Ini Ememobong: The portrait of a true humanist

BY  SAMUEL AYARA

This might be one of the most tasking adventures to embark on, since writing about some people requires more than words, especially when they mean different things to different people. I will however seek in my own way to acquit myself of selfishly keeping to myself what I have come to know of Ini Ememobong Essien.

This may pass for every other consideration but sycophancy, as more of what will come here are things known to a lot others, I would wish chief amongst what this piece shall pass for, would be lessons geared towards making the world a better place.

My meeting Ini Ememobong; who I may intermittently refer to as Timmy, agrees with Clotaire Rapailli’s posit on impressions, when he said, “you never get a second chance to have a first experience.” If there ever has been an opportunity for a second chance, then I would be in the front agitating that our generation returns to the path of humanity, excellence, mien, candour, finesse and compassion; which struck me when I first met Ini, the scion of Obong Ememobong Essien dynasty of Use Ndon in Ibiono Ibom.

Our first meeting dates back to St. Mary’s Science College, Abak, when Timmy, would give up everything to see that he stands up against whoever sought to oppress or exert an overbearing superiority on another. These had severally put him at crossed roads with even the powers that were, and showed that his sense of humanity was more than an ambition. Now it has been established that for Ini, humane disposition is a calling he has lived to fulfill.

Years after, he approached me during our days as students’ activists, to solicit support for one of his kinsmen, not much of him had changed. I recall the piercing smile and pat on the back he gave me; even after hearing that his candidate would not win the elections, reasons being that his popularity amongst the students was low. At that moment he turned to the boy and said, “I won’t like to use my position to get you into power, if you cannot win an election, then the people’s wish must prevail”

Not even time and circumstances of life could erode his liberal disposition of never forcing an idea, little wonders his amazing prowess at superior arguments, which has over the years, brought him to amity with even known opponents; in a world that seeks to replace brains and empathy with muscles and cruelty. This in ways than few justifies his Paul Harris’ Fellow award by The Rotary International.

Through an unassuming strength of character he has empathically paid more interest in developing others than he has ever tried to grow himself, this is also an unarguable evidence to his mercurial successes in all spheres of endeavour, which has made the saying “whoever brings rose leaves with some fragrance” a truism.

Without any element of ambiguity, it will take eternity to forget how a young man in the 21st century, where sophistication and greed are almost considered indispensable virtues, was able to sacrifice his comfort, privacy and resources to keep 16 to 20 people in a three-bedroom apartment, where he lived with his wife.

Now, that is the story behind the all-popular “Republic”, which had fast become an embassy for every student who cared to stop by. Make no mistake about this; of the about 20 people that were residents of the Republic, aside his wife, none else had any relationship with him, but these were people whose school fees and welfare he ensured were adequately catered for.
This feat of keeping and helping anyone that comes his way, has put him on a leadership pedestal and as Naranya Murthy said, “leadership is all about raising the aspirations of people.” Ini Ememobong’s leadership qualities are innovations that has availed our clime the assurances that he is equipped for the daunting task of redeeming the times.

Attributes of sacrificial leadership is an incontrovertible aspect of Timmy’s existence. It is no news that he had been President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) since his achievements as the country’s number one students’ leader dots the entire Nigerian landscape due to his strive in ensuring students got educated in a qualitative and less exploitative environment.

However, the news would be that he was the poorest NANS President in history, having left office without even owning a car apart from the 18-seater bus he was given by the then Governor Godswill Akpabio. His low financial status was because he abhorred sacrificing students’ interests for financial gains, and at various times dared Federal might, putting even his life on the line.

Whenever there was an issue against a Nigerian student in any part of the world, his shoulders were the most reliable to reach for, since he was always available no matter who was on the other side of the divide. His tenure demystified NANS presidency, from an elitist position that dined and wined with Presidents and politicians, to one that was permanently in support of students’ welfare, denying himself the comfort of fraternizing with the authorities.

