News
Sound and fury over ‘ban’ of Ekpo Masquerade in Akwa Ibom
By Akpandem James
Political scientists and historians broadly recognise that governing a democratic society comes with a distinct and often demanding set of challenges, frequently viewed as more complex than those associated with autocratic or monarchical systems. Whether it is inherently the most difficult form of government to manage remains a matter of debate and interpretation, as every system carries its own unique constraints and complexities.
The question about complexity is incontestable because democracy requires balancing the interests, demands and expectations of diverse groups. Because multiple voices compete freely, democracies can become deeply polarised. Navigating disagreement without tipping into instability or chaos demands advanced political skill, especially in Nigeria, where the challenge seems greater than in many other climes.
Because of our multicultural makeup and the persistent dysfunctions within our system, matters that should be straightforward often become unnecessarily complex. Even more troubling is our gradual drift away from rational engagement, as we increasingly focus on trivialities rather than substantive issues. A significant portion of public commentary across various sectors is now marked by an acute shortage of logic and an excess of sentiment. Sadly, many of these views stem either from a limited understanding of the issues at stake or from analyses that are, at best, pedestrian in approach.
Unfortunately, strategic institutions that should ordinarily help the smooth functioning of society through civic engagements, instead, pursue vested interests along political, ethnic or religious lines. Pathetically, when such indulgences snowball into dire security and economic consequences, the same commentators search for scapegoats among the very institutions that tried to stem the rise of the monster in the first place.
In recent weeks, Akwa Ibom has found itself embroiled in a heated conversation that goes beyond the Ekpo masquerade which is the major issue. It touches identity, culture, safety, rights and the boundaries of freedom in a modern society. The uproar that followed Governor Umo Bassey Eno’s Executive Order on masquerade displays has generated sound and fury from many quarters: some sincere, some emotional and some misdirected. Yet behind all the arguments lies one stubborn truth: lives have been lost, people have been assaulted and criminal elements have hijacked a revered heritage for sinister ends.
In recent days, the Police in the state have arrested some suspects for robbery, assault and extortion allegedly carried out by criminals masquerading as custodians of tradition. According to the state governor, intelligence reports indicated a real and growing danger, suggesting that without prompt action, the state risked slipping into violent scenarios and possibly tragic outcomes, especially with the increased activities and crowds expected during this festive season.
It was against this backdrop, he explained, that he issued an Executive Order, one which restricts masquerade displays from urban centres but allows them within village squares and local communities under regulated conditions. This context does not in any way connote a cultural war nor an attempt to erase heritage. It is more of a safety measure, anchored on an existing law: the Masquerades (Control) Law, Cap. 94, Laws of Akwa Ibom State (2022), which had already mandated police permits and confined displays to designated areas.
Yet, as expected in matters involving culture and sentiment, the Order triggered strong reactions. As has become commonplace in our clime these days, it has assumed a religious dimension, especially as the governor is a cleric of the Christian faith. Some commentators argued that Ekpo is not simply entertainment but a sacred institution, an embodiment of the coexistence between the living and the spirit world. They noted that even colonial administrators, in their zeal to suppress African practices, failed to eliminate Ekpo, revered as the king of masquerades in the Ibibio and Annang communities of the state. If the white-men failed, why then should black men with “white hearts,” as some put it, now attempt to annihilate their own identity?
Others raised constitutional questions, citing the freedom of worship and association under Section 38 of the Nigerian Constitution. They claimed that restricting Ekpo to village squares amounted to cultural discrimination—comparable, in their view, to ordering Christians to worship strictly within church buildings without public processions or crusades.
Some recalled past episodes where officials destroyed cultural artifacts under the guise of modernity or religion, warning that this new order, if not resisted, might follow the same script. Others wondered why the state shows stronger enforcement energy toward Ekpo masquerades than toward open grazing or “iron-condemn” scavengers, both of which had long been banned in the state without rigorous implementation.
But criticism, however loud, must be measured against facts. And the facts remain sobering. When a masquerade hides behind a mask to threaten and deprive citizens of their possessions, that is not culture. It is robbery. When a man in Ekpo attire assaults a young girl because she previously rejected his advances, that is not tradition. It is criminality. When public roads become arenas of intimidation where uninitiated persons, especially women and children, are harassed or blocked from their daily activities, then the masquerade has ceased to be a cultural expression and has become a tool of intimidation and coercion.
As one commentator also observed, culture is dynamic. That just as the inhuman practice of killing twins was discontinued, societies must abandon or reform practices that endanger life and undermine public harmony. A culture that thrives on exclusion, fear and intimidation cannot claim to unite the community. Public peace and coexistence require a culture that protects, not one that persecutes.
There seems to be a consensus among some elders in the state that what is being displayed as Ekpo today is far from the values of the ancestors. The authentic Ekpo represents discipline, reverence and communal unity, not extortion, harassment or lawlessness. When criminals hijack culture, the state has a clear responsibility: protect citizens and preserve the integrity of tradition by removing the criminal element. Much as some critics of the recent move agree that there is a need for punishing bad behaviour, they insist the action should target, identify and prosecute masquerades that commit crimes, not hiding under the smokescreen of law and order to prosecute a religious agenda.
However, much of the present controversy seem to stem not from the content of the Executive Order but from a misconception. Did the governor “ban” Ekpo? It doesn’t seem so. He clarified repeatedly: “I have not banned Ekpo masquerade in Akwa Ibom.” He confined displays to village squares, in accordance with existing law. The message seems clear enough: “We will continue to promote our rich culture and tourism, but never at the expense of public safety or human dignity.” This is not suppression; it is preservation. Preservation of life. Preservation of peace. Preservation of the authentic Ekpo, which must not be left in the hands of hooligans who hide criminality behind sacred attire.
Beyond the arguments, the central issue remains: the state has a responsibility to guarantee the safety and dignity of all residents. Freedom of worship cannot override the right to life. Cultural expression cannot trump public security. No society, African or otherwise, permits masked individuals to roam the streets unregulated during a tense holiday period when there is mass movement of persons, markets are bustling and security threats are heightened. At the core of this debate lies a difficult but necessary recognition: the times we live in demand caution. Criminal ingenuity has grown. Public anxiety has increased. And the state cannot afford the luxury of inaction.
If certain measures now appear stringent, as perceived by some, they are grounded in the overarching duty to maintain peace, uphold stability and safeguard human dignity. Culture must be celebrated, but life must be protected. Heritage must be cherished, but society must remain safe. And in a season when goodwill should prevail, it is only prudent to ensure that joy is not eclipsed by tragedy.
My reading is that the Executive Order is not a death sentence on the Ekpo masquerade; it is a protection of the living being. It is the reassurance that tradition will endure, but never as a cloak for violence. It also stresses the point that, when guided by good faith, tough decisions are sometimes essential to safeguard the peace and harmony on which every stable society depends.
- Akpandem James is a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and Chairman Editorial Advisory Board of Naija Times.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 presidential election, virtually poured cold water on the burning issue of Goodluck Jonathan, for Nigerian President making a bid for the office he lost in 2915 to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, through the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Obi, who is also making another bid for the same office for the second time, told reporters on Tuesday, shortly getting a letter of clearance from the Nigerian Democratic Congress though he was not aware that the former President was contesting, he was in no position to obstruct the move as political choices were the rights of individuals to make.
Against the revelation by Babangida Aliyu, former Governor of Niger State, who spoke on behalf of Nemadi Sambo, Jonathan’s Vice President and currently in charge of the presidential screening of the Peoples Democratic Party, Obi told the reporters at the NDC National Secretariat in Abuja: “Actually, I’m not aware of that. But democracy is about people offering themselves for service and being voted for.
“I’m not in any way going around looking for who and who is contesting. I’m concentrating on how to build a better Nigeria.”
