By Linus Obogo
His parents christened him Bassey Edet Otu. His foray into politics earned him the title Senator. His regal background invested him with the appellation of Prince as a veneration of his royalty.
But with the passage of time and a dint of humanity, his followers and supporters alike would fondly call him “Sweet Prince”. Regardless, whatever sobriquet or moniker he has come to be associated with in the course of time, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate can aptly be described as the phoenix of Cross River politics.
As with the immortal bird in Greek mythology, the phoenix is a symbol of renewal and rebirth. In ancient times, the phoenix symbols were mostly associated with religious concepts, but over time, they evolved to become emblems of self-improvement, reinvention, and new beginnings.
After two terms of qualitative representation, representing Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency, Prince Otu got elected into the Red Chamber of the upper legislative
House, the Senate
But just after a term in the senate, not only his journey in the exercise of law making but also his representation in the Red Chamber was cut short and brought to a screeching halt by the powers that be.
Many in his circumstance would have railed and riled at the forces in his way, but the Senator took all in his chin. He came to terms with the grim reality of his premature retirement as a lawmaker.
His adversaries, in gleeful chorus, sang his Nunc dimittis. Otu endured a brief moment of dimmed political klieg light. Yet he clinged on to the chastening book of Ecclesiates which reminds us that “…the race is not to the swift not the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
For Otu, he was an iron going through the furnace and ready to be shaped. He would, however, emerge from the political limbo with all the lessons learnt.
And like the Greek Phoenix, “Sweet Prince”, a moniker that would become famous with his vast concourse of followers and beneficiaries of his relentless milk of human kindness, began his rise from the ashes of disappointments, envy, conspiracies, political bumps and legal battles that strewn his path to once again respond to a beckoning call for his service. The call this time, was not from his Odukpani enclave but from the entire stretch of the state, spanning the mountains of Obudu, the rainforest of Boki and stretching farther to the Creeks of Bakassi.
Like one weaned on the diet of stoicism, Prince Otu would not allow the momentary bruises of life to stymie his quest from fulfilling his destiny.
For him, when the storms of life stirred, he refused to cast his hope overboard. Otu looked his storm in the eye and kept steering the ship; and hoping that with faith and determination, he would ride his storm to the shore of self rediscovery, self renewal and reinvention.
When in 2015 a wedge was put in his way to make a return to the Senate, not a few had concluded that his political light had been turned off and the last chapter of his promising political career written. But unbeknownst to them, it was just a mere sabbatical meant to prepare him for the commencement of a fresh chapter.
For many of his disciples, ardent supporters and beneficiaries of his philanthropy, it was the unkindest cut that was no different from a chokehold on their existence or survival.
As a testament to Prince Otu’s charity while in the House of Representatives and later in the senate, there is an unfading and abiding consensus that his act of giving is a badge he wears like a second skin, as many became owners of their own houses, while others whose ownership of a car merely existed in the realm of imagination were also proud owners of what then was far fetched.
Aligning with the counsel of the great American poet and essayist, Walt Whitman, Prince Otu did not have to lose sight of the fact that in order to overcome the blip in his political journey, “Keep your face always, toward the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you.”
And came March 18, his shadows, ultimately, fell behind him as Cross Riverians trooped out in their thousands to exercise a referendum on Prince Otu’s popularity and acceptability.
Tellingly, the landslide was resoundingly overwhelming and there is now a breath of fresh air as Cross Riverians await to savour the sweetness of his Princely flavour.
A politician without airs and graces, Otu’s aura of simplicity, downrightness and accommodation is indeed infectious and is only native to someone of his background and upbringing.
These attributes, no doubt, greatly accounted for a confluence of support across the state for his victory in the just concluded governorship elections to achieve a great rush of development for Cross Riverians.
In the course of his campaigns, Otu criss crossed the 18 local government areas of the state, consulting, negotiating and convincing various stakeholders of his viability, quality and readiness as a candidate.
He braced the rough-and-tumbles of what could arguably be regarded as a referendum campaign. Poignantly, it was indeed a resounding validation of his acceptability following his landslide.
With his “People First” agenda, there is already an aura of optimism that Prince Otu will herald a breath of fresh air.
Given his servant leadership disposition, there is no gainsaying that he will sure create an environment in which Cross Riverians and non Cross Riverians alike will be able to self-actualize because his actions will inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. For that is the stuff leaders are made of.
Assuming office as a trustee and servant leader come May 29, he will come with character, vision, competence, charisma as well as a vast experience and wide exposure.
Devoid of clanishnness and transactionalism, attributes that dog most leaders in Africa, Otu is poised to hit the ground running, knowing full well that there is work to be done from the first day of his swearing in, as he cannot afford to fiddle.
Tellingly, Cross River is at a bend. This explains why Cross Riverians in unison, refused to gamble or yield the state to rodents or caterpillars to ravage with costly leadership experimentation. They also refused to be phlegmatic and allow the state be pawned off to offshore brokers. They equally refused to play the ostrich by stymieing the then raging momentum of “Back to South”.
From the North, Central and to the South, the three zones, in agreement, embraced the tantalising leadership prospect in Prince Edet Bassey Otu.
•Obogo is Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ben Ayade