“My Head Introduction To A Woman Called Qalam Sameera BY Prince Bassey Otu.”

Obi Ojage

The meek, it is written, shall inherit the earth; thus says the Lord God of Host. When it all started like a joke, there was laughter and assurances that were sealed not to be broken not until the first battle was won with Prince Otu now the candidate of the APC, did I start hearing discordant tunes apparently to contradict what was agreed to, for which concerted efforts were put by me singlehandedly in the area of my competence to see to the emergence of our candidate Prince Bassey Otu, who professes God to be at the center of the venture of succeeding the outgoing Governor.

Nothing attracted me more than his mention of the Lord in the whole endeavor.

We were very few of us. At least those I met then in Prince Bassey Otu’s house for the first time at the inception when he called me for a meeting. But that was the second meeting I had with him in-house. I had never been to his house before then. All we do speak was on phone.

On that day in question, the persons in the house that very night from different parts of the state present, all agreed to work assiduously over what has now been termed, “PRINCE IS COMING” which is being coordinated by Emmanuel Ironbar, one of Prince’s ardent supporters. Ironbar is also my very good friend and someone who admires all the efforts I put in support of the project.

I had my meeting with Prince exclusively, the same night where we agreed on the rule I should play in seeing him through the hurdle before us, trusting that I can do what he knows I can do best. “Sell and defend his candidacy to our people against all odds”.

And I agreed to work for his emergence first as the party’s flag bearer and subsequently, to win the election into the Government House.

This meeting however merely served as a formal meeting to confirm his intention to run. I have, two years ago, all along been carrying out stories about him posted to the numerous platform I had used in my defense of President Muhammadu Buhari against those who tried to malign the name of Mr. President and to sell my candidacy for the National Publicity Secretary of our great party, APC, which turned out to be a facade, the state government in its wisdom came to interrupt and scuttled in its place, said they prefer the position of a National Woman Leader, to that of National Publicity Secretary which I craved on merit, even when Prince Bassey Otu has not made up his mind on whether or not to contest for Governorship of the state.

Most people then had felt he hadn’t had the money to embark on such a venture that requires a huge amount of money he does not have, while others accused him of having too much baggage to warrant him sail through.

But I cared less and kept the campaign on Prince’s candidacy on social media going on none stop, taking care of whatever blackmail stunts throne at him to discourage the party faithful including members of the public. Trust me, every piece of information regarding persons in the state politically is at the back of my hands.

I don’t just present him, I take time to compare and contrast Prince’s candidacy with others being speculated to be in the race for Governorship. That was the whole difference I made in the various write-ups on Prince Otu.

We all agreed to front him as our candidate against any odds from the numerous other choices from Government.

This culminated in the visit we made to Prince Bassey Otu’s village to lunch the movement of his journey to the government house Calabar for the first time.

I was there after a tedious journey to his village at Odukpani, we arrived late in our vehicle and when we did arrive, the high table was filled up with people so I didn’t want to overcrowd the desk. I sat somewhere together with those we drove in the same vehicle.

Since then it has been just those hands full of persons I see going about with the Senator always, both doing what they do best while I concentrated on handling my party until he emerged as the party’s flag bearer, then came the crowd of supporters, and moles alike, understandably so.

While others were moving about with Prince after we visited his hometown, on a brief visit to a few persons of note to intimate them of his intention to run for the Governorship race, I was busy using my hard-earned funds, sleepless nights to maintain a media war to see to it that our candidate is not short-changed by any of the gerrymandering posturing being the order of the day.

I maintained that media attack and constantly hammering to the ears of both the state party executive committee and the government that Prince Bassey Otu is the right person for the job.

I vowed that we shall not settle for any other than him amongst those clamoring to be Governors from the South otherwise, heaven will fall. I did that using all the media outfits at my disposal to pass the message.

And it slipped deep into the ears and minds of my numerous reading audiences who were concerned and politically alert around the state and the world.

I must say here without any sense of contradiction that the Governor’s original idea of the “Back To South Movement” was never targeted at having an Efik person as Governor, whether they now agree to that fact or not, that was the secret agenda.

The change occurs as a result of numerous pressure from us to have Prince Bassey Otu who appeared to be the best amongst those from the South who were members of the party.

At worse the Governor wanted someone from the South but not necessarily an Efik person, but other tribes since an Efik man has been in Government House in the person of His Excellency, Mr. Donald Etim Duke.

