus in the days to come will be historic, impactful and liberating. The train to positive change has since left the old station.
Ensure to wait at the next stop so you join for the onward journey to the land of promise. OBA and YPP are on a strong mission to truly serve the people with the dividends of good governance!
~ By Pastor Michael Uyeh
[…] A motion by Rt Hon Asuquo Odiong and seconded by Eno Otu (a former PDP woman leader in Itu), that all members Akwa Ubok Abasi should decamp en masse with the senator to YPP on the 30the of July, 2023. […]