Godswill Akpabio, one of the names that echo without end in the halls of the governorship, senate, and the corridors of federal ministries. Now 58, Akpabio might have lost the right to be addressed as a hot-blooded youth and hasn’t quite made the 60-plus years cut into eldership, but he has capsized more political Titanics than any life-sized iceberg on the Atlantic Ocean.
Given the choice of holding down Godswill Akpabio to one thing and battling starved lions, only the uninformed will jump at the former. Godswill Akpabio is a character that has been ‘metaphored’ as an electric eel, perpetually sliding from your grasp and continuing to shock you.
Reports claim that Godswill Akpabio burst into the limelight on the heels of his grandfather, his uncle, and his cousin, all of whom held top leadership positions way back then. The path to politics was not so paved as much as it was worn out, and thus began the making of a teacher, telecoms operator and manager, and commissioner in 2002 under Governor Obong Victor Attah in Akwa Ibom State.
In any case, Akpabio did not snatch the attention of people, high and low, as he still does now, until he became Akwa Ibom Governor in 2007, with the campaign slogan, “Let God’s will be done.” And so it was, for a solid 8 years in office. Immediately after, former Governor Godswill Akpabio became Senator Godswill Akpabio, representing Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District. He played his cards so well that he retired as a minority leader of the Senate, and was almost immediately appointed minister for Niger Delta Affairs.
At every successive turn, Akpabio has been lambasted with corruption charges, which is very curious. Although he does manage to come out on top, with said charges never seeming to stick, his detractors are always quick to point such stains out. After the most recent debacle of a misappropriated 40 billion, the man has somewhat mellowed, slowing things down significantly, leading folks to draw connections with former and upcoming allegations.
And that is 58 Godswill Akpabio years in a quick flash. An all-round statesman, lover, and fighter. What’s not to like, and vice versa?
