 |
| Uwem Ita Etuk |
As I sat to unwind in a pub in Uyo after a hectic assignment at the weekend, I became keenly interested when I overheard three young men who sat directly behind me loudly cheer at the politics of rotation in Ibesikpo Asutan local government area of Akwa Ibom State and the role of the current commissioner for lands and housing, Prince Uwem Ita Etuk in the entire configuration. I was drawn to this particular conversation because of main subject, Prince Uwem Ita Etuk – the political leader of Ibesikpo Asutan. My interest was obvious. Ibesikpo Asutan is my local government area it was only apt that I stayed a while and listened to the gist.
Now having listened to how Prince Etuk has judiciously managed the sharing formula particularly for the offices of the local government chairman, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chapter chairman and the membership of the state house of assembly between the two clans of Ibesikpo and Asutan Ekpe in the past years of different political dispensations in the state, was in impressed? Well, yes and it was to the extent that Prince Etuk, from that conversation, came to me as a progressive minded politician and a quintessential statesman.
He did not come across to me as one who would conveniently allow himself to be overwhelmed by the big-man syndrome of his office as commissioner or a paramount ruler’s son. I think I like that about him. He also came across to me as one who has paid his dues in the system and is well versed with the yearnings and aspirations of his people, a disposition that has earned him applause and due respect from his colleagues.
My weekend’s experience was not the first time I’ve witnessed encomiums pour on the personality of Prince Uwem Ita Etuk, there have been many. Two instances will suffice to illustrate the point: Early last year, the Ibesikpo Asutan Prince, then as a special adviser in the state’s bureau of cooperative and food sufficiency, was a guest to the house of assembly committee on finance and appropriations for his bureau’s budget defence for that fiscal year. As soon as he was ushered before the lawmakers to present his case, the then chairman of the committee and member representing Nsit Ubium in the legislature, Barr. Onofiok Luke, pleaded with his colleagues to allow Prince Etuk to take a bow and leave.
When a person presenting a case or standing before lawmakers at any level in the country is asked to take a bow and leave the chamber, it means that that person must have distinguished himself or herself creditably in any area of calling or service to his fatherland to the admiration and approval of all and sundry, hence the need to take a bow and go to work without much ado. And so Prince Uwem’s case was not different in the case of the Akwa Ibom assembly as the lawmakers all agreed that the man gave a good account of himself as state chairman of the PDP at the time of their nomination in the build up to the 2011 election as well as their election that followed.
A similar scenario would play out again during Prince Etuk’s re-nomination as commissioner in the Governor Udom Emmanuel’s cabinet in July this year. This time, it was the Speaker of the 6th assembly, Hon. Aniekan Uko, who moved that the Prince should be allowed to take a bow, after he (Uko) enumerated the sterling qualities and antecedents of the revered politician. As soon as the Prince heeded to the call and took the bow, something spectacular followed: nearly half of the spectators at the occasion also stood up and left the gallery to join in the celebration of a man well-known as an apostle of politics with equity, fairness and justice. Etuk also severed as commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs in the later part of the Godswill Akpabio’s administration.
Born into the royal family of Edidem (Barr.) Ita Bassey Etuk, the much respected paramount ruler of Ibesikpo Asutan, Prince Uwem, many say, qualifies as the soul and conscience of the PDP and politics in Akwa Ibom State. A complete gentleman, this loving father and former head of council, no doubt, deserves all the tributes a people could give to their extraordinary ones. Akwa Ibom would remember him for his intelligence and good judgment. He would also be remembered for his intimidating political clout, sincerity and the high sense of conscientiousness with which he discharged his duty as a politician. As silent achiever, Uwem has empowered many of his constituents and also undertaken several humanitarian gestures, including free medical services.
Prince Etuk, it would be right to say, ranks among the few Akwa Ibom politicians who would not bow to narrow interests. His knack for justice, equity and fair play in politics culminated in healthy and logical negotiations within the PDP in the state. He is also credited with having passionately aroused a state political consciousness that contributed in the collective and historic decision for Akpabio’s successor to come from Eket senatorial district. The state PDP under the chairmanship of Prince Etuk had in 2009 agreed that it will be the turn of Eket senatorial district to produce the state’s chief executive beginning from May 29, 2015. Uwem did not stop there.
Like a military commander-in-chief preparing for combat, he teamed up with other PDP leaders to ensure that that decision was kept and maintained after he left as party chairman. Under this arrangement, the national secretariat of the PDP in the build up to the 2015 governorship election issued a statement stopping other contestant from senatorial districts outside Eket from participating in the primary. As he did in the 2010 governorship primary, Uwem did not hide his disapproval for those outside Eket who nursed the governorship ambition before the December 2014 governorship primary of the PDP, labeling them unqualified for the election.
At different political gathering in the build up to the 2015 governorship election, Prince Uwem also preached on the need for the party’s decision on the 2015 governorship quest to be respected and the way forward, drawing battle lines against all perceived enemies of the state he believed did not mean well at the time. And that was why the other 22 aspirants who contested the governorship primary with sitting Governor Udom Emmanuel came from the Eket district.
Beginning with former Governor Victor Attah from Uyo senatorial district who reigned between 1999 and 2007, followed by Chief Godswill Akpabio from Ikot Ekpene senatorial district whose eight-years tenure ended in May 2015. And with Governor Udom Emmanuel from Eket senatorial district on the saddle today, it is clear that all the political districts of Akwa Ibom State have produced governors, and so on. The state is better for it, too.
Prince Uwem Ita Etuk, records hold, earnestly sought and got justice, equity and fairness for the three senatorial districts of the state in line with an organized succession process instituted by the state PDP, and he still does, for the sustenance of peace and growth in Akwa Ibom State.
There is one noteworthy lesson to learn from the Uwem Ita Etuk example: it is that leadership at any level must have a human face. In sum, Prince Uwem Ita Etuk is the human face of party politics in Akwa Ibom State.
So, as Prince Etuk continues to relish his political relevance in Akwa Ibom State, an opportunity calls for all to honour him so that beyond the years of his service to his fatherland, he would live in our hearts not only as one who believed in the state and ensured its unity but also laboured for its progress and prominence in the comity of states in Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment