Robinson Uwak vs Aniekan Umanah: Matters arising

By Edidiong Udobia

Christmas and Easter still retain the fondest memories of my childhood. Aside the general festive and sober atmosphere that characterized both seasons respectively, what still strike me about them are those activities we engaged in as children and one of such, was bible recitation on Easter Sunday and Christmas day. Today, as I flash back to those days, I realize that we conformed to three conditions of recitation, thus; every child, no matter how bright he or she was, needed assistance during rehearsals; we were cramming rather than reading to understand and we opted for popular bible portions which were relevant to the season.
Interestingly, these conditions often came to play during our final performance in the church. For instance, because we were assisted during rehearsals, we usually needed the backing of the congregation lest we fumbled. Also, because we crammed, we always forgot a word or two words and we began to stammer. And of course, because we opted for popular bible portions, the moment we started, the whole congregation will join. In our ignorance, the impression we got from that chorus recitation was that we performed excellently.
Few days ago, I read an article, "Robinson Uwak's Dishourable Verses" written by the Akwa Ibom state commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr. Aniekan Umanah. From the piece, I understood that Mr. Umanah was reacting to a Facebook post by the member representing Oron Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Robinson Uwak. The said Facebook post by Hon. Uwak, which was given prominence by the media, generated reactions from diverse quarters, hence, I will not question the rational behind Mr. Umanah' piece. However, there are matters with that piece.

Robinson Uwak’s Position on 2015, Development of Oro Nation, Receives Nod from Senator Effiong Bob

The member representing Oron Federal Constituency, Hon Robinson Uwak has received the commendation of the immediate past senator representing Uyo Senatorial District, Senator Effiong Bob.
While making his remark during the visit of the duo of Onofion Luke and Bassey Albert who had gone on a consultation visit to the former senator, Bob said he was interested in Uwak for his bold representation of the interest of his people.

Senator Bob who also spoke in glowing terms about the lawmaker representing Oron federal constituency in the national assembly, Hon. Robinson Uwak, told Onofiok Luke to invite Honourable Uwak for him to adopt as his political  son explaining that he was proud of his representation of the people of Oron Federal Constituency. He described Honourable Uwak as the only federal lawmaker who speaks for and represents the state well, offering insight to the fact that the lawmaker has sponsored the bill for the establishment of Maritime University of Nigeria, Oron,  for his people.
It will be recalled that Hon. Uwak has in recent time become more vocal in calling attention to the developmental plight of his Oro people. He had insisted that the governorship mantle be thrust on Oro as of right considering that the other two major ethnic groups in the state had had their own turn in the governance of the state.
His statement has however come under fires from government apologists, who believe that the lawmaker was merely playing to the gallery because of his second term bid. 
The lawmaker has since his commentary on the issue of Oro, become an idol of sort as more and more Oro people have come to identify with his robust criticism of the force that has left Oro unattended to in the eight years of the Akpabio’s administration.

Counting Enoidem’s Assets At 50

By Joe Iniodu

Many dictionaries define asset as anything useful or valuable. It could be an intangible like experience or a tangible like landed property or cash or even human resource. Specialist knowledge and even copyright are also assets. In the same vein, some sterling attributes are assets. Assets have also been expanded to accommodate even physical attributes and those who posses them flaunt them even as they have minimal contributions in the evolution and enhancements.

Barrister Emmanuel Moses Enoidem is not blessed with the asset of size in the vertical order. He is also not a beneficiary of our creator’s generosity of large frame. He is rather structured deceptively with what looks like a puny frame. And for those who judge strength from the enormity of size, Barrister Enoidem would be such persons undoing. Under the seeming puny frame lies steel that is resilient and resistant to pressure and the fancy of brutes and bullies. Again whatever he has lost in terms of vertical advantage has been counterbalanced with the prodigious intellect that he is endowed with and which would be one of the assets isolated for analysis.