But he was quick to marshal out his plans for the country, declaring that under his presidency, Nigerians would be freed from daily lamentations coming from the parlous situation the present government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Bola Tinubu had plunged the country.
Hear him: “This I will do by first uniting the country because it’s not a united country. We have to govern the country by the Constitution of Nigeria, which stipulates federal character and inclusivity. The country must be united. The country must be secure.
“We want to see mothers no longer fear when their children go to school or work. We also want a country where we can travel all over Nigeria without fear. So many Nigerians today go to bed not knowing where the next meal will come from tomorrow. That must change.
“We must live in a country where people do not turn public assets and public wealth into private assets. So we must fight corruption to a standstill and make it work for everybody. Politicians are preoccupied with the next election when Nigerians are dying. That must stop.”
He also took time to explain the reason for the two-hour stretch of drilling during the screening. Saying: “This is democracy in action because NDC chooses to do things properly. So when we say this is going to be screening, it has to be done right.
“Nigerians want to know whether you meet the stipulated constitutional qualification and provide relevant documents to back them.
“This is the way to know whether everything you have said or declared is the truth and if you can answer questions posed about your commitment to building a united, secure and prosperous Nigeria. That’s why the screening took over two hours.”
Regarding his status as a sole candidate, Obi, who was accompanied by Victor Umeh, a long time ally and Senator representing Anambra Central at the National Assembly, said: “I don’t know who else has bought. So until the party says I’m the only one who expressed interest, that’s it.”
Only an official pronouncement by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), seems to be last barrier to cross for Peter Obi to appear on the ballot for the January 7, 2027 presidential, the second time he would be chasing the nation’s number one job.
That hurdle is also set to be cleared in no time, all things being equal, given the speed with which the party is taking to ensure that all the loose ends are tied in order to meet the deadline of the Independent National Electoral Commission for all parties to conclude their selection processes for all the candidates for next years general elections.
Against the backdrop of initial date of May 29 scheduled for the presidential primaries, Sam Egwu, Chairman of the screening committee for the presidential election, said on Tuesday night that the exercise would take place on a date to be announced.
He spoke on a day he handed Obi, the only candidate that bought form for the high office a clean bill of health to contest the election after a two-hour drill at the party secretariat in Abuja, on Tuesday night.
Egwu former Governor of Ebonyi State announced Obi’s clearance as the party’s sole presidential aspirant ahead of its forthcoming primaries, about two hours after the arrival of the former Governor of Anambra State, who would be running for the presidential office for a second time after the bid in 2023, where he was declared to have come third by the INEC, in a heavily-disputed outcome, in which his supporters claimed he clearly won.
Obi had arrived at the party secretariat at about 6:45pm on Tuesday, accompanied by Victor Umeh, senator representing Anambra central and immediately went into business, where he was drilled on his qualifications and intentions and other nuances of governance.
Egwu, who announced that the panel was satisfied with his performance, as he answered all questions correctly, told reporters who besieged the venue: “This is to certify that following the screening of the presidential aspirant of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), His Excellency Peter Obi, and being satisfied that he has complied with all the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and all provisions of the Electoral Act, and the satisfactory answers given by him to all the questions from members of the national screening committee.
“He is hereby cleared to contest in the presidential primaries of the party for the 2027 presidential election on a date to be announced by the party. Congratulations.”
He then presented an official clearance letter to Obi with the party’s official nomination form numbered 001.
Obi picked NDC presidential nomination and expression of interest forms on Sunday, May 17, the initial deadline set by the party for the collection of forms by all categories of aspirants.
On Monday, the party extended the deadline to May 24 to enable more aspirants pick forms, noting that the return of completed nomination forms for all screened and cleared aspirants would commence on Wednesday, May 20 and close on May 26.
However, the party did not extend the deadline for the collection of presidential nomination forms, noting that it had already closed.
By Hon Eseme Eyiboh
Let us begin with a confession. There is something unsettling about a politician who no longer appears to struggle.
