THE ARISE AGENDA
In his best-selling book titled “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”, John C. Maxwell writes on 21 laws practiced by great leaders which make them successful and outstanding; empowering them to also positively impact the lives of others. The first law he writes about is the Law of the Lid which states that leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. In another chapter, he writes on the Law of the Inner Circle which states that a leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. Going further, he writes on the Law of Sacrifice which states that a leader must give up in order to go up.
Of all the 21 laws, one of the most important, which if not practiced, will make a mockery of the other 20 laws, is the Law of Legacy. This law states that a leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.
The author admonishes leaders to become highly intentional about their legacy if they want to make an impact on future generations. Outlining steps on how to create a good legacy, the author advises leaders to choose who will carry on their legacy.
He goes further to state the natural progression to how leaders develop in the area of legacy, which starts first with the desire to achieve. He further states that achievement comes when leaders do big things by themselves; success comes when they go ahead to empower their followers to do big things for them; Significance comes when they develop leaders to do great things with them; legacy comes when they put leaders in position to do great things without them.
Quintessential Governor of Akwa Ibom, Gabriel Emmanuel Udom, understands deeply these laws of leadership; hence, he has picked as his preferred successor, an astute leader in the person of Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, to carry on his legacy of excellent and result-driven governance in the state.
Back in February 2022, while describing him, Governor Udom said, “Pastor Umo Eno is a highly respected person. He has enormous capacity; he’s an epitome of humility and is blessed with the common touch, a compelling story and is God-fearing. He is a successful entrepreneur, who has employed our people, and lifted thousands from poverty to prosperity. He will be coming to the office of the governor with an economic blueprint that will further guarantee employment, development, and economic prosperity for our people. He is a man of peace and will ensure that the peace and security of life we have enjoyed in the last six-plus years will be maintained. His life story resonates with the story of most ordinary Akwa Ibom people.”
Beyond being the preferred successor of Governor Udom, Eno had to go through the rigours of the primary elections. He secured 993 votes from a total of 1,018 delegates who participated in the election, followed by Onofiok Luke who polled two votes and Bassey Albert who polled one vote. Flowing from this, he emerged as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party for the 2023 general elections.
Eno’s blueprint for Akwa Ibom is encapsulated in the theme, “The Arise Agenda”. He plans to continue in the path of developing the state through Agricultural Revolution, Tourism, Development and Environmental Management, Rural Development, Women and Youth Empowerment, Infrastructural and ICT Development, Security Management, Sound Educational and Healthcare Sector Management, as well as Advancement and Wealth Creation.
In his words, “I am assuring all that we remain committed to running an inclusive campaign based on issues that are germane to our development, not on acrimonious posturing. We will run a campaign where the cords of unity and brotherhood will remain the enduring articles of faith. We will not besmirch character or the reputation of our opponents. We will not indulge in insanities’ rhetoric, we will focus on the issues that will elevate and hold the ideals of our development, of our unity, of our common purpose and our common essence.”
On 17th October, 2022, at the Campaign Secretariat at Lagos Street, Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo, the governorship campaign of Eno was inaugurated by Leader of the PDP in the State, Governor Udom Emmanuel. The governor said, “Today, all the stakeholders who have been working towards the success of successive elections in this State are here for this historic takeoff and with them in this ship, we are headed to the massive election victory in 2023.”
It should be noted the campaign council is headed by Nigerian former ambassador to Russia and one-time attorney general and commissioner for justice in the state, Chief Assam Assam, SAN, as Director General, who during the inauguration promised to run an issue-based campaign in marketing all her candidates. He alsopromised that violence, thuggery and other political vices will be very distant from the PDP family.
Eno during the program expressed his appreciation to everyone who has helped thus far, and restated his commitment to take the state to greater heights. In his words: “I’ll like to thank everyone for accepting to be part of the campaign council; for accepting to work with us to achieve the succession plan. I want to thank His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel, for the grace of God on him, that has directed him this far. I assure you we will not let you down. We will run an all- inclusive government, continue with your legacy projects and ensure that none of them suffer. We will take it to greater heights, we will add value to it, and we will make sure people of Akwa Ibom continue to derive the full chain of those legacy projects.”
After the inauguration of the campaign, the spokesman for the campaign, Prince Chris Abasieyo issued a statement where he said, “The machine is revving its engine, set for action which starts soon with the flag-off of the campaign. Considering the quality of members of the council and committees, we are confident that the machine is about to roar to victory.”
An astute business man with 40 years experience and the largest private employer of labour in Akwa Ibom, Pastor Umo Eno possesses the attributes needed to take the Land of Promise (Akwa Ibom State) to its Promised Land. His business career started back in 1982 when he worked with Union Bank of Nigeria. Three years later, he moved over to Bertola Machine Tools, where he worked till 1990. Between 1990 and 1997, Pastor Eno worked in Norman Holdings Limited as the Group General Manager for Commercial Services, before he resigned to found his own company, Royalty Hotels and Recreations Limited. The company is now called Royalty Group, a firm with interests in hospitality, manufacturing, and the oil and gas sector, in which he serves as the Chief Executive Officer.
In terms of service to Akwa Ibom, Eno has served as the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom Hotels and Tourism Board between 2004 and 2007. Furthermore, he has served as the executive director of Agricultural Investments, a directorate in the Akwa Ibom State Investment Corporation (AKICORP). He is the current Commissioner for Land and Water Resources. The two-time Paul Haris Fellow of the Rotary Club of Eket District 9140, who has received numerous accolades for his public service, is also a Fellow of the Nigerian Catering & Hotel Institute, and an alumnus of Pan-African University’s Lagos Business School. Beyond public service, he is an author of several books which include Marks of a Disciple, Dream Again, Break Forth, Exercising Your Dominion Mandate as well as Wealth Creation – God’s Way.
Still in the area of publishing, Eno is the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Hospitality Connect and The Appetizer Magazines, as well as a regular contributor to Christian journals. He is a pastor at All Nations Christian Ministry International, a non-denominational Church where he oversees the Bridge of Hope, an arm of the Ministry that offers free medical services to the host community.
Adobamen writes from Uyo
