As Akpabio Reveals How He Became Senate President -By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Words of Truth can sometimes come from the least expected quarters. Given the lengths to which Nigerian politicians go in pursuit of power, they seldom publicly credit God for their eventual ascension to office. President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has not only disclosed the uncommon but also delivered words on marble in the process. This was when he asserted that “most people are in the church without knowing the power of the church.” How profound! We will be remiss and duplicitous if we delve into the core issue without first addressing the elephant in the room. That’s the controversy surrounding man’s election into the 10th Senate.

Seven months ago, 56 civil society organisations (CSOs), including Amnesty International Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), SERAP and HEDA, demanded Akpabio’s resignation as Senate President. Their call was in response to the Court of Appeal’s affirmation of the conviction of Prof. Peter Ogban, the returning officer in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial election, for electoral fraud.

Prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for manipulating the results of the election held in the senatorial district, Ogban was in 2021 found guilty of falsifying and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of N100,000 by the State High Court in Uyo – a verdict now upheld by the appellate court. “Senator Akpabio has denied personal involvement in the act of manipulation. Nevertheless, as the direct beneficiary of the fraud, he cannot be absolved of institutional and moral responsibility,” they added

After the prominent CSOs inter alia, expressed concerns over “implications of the judgment on the integrity of the electoral process that brought Senator Godswill Akpabio to the Senate,” five north-based groups countered by explaining that “Professor Ogban was convicted for manipulating the election results in favour of Akpabio’s opponent, not the other way around.” According to the groups, Ogban influenced the said 2019 senatorial election by unlawfully cancelling over 61,000 votes from Akpabio’s stronghold in Essien Udim Local Government Area.

Members of this coalition must be very long-sighted to have seen what transpired in a faraway Akwa Ibom enclave from their northern perch. Before anyone dismisses them as meddlesome interlopers or hatchet men, let it be known that Akpabio, by virtue of being third in the pecking order, belongs to all Nigerians, not just his Ikot Ekpene folks. Mindful of the force propelling his rise, the Senate President didn’t see the need to dignify his detractors with a response. Alas, the politician has come out to attribute his ascendancy in politics to Deus ex Machina, inspiring faith in God.

Speaking during the blessing and official opening of the Regina Coeli Parish Rectory in Uyo, the Senate President linked his being “the most ranked Christian in government” to “the special grace of God.” Further buttressing the divine orchestration of his meteoric political rise, the former two-term governor of Akwa Ibom State said, “If God can raise me from a nobody to be the President of the Senate and by extension, the number three citizen of this great country, He can do it for us all, just position and prepare yourself for His blessings.”

Tying this to the quote in the opening paragraph, it can be inferred that the panacea positioning and preparation happen in the church, not anywhere else. Did you remember when that slang “Cut soap for me na” raved the streets? To the uninitiated, it means a friendly solicitation into the secret or means to success from the successful. In a manner of speaking, the Senate President has now cut soap for anyone aiming to attain his enviable societal status. Unfortunately, cynics and skeptics won’t believe him because the recommendation seems too easy and simplistic. They forget the native wisdom, to wit: what you are looking for in Sokoto is in your shokoto.

Say what you may about Nigeria’s leadership recruitment process – politicians’ chicanery and their collaborators’ shenanigans, power ultimately belongs to God, who dispenses it as He pleases. 1 Samuel 2:8 reports that “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.” (NIV). Ergo, courting the Almighty by abiding in His courts is a sure route to actualising one’s political ambition, no matter how vaunting. For King David to have said, “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord,’” it affirms the affinity between being in church and gaining political power.

This may sound outlandish or pedestrian because, like the Senate President pointed out, many people are ignorant of the immense power in the House of God. As I was taught in church last Sunday, this power is such that when Jacob connected with a relic from his grandfather, Abraham’s altar (read church), he lapsed into a vision where angels were ascending with his petitions to heaven and descending with the answers to him (Genesis 28:12) So, Akpabio wasn’t deflecting from or parrying the winning strategy by pointing whoever cares to God and the church.

Intentionality and fidelity in one’s relationship with God are highly required here. By the time you come to that deep understanding and chumminess with God, He rewards you with whatever you are looking for. As Hebrews 11:6 (KJV) succinctly puts it, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

VIS Ugochukwu writes from Lagos and tweets via @sylvesugwuanyi