South, is not synonymous with Efiks. They’re other tribes, namely, the Ejagham who are both in Calabar Municipality, part of Akpabio, Odukpany, and Akamkpa. And also the Biase people, are all in the South.

But even with the fixative, as a last resort, the Governor turned his concentration to his commissioner of Finance if that is to be, and certainly not Prince Bassey Otu.

I got to know a person who was part of the arrangement who came to my house to discourse that with me extremely and needed my co-operation. And we were to meet with the Governor on certain conditions I gave. That didn’t happen eventually.

Immediately after the concocted consensus arrangement to have Prince Otu emerging on the behest of the Government as the party’s candidate failed due to the disagreement of the two leading contenders for the race namely, Senator John Owan Enoh and Chief Chris Agara who refused to acknowledge the consensus move and went ahead to purchase the nomination form to contest the Governorship primaries, there was serious confusion and tension that followed the intransigence.

While that was going on, I still maintained the pressure on my numerous audiences and the state executive committee of our party, and the Governor of the need to pick the party’s flag bearer amongst the old members who have been keeping the party afloat, together before the coming into the party by the Governor and a handful of his men from the PDP. Prince Bassey Otu is one of those who helped to sustain the party and the most suitable for the job than anyone else in the South.

This brought me enmity between the state party chairman on one hand and the Governor and those who were in support of other aspirants to that office on the other.

I was denied every patronage from Government, including my Local Government. The usual Christmas gift was never extended to me at all as an elder of the party in my constituents.

My name was never included in any of the party positions on Adhoc bases to function in the various party activities, including my being nominated as a delegate to any of the congresses.

Including the last convention in Abuja where delegates made close to twenty million Niara and above. I didn’t care. I believe there is always another time. The Lord’s time is the best.

It was during the numerous pressure which ensured, that I had a call on a certain evening from Prince Otu, urging me to come to join him in a cocktail party organized in honor of a certain Lady from abroad he said, whom he would want me to meet who might help to assist me in the media work I am doing.

That was when I had an attack that left one of my left legs almost paralyzed. I was moving with crutches for two weeks before that day.

He asked me to please endeavor to come even if it means my crawling to the venue of the cocktail. I agreed and went there in pain holding a walking stick to support myself.

There, in one of the enclosures on one part of the hotel I met with some ladies numbering about five including the said Barrister Qalam Sameera, whom I heard in that very gathering that she helped in the election of the Woman Lady position the state hankered for during the National Convention in Abuja. She was been praised for the role she played in that respect.

In the meeting, were honorable Mrs. Ayomobi, the vice chair lady of Etung Local Government, and two other ladies whose names I cannot remember including Sameera. Prince Bassey Otu was there with one man he came with, and the leader of the State House of Assembly came in briefly and left. I was there with one of my Ogaja friends and my assistant both of who helped to enable my walking to the place.

Before the commencement of the cocktail, Prince Otu stood up to make an introduction to all of us sitting there and did announce that Comrade Obi Offiong Ojage, sited there, pointing at me, is his Director of Media and Publicity in the project toward succeeding the current outgoing Governor.

In addition, he said many glorious things concerning my exploits in politics and dogged defense of President Muhammadu Buhari, and extolled my vivacity and commitment to champion courses I strongly believe in, whenever I embark on a project, it’s total.

And that he called me here to specifically meet with our guest, Sameera whom he would love to see two of us work together on the project. The whole person in the small encasement stood up to congratulate me on my appointment as Media Director.

In his closing remarks after the cocktail Prince Bassey Otu insisted Sameera and me, should exchange phone numbers so we can be communicating, only for the Lady after a while of reading my articles on the need for Prince to consider working again with John Owan Enoh as his running mate despite the wranglings and accusations, she thought I have become a black sheep in Otu’s camp and danger to his ambition so, I shouldn’t be allowed to play any significant role. She claimed that the Senator is her father, and as such, she is ready to do everything to protect him, against what? deceivers.

This Hausa lady specifically among a few others claiming to be barristers and media men, were those putting pressure on Prince Otu to drop me as the Director of Media and Publicity to be handled piece mill by herself and others.

That they are capable of handling the affairs and coordinating of the different media outfits all of which Prince Otu seemingly was beginning to hit to their stupidity and irresponsible, baseless suggestion purely out of bias and ignorant of what it will entail when the campaign begins.

