- By Williams Eghebi
Not many would have believed if told over a decade ago that Mr. Felix Morka would gallop to the rooftops in political party administration and communication. This is more so considering his major preoccupation was activism—fighting for good causes and steadfastly defending the downtrodden and vulnerable members of the society. During this period, we regarded him as that refined lawyer, dinning and winning with the blue-blooded and political power-brokers with little or no interest in the affairs that concern rural peers and Agbor, his place of birth.
It was therefore strange when at about 2010, he became more engrossed in the affairs that matter to Agbor. Initially, he concentrated on political enlightenment and community-interest advocacy. That he lost election into the Delta State House of Assembly in 2015 was not because he wasn’t the best candidate on the ballot. Many believe and rightly too, that his failed bid was because he contested under APC that was obscure at the time in Delta State.
Instead of sulking over the lost, he painstakingly began to build the party from brick to brick. His Agbor residence initially doubles as the local government secretariat of the party. It was difficult to harvest strong politicians into the fold as he did not give in to ‘sharing money’ which remains the strongest bait to the vulnerable and hard-up people in the society. His tool was and still remains constructive engagements, hoping that his messages would permeate the toughest of minds over time. With time, he began to get a buy-in especially from the educated and enlightened. That he was not ‘sharing money’ doesn’t assume that his finances were not suffering in some ways. He was not naive as he meets some financial needs of his supporters in form of monthly stipends, rent supports and educational assistance.
Though the political environment was toxic, he remained unfazed. Several tactics were employed to pillory him including hostile members that made unsuccessful attempts to undermine his leadership role in the party.
Against all odds, Mr. Morka emerged the National Publicity Secretary of the party. It was very clear from the onset that he was going to turn the position from a fierce political warfare to ideological arena where facts rule over falsehoods; communication takes the place of confrontation and refinement displaces radicalism and garrulous dispositions. Instead of becoming a spin-doctor, Mr. Morka cleverly deploys the art of taking responsibilities for all actions and inactions of his party and APC-led federal government. So far, he has not misfired as he intelligently transmits the activities of APC and government with easy-to-understand mechanism.
Naturally, his role is to create a two-way mechanism between his party and the people. With near-perfect accuracy, Barr Morka markets not just his party but President Tinubu and the federal government. While he is flamboyant in his presentation of facts, his auster disposition reminds of his activism. It is however not easy to decipher where he gets the stamina to deliver real-time. With a knack to exceed expectations, he has turned his car trunk, dining room and library into newsroom and studio. This explains his quick response to media inquiries and engagements.
With uncommon skills, he has been able to extricate himself from being the news. The fluidity in his communication in all aspects of government and governance shows his voracious reading culture. What remain constant with him are gesticulation and clean-shaven head. Some joke that the shiny surface has become permeable membrane that transmits information quickly to the brain for prompt analysis.
Mr. Morka is a man whose love for the party has no boundaries as he has positioned himself a bridge-builder in the efforts to fully integrate members into a strong unit in Delta State. His immutable desire to put the party interest first has made him the bride of all the tendencies in the party. The toothy smile and unarguable humility, have become the catalysts with which he effortlessly advertises the giant strides of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu despite the scorching financial realities. With the enlightenment from Barr Felix Morka and members of the media team of the president, Nigerians are beginning to accept that in spite of the thunderous storms, silver lining is not too far away. The Renewed Hope is finally berthing to unleash prosperity. Barr Morka, ride on!
