Akwa Ibom Governorship: Who Fits Udom’s Description?—by Nsikak Ekanem
From about a score of persons speculated to be running for the Akwa Ibom State governorship in 2023 general elections, the number in recent time has been prunned down on the table of political analysts to just two persons, even as pundits are still pondering as to who is better positioned to carry the day when the time eventually arrives.
Indeed, the search for the next governor of Akwa Ibom, if not already settled by the present establishment, which is led by Governor Udom Emmanuel, has begun with clear pointer to the direction of the prince, especially as the governor gave prescription of who his successor should be in a broadcast marking the sixth anniversary of his assumption of office.
Making veiled reference that the era before him was a dark one in more than an aspect and portraying his tenure as one that has brought light, the one-time president of Men of Light association in Qua Iboe Church, Surulere, Lagos, listed a number of characteristics of the past that his would-be successor should not be seen possessing.
He also outlined attributes of his would-be successor to include one with “a known e-mail address that the international business community recognizes”, “a leader who would continue to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of our people, a successor who understands the economic dynamics that shape our globalized space and would utilize those skills to advance our well-being”.
Expectedly, the governor has not been spared criticisms in some segments of the public. His mention of “a known e-mail address” is construed as arrogance and elitism. His derogatory remark on the past is seen as an act of derision of his benefactors and jettisoning of a system that catapulted him to the top political office.
Edo Etuk, the Managing Director of Akwa Ibom Water Company and member of the ruling PDP, explained to SUNDAY INDEPENDENT that the governor was only throwing the matter of his would-be successor to the public with a guide to ease them on the choice to make for the betterment of the state. He said that it shows that the governor “believes strongly that the choice of a leader rests on the people and not the governor of the day, hence guiding the people to making a right choice”.
The prescription pops up, again, the name of Udom Uko Inoyo, the immediate past Vice Chairman of Exxon Mobil companies in Nigeria, who had initially generated what has been dubbed Inoyo-mania and Inoyo-phobia. The other person thrown up with frenzied focus is Akanimo Udoafia, a billionaire businessman with vast interest in the oil and gas industry.
Apart from having blossomed career within and outside Nigeria, they have never held political offices nor known to have had any strong political identification in any political era in the past, hence automatically excluded from the perceptive dark era of the past, just as they also fit into the bill of those likely to sustain what Emmanuel call “redeeming value.”
A drop of both names opens doors in the state, including that of political gladiators, just as a mention of their names, individually commands hysterical rush like a bell for the dining hall in dormitories. At the same time, both of them have since become refuse sites, where every Okon and Akon could easily dump whatever possible, especially non-biodegradable items, in order to turn their fertile nursery political beds to barren grounds.
For instance, whereas those from Akwa Ibom constitute the highest percentage of workforce (not less than 35 percent) in Exxon Mobil companies in Nigeria, Inoyo, who steadily climbed from first floor to the last floor of employees in the company, is accused, albeit without substantiation, of not making the international oil company, IOC, a floodgate for Akwa Ibom people. Udoafia has been blackmailed without validation too of subscribing to atheism and planning to impose taStill, their apparent elitist background tends to segregate them from a chunk of the populace. But, in spite of their international outlook, SUNDAY INDEPENDENT can authoritatively report that the local blood running in their veins have not been diluted.
Both of them are not good at wearing flowing gowns – a trade mark of many Nigerian politicians that started having some level of traction in the governorship era of Godswill Akpabio in Akwa Ibom. They enjoy dressing simply.
If any of the two emerges governor on May 29, 2023, it would be the first time since 1999 that the governor of Akwa Ibom has indigenous name from first to surname. In fact, Inoyo’s wife, Ntekpe, just as their three children has Akwa Ibom names.
Though the two persons on the face of it appear to have shared some sort of sameness as far as fitting into the governor’s extra qualification is the focus, they are unsurprisingly not the same, only that their seeming similarity has helped the governor to placed his card close to his chest.
