The peoples’ confidence as a measure for quality leadership: The Barr Samuel Udokoh example in Ukanafun local government area

BY INI USEN

There is no gainsaying that throughout the length and breath of Ukanafun Local Government Area, a breath of fresh air is blowing among the citizenry. This is coupled with an unprecedented overflow of eloquent testimonies by the people about the Transition Committee Chairman (Barr) Samuel Udokoh, and his team of Committee Members. 

Their appreciation of the committee is not unconnected with the unity of purpose exhibited by the members and the vision of the Chairman to turn around the status of the council secretariat and indeed the entire Local Government Area to a befitting masterpiece. It also underscores the synergy that flows between the Council Chairman, the Representative of the Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon Otobong Akpan and the Commissioner for Education, Elder Aniekan Akpan.

The trio who are young men with pedigree have, in less than three months in office carved a niche that have attracted the support and appreciation of their people. 

For the Chairman, who incidentally is the youngest among all the transition Chairmen in the state, not a few people thought he would exhibit the maturity expected of a leader with such enormous responsibilities. But His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel and “the benevolent spirit that cracked his palm kernel for him”, saw beyond the young and innocent look. They believed in his capacity and charged him to go and perform.

That, he has done and is still performing, breaking through barriers with ease like the beam of light of a car piercing through darkness in a long stretch of road. Within the short spell of his assumption of office, he has been able to exert a special influence in Ukanafun Local Government Area to move her toward goals of beneficial performance that will fulfill the peoples’ real needs.

Being the immediate past supervisory Councilor in the Local Government Area and now the Chairman of Council, he knows what to do next and why that is important thus he started by guiding and moving towards developing the activities of his team by providing a direction.

He is a lawyer. In his short time in office, he has exhibited traits of a leader who knows the way and who is going that way and also showing that way to his followers and supporters including the powers behind this attainment. His activities here has earmarked him as a political luminary, age notwithstanding.

 Hon Barr Samuel Udokoh is a staunch Christian who does not look down on the things of God. He is the youth President of his Church, an Usher in the Church, a chorister in the main choir as well as the secretary of the choir. In all these departments and responsibilities, he is very active. 

He has vision, and has exuded discipline with a display of wisdom in his activities. He has exhibited courage and a huge sense of humility even when taking firm decisions. 

Recently, he led the entire council to a Solemn Assembly. It was an initiative aimed towards recreating the foundation of the local government area to move away from a faulty covenant to a new and peaceful one. This new covenant with God he said, will usher in development and youth employment in the local government. 

Prior to the state wide sanitation exercise, the Chairman had already taken the initiative to transform the Local Government Council Secretariat which was swallowed up by grass. Even some of the flower trees contributed in making the secretariat a slum of some sort and a deserted complex. But he made sure that machineries needed to give the place a facelift was acquired. 

Today, any visitor to the Council Secretariat will immediately notice its spick and span ambience. 

Besides, the issue of security for the council Secretariat posed a serious threat but he has tackled that problem by completing the perimeter fencing project around the secretariat with two entrances and security post. The project was initiated by the current Commissioner for Education Mr. Aniekan Akpan during his time. 

As earlier stated, Hon Barr Samuel Udokoh is very popular among his people. He is the toast of the old and the young in the area and by extension they rain praises and acceptability to state Governor for appointing him and subsequently swearing him in as the Chairman of the Council. Another area he has scored tremendously is the area of electricity. For the past three years, Ukanafun Council Secretariat was operating without electricity. Effort by the immediate council Chairman could not yield appreciable result. Therefore to make sure that activities in the council are carried out in an enabling environment, The Transition Committee Chairman has acquired a brand new transformer for the council and its environs. 

An indigene of the area and staff of the council did not mince words when she described the Chairman as a vibrant young man who has performed beyond the expectation of the people.

