Advertisement
Zoning system was the game in Cross River and Back to South.
Around 2005/6, in the days of HE Mr. Donald Duke (from Southern Senatorial District) as Governor of Cross River State and Senator Victor Ndoma Egba (Central Senatorial District) as the Majority leader in the Senate, the latter summoned a PDP caucus meeting in Ikom. In the meeting, Ndoma Egba was the first to suggest, propose and proclaim the 'Back to South' (BTS) agenda in the well attended PDP stakeholders caucus meeting.
Sen. Ndoma Egba suggested that, for equity and fairness to be in CRS politics, the PDP had agreed that after 8 years of Donald Duke as Governor, the CRS Governorship of should go to the Central Senatorial District, and later to the Northern Senatorial District. After the Northern Senatorial District may have taken their turn, the Governorship will then move back to the South with the clause that this time, it will be the turn of the Qua/ Ejagham candidates to be Governor of the State.That Ikom Declaration was documented, signed and sealed by the PDP caucus.
True to it, the Ikom PDP Declaration have all played out with Senator Liyel Imoke (Central Senatorial District) and Senator Ben Ayade (Northern Senatorial District); taking turns as Governors. As one can see, all the intentions of the Ikom PDP agreement have all played out except the BTS "with Qua/Ejagham candidates for CRS Governor"
However, around 2020, neophyte Calabar South Politicians and Political Stakeholders, (who may be clueless of the Ikom PDP Declaration), began to fan the BTS with the intention and mindset that BTS means "Back to Calabar South LGA." The BTS proponents coarsed and persuaded their loyalists to sign the "2020 Back to South Declaration" with the childish and myopic University campus political slogan of "Five Alive and Two Dead." With this in mind, the 2020 BTS proponents totally excluded the Qua political strongholds and wards in the four LGAs of Akpabuyo, Bakassi, Calabar Municipality and Odukpani.
With the decamping of Ben Ayade (and his loyalists), from PDP to APC, any discerning Politician should have sensed that the Ikom PDP Back to South Declaration may not go well with APC arrangement. APC should have made theirs.
What is causing the seemingly political rancor in the CRS Southern Senatorial District is Sandy Onor's gubernatorial candidature and the fact that Calabar South Politicians produced an APC candidate but adopted the PDP's 'Back to South' agenda. This aforementioned group of neophyte politicians then ran to Ayade, cap in hand, for his support on the BTS agenda. Ayade, looking for a payback, gave them an overwhelming support which they ran with.
With Ayade's promised support, this group deliberately and totally excluded Akamkpa and Biase LGAs politicians from their "Back to South" agenda. They saw what happened in the Primaries before they went by adoption of candidates. They changed tactics. The BTS proponents have recently made their APC candidate get fatherly blessings from Ejagham Atui - from Etung to Calabar - a thing they had taken for granted.
Let it be known to the neophyte politicians that BACK TO SOUTH never meant 'Back to Calabar South.' Let it be known too that Ejagham in CRS cut across from the Southern Senatorial District to the North. No one, I repeat, no Political party can win the Governorship stool in CRS politics without the Ejagham. The Quas are Ejagham. The Ejagham can be found in the above-mentioned four LGAs.
In retrospect, those who were actively in politics pre Duke era may remember the Kanu Agabi (North) and Donald Duke (South) political disagreement. For peace to reign, Kanu Agabi listened to the voice of reasoning and gave way to the Duke. In this situation, I think it is only reasonable for the South to reciprocate Kanu Agabi's gesture.
Now that Calabar South Politicians have coarsed Senator Ndoma Egba (Njagham) into this, is he playing APC or PDP. I support Back to Southern Senatorial District. Onor and Daniel Asuquo's (Dansuki) mothers are from from Akamkpa LGA. After all, CRS Law is matrilineal. Let's go there.
