Christiana Essien-Igbokwe
versus Apena
By UDOBONG EKANEM
Saturday, January 5,
2008
One of the most interesting characters in the sensational
situational comedy “The New Masquerade” was “Apeno”.
She was the termagant wife of the raucous character “Chief
Jegede Sokoya”, “the grandson of Idi of Idi-araba
and by the grace of God, the only millionaire in the whole
universe.”
Apeno was irreverent, quarrelsome, cantankerous, irritable,
petulant, querulous, grouchy and ill-tempered. At the drop
of a hat, she was wont to fly into fits of temper, tie her
headgear around her waist and go into fisticuffs with her
henpecked HUSBAND, Chief Jegede Sokoya. The character of Apeno
was beautifully interpreted by inimitable musician turned
actress, Chief (Mrs.) Christiana Essien-Igbokwe.
The sitcom was a great entertainment, thanks to the creator,
Mr. James Iroha. In an interview with Mr. Iroha who was then
a director of Imo State Broadcasting Corporation over the
tiff he had with Chika Okpala who played the role of “Chief
Zebrudaya.”
He is quoted to have said that the problem was that “Chika
saw himself as Zebrudaya in real life. One may not know how
true this statement reflected Chika Okpala, but for sure it
is apparent that Chief (Mrs.) Christiana Essien-Igbokwe has
begun to see herself and live like Apeno in real life. It
may not be a fitting way to end an eventful career, but developing
a schizophrenic personality in ones latter life based on experiences
in an earlier stage of ones life if not an uncommon psychological
fact.
In a letter dripping with the kind of ire, irrationality and
grouchiness associated with Apeno, Christiana Essien-Igbokwe
joined issues with the Akwa Ibom State Governor over a printing
machine in bad shape which her company supplied to the Akwa
Ibom State Newspapers Corporation. Taking up issues with the
governor in a letter loaded with undisguised malice, she declaimed
that she made the governor who he is today. This does not
only sound absurd but theatrical, devious and preposterous
proposition which, inadvertently, justified the wisdom of
the ancients that” success has many fathers (you may
add mothers), but failure is an orphan.
Her entire treatise could be summarized charitably with the
comment that appears to be suffering from a combination of
persecution complex and illusion grandeur or how else can
one explain her angst that her husband written to Governor
Akpabio twice without a reply and as such it translate to
mean that Akpabio is plotting evil against her family. Before
she developed the “Apeno complex”, she would perhaps
have concluded that a governor does not need to enter into
private correspondence over a matter of public interest.
But hear Apeno (sorry, Christy Essien-Igbokwe)”…it
is a fact that when silence is maintained on any raised issue,
it is interpreted to mean confirmation.” By this she
meant Akpabio’s refusal to be drawn into correspondence
over the matter amounted to his plotting mischief. This is
at variance with the belief of the ancient that” silence
is the best answer to a fool,” (though I would hesitate
to call Christy of is it Apeno a fool). The entire episode
is as puzzling as the fictional masterpiece by Robert Louis
Stevenson titled “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and
Hyde.” Dr. Jekyll, a medical practitioner was the most
respected member of the society which was plagued by a criminal
called Mr. Hyde. The conundrum was that Dr. Jekyll was actually
Mr. Hyde in the night. One still find it puzzling that someone
admired as much as Christy Essien-Igbokwe could turn out to
be the petulant Apeno in real life.
In her paranoia, Apeno claims that she would hold the governor
responsible for any physical or spiritual harm that befalls
her family. Haba! Apeno!!. Her illusion of grandeur receives
more robust embellishment than her persecution complex. Hear
her,” there is no debating the fact that God, from my
humbly corner, further used me mightily to abrogate the obnoxious
on-shore/ off-shore oil dichotomy.” She maintained that
the award of the national honour Member of the Federal Republic
(MFR) to her was delayed because of the role she played in
the abrogation of the oil dichotomy, na wa o!.
