| 16 April 2018 | Okoi Ibor Ibor
This piece is necessitated by a post Chief Daniel Ubana shared on Saturday, April 7, 2018 entitled " YAKURR NEEDS A SUBSTANTIVE PARAMOUNT RULER. Frankly speaking, I was startled and utterly dismayed upon stumbling on the post just 48min. after he shared it to friends on Facebook. I must confess that since I began to experience his writings, I have never encountered any in which he exhibited the kind of confused argument and mad logic experienced in the post under reference. Besides the proclamation he made in his opening sentence being callous, it is also selfish, demeaning and ill-considered. It is needless to recall all he has expressed as I already find it really hard to fathom the sanity or validity of his entire argument in the post.
Surely, a clinical or objective reading of the post in question reveals that Mr. Daniel Ubana is not only inconsiderate but also lacks the spirit of brotherhood -- the spirit of live and let's live.
Now let us consider the issue of a paramount ruler for Yakurr. The Cross River State Traditional Rulers Edict is crystal clear on the process of the emergence of a paramount ruler, and the Edict does not have a proviso that excludes a particular local government from what applies to all others. According to the Edict, a person is elected paramount ruler by the clan heads after he must have been a village head and a clan head.
However, the case of the immediate past paramount ruler of Yakurr, HRM Obol Ubi Ujong Inah, was different. There was both an understanding and a compromise. Therefore, the provisions of the Edict did not strictly apply for him to become the paramount ruler of Yakurr. And in all honesty the reign of late Obol Ubi Ujong Inah as Paramount Ruler can never be regretted. He was the best thing that ever happened to Yakurr. I pray his soul to continue to rest in perfect peace.
Fundamentally, it is true that Ugep is the largest community in the entire Yakurr and even beyond. It is true that Ugep has the greatest population in Yakurr. Yes, it is also true that Ugep is the administrative headquarters of Yakurr. But it is not true that by a "cosmic ordinance" Ugep is "naturally positioned to provide leadership" in Yakurr. It is equally not true that Ugep has the exclusive right or prerogative to provide a paramount ruler for Yakurr.
Seriously speaking, if we practice the love we preach for KEKEH, we would have known that what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander. We should have known that claiming sole ownership of what belongs to all is a function of greed and selfishness. I also see Daniel Ubana's entire argument as a show of disrespect to others. We better think again.
Yes, in July, 2017, HRH Obol Offem Ubana was announced the Paramount Ruler of Yakurr. But surprisingly the expected excitement and goodwill that usually trail such announcement was not experienced. And now Chief Daniel Ubana who refers to me as his "friend of the pen" puts up an argument which questions or condradicts the very announcement of Obol Ofem Ubangha as the Paramount Ruler of Yakurr. My question now is, do we have a paramount ruler for Yakurr or do we not have? I should think that the government of Cross River State has to answer this question. It has been some years back since Obol Ubi Ujong Inah passed on and the traditional rulers in Yakurr have been like sheep without shepherd. I rest my case!
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