In the turbulent theatre of Nigerian politics, where noise is often mistaken for relevance, where primaries resemble wrestling contests and delegate management demands the instincts of a hostage negotiator, a man who walks in unopposed does not merely win. He transforms the entire contest into a rehearsal.
On Monday, May 18, 2026, at Methodist Primary School, Ukana, in Essien Udim Local Government Area, Senator Godswill Akpabio did exactly that. No contest. No drama. No nervous counting of votes. He simply emerged as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District without a single challenger.
While many politicians remain trapped in the exhausting rituals of horse trading, factional bargaining, and survival politics, Akpabio’s good works delivered something far rarer in Nigeria’s political environment than gold itself. Absolute consensus.
To the casual observer, an unopposed return may suggest the absence of competition. That would be a dangerously shallow interpretation.
Those familiar with the political phenomenon long associated with the “Uncommon Transformer” understand the distinction clearly. An unopposed ticket does not mean nobody desired to contest. Politics naturally attracts ambition the way light attracts insects. Power always generates interest. Influence always provokes aspiration.
What an unopposed return truly means is far more significant: potential challengers surveyed the landscape, studied the numbers, weighed the networks, measured the emotional connection between the man and the political structure around him, and quietly concluded that the road to victory simply did not exist.
There is a profound difference between lack of opposition and the collapse of viable opposition
Why is there no road to victory for others? Because what Akpabio has built in Akwa Ibom State in general and Akwa Ibom North West in particular is no longer merely a political structure. It is a fortress. Its walls are not made of concrete. They are made of cultivated loyalty. Enduring networks. Strategic generosity. And the unspoken understanding that confronting him politically is not simply difficult. It is often futile and absurd.
The atmosphere at the ward centre resembled less a political exercise and more a carnival of affirmation. Supporters, community leaders, women groups, youths, and party faithful gathered not to determine an outcome but to endorse a grace carrier already settled in the public imagination. The votes were counted without end. The votes were celebrated.
Here is the remarkable part.
The whispers surrounding Akpabio’s dominance do not come only from admirers. They come from seeming opponents too.
They do not fear his voice. They fear his results. They do not tremble at confrontation. They confront something more sobering: the recognition that within his political territory, the arithmetic has been solved with almost clinical precision.
While others are still assembling coalitions, Akpabio consolidated his long ago. While rivals continue calculating delegate figures, he has already moved to the next question: what happens after victory? How does political power translate into enduring relevance and measurable impact?
That is the distinction between a career politician and a political architect. One chases office. The other shapes the terrain on which the chase itself occurs.
Since assuming office as President of the 10th Senate, Akpabio has projected a measure of stability within the Red Chamber. That should not be understated.
The Nigerian Senate has earned a reputation for turbulence over the years. Leadership rebellions. Internal fractures. Floor dramas that generate headlines while weakening governance and social democratic structures. Against that backdrop, a Senate President capable of maintaining institutional stability without recurring crises becomes more than merely effective. He becomes uncommon.
His admirers see in him a politician who has consistently combined institutional authority with emotional loyalty from his base through the National to International arena. From Governor to Minister to Senate President, his rise is framed as the journey of a man who understood tomorrow before others arrived there. A politician deeply conscious of timing, alignment, and the delicate craft of converting social capital into durable influence and uncommon power (political capital).
This point matters enormously. Political capital is easy to squander. This point matters enormously. Political goodwill is easy to destroy. Many politicians exhaust it through arrogance, exclusion, or the endless pursuit of personal advantage. But Akpabio appears to understand something deeper about leadership: goodwill grows when people genuinely feel seen, valued, included, and carried along.
Over the years, he has cultivated relationships not merely through politics, but through accessibility, generosity of spirit, loyalty to associates, and an unusual ability to make people feel remembered even in the midst of high office. That is why his support structure often appears less like a coalition held together by convenience and more like a community bound by shared experience and enduring personal connection.
