Akpabio and public endorsement of Gov. Emmanuel

The mark of a true leader, among others, includes the ability to develop subordinates that could take up leadership positions be it in industry, politics or management. This underscores the relevance of mentoring in every aspect of life. It is generally assumed that people that have the advantage of being guided, encouraged and supported by trusted and experienced mentors usually excel and perform better either in the workplace or any other endeavour.  This is understandable.  Apart from the knowledge and skills that mentees could learn from their mentors, mentoring often enhances professional socialization and provides personal support that ultimately brings the best out of the mentees, making them to excel beyond the ordinary.

Many have said it again and again that the bane of governance in Nigeria is poor leadership. It’s unfortunate that the crops of leadership produced by the nation’s late elder statesmen are fast disappearing.  The few successful leaders of today have a long task before them to sustain quality leadership.  This is more so because there is no formal training centre for political leadership in the country for now.  While the nation’s civil service has a training ground where civil servants can be mentored and taught the act of governance, there is basically no formal training or mentoring scheme for political leadership in the country. This is probably one of the reasons we have people contesting for positions they know nothing about and get elected into positions they don’t understand. We then find elected officers that spend the better part of their time wobbling and fumbling.

The spate of bad governance that results from the problem of lack of leadership and effective mentoring  in Nigeria’s political space makes it imperative to acknowledge the foresight of leaders who could recognize leadership potentials in their aides, nurture such and actually go a step further by publicly supporting them for leadership positions. That is one of the reasons why the likes of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be respected by many. He has proved beyond doubt that he is a good leader.  A former governor of Lagos State,  aside  from having the vision of a better Lagos, the National Leader of the ruling All Progressives Party was able to identify  people with leadership potentials and supporting them for leadership roles. This has given the state a place of prominence in the comity of states in Nigeria and continued to rub off positively on the former governor.

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The same scenario is playing out in Akwa Ibom State where a former governor and presently the Senate Minority Leader, Godswill   Akpabio, saw what others didn’t see in the current governor of the state, Udom Emmanuel.  In spite of political bickering and opposition,   the former governor did not only fish out Emmanuel, he identified him as a man fit for the job when he was about to leave the Government House in Uyo.  He must have been interested in finding a man that would be able to push further his laudable goals and vision for a better Akwa Ibom; somebody that would not only keep to the vision but build on whatever his achievements were to take the oil rich state further in its journey to the Promised Land. Akpabio’s administration had left behind it projects like world class hospitals, hotels,  well equipped stadium , Ibom Power Plant, cinema viewing  centres and a gas processing plant to name just a few.

Expectedly, Emmanuel has not disappointed his political mentor.  An astute banker and former executive director at Zenith Bank before Akpabio appointed him as the Secretary to Akwa Ibom State Government in 2013, the governor has continued from where his predecessor stopped. His focus has been industrializing the state which hitherto was largely a civil service dominated economy. To him, commitment to industrialisation is irrevocable. ‘’Through industrialisation, we shall rewrite the Akwa Ibom economic story,’’ he had said when he assumed office.  He had started with a five-point agenda of wealth creation, job creation, poverty alleviation, political and economic inclusiveness as well as infrastructural consolidation and expansion shortly after assuming duty in 2015. Today, the state boasts of the largest syringe manufacturing factory in Africa. This is in less than three years of being in the saddle as the state governor.

The state has a thriving pencil and toothpick factory; a starch manufacturing company; palm kernel oil plant; and fertilizer blending factory among others. He is working on flour mills, coconut refinery, Ibom Deep Seaport and Ibom Industrial Park and Jetty. All of these are aside the priority given to the agricultural sector where the government is taking advantage of the abundant rich and natural resources of the state to boost food production. The farmers are not left out.  He established a Special Cocoa Maintenance Scheme (SCMS) to train farmers and youths on pruning/shading management, under- brushing, and tree care by fumigation, all in an effort to improve on farm yields.   The governor has also given priority to infrastructural development. To his credit, over 1,700 kilometers of roads are being constructed in the state. Some of them have been completed.

The administration has constructed   35 bridges and completed the state secretariat annex; the second airport runway has been constructed,   the state’s main airport runway upgraded to category 2 while   a new commercial building terminal at Ibom International Airport has been constructed.  There are also ongoing constructions and renovation of the Governor’s Lodge in Lagos and Abuja; construction of high rise and investment buildings at the central business district of the Uyo Metropolis among other laudable projects.  Beyond all of these, the governor is also investing in human capital, particularly in the youths through different vocational trainings. Many analysts are of the view that the governor has justified the confidence reposed in him by his former boss with his modest achievements. But somehow, this has not stopped rumours of real or perceived crack in the relationship of the governor and the senator representing Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District.  Rumour mills have continuously alleged that the governor has since lost the support of his former boss, though both the governor and the senator have kept on denying such a rift.

Despite these denials, some political jobbers could swear that the former governor was working against the reelection of the governor.  Akpabio must have been inundated with this rumour too and had cause to issue a strong rebuttal sometime ago on the matter.  In a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Anietie Ekong, the senator had lauded the performance of Emmanuel and even pledged the support of the people of Ikot  Ekpene senatorial district to the governor’s re-election  with the district’s over 500,000 votes.  In politics, it is not unusual for people to misinterpret moves, statements, comments or actions. Political jobbers  say things with or without basis. Indeed it is part of politics for  politicians to  cook stories that have no substance.  This is the more reason why the senator needs to declare in unambiguous terms his unflinching support for Emmanuel at the campaign rally slated for  Ikot Ekpene Senatorial District next Monday. Doing that will achieve two things. It will again prove to the world that Akpabio himself, as a true leader, had foresight, and did not make a mistake in his choice of a successor. For every achievement of Emmanuel is a plus to the reputation of Akpabio himself.

• Michael writes in via dsuccessfactory@gmail.com