When I wrote the last but one article recently in which I condemned what Owan Enoh is doing by still maintaining his matter with Prince Otu in court, she called and I refused to pick up her numerous calls.

She later texted to tell me that “now I am beginning to see what they saw which made them put pressure on Prince Otu not to ever consider Owan Enoh as his running mate. I didn’t quite know in what capacity is she saying all this?

I reacted by telling her that I was aware of all the backbiting and character assassination they were carryout about me to Prince Otu, all of which would fail because they were baseless.

She sent back a text threatening that if I should accuse her of receiving money from Prince Otu, she would sue me to court to come and explain when and how. As a what? I ask and engage in big laughter over the matter.

It so baffling why this lady called Sameera hasn’t gone to protect the governorship candidate of her home state in the North but had to cross the river coming to protect someone in a state whose political dynamics she knows little or nothing about.

Threatened she was going to sue me to court for a treat of someone I little knew but for that night introduction made by the party’s candidate Prince Bassey Otu.

The fellow allegedly is those who come from Abuja claiming to know the minds of the National Chairman of our great party, APC, concerning the plight of Prince Bassey Otu and continue to put fear into him to the extent that he had refused to listen to the right counsel we give to him, especially my humble self, where he expressed so much fear the danger of going against the verdict of the outgoing Governor.

Those with whom he started the project together are very few of us. While the rest comprising his townsmen are now functional, they’re tactfully attempting dysfunctional measures to deprive me of active participation. Good luck to them.

They keep telling Prince that Obi Ojage is very controversial not the person he should listen to now. That he should distance himself from me or else the Governor would back off from the project.

And Prince Otu seems to be acting their script for a man who gave his words of honor not to shift ground because I did raise all those points in our private discussions before I commerce in the face of many options opened to me to pitch my tent. Because I knew they would come in a torrent, after the primary success which now sees Prince Otu as the party’s flag bearer for who I am in the eyes of evil-minded men and women enhancing darkness. They dread my presence.

These new advisers are also of the opinion that the party candidate should play down on his rights and rather stoop to conquer in the face of the deteriorating level the party is nosediving in the aggregating public perception despite the exhilaration, especially coming from the Efik in Calabar and it’s environment who now seem to be making it their exclusive preserve for flaunting, by forming all manners of groups, without extending such meetings to accommodate other tribes, whereas it goes beyond that when it comes to the election proper.

This is not a Senate election. It is a general election that involved the entire (18) eighteen local government areas to commence voting at once and results are announced on the spot.

I saw this happened during Mr. Donald Duke’s election which has a lot of similitude with what is going on now in the candidate of Prince Bassey Otu.

I know so much because I was in that team and at the center of it all, that saw Donald Duke to victory against the so-called “Atam phenomenon” that must come when the come becomes the come, as they say in the local political parlance.

Therefore caution must not be thrown in the wind over some of the tips I have proffered as one who saw it all whether or not I am the Director of Media and Publicity.

One does not stoop to conquer when you’re crowded with vowed enemies. If you do, the very problems you pretend or failed to confront headlong into a deceitful silence would snowball into a monster.

Rather than allow truth to dictate the pace, staying in waiting for your emergence, to destabilize your government in the future, it’s wise to nip it on the board. It doesn’t matter who it hots, you’re the party’s candidate here for crying out loud.

The Lord says if you’re luck worm I will spit you out. For those of you who are calling on the Lord in your affairs. Those are some tips and strictness thereof.

Those assumptions and unfounded claims of encroachment you accommodated in fear would’ve evaporated into thin air before you know it.

It needs courage and the confidence you bring into your candidacy to attract support beyond party cleavages and those acting as landmines on behalf of either an incumbent who sees you as a future threat or your opponent, one is possible in this scenario.

Take the bull at the horn, my men, “nothing do you”. You can’t be calling God and at the same time, acting man.

There is bound to be a conflict here, between God and you’re reliance on a man who is of no consequence in the realm of the spirit being the cosmogony, from were happenings here on earth derive its composition, you term to fear and trembling in his attempt to rock the boat. Where then lies the God you profess?

I will continue this series of fears I have for our candidate going forward, in the concluding part, the Lord willing next week, be rest assured.

End Time Message!

GOD WITH US…..

….. TO BE CONTINUED

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