Why Umo Eno?

In nominating Umoh Eno as his successor, Governor Emmanuel chose a visionary with eyes on the ball. Bennett Oghifo writes

Governor Udom Emmanuel’s announcement of his Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources, Pastor Umo Eno, as his nominee for successor in 2023 expectedly elicited mixed reactions not just in Akwa Ibom State, but in other parts of the country. The reactions ranged from surprise to disappointment and anger – disappointment and muffled grumblings from some members of his cabinet and anger from some aspirants, all of who had assumed they were close enough to getting nominated by the governor.

Before Emmanuel made the announcement of his nominated successor, there had been speculations about who might be the anointed one, among those that had not only indicated interested but had actually commenced consultations across the state on their ambition to succeed him. Quite significantