Politics, stripped bare, is a bustling, ruthless marketplace. Not of yams, vegetables and spices, but of interests, shifting like sea sands beneath the relentless tide of events. Friendships here are fleeting contracts, signed in the ink of expediency and dissolved by the solvent of changing circumstance. As the cynical adage goes, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. It is a dance choreographed by necessity, where today’s rival is tomorrow’s ally, and yesterday’s confidant may vanish like smoke. In this arena, Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, a man often lauded for his meticulous planning and grassroots touch, has made a move that echoes the ancient wisdom of the great Annang people: “A tree that wishes to survive must stand close to the kola nut tree.” His progressive alignment with Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not a betrayal against PDP; it is the cold, hard calculus of the marketplace, a strategic gambit for the very survival and prosperity of Akwa Ibom.
This brings us to Franklin Roosevelt’s piercing insight: “In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.” Governor Eno’s measured steps towards the APC, which slowly evolved to the present action showed a glimpse in his highly symbolic appearance alongside Akpabio at the Senate President’s inauguration dinner two years ago, therefore confirming that his defection to APC reeks not of impulse, but of deliberate design. This is no panicked flight; it is a chess move, contemplated over many moons. He understands Malcolm X’s dictum: “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” While others react to the present gusts, Eno is planting seeds for Akwa Ibom’s future forest. Critics may howl, clinging to the simplistic binary of party loyalty. But James Freeman Clarke’s famous distinction which states that “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation” finds a unique fusion in Umo Eno. He navigates the immediate electoral terrain with skill as a politician, but yet his gaze as a statesman is fixed firmly on the horizon, on the enduring structures that will define Akwa Ibom for decades. His ARISE Agenda is the blueprint. Yet, as every builder knows, even the grandest blueprint requires materials, permits, and favourable winds. In Nigeria’s federal structure, dominated by the centre, access is the ultimate building material. This is where the Senator Godswill Akpabio, the robust “kola nut tree” Comes in. As Senate President, he occupies a pinnacle of influence, a channel to federal structures and the presidential ear. To expect Governor Eno, charged with the monumental task of lifting Akwa Ibom, to ignore this proximity, this potential pathway for development, is to demand political naivety bordering carrying the weight of clownish ignorance. Good politicians need to plan for the future, not just react to the present. Eno’s alignment is precisely a future-focused strategy.
In Akwa Ibom presently, the stakes are tangible and very colossal in nature. The long-envisioned Ibom Deep Seaport (IDSP) which is a potential game-changer, an economic titan promising thousands of jobs, exponential revenue, and positioning Akwa Ibom as a global maritime hub languishes not for lack of state will, but for the critical federal approvals, partnerships, and infrastructural linkages only the centre can greenlight. Can a governor truly champion such a transformative project while politically isolated from the powers that control the necessary federal levers? The marketplace whispers a resounding “No.” This is where Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military wisdom resonates profoundly in the political realm: “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” The ARISE Agenda is the plan. The relentless pursuit of the means to execute it, including forging strategic alliances at the centre is the planning. Eno understands that rigid adherence to a plan, without adapting the strategy to secure the resources needed, is folly. His alignment with Akpabio is not an abandonment of vision; it is the pragmatic adaptation necessary to bring that vision, particularly the Ibom Deep Seaport to fruition. It is planning in motion. The Annang proverb offers profound clarity. The young tree does not stand aloof from the strong kola tree out of pride or misplaced principle; it draws strength, shelter, and sustenance from its proximity. Eno, by standing close to Akpabio, seeks not personal aggrandizement, but the shade and sustenance necessary for Akwa Ibom to thrive. He seeks the federal presence including projects, appointments, crucial approvals essential to speed up the economic advancement of the State.
In the shifting sands of Nigeria’s political marketplace, Governor Umo Eno has made a calculated bid. He has weighed the permanent interests of Akwa Ibom against the impermanent labels of party affiliation. His move towards the APC and the Senate President is not an end, but a means and a strategic positioning to unlock the federal doors barring the path to the Ibom Deep Seaport and the full flowering of the ARISE Agenda. It is the act of a planner, a pragmatist, and yes, a statesman thinking beyond the next election circle to the next generation. The young tree needs to stand close to the robust kola nut to bring bountiful economic harvest to Akwa Ibom.