THE TESTIMONIES 
“When I heard his name over the radio, I expressed some doubt about his ability to perform but he has surprised the entire people of Ukanafun and many people are wishing that if it would be possible for the tenure of the committee to be extended, they would really applaud him because he has given the council a facelift, quite unlike what was obtained before now. 

I make bold to say that because of his outstanding performances, people are all around him and he has done what we never expected could happen in such a short time.

The council staff who preferred not being mentioned, went further to disclose other areas touched by the Council Chairman among which included the motor park, the MCH and some other important places like the security village which was overgrown with grass and the junction near the council secretariat. She advised that the people of Ukanafun should give him the needed support, co-operate with him, his committee members should equally cooperate with him because he has come with good ideas and best intentions for the people”.
Another indigene of Ukanafun who identified himself as the Chairman of APCOMA, Mr Edidiong Friday Akpan, said of the council Chairman “I am very happy for what the Chairman is doing since assumption of office. The Council Secretariat used to be very dirty, grasses had taken over every where up to the security village. But as soon as he came in, all that were taken care of and we can now have fresh air. There is no more fear of snake bite in the council secretariat. Even the old and young, men and women are so happy and they are all acknowledging his leadership prowess, praying for him to continue.

Like today which is sanitation, everybody has come out. The cyclists which I’m the Chairman are not operating because we want him to succeed based on what we have seen so far, I am so grateful to God for this Chairman because his predecessor did not do anything in the council nor for the people.
So what we are looking forward to now, is for him to emerge as the Executive Chairman because he has the potentials of a good leader. We also wish to commend our Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel because we are feeling his leadership here in the local government through the Chairman of Council and House (of Assembly) member. 

The Commissioner for Education Mr Aniekan Akpan, also had this to say, “I have seen what the Chairman has achieved in the few weeks he has been in office and pray that God would bless him. This is how things should be done. There are small things that can be done for the people to be happy which the Chairman has done. I have seen that the perimeter fence which I started but could not finish on time, which my successor abandoned is now completed by the transition Chairman. So I want everybody to support him more than ever before so that he can continue to succeed with his team. I came here to support the Local Government Chairman and the Committee to make sure that government programmes succeed in Ukanafun”.

On his part, the youth coordinator, Iboro Idung Afa stated: “I thank God for the person who recommended this Chairman for Ukanafun Local Government and the House of Assembly member. They are not the first, there have been others, but these ones since they assumed office have carried everybody along particularly the youths.

“So I am very happy for the fact that the Chairman who is youthful, also loves the youth of his local government and identifies with them. So I pray God to guide him and direct him well on this onerous task”.

It was yet the opportunity for yet another indigene of the area who preferred anonymity. His words, “I really appreciate what our Chairman is doing since he came into office. He loves the youth of Ukanafun and even identifies with everybody young or old. There were Chairmen before now but from what we have seen, he has come with a lot of ideas to transform Ukanafun.

Like the sanitation exercise conducted throughout the state, he started it before the state government made a pronouncement on it. The council secretariat before now was very dirty following the negligence of his predecessors but immediately he came, you can bear me witness that there is a touch of fresh air in the council secretariat. That is why we are coming out to support him because he knows what is good and he is doing it.

He continued “from what he has achieved within the short time he has come, we are convinced that he has what it takes for Ukanafun to support him to emerge as the next executive Chairman of the local government council.
For instance, the perimeter fence around the council secretariat which was initiated by Hon Aniekan Akpan, when he was Chairman of Council was not completed. 

Other Chairmen who came after him abandoned the fencing project until their tenure elapsed. But within one month of the transition Committee Chairman, that project and other ones initiated by him here have been completed.

“Let me also commend the House of Assembly member because he is a matured and responsible young man who has associated with his people very well. We have had situations where elected officers would sit in their homes in Uyo to issue directives for certain things to be carried out in the Local Government. But for these ones, they always come and effect their responsibilities. So, we are saying that they are qualified to lead the people again”. He call on the youths of the area to cooperate with the Chairman because he is a young man and a visionary leader”