Gov. Akpabio…will leave a worthy legacy as challenge for successor.
By Imoh Etimudo
Forty eight years ago this month, Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu changed the political history of Nigeria when he led the Nation’s First Military Coup. His ambition was to evolve a new Nation with himself at the helm of affairs. But God barred his way. Destiny.
Ten years after Nzeogwe came on the scene, Olusegun Obasanjo, a General, took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria. It was ironical. He was Nzeogwu’s best friend. Yet, when Nzeogwe made his decision to sack the civilian administration, Obasanjo was kept in the dark. Had he been told, the story of his life might be different today. He may not have planned it, he may not wished it, but he did become Nigerian Head of State.
Without firing a shot in pursuit of his ambition, he succeeded where his friend failed. Nzeogwu was the means to what Obasanjo was destined to become. Destiny. Fate.
Of course, whatever we perpetrate, we do not know, we are steered by fate. This is the reality of the leadership history of Akwa Ibom State. Since its creation in 1987, from Tunde Ogbeha to Godswill Akpabio, leadership in the State has always manifested through the doctrine of predestination.
In the beginning, Jonathan Tunde Ogbeha, then Army Colonel, was at the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, Kuru, Jos when President Babangida announced the creation of Akwa Ibom State. His course had just ended there. A day after the creation of the State, a captain told him that he was under instruction to report to Lagos. That was all. No hint of what was afoot. He obeyed the order. He was waiting in the Office of Late Mike Akhigbe, then Governor of Lagos State who was having a meeting with his state executive members when he heard the 4 O’ Clock news on Radio Nigeria in which his appointment was announced.
Eight other Nigerians have also taken their shots in the governance of Akwa Ibom after Ogheha, including the incumbent Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio who himself emerged as the manifestation of the will of God. Men, who called the shots that time, did not give him the support because they were not his godfather. God became Akpabio’s godfather and he succeeded. The rest is history.
As Akpabio’s administration joggles to fade into history in 2015, who will take over the baton of this relay race? Before long, Akwa Ibom will be flooded with forests of posters of the good, the bad and the ugly aspirants. The battle for the red zinc lodge has begun! Who will go for us?
Governor Akpabio has set a beautifully dangerous precedence by raising the leadership bar of the State. One can safely say that Akwa Ibom was visited by God through Akpabio, without offending logic and the law of evidence; for he who asserts bears the burden of proof.
Before Akpabio, most Akwa Ibom people were almost like the proverbial monk, walking in the rain with a leaking umbrella. They were alive but hardly existing. Then he appeared as the original pathfinder in the virgin forest of Akwa Ibom. Akpabio came with the right formula and correct chemistry to an era of government policies having high mortality rate. His strides across all sectors – education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, industrialization, and ultimately, poverty eradication – are breathtaking. Akpabio has taken Akwa Ibom away from Egypt.
As transition draws closer, should the people remain in Canaan or go back to Egypt? The answer lies in their ability to choose corrective fingers and not corrosive ones. It lies in their ability to collectively keep books with difficulty in understanding out of circulation.
Some Governorship ambitions are likened to tips via the needle’s eye. It is not such a difficult thing for Akwa Ibom people to check their political manifests. All it takes is a stroll down history lane. So, when they have a large crowd of one or two around them, or like they, where two or three are gathered for them, it goes show that like all Pharaohs, their Red Sea is near.
By their antecedents, it is easy for the people to look into the seeds of time and tell which seed would grow and which would not. Let the people’s choice not put fly in the ointment, and take us into life in the valley when we are already on the mountain top today. That way, we will clog the wheel of our future, sink our children’s ship of hope and humour the world. In the past, the people rejected turning the Governorship race into a billionnaire’s club. Such spirit should be reenacted now. It is a time to liquidate the retrogressive belief that mandates can be bought with money. Conscience is priceless. Let every Akwa Ibom citizen, therefore, raise a banner with an invisible, colourless, glistering inscription, “THIS GOVERNORSHIP IS NOT FOR SALE.”
There is an open secret that the current Secretary to State Government, Mr. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel has a great profile, worthy of a Governor Akpabio’s successor. That will be the best thing to happen to Akwa Ibom State. Emmanuel’s arrival shows that God is still with Akwa Ibom.
Emmanuel has an intimidating credential and a Persuasive Pedigree. He may not have sipped the nectar of power before but his papers and person give him out as a beautiful bride for the Governorship race.
Udom Emmanuel has been a Non-Executive Director, African Finance Corporation (AFC) till his appointment as the SSG. He was Director, Nigerian Interbank Settlement Systems, Non-Executive Director, Zenith Bank, United Kingdom; Zenith Bank Gambia and Sierra Leone; Zenith Insurance; Zenith Pensions and Custodian; Zenith Securities; Zenith Trustees and Zenith Registrars.
Having played in the big league with trophies to show for his competence in Economic and Financial Management, Emmanuel is the right man for the job. He symbolizes the flagpole of hope. In him, at least, one beautiful one is born among the aspirants.
His entrance into the scene is quite timely. No wonder they say, God cannot be hurried and God cannot be late. God is with Akwa Ibom. What the State needs now is prudence to sustain the rainbow development it is witnessing. This will further escape the people from the thralldom of poverty and hunger.
Therefore, to abandon this star is to choose darkness instead of light. This can only lead to starless nights, full of bad dreams and regrets. Emmanuel will be a golden link in Akwa Ibom’s chain of development. His presence, therefore, is a moral burden for all those who have sincere stake in Akwa Ibom State. It is a God-given opportunity to contribute to the sustenance of God’s Work in the State. What an opportunity to cast one’s name in gold on the positive side of history! The hour has come. Should we then reject the toast of the banking sector because of sentiments? Should we turn down an apostle of participatory leadership because of personal interest? Or should we leave the right man because of wrong motives? That will be being colonially myopic.
Akwa Ibom is already a Paradise on earth. Paradise is not for rascals; check the records. Emmanuel has the acumen to sustain God’s Presence with God’s people.
In whatever way Akwa Ibom looks at it, this is one ambition that deserves the followership of a revolution. If Emmanuel Udom decides to throw his hat into the ring, he will obviously earn an overwhelming support for Governor Akpabio and the people of the State. Emmanuel will sheath all the blunt blades.
Power belongs to God. God is with us. Emmanuel is here. Udom Gabriel Emmanuel is a product of predestination.
Like the wordings of an exhortation in Accra, Ghana reads, “Don’t just stand there and stare. Get involved” God is with us; He will do his will. Udom Emmanuel could not have come at a better time. The story of his senatorial district and the Zoning debate will be told another day. Destiny.
Imoh Etimudo resides in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State
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