To the Brand New Octogenarian Deputy Governor

Innocent Udo writes a nostalgic tribute to Mr. Moses Ekpo, Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State as he joins the club of octogenarians

My whole family and I are privileged and excited to join the throng of men, who believe in the transcendent God, and Author and Finisher of our lives, to congratulate you on your 80th birthday.

Your voyage, so far, through life has been Mosaic and mosaic: challenging, chequered; akin to the navigation of a tested Master Mariner through the eyes of the storm. From the poke-nosing newspaper reporter to the Editor of some most influential Nigerian newspapers and televisions. You created a niche for yourself, as a reliable correspondent to many respected international news media, a trusted quiet Diplomat for your country in Washington DC, Bonn, London etc.

As an undisguised transparent patriot, you have been to prison in Biafra, not for crime committed, but for believing in this, now rickety artifice called Nigeria and, for being a tolerated minority, even in a patch branded Biafra. You have always been a stable and focused politician and now a Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

Your Excellency, you have never been a pretender to the throne, because you realized early enough that power comes from God and that those who aspire to be good leaders must first learn to be good servants. You have never rocked the boat in which you sail to be recognized. In your service to God and humanity, you have been passionate, punctual, committed, totally loyal and respectful to constituted authority and, a perfect intuitive organizer. These personality traitss are mirrored in the stability of Akwa Ibom State Government administration in which you are the Second-in-Command and, where you are likely to make history by being the first Deputy Governor of the State to survive two consecutive terms in office. In many states of the federation, Deputy Governors are their governor’s Achilles heels.

It is impossible to frame the portrait of Mr. Moses Frank Ekpo (MFR) here for obvious spatial constraint but this can be complemented by reading his biography “Trials and Triumphs” (2019) and some glimpses at his numerous citations during awards of honour and insignia.

Uncle Mo, you have paid your dues, run a good race with significant strides. You have clocked 80 years and still striding on! What are the secrets, as the younger generations are wont to ask? The secrets are; Love of God, love of father and mother and love of country then, labour, toil and sweat. Toil and sweat, because this world owes nobody a living but only opportunity to make a living. You were born with these values and we took it for granted.

At your 80th birthday, we have ample justifiable reasons to roll out the drums and trumpets in thanksgiving to God for the special grace. You are indeed welcome to the age of freedom: to remember only what you want to remember, to see only what you want to see and hear only what you want to hear and, above all, to say the truth anywhere any time without any fear of victimization, back-lash or contradictions.

But at 80 you can also become a punching bag to some uncouth section of the younger generations who, lacking in physical and intellectual ability to face their peers in “single combats”, turn to you in transferred aggression, believing you are too old to fight back. When they cannot get at you, they turn to the social media to boast because they must have something to prove to their stronger peers that they can deal with the strong, high and mighty by rubbishing them on the air waves.

QUOTE

It is impossible to frame the portrait of Mr. Moses Frank Ekpo (MFR) here for obvious spatial constraint but this can be complemented by reading his biography “Trials and Triumphs” (2019) and some glimpses at his numerous citations during awards of honour and insignia. Uncle Mo, you have paid your dues, run a good race with significant strides. You have clocked 80 years and still striding on! What are the secrets, as the younger generations are wont to ask? The secrets are; Love of God, love of father and mother and love of country then, labour, toil and sweat