The Might of The Governor
Gov. Otu must be firm, and he has to have his own structures for Cross River not to suffer another four years of political oblivion.
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The Might of The Governor
“It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.” This is the famous quote of Niccolò Machiavelli. In agreement with this, the leader’s power and stability are more reliably maintained through a fear of consequences than through the fleeting affections of people. Simply put, to maintain control as a leader, whenever there is a conflict between being feared and being loved on account of the decisions taken, it is safer to choose the former, as it is the more pragmatic and safer choice.
In 2023, three years after the acclaimed “socket to the centre,” Cross River State APC was resoundingly defeated in the presidential election, losing to the Labour Party by a whopping 49,397-vote difference and, by a stint of luck, capital-intensive and extraordinary electoral maneuvering, was able to secure seven (7) out of eleven (11) seats, two Senate and five House of Representatives with the then-sitting Governor, who was an APC candidate, losing his senatorial district to the opposition.
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The consequence of that inglorious defeat is the State’s seeming blurry presence in the national politics. We do not have the courage to protest over lost opportunities: National Women Leader and ministerial slot, without the option of a replacement from the State, just as we have been serially jumped over when reasonable opportunities are shared.
It is critical for our politics as a State that APC wins the 2027 presidential election. This will give us national visibility and the courage to demand things and protest when shortchanged. It is, therefore, the responsibility of Gov. Otu to earn the confidence of the powers that be. To achieve this, he must ensure to assemble a team of his own trusted structures to convincingly win the presidential/national assembly elections so as to consolidate his authority in Abuja.
Gov. Otu must be firm and look beyond the façade of some dramatization of loyalty and understand that he cannot build anything on a compromised foundation. He has to have his own structures for Cross River not to suffer another four years of political oblivion.
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He is the Governor, and a lot actually lies within his might.
By Phylo Modlin Odu.
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