David Mark at 67: Birthday message to the senatorial monarch of Idoma kingdom by Enenche Enenche

As a young boy, you enrolled into the Nigerian Army, you fought hard to see a united Nigeria, your sweats wet the concrete that built a bridge of reconciliation across river Niger… you did this for the country you love.
After fighting a war to a standstill, you aborted another war when you brought maturity to a red chamber and stood to see a doctrine of necessity salvaging Africa’s largest democracy when a presidential jet was parked in Saudi Arabia for months.

My generation is grateful and would forever remain grateful to your patriotic credentials in service to fatherland… thank you sir.

All these good qualities of yours didn’t come with some negative qualities that are not glorious in the temple of posterity.

I use to be your ardent follower, I was among those who stormed a court in Jos to cry when an Alhaji took us to court; I say us because any move made by anyone to remove the gavel from your hand then, was seen as an affront on the Idoma race.

That zeal and drive that once propelled me to Jos, died on the 2nd Jan., 2011 when  I first came in contact with the mess at Otukpo/Otukpa road. I wept on this day, every hope I had in you to bring Apa State perished on this day.

I said to myself; ” Apa state cannot come from a man who can’t influence the speedy reconstruction of the only major federal road that dissects Apa.

On that day, I decamped. I decamped from the camp of  mediocrity and sycophants to the camp of sound judgement and posterity.

Those who are decamping today, are just seeing what i saw over four years ago.

I have no personal issue with you, you can be my father. When you first took an oath in 1999, I was in J.S.S 2…