Well, having lost out in size vertically and laterally, his Creator decided to endow him with such rich physical attributes that many may be forced to construe that its presence impeded vertical growth. Emmanuel Enoidem’s youthful photograph bespeaks this flourish of physical values, a dashing youngman with urbane qualities. These attributes constitute asset of value. What it does is that it breeds in the individual confidence which is germane to self worth or self-esteem. Those diffident in self esteem and appreciative of this problem can estimate this asset of value correctly.

Barr Emmanuel Enoidem, Com for Special
Duties, AKS

But our concern in this treatise is not to emphasize such a mundane thing like physical attribute but to mention in passing that it can help young people build their self value early if such young people are well guided and inculcated with discipline. But if they are left to their caprices, it could turn them to narcism which is a very dangerous trend especially to the young.

2015: We need a Level Playing Field, the Gov should not Threaten or intimidate Aspirants– Umana Umana

2015: We need a Level Playing Field, the Gov should not Threaten or intimidate Aspirants– Umana Umana

“If the governor juggles in the political turf as an aspirant,  fellow aspirants might be tempted to throw mud at him and it is not good for mud to be thrown at the governor as his office is an exalted office.  The governor should not campaign in the churches for one person…”   

Umana Okon Umana, former SSG, AK                

One of the strong contenders of the 2015 governorship race in Akwa Ibom State and a former secretary to the Government of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Umana Okon Umana has urged the state governor to desist from intimidating, threatening other aspirants and campaigning in churches for his current SSG as it was not fair for the governor who should play the role of a father in the 2015 race to do so.

Obong Umana also appealed to the governor to stop parading himself in the garb of an aspirants and to avoid mudslinging as his presence in the political turf of 2015 could mislead aspirants to consider him as an aspirant and as such could be tempted to throw mud at him, in the believe that they are doing so to one of  them(aspirants), oblivious of the fact such is done to the governor, urging that the office of the governor was so venerable to be dragged into mud.

Mr Umana said during the time of governor Attah, Chief Godswill Akpabio sought to be governor and as a commissioner (then), governor Attah never censored him or threatened other commissioners not to relate with and support him, even though the governor was not supporting his  aspiration.  He recalled that governor Attah never campaigned in churches and other public places for his preferred aspirant and never reprimanded persons in his cabinet who supported Chief Akpabio, adding that Chief Akpabio’s style was not encouraging.

In a media interaction in his private residence in Ewet Housing last week, Obong Umana described the idea of a promise by governor Akpabio to hand over the mantle of leadership of the state to him in 2015 as a purely “academic exercise”, saying that whatever promises were made in the past did not matter to him as he was already in the race of 2015 governorship. “Whether the governor offered to support me in the past or not does not matter, what matters is that I am in the race because I believe I have something to offer to better the lots of the people”, he said.

On whether he resigned his appointment or was pushed out of office, he stated that any position one accepts to serve is at the pleasure of the governor.   He stated that as a position of service taken on appointment, the occupant of the office has the right to resign when he feels he should do so and the governor can also ask you to disengage when he feels that you should no longer continue with him. “ I believe that based on my letter of disengagement, if we have to go by that, the governor thanked me for my contributions to the development of the state and wished me well”, he said. 

He stated further that “may be the manner of disengagement was not tidy” as he was outside the state when the event took place.  Umana told Journalists that may be there were Policemen and officers of the DSS, but that he heard and saw it all on AIT, Channels and NTA, adding that what happened could not have been speculations.

Mr Umana stated that since he was not around he could not have known who led the operation of sealing his office but that he was told it was the governor’s wife that led the operation, expressing surprise for such drama about what he considered a routine exercise, saying it was “unnecessary and an exercise taken too far”.

On why he wanted to be governor he said he would have time to clearly address the salient issues, but assured that having been with the administration as the Finance Commissioner and later Secretary to the State Government, he was aware of the “soft issues of development like health, education and security  in addition to the expansion of core infrastructure - road network, sea port, power, science and technology. Outside a robust industrialization programme we have to pay a special attention to the development of agriculture because this will create jobs and raise the standard of living of our people”.