Pastor Umo Eno, the rambunctious governor of Akwa Ibom State, is an unusual man. And it can take only an unusual person to come to terms with his weird ways. The high drama that he enacted over his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) exemplifies his unusualness. Now, the dance drama which took him weeks to rehearse has come to a head. After all the acrobatics, Eno and his clan of jesters have berthed in APC’s vineyard. Eno must have danced himself weary before this denouement. But it is now time for him to face the reality of his political choices, whatever they may turn out to be.
Nigerians are likely to, in the coming days, pay more than a cursory attention to Governor Eno’s action. This is principally due to the showiness that attended his plan to defect. Eno wanted to be seen and heard. He drew the attention of the world to his fancies. Unlike many a Nigerian politician, Eno took an unfamiliar root. He went to the roof tops to dramatize what was to come. This man, who we are told is a pastor, sees every podium as a pulpit. He likes to pontificate. He seizes every opportunity to broach any subject matter. Once he entertains any idea or experiences a brainwave, you can be sure that he will share it with everyone. He lacks the restraining instinct. He does not just throw what is supposed to be his private matter into the public domain, he does it with self-righteousness. The governor does not believe that he can be wrong on any subject matter. That is why he goes beyond pontification. He hair-splits as well. His adrenaline spells wildness. Contraries have no place in his worldview. For him, his followers are just a docile herd that can be flogged into action.
Beyond all this, Eno’s garrulousness rankles. Nigerians got a surfeit of it over his plan to defect to the APC from the political party that brought him to power-the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Since the idea of the defection was sold to him, Eno has never gone to bed any day without making it a creed. His followers, particularly his appointees, must see what he is seeing. They must jump ship with him or face unpleasant consequences. He does not speak to persuade. He imposes his will and willpower on you.
Some have tried to impinge his erratic actions on his albinism. Even though the genetic disorder that he suffers is largely known to affect skin colour and the eyes of the affected, some argue that it is also a form of disability that can lead to erratic or unstable behaviours in some persons. But this remains a matter of debate. There is no concrete scientific evidence as yet to conclude that albinism can affect the way one does things. Therefore, it can be safe to say that Pastor Eno is just being himself – wild, weird, erratic, impatient and loquacious.
To underline the fact that there is something weird and strange about this governor, the least expected took place the other day. One of his daughters stepped forward to tell the world that her father, the governor, was responsible for the death of her mother. Many shuddered at this declaration. What could be going on in the house of the Enos? The allegation, though unproven as yet, has not been debunked by the accused. This is strangeness writ large. Maybe, some day, Pastor Umo Eno will let us into the gloomy grandeur that hovers over his family.
Let us return to the ballyhooed movement of the governor to the APC. After weeks, if not months, of playing to the gallery, all that the governor could tell Nigerians was that he defected to APC in order to support the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu. He equally described his movement as “progressive”. But regardless of whatever the governor may have said, many believe that his actions have all the trappings of high art. There is more to them than their surface manifestation. His erratic disposition apart, Eno has finally played the Nigerian politician that he is: no principle, no abiding standard. The typical Nigerian politician is a fair weather element. He wants to stay in line and in power regardless of whatever compromises that have to be made.
In the case of Eno, President Tinubu’s Man Friday, Godswill Akpabio, is the brain behind Eno’s political harlotry. Akpabio is a principal member of the cabal that believes that it has captured Nigeria. For this breed, Tinubu and his goons are unstoppable. Nigeria is at their beck and call. They can put it to any use. With them in charge, elections can only be won by those that they have anointed. Rebels or those who choose to stand on the fence have no place in the Tinubu order. You must belong and be seen to truly belong. With Akpabio wielding all the powers at the centre, the impression in his Akwa Ibom locality is that anybody who does not queue behind him is headed for political perdition. Being the governor of the state, Eno should be the first target of the Tinubu political machinery in Akwa Ibom.
But Eno’s defection will hardly be impactful if he operates like a Lone Ranger. He must draw a crowd along with him, willingly or unwillingly. This was one aspect of the plot that Eno did not find easy. Even though Akpabio was there goading him on, Eno’s political ties with his predecessor, Emmanuel Udom, exerted an opposite pull on him. Regardless of the fact that Udom has been blackmailed into quietude by Tinubu’s forces, he remains a force in the politics of the state. When, therefore, Governor Eno threatened his commissioners and other political appointees that they must follow him to his new party or get sacked, some of them were hardly bothered by the threat. They remembered where they were coming from. They did not forget the fact that Eno himself was made by Udom Emmanuel. Everybody cannot bite the finger that fed him just like that.
Whatever may be the case, Eno has moved. He believes that with his action he is now safely cocooned in APC’s coven. The assumption is that, with him and Akpabio, Akwa Ibom is effectively in the hands of Tinubu. That is what it looks like. But Eno and his cohorts cannot be sure of this, especially with the reported resistance he faced in the hands of Akwa Ibomites over his planned defection. Even as he has defected, some of his appointees are known to have shunned him and his gamble and have decided to pitch their tent elsewhere. The future looks dicey for Eno but his staying power now is the controlling influence of the ruling party. But such powers can wane. They do thin out, only that the euphoria of the moment will conceal all that. Ultimately, time will tell. For now, we will let Eno wallow in the aura of his new political abode.