Aniekan Uko: The guitar boy who became speaker

 

Aniekan Uko

BY OSONDU AHIRIKA
Do you know about the coup in Ghana code-named OPERATION GUITAR BOY? Okay! I will shortly tell you about it.
How about the popular evergreen hit track in the early 60’s by Nigerian legendary highlife music crooner, Sir Victor Uwaifo, titled GUITAR BOY? The song shared a tale of a lad, to whom, the Mami Wata(water godess), had given a guitar and asked him to make good music with it. The music is his ace card to catapult him to fortune and fame.
Although, Sir Uwaifor may have been telling his own story, being himself a wonderful guitarist, the same is biography of many more superstars like, Chief stephen Osadebe, Late Chief Oliver De Coque, Chief Sonny Okosuns, and a long list I can’t exhaust here. But let me make haste, to add Rt. Hon(Elder) Aniekan Uko, Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to this Hall of famed ‘guitar boys’ used in this instance as a honorific and generic term for good melody makers.
Before you go shouting, here goes the chief sycophant again, please hear me out.
Revert to the promise, I made abinitio, about the military putsch that rocked Ghana under the euphemism-

Operation Guitar Boy
On April 17, 1967, an attempted coup d’état by a group of junior officers of the Ghana Armed Forces rattled the West African Nation. The failed coup resulted in the assassination of then
Ghana’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka,.
Guitar Boy was actually a counter-coup,
on the heels of an earlier coup on February 24, 1966, during which the military of Ghana overthrew  Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah and leader of the Convention People’s Party (CPP)government.  The ruling military government dubbed itself the National Liberation Council (NLC).
The ‘Guitar Boy’ mutiny against the NLC was instigated by three junior officers of the Ghana Armed Forces,including: Lt. Samuel Arthur Moses Yeboah and 2nd Lt. Osei-Poku, in league with a handful of senior officers, and 119 soldiers of the 2nd Recce (Reconnaissance) Regiment. Perhaps, these coupists, who pirated their password from Sir Uwaifor’s song, associated goodluck and fortune with it and faith that, it will spring them to heroism. Alas! The gun is different from the guitar in the sound and rhythm and effect they produce.
Enough of that and now to my main ‘cuisine’ in this essay. I arrived Obot Idim Ibesikpo in the year 2001 as an Employee of the Lutheran Hour Ministries. One of the earliest recollections I have now, is about an enterprising young artiste, and proprietor of Five Fingers Music, Nigeria, then simply known as, Mr Aniekan Uko. He was a gifted Gospel Artiste, from Mbikpong Ikot Edim in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area adjoining the Obot Idim Community. Uko was in the business of mentoring, managing, producing and marketing upcoming/talented acts in the music industry.
There, at Obot Idim Bus stop where he had his office, it was a beehive anytime of the day as the who-is-who in Akwa Ibom Music industry thronged his canopy for his Midas touch on their career. Yours Sincerely, back then was also in the industry as the Proprietor of Emperor’s Band, which also prospered from the contacts and connections of this music maestro. Of a truth, he produced so many of the big names you get to hear of in Akwa Ibom music local scene and was of course, the Don Jazzy or Berlusconi of the artistes in this part of Nigeria. Of great impot and significance,  with the benefit of hindsight is that, one of his proteges, who has become the foremost Highlife act in the state, Sir Wilker Jackson dropped the hit track, LIKE PLAY, LIKE PLAY, SIR WILKER BECOME SUPERSTAR,, LIKE THIS, LIKE THAT, SIR WILKER BECOME NUMBER ONE.  I now dare say, LIKE PLAY, LIKE PLAY, ELDER UKO BECOME SUPERSTAR, LIKE THIS LIKE THAT, ELDER UKO BECOME NUMBER ONE.
What more? Apart from leading Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, in Akwa Ibom state, Aniekan Uko had made his mark with hit tracks that made him a household name in Akwa Ibom and Cross River in particular, much of South-South and beyond, with those who aligned to his songs. Let us rewind to some of them and you will get what I mean.
Here is a tag of his A-list hit-songs released:1.IMOKOM FI JESUS 2.KAMA TICKET MFO 3.POLICE EDEM ENYONG
4.IKPA KIBUOT IKPA 5.IDORENYIN MI
6.JESUS UBOK FO 7.ISUA 2000
8.EBIET UDIBE. Today, I look back and say, HOW PROPHETIC his themes were.
By inference, let’s attempt a psycho-spiritual ‘forensic’ analysis of the inspired songs of this Guitar Boy who is now Speaker. Isua(Year) 2000 can now be called Year 2015. Kama Ticket mfo, smacks of the Peoples Democratic Party ticket which he won in the Ibesikpo Asutan State Constituency Seat, House of Assembly Primaries on November 30, 2014 and went ahead to contest the April 11 elections which he won resoundingly. Idorenyin mmi which also has the refrain, ‘itong aye kono nkwa(so long as there is life , there is hope that the neck will wear royal beads) as well as Police Edem enyong(heavenly Police) have all proven to be inspired by the spirit of God. Today, his hope, anchored on his campaign catch-phrase/motto- IBORO AKAM has seen Aniekan Uko divinely lifted to the exalted office of Speaker, AKHA. He wears the speakers wig on his crown down his neck and wields its gavel with thanksgiving(Imokom fi) to Jesus, His Lord and Saviour. What a story.
I was compelled, to undertake this piece following the needless outrage, the SIREN, blared by the Speaker’s outriders has sparked in the social media. If anyone deserves a siren from Police escort, Rt. Hon. Uko, who crooned POLICE EDEM ENYONG, is apt for it. God had ordained it to him according to his word, that he now enjoys, not only round-the-clock retinue of the earthly Nigeria Police, but most assuredly, the Legion of heavenly Police officers(see Mathew 26:53)
In a rare manifestation of predestination, members of the sixth Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on June 8, 2015, defied the standing rules of the House; the time-honoured tradition of alloting principal offices on the criterion of ranking and pressure from political gladiators in the state, to unanimously  elect their first-time colleagues as speaker and deputy speaker respectively, with Elder Uko wearing the crown of Primus-inter-pares (first among equals). Such feat can only be said to be the Lord’s doing, for Power belongs to God and to who He elects, He bestows authority. We cannot therefore begrudge Mr Speaker but pray he succeeds, even as we raise the caution flag constructively, whenever we see he risks to err.
I have heard some balderdash about his not being qualified, whatever that means.  Well! Who God calls, choses and ordains, he qualifies.  Is it not written in Romans 8:30, that, “... those whom He(God) predestined He also called, and those whom He called, He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified.”  All we have left, is to hold Speaker Uko accountable to the high expectations of the people from his high office and the quest for industrialization of Akwa Ibom under the watch of His Excellency, Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel.
For this Guitar Boy, whose rise to fame as Speaker is orchestrated by God Almighty(not Mami wota), and his amiable wife, who he distinctly loves and always projects as his success pillar,  I now say congratulations! By the way, he was elected Secretary, Conference of Speakers in Nigeria a few days back to oversee the conduct of their elections. Mr Speaker Sir! Continue to make good music through the Speaker’s gavel with good people-oriented legislation and may God’s grace be your sufficient strength on this onerous task.