Admin|19 January 2016|6:24am
My Apology to Yakurr Nation
By Obasesam Okoi
I wish to sincerely apologize to the entire people of Yakurr Nation, especially the youth, for the wrong decision I made in the last election.
I come to you as a prodigal son. I am not perfect. But I have worked hard to build a strong reputation that enabled me to earn your trust. You believed in me and trusted in my impartial judgments. I will never take that for granted. I am deeply sorry for the decision I made to support the worst representative in Cross River State history. Please find a place in your hearts to forgive me.
Politics is the aggregation of interests. But there's another side to politics that aligns with my passion. It's politics that develop from the will of the people. As an imperfect being I yielded to my animalistic instincts. But right from that moment something died inside me until I realized myself.
I am sorry that I influenced many of you to support the wrong candidate. That was the worst thing that ever happened to me as an individual. You will agree that the choice we made was also the worst choice in the entire political history of Yakurr Nation. Again I am sorry. Please forgive me.
My decision to support Bassey Ewa was the most dangerous wound I inflicted on my conscience. I died. Yes. I died. But I've risen from the grave of ignorance.
Let me assure you that I rendered selfless service and never received money from anyone. Rather, I supported the campaign with my personal money.
I made that decision for the love of my people, for the unity of Yakurr Nation, and to reinforce my camaraderie with a good man, a friend, brother, and youth leader Honorable Eko Atu, who was supposed to contest that election but somehow changed his mind and thereafter convinced me to lend my support to his candidate of choice.
While I love and respect my friend I felt that I violated my conscience. Yes I did. I am sorry. Please forgive me.
I take full responsibility for my actions and have learned great lessons from the experience. I am alive to my purpose. The struggle must continue until we liberate Yakurr Nation from the grip of evil.
My passion for the liberation of my people is not personal. It's part of my destiny. I am part of you. You're part of me. And we're part of each other. Let's stand together and defeat a common enemy.
The path I've chosen is fraught with challenges. The attempt to bribe me with thousands of dollars (the equivalent of 7 million Naira) called Christmas Gift was a dangerous trap to shut my lips and end my campaign against the misuse of our constituency development fund. But I would be the last man to accept a bribe that will shut my lips while my people are suffering, while the youth have no jobs, and while some students cannot return to school. One man cannot sit on our commonwealth and use bribery as a mechanism to shut the door to our collective prosperity. We must demand accountability.
I am sorry. Please forgive me. Long Live Yakurr Nation.
Obasesam Okoi
Servant of the People