Regarding Robert Greene’s rule 38 in The 48 Laws of Power, which cunningly admonishes power seekers to “Think as you like but behave like others”, Udoafia appears an observer of the admonition, while Inoyo looks an unapologetic transgressor of that Machiavellian commandment.
Udoafia is speedily inching towards becoming emergency identifier with the masses and possibly offer image of being on messianic mission. As Greene mentors, Udoafia seems to be keeping his differences in thought and not in his fleece, hence appearing to be a faithful of Greene’s axiom that “those who attain the heights of power would be better off at least affecting the common touch, for at some point they may need popular support.”
A striking case in point is the recent murder of Iniubong Umoren, which Udoafia cash in to identify with the bereaved family, resulting in giving employment to late Iniubong’s brother, whom SUNDAY INDEPENDENT gathered from reliable sources, had been jobless, a factor that compelled him to be knocking doors of some political office holders’ to no avail before the gruesome death of his sister.
Unfortunately for Udoafia, a number of persons that have what it takes to influence where the 2023 political pendulum would swing to see what is defining him now as desperate decoy to deceive the people to drum support for him.
On the other hand, SUNDAY INDEPENDENT can authoritatively report that Inoyo, who has been mentoring people, mostly the youths, with emphasis on character content, passion for excellence, learning, relearning and unlearning, is considering too late in his life to relearn or unlearn the act of discarding his real self so as to ease pushing his way to political power.
Unless reorientation comes in among the political class and the Akwa Ibom electorate, for uncompromisingly sticking to his real character, Greene’s thought that people may look down on someone who tends to “make a show of going against the times” may visit Inoyo along the path of seeking the people’s mandate.
Also, Inoyo has proved to be an exception to Frederick Forsyth’s description of what political power is in Africa and that may give him what is called “hard starting” in a nation where nepotism is a norm in who gets what in the scheme of things.
In The Making of an African Legend: The Biafran Story, the British journalist and author said that in Africa “Political power means success and prosperity, not only for the man who holds it but also for his family, his birthplace and even his whole region of origin.” But Inoyo’s father, Uko Inoyo, as Permanent Secretary many years ago, superintended the development of Akwa Ibom State Housing Estate, popularly called Ewet Housing, yet he, just like his relations, owns no plot of land.
In view of the belief by not a few persons that he has what it takes to make a good fight in 2023 governorship race, Udoafia is reckoned by some perceptive minds as a beautiful bride among political gladiators across the two major parties, APC and PDP.
The plus of being a beautiful bride is also not without certain minuses, as that may cost him the trust of some political shapers and shakers. He was initially seen to be pitching tent with APC, where he was said to have made move to bankroll Senator Bassey Albert until Akpabio, the minister of Niger Delta Affairs, impressed the need for him to throw his hat into the ring.
Though he seemed to have made a volte face, it is hard to ascertain which party he actually belongs. His neither-here-nor-there status does not offer Udoafia image of an organized person, at least as far as the Akwa Ibom 2023 governorship race is the crux of the matter. This is in contrast with that of Inoyo in that his membership in PDP is common knowledge.
It was also learnt that his stupendous wealth is likely to attract attention of those opposing his governorship interest to a point that a reconnaissance might have been mounted on him; hence phantom or real allegation linking him with illicit wealth may not be unlikely in the immediate future. If that happens, it could mercilessly throw him off balance, especially considering that he is a political neophyte in the murky waters of the Nigerian politics.
To Inoyo’s advantage, he is seen as having recommendable dose of financial probity, evidently seen in his steady rise to the top echelon of his career with Exxon Mobil, which spanned a period of 31 years. Owing to this positivity, a probe on his past, which has potency of plaguing a politician, may be a ploy that his political adversaries would hardly think of deploying.
Notwithstanding that Inoyo and Udoafia fit into the category desired by the governor, other governorship hopefuls are not relaxing their individual schemes to throw spanner in the works of the two foremost persons in the race.
As things stand at the moment and if it is not toppled by some turbulent forces in politics, which one can only rule out to his peril, Emmanuel takes the lead that could lead to the emergence of the next leader of the state.
So, who fits the governor’s prescription?
