He might not have meant it for public consumption but the social media is today’s George Orwell. The social media never sleeps. But it was a good thing. Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno said what the president and his governor colleagues would want aired in the open field. He said politicians are everywhere at government house without appointment. They want audience. He said he needs to work. He however gave them a compromise. Let me work Monday through Wednesday and we can parley Thursday and Friday.
If he spends all time in meetings, for instance, how would he organise the unveiling of his ARISE agenda, encompassing his vision for the state he is shepherding? How would he have had time to see some of the schools he visited recently to renovate and make a few model ones?
Politicians are flocking because they want IOUs redeemed. But the bigger IOUs are to the people, while not tossing them aside. It reflects the problem in society where government is the be-all and end-all of all things. Governor Eno is trying “to avoid scandal or temptation,” in the words of the great historian Edward Gibbons about a seductress Queen Theodora of Rome.
It takes a delicate navigation as Governor Eno is doing to accommodate them while focusing on the big picture, like he is doing this week with his ARISE unveiling that will feature stakeholders including his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel. As a pastor, Gov Eno might be echoing Prophet Isaiah, Arise, and shine.
NB: Sam Omatseye is a respected columnist with The Nation Newspaper.
