By Blossom Lambert
The year 2020 was not by any means a year that the world would forget in a hurry with Covid-19 leaving a deep scar on world history after disrupting a year that everyone including Nigerians had looked forward to with great expectations. So far, it has been a year to forget for most Nigerians, a year full of tribulations, not least the recent social upheaval of the #ENDSARS protests that spread from one corner of the country to the other. For indigenes of Akwa Ibom who reside in the state, 2020 was a year that showed them the meaning of effective leadership as reflected by the way and manner their governor had steered the ship of the state through the stormy waters of 2020 to safe harbour.
In the Covid-19-blighted year, Akwa Ibom State fared better than most states of the federation thanks in large part to the administrative acumen of His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel. His leadership during the period of national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic Covid-19 ensured that the people of Akwa Ibom were spared the harrowing experience that their compatriots in other states of the federation went through. On this count, posterity will judge Gov Udom Emmanuel kindly, for showing that leadership is no rocket science.
It was Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of America, who said philosophically that “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” The Chinese sage, Confucius put it more starkly when he said: “a man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.”
On both counts, Governor Udom Emmanuel had displayed exemplary sagacity by planning well and well ahead. Back in 2015, weeks after he was sworn in, the governor had inaugurated a Technical Committee on Agriculture Food Sufficiency which was tasked with the duty of ensuring that Akwa Ibom is assured of food security, such that prices of staple food like rice, gari, flour and other foodstuff are affordable.
At the time, no one envisioned any future emergencies, but the governor’s foresight paid off when the Covid-19 disruption hit the world. It was one of the reasons Awa Ibom were spared the harrowing experience of the lockdown. Where other state governments had foot-dragged on how to respond in terms of providing palliatives to its citizens, the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel had, in contrast, had taken quick and decisive steps to ensure that the people of Akwa Ibom were spared the discomfort of being locked in their homes without food.
One can find a parallel between how Gov. Udom Emmanuel guided Akwa Ibom during that perilous period and the way Biblical Joseph, by divine wisdom, guided Egypt through the seven lean years after stocking up grains in the previous seven years of abundance. When famine came, Prime Minister Joseph threw open the doors of the storehouses and the people had enough to eat to stave off the consequences of famine. When Covid-19 pandemic forced government globally to lockdown as a containment measure, people were cut off from earning their daily bread. Locked up in their homes, starvation became the primary enemy of survival. This was the moment the administration of Governor Udom stood in stark contrast with others. At the time most Nigerians were wallowing in agony over how to get their daily bread, Akwa Ibom State government came through for its citizens with COVID-19 relief packages in their hour of need. Bags of rice and flour, respectively from the state-owned Rice Mill in Ini Local Government Area and Kings Flour Mill in Mkpok-Okat axis in Onna Local Government Area, were distributed free, starting from early April. This helped the people of Akwa Ibom to stave off hunger during months of lockdown. This feat had attracted plaudits from Nigerians, at home and abroad.
The hallmark of a good leader is the ability to impact lives and change the circumstance and dynamics of governance. What marked Udom Emmanuel as a visionary leader is not only what he did in the heat of the Covid-19 lockdown, but also the way he prepared the state for a post-Covid-19 future by commissioning a 20-member committee to reposition the state for the post-COVID-19 economy.
The report submitted by the 20 wise men – including Prof. Akpan H. Ekpo, a former Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial & Economic Management (WAIFEM), Prof Emmanuel Onwioduokit, HOD, Economic, University of Uyo, entrepreneur Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman, Zinox Group and Udom Inoyo, former Executive Vice Chairman of ExxonMobil – on June 9, 2020, had come as a raft of recommended immediate, short term and long term interventions that drew a road map for Akwa Ibom State on how to navigate the post-COVID-19 world.
The highlights of the recommendations – which all aligned with the developmental works already instituted by the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel – included a focus on agriculture, industry and service as the potential mainstay of the Akwa Ibom economy rather than focusing on oil and the creation of a 30-year strategic development plan for the state.
Coming out of the Covid-19 blackhole, the administration of Governor Udom Emmanuel is continuing its efforts to keep the industrialization of the state on track and to increase participation of the youth in the economy.
Akwa Ibom, since its creation has experienced different shades of leaders. But so far, Governor Emmanuel Udom has distinguished himself as a leader who came into governance well prepared. No man can pretend that he understands the tenets of good governance if he failed to put it into practice. You don’t give what you don’t have. It is as simple as that. And usually, a time of crisis, such as the Covid-19 blighted 2020, provides opportunities for the led to see the true qualities of the leader. Thus far, 2020, a year of adversity, was an aperture that afforded the good people of Akwa Ibom to see how fortunate they are to have had a resourceful, visionary and action-oriented leader in the person of Gov. Udom Emmanuel leading the state.
With him in the saddle of the state, the good people of Akwa Ibom can look ahead to a bright future, with the assurance that they are in good hands.