To summarize
things, the narratives of Akwa Ibom State have been written in the negative in
recent years.
Controversy of
corruption; rumours of ruins and facts of failure have been at the centre of
the narratives.
Sometimes the
corruption controversy lingers and no one is convicted.
Sometimes that
fatal failure to deliver democratic dividends leaves people in fetters in
villages and townships outside the capital, Uyo.
I know Akwa Ibom
State. It is a state that is ready for the future. Some of Nigeria’s best
infrastructures are there.
It is debatable,
but Uyo will rank number one on the choice of host cities, were Nigeria to host
an international event that will bring multitude of foreigners into the
country.
But the
profligacy of the political leaders of the Oil-rich state has given its
narratives a negative place in the chronicle of history.
From Obong
Victor Attah to Udom Emmanuel, the character of leadership has painted a bad
image of a good state.
For instance, in
spite of his talent for governance, the immediate past governor of Akwa Ibom
State, Godswill Akpabio, has unbounded extravagance lifestyle that has made him
unpopular and notorious—that rubs off on the state too.
Interestingly,
for the Akwa Ibom natives, the poem has now begun pleasantly, lyrically and
without a dark turn.
There’s a man in
the state who’s not following the herd. It’s the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State
House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Luke Onofiok, who I describe to people as a fast
rising politician with impeccable integrity.
His gait and
gaze makes Onofiok looks no different from the current British Shadow Secretary
of State for Business and Innovation, Chuka Umunna, 37, a Nigerian-British
citizen who inspires hope and regeneration.
Based on my
interactions with the duo and for what I know about them, they are cerebral—they
make decisions using their intelligence and cold, hard facts, instead of their
emotions.
On Wednesday
March 16, Onofiok turned 38 and in October, Umunna will do the same.
Hon. Onofiok is
a rare breed politician I came to know a few years back and we became friends
based on shared aspirations for Nigeria’s development in our different spheres
of life.
ur friendship
was fostered by another ferocious intellectual and a leader who has been
changing the narrative for Nigeria in the area of leadership development, the
Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative, Mr. Yinka
Oyinlola.
I met Mr.
Oyinlola in an unusual place and at a difficult time, but his work to save the
future of our nation became the magnet for me.
So with one
phone call from Mr. Oyinlola on a sunny day, several conversations around
Nigeria’s development and its leaders have taken place between me and Hon.
Onofiok over the years.
And while those
conversations have been going on for more than a year on our cell phones, we
didn’t meet until May 2015, when I visited Uyo, and that meeting in itself was
a chance meeting.
I merely
mentioned Onofiok to my cabby and his response got me curious. “Do you know
Hon.Luke…ehmm, I forgot his surname,” I asked simply. It was like I hit the
right button. “Is there anyone here who does not know him? He’s Luke Onofiok,
the man of the people. That man is not a politician, he’s a community man. He’s
going to be the governor someday,” he told me.
Like a man
listening to the pleasant sound of a church bell, I listened to my cabby’s
pleasant words for Onofiok and I made up my mind to see him, though without
prior notification.
I pressed my
finger on my phone to announce my arrival in Uyo to Onofiok, he was excited to
hear what he called “unusual news”. But to confirm the words of my cabby,
Onofiok was away on one of his community organizing trips. We later met in his
house the following day.
In Akwa Ibom,
Onofiok has many things going for him. First, he’s not a candidate of his party’s
establishment. He’s young and intellectual and he’s a community man to the
core.
Unlike other
politicians, Onofiok came prepared. Honestly, I didn’t doubt him when he told
me that his plan for the future was to raise a generation of researchers and
lawyers on maritime activities and environmental toxicology.
Last Saturday,
when his wife, Uduak, bagged a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from the
University of Calabar (UNICAL), Cross River State, I immediately remembered the
line.
As a lawyer, human
rights activist, former students union leader and fellow of Nigerian Leadership
Initiative—where the capacity to develop close and enduring relationships with
the governed is one clear message to the leaders against detached style of
leadership common in our country—Onofiok is that man described as authentic
leader by Bill George, an Harvard University Professor, who authors True North:
Discover Your Authentic Leadership.
Onofiok is
someone who is genuine and true to what he believes in. He understands the
purpose of leadership; he leads with very consistent values, and with his
heart, as well as his head. He’s courageous, compassionate and with other
empathy–like qualities he builds long-term connected relationships.
And this,
Onofiok has the personal self discipline to deliver extraordinary results.
The Akwa Ibom
State Peoples Democratic Party Chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo bears that testimony. “The
right choice was made by my party, the PDP. In Onofiok we have good
representation. Onofiok has shown his people that he can represent them…,” Ekpo
said during Onofiok’s first term as a parliamentarian.
As I wish
Onofiok a blissful birthday, I ask the Akwa Ibom people to savour the moment,
because the beautiful one is now born in the land of promise.
 |
| Mr. & Mrs. Onofiok |
Culled from THISDAY
No comments:
Post a Comment