What some interpret merely as political dominance may actually be the long-term harvest of sustained human investment.
And perhaps that explains the ease with which the field gradually cleared around him. Not because opposition was forcibly silenced, but because many within the political environment saw little wisdom in disrupting a consensus built around continuity, stability, experience, and an existing relationship of trust.
His commitment to continue working closely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Umo Eno reinforces a broader message of continuity and strategic alignment. At a time when fragmentation remains the temptation of many ambitious actors, Senator Akpabio has chosen coordination. That is not a weakness. It is political arithmetic.
And this is where the conversation shifts from the present to the near future. The same political capital that secured his senatorial return without resistance is not a one-use currency. It accumulates. It compounds. The goodwill he has cultivated, the equilibrium he has maintained, and the pragmatic preference for results over rhetoric are not merely tools for another Senate term. They form the foundation of something larger and forthcoming.
The crystal ball is not required to observe the trajectory. A Senate President who secures his own return effortlessly, stabilises a chamber historically associated with instability, aligns himself with the centre of national power grid while maintaining grassroots legitimacy, is a Senate President who has solved one of Nigerian politics’ most difficult equations.
He has demonstrated to his colleagues that he can deliver. He has shown the party hierarchy that he can be trusted. He has reassured constituents that proximity to power has not disconnected him from them.
This combination is rarer than any single attribute standing alone. So when the 11th Senate eventually convenes and the question of leadership emerges once again, the conversation may prove shorter than many anticipate. Not because there will be no interested contenders. There always are. But because the arithmetic of loyalty, institutional experience, strategic alignment, and demonstrated political capacity will already have completed its quiet work.
Akpabio has not formally declared interest in leading the 11th Senate. He does not need to. The declaration already exists in the pattern of his movements, the stability of his stewardship, and the political field he has cleared without visible strain. It is simply the discipline of reading political signs as they present themselves* .
In the end, Nigerian politics rewards those who understand the people more deeply than those who merely master performance and noise.That is not sentimentality. It is a political reality.
A politician capable of delivering his constituency without violence, panic, or emergency intervention is a politician who understands something fundamental: power is never truly declared. It is demonstrated. And it is demonstrated most convincingly when nobody steps forward to challenge it.
On that Monday in Ukana, the drums rolled. Praises echoed across the gathering. And the political message arrived without ambiguity. In Akwa Ibom North West, the conversation has moved beyond opposition. What remains is an audience waiting to see the next chapter unfold without ceasing.
Senator Godswill Akpabio has once again reminded observers that in certain political spaces, dominance is not always loud.
Sometimes, it is simply complete. And in the intricate chessboard of Nigerian politics, where many players are still learning how the pieces move, that level of mastery remains rare, consequential, and deeply potent.
The man who saw tomorrow understood something else too. The loudest voice in the room is rarely the one that prevails.
The one that prevails is the one that no longer needs to shout because everybody already understands. And that is what Senator Godswill Akpabio has demonstrated that he is the man who saw tomorrow.
Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh mnipr is a former member and Spokesperson of the House of Representatives and currently Special Adviser, Media/Publicity and official Spokesperson to the President of the Senate
-
News4 weeks agoJandor: Tinubu didn’t endorses Hamzat *I’ve briefed President on my ambition
-
News3 weeks agoBREAKING: Makinde, Turaki, lose! *S’Court affirms Wike’s PDP leadership
-
News7 days agoTinubu to African leaders: Copy Nigeria, produce your way out of poverty
-
Features3 weeks agoJim Nwobodo: The Sun shines, thrills, at ‘The Vanguard Awards’
-
News7 days agoWhy we pegged presidential ticket forms at N60million – NDC
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING! Coast brightens for Obi, as NDC zones presidency to South
-
News4 weeks agoADC: Fight, scatter them! *Presidency goads Kogi lawmaker on Mark’s leadership
-
News7 days agoGowon on civil war: My book is to put records straight, remove falsehood