story by crossriverwatch admin
A cross section of Crossriverians have asked the opposition parties to stop criticizing the ruling PDP and get themselves organized if they are serious about playing the role of opposition in the state.
The State Governor, Liyel Imoke had last week said that his successor will come from the northern senatorial district of the state. But the opposition parties quickly took a swipe at the governor insisting that it was the people’s vote that will determine where the next governor of the state will come from and not Mr. Liyel Imoke.
Most of the people who responded to that story told crossriverwatch that though the ruling PDP may not be meeting the expectations of the people of Cross River State, the opposition parties are in no position to criticize the ruling party because they are worse.
One of the respondents Mr. Cyril Nkanya told us that “crossriverwatch should be very mindful of projecting opposition figures who are hopping around looking for attention. Ask them to give account to the people of Cross River State on what alternatives they have for the state. We are tired of hearing all these so called opposition people talk as if they mean business and when the chips are down, you don’t see any one of them. It is not only the government that should be accountable; the opposition too should account to Crossriverians how well they have served as alternative platforms for us”
Nsikak Obom warned that “the opposition figures are just taking advantage of a laudable medium like Crossriverwatch to rediscover themselves for personal gains. The Cross River State opposition people are pretenders. We the people are longing for a very strong opposition to the PDP in our state but the people who lead the opposition have repeatedly dashed our hopes. Let them be more constructive in their criticisms and give us alternatives. Monitor the activities of government closely and confront PDP with evidence based criticisms not emotional outbursts”.
A journalist who reports for one of the national dailies from Calabar that did not want to be named also told crossriverwatch that “I am tired of reporting the opposition in this state. They are all jokers. They will call the press and talk, talk, talk as if they mean business. When the day comes, you will look for the opposition and you will not see them. What will I be reporting about that kind of opposition? I pray that a new crop of politicians will emerge to give bite to the opposition in Cross River because there is a need for active opposition to grow democracy”.
A lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Calabar, who also did not want to be named, told crossriverwatch that “the opposition is trying their best. At least they have a seat in the State House of Assembly for the first time since 1999. With the kind of grip that the ruling PDP has on the state, it was a great feat that the ACN could win a seat in the PDP dominated house. But speaking on the whole, the opposition has not done enough to provide the alternative leadership that is needed to threaten the ruling party. The opportunities are there because the ruling party is not doing well. But the opposition is also not doing enough”
A civil servant with the Cross River Broadcasting Cooperation told crossriverwatch that “though I work with a government agency, I am a professional who is concerned about the low quality of leadership in the state. But when you talk about the opposition, they seem to me like jesters who do not know what they want. If they are serious about giving us alternatives, they should go and get better organized. They cannot upset the ruling party with their prevailing posturing.”
Angela Kajom who spoke with crossriverwatch at the Igoli Park in Ogoja wondered “who are the opposition? They are all pretenders. They will come and deceive us that they want to fight PDP. We will all get ready for work and before you know, you will find out there are just pretending, looking for what the ruling party can give them. Some of those people you call opposition cannot even rule their street association”.
But the opposition figures say the people are the problem. The Executive Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, CNPP and Cross River State Spokesperson of the Congress for Democratic Change CDC, Mr. Sunday Michael, “the people are not helping matters. We as opposition have tried our best to make the people see the need to try the policies of other parties but the people prefer the ten-ten kobo that they get from PDP politicians. They choose to sell their future for peanuts. It is not as if we are not working, it is the people that are the problem.”
The former governorship candidate of the Hope Democratic Party Dr. Theo Onyuku said “people of Cross River prefer the pittance and handouts that the PDP gives them during election and reject good candidates and that is why the plundering of the state will not stop. What do you want us to do? We will sit down and be looking. Let the looting go on that is what the people have chosen, what do you want us to do?
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