When did this campaign take place? We can only recall that
once while she was performing for the then visiting Head of
State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in the days of Group
Captain Idongesit Nkanga as military administrator of Akwa
Ibom State, she in the course of her performance pleaded with
Babangida to abrogate the oil dichotomy. She failed to note
that others used different other medium to make the same appeal
to Babangida; but daydreamers have a way of thinking like
the cock (that it is cockcrow at dawn that brought the sun).
Some how Apeno stated her real grouse in the following words
“ it is evident that since the concerned states really
enjoying the derivation from the abrogation of the dichotomy,
I have never benefited from any of the littoral states government,
even in any area of my competence.” In other words the
“cock” has not been settled for “ushering
in the sun” and is as mad as hell. She is also mad that
the Akwa Ibom State Government has not allocated her a piece
of land to build an industry in the state. Perhaps her anger
would have been buried in the secret places of her heart,
if it were not for that little scandal over the supply of
the printing machine that drilled a borehole in her soul and
the venom spurted out. Her company was awarded a contract
to supply a printing machine to the Akwa Ibom State Newspaper
Ltd.; publishers of The Pioneer title.
The contentious contract was sealed when Lt. Col. Yakubu Bako
was the military administrator of the State in the mid 90’s
but dragged on the printing machine was eventually delivered
during the tenure of Obong Victor Attah, in the 2000s. The
machine which was supplied by Christy’s company was
manufactured by Manugraph India Ltd. Unfortunately the machine
arrived in a terrible state of disrepair, the linking components
and the dampening system was defective, and this led to a
situation where the machine wasted enormous quantity of papers
as over 80% of its production was blurred. Added to this appalling
mix was the fact that the machine arrived without a user’s
manual or operating instruction. Fundamental accessories like
consumables, spare parts were conspicuously missing and above
all, it’s many set backs could not be resolved.
From the get-go, the staff of the company complained bitterly
over the defective printing machine and stated in clear terms
that the company (AKNC) has been short changed. Even with
much effort, they started to use the machine; The Pioneer
was a poorly produced paper with blurred images that lacked
competitive footing when compared to other locally produced
newspapers in circulation within the state. Because of the
high wastage of newsprint, the company could not sustain production
not to talk of record profit, it had go cap in hands to government
for subvention. The recourse was to abandon the waning printing
machine and start printing the paper outside the state. These
must have caused the lady of song sleepless nights as naturally
will be afraid that the matter will be reported to the Economic
and Financial Crime Commission.
Deciding that the best form of defence is attack, she launched
a virulent attack on the person of the Governor of Akwa Ibom
state in a letter titled,” Threat of Life”. Apparently
driven by fear and guilt, the letter paints an unwholesome
picture which can only be understood if one looks at the issue
from the aspect of a recalcitrant citizen who has erred and
is frightened that the long arm of the law will catch up with
her. In her desperation, she even betrayed her hand by claiming
that she would go to EFCC if the company does not keep on
using her defective machine.
Christy Essien-Igbokwe fear is that the staff of the newspaper
company will publish several articles condemning the printing
machine and its suppliers. She believes this may set the stage
for her indictment but instead if channeling her energy into
correcting this fraudulent act, she has decided to embark
on a campaign of calumny, believing that it is the only weapon
available to curtail an indictment. Her position is not only
pathetic but also understandable considering that she is suffering
from an emotional plague. According to Whilhelm Reich (1897-1957)
an Austrian psychoanalyst, “A bad conscience creates
malignant behavior. You make somebody else bad in order to
free yourself from responsibility. We call that the Emotional
Plague.”
One is tempted to look at the entire situation as bordering
on Christy Essien-Igbokwe having unsettled psychic accounts.
A self-introspection could exorcise inner demons could help
resolve these accounts and eliminate her persecution complex
and illusion of grandeur. Topping this with righteousness
and good faith would also be a good antidote for her cleansing.
It would be sad for a woman who had such glowing career in
midlife, and was referred to as the Lady of Songs in addition
to holding a national merit award to manifest a schizophrenic
personality in later life and let her ”Mr. Hyde”(
her bad side) destroy her “Dr. Jekyll” (her good
side). Perhaps no advice could be more apt for our sister,
Christiana Essien-Igbokwe than this scripture in Proverb 3:7
“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart
from evil.
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