Newsfront Online …Telling the Public as it is
The news that the Akwa Ibom State government has proscribed 33 cult groups in the state following alleged incessant cult related killings in parts of the state is indeed, a welcome development but it is not yet uhuru after the pronouncement.
We commend the sagacity and bold steps taken by the state governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel for taking such decision, which in all circumstances, could best be dealt by Divine authority. Be that as it might be, we believe that since the governor came into the position through Divine mandate, he will certainly, carry out divine instructions in solving the matter on ground.
Against this backdrop therefore, we remind the governor that some of those groups affected by the proscription are as old as Nigeria herself as they emanated alongside the colonial masters who exploited the African coast before the country independence in 1960. To this end however, cultism breeds corruption and vice versa, which for all these years had eaten deep into the fabrics of our political system.
It is therefore our candid opinion that the government of Akwa Ibom State should be careful and cautious in dealing with the issue at hand as the matter itself is complex and very dicey, which Jesus Christ in the Parable of the weeds said, ‘let the weeds and the tares grow together until the day of the harvest’, meaning, let the good and bad remain together until the time when the sheep shall be separated from the goat.
In this 21st century, it is difficult to know what is good or bad though when compared the puzzle becomes simple and easy to know. Again another teething issue that would tend to make the task difficult for the government is the nature of the present day politics, which almost everything is politicized as many people claim that under democracy, everyone in the society has a voice.
We advise that under this condition, members of the affected group should first be given a chance through a specified time frame the opportunity to denounce their membership of whatever group and prove beyond every reasonable doubt that they really, have repented and renounce them.
Again, while praying for Divine direction and guidance for the governor in handling the matter with wisdom, we also appeal to the citizenry to cooperate with the governor as he alone cannot embark on such a complex matter without God’s guidance and approval as recorded in the Holy writ that, “the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord”.
