Akpabio and jailbreaks

 

Senator Godswill Akpabio was born with a Silver Spoon.

One of my Drama teachers in school was born with a Silver Spoon, like Akpabio.

My Drama teacher was John Nwodo

Jnr. He granted a Newspaper Interview where he said, his father had to increase his allowance when he became the Secretary of the Students Union at University of Ibadan.

The reason his father gave was that he did not want him to dip his hands in the Union's purse.

Akpabio was raised by his mother after the death of his father but his family was not lacking.

I doubt if the people around Akpabio taught him, what John Nwodo was taught very early in life.

Akpabio made his name as Governor of Akwa Ibom State under the PDP.

His propaganda was topnotch. The normally discerning Wole Soyinka was sucked in.

His slogan was uncommon transformation.

However, it has come to light that he really helped himself in a common way to the Vast Resources of Akwa Ibom. 

Like almost all past governors the helping from the resources ran into billions.

Please number him not among people of integrity but smart operators like Tinubu.

Men like that are better anywhere but in governance but what do I know?

These days, I am feverishly waiting for the constitutional father of the nation and by right the Visitor to at least a Federal University give exhortation to undergraduates in person or in absentia.

For Akpabio he cuts more for me the figure of a court jester.

Recently, commenting on increase in jail breaks in Nigeria, his reason or better still his observation was that with the change in name from Prisons to correctional centres, the number of jailbreaks has risen.

While I am not interested in the veracity of the observation, I hasten to ask if the right people are the ones behind bars?

I have heard of people being switched.

If criminals are really made to face the law, the likes of Akpabio would not be in the Senate.

I recall a Senator who was a ranking policeman before his foray into politics complaining that most of the Senators were persons he had investigated in his police days.

Of course, for that opinion he was suspended from the Senate.

Calling prison correctional centre, that is what it is.

It is for rehabilitation and deterrence.

If there are recurring jailbreaks, it calls for sober reflection not jest.

It could be that society is unconvinced that the right people are behind bars.

If this thinking is right, then criminals in power better start getting ready to take their places and then revert from correctional centre to Prison.