His entry into NANS marked a reincarnation of the visions of the association’s founding fathers, and earned him several awards including the Merchant of Light award, by the Abak Students Association Worldwide, under my watch as Worldwide President of the association.

At the risk of sounding immodest, those who knew me as a student leader would acquit me of not going with the tide of giving awards, as has been the practice. Ini Ememobong was just one of the about three people the association awarded in my one-year stay as its leader. This was my way of appreciating his sacrifices and commitment to making the world a better place.

Regrettably, succeeding leaders of NANS have not been able to give account of their engagements in an intellectually inclined association as NANS, which in recent years has plunged back to the old order, where muneration and immediate gains is the order of the day. 

Howbeit, his unfaultable record of integrity as NANS President got him an assignment as a Technical Assistant on Millennium Development Goals in the Presidency from 2012 to 2013, an assignment he meritoriously championed to the admiration of Professor Seiyefa Brisibe, Head of Conditional Grant Scheme in MDGS.  

The Millenium Development Goals office still looks forward to his return to their service, as his stay with the agency was short-lived due to his appointment as Special Assistant to Governor Godswill Akpabio, in the wake of students uprising in the University of Uyo, which led to the destruction of human lives and properties.

His appointment was one that gave so much credibility to the administration’s pro-education stance, being an ardent ambassador of a qualitative and liberal education system. All thanks to Governor Akpabio, as Ini Ememobong’s appointment in no time from when he assumed office, addressed students’ crisis that was becoming an all too regular issue.

Away from the peace, securities and assurances this appointment offered, not many people can truly say that government felt comfortable, because Ini Emeobong’s appointment had opened a new front of awareness, which brought government to recognize students’ leadership and struggle. 

Recall that it was under his leadership that students witnessed their first ever consultation by a gubernatorial aspirant, Udom Emmanuel, who later won the elections, also recall that under his watch as Students Adviser to Governor Akpabio, bursaries were paid without any act of confrontation nor protest against the authorities.

As Special Assistant on Students Matters, he was able to draft students into mainstream politics, and was always ready to kiss his job goodbye rather than watch the government take decisions without the students being actively involved. His resilience and doggedness saw to the appointment of several student leaders across the state into government positions, an accomplishment that swelled the ego of students’ activism in the state such that students from other states now see Akwa Ibom as a model to emulate.

Unmistakably, the 100 percent support students gave the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom, especially Governor Udom Emmanuel in the just concluded general elections may be viewed as students gratitude for their being allowed active roles in leadership of the state. This would not have been possible without Ememobong’s ability to mobilize students in the state, in an all-inclusive manner, that everyone was a part of the crusade he code-named “Operation show working”

Student leaders in the State are grateful for their inclusion in Governor Udom’s administration, but the recent re-appointment of Ini Ememobong as Special Assistant to the governor on Political Matters, in ways than few sparks confidence that Udom has discovered a goldmine whose integrity, commitment and energy is an inseparable Siamese with his’.

Armed with a Certificate in Negotiation from Harvard University, USA, Certificate in Environmental and Sustainable Development from Moscow State Institute of  International Relations, Russia, Bachelors of Art degree in Linguistics, Bachelors of law, and a Masters of arts degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution (in view) all from University of Uyo. It is no gainsaying that Ememobong is an undisputable proof that the future our founding fathers craved for, is today staring us in the face as he has shown great commitment to living their dreams of a better society.

It is true just as George Shaw posited that, “some people see things as they are and ask why. Others dream of things that never were and ask why not” his philosophy that “man owes humanity without question, to leave every environment better than he met it” has been the driving force behind his successes even as member PDP Presidential Campaign Organization, member Task force on Akwa Ibom University Accreditation Projects and the African Peer Review Mechanism of NEPAD.

So much he has done, more he still hopes to do, but greatest of all these is that he has joined the very few who through dint of hardwork have proven us to belong to a generation that should not be described as perilous.
Behold Ini Ememobong, the 21st century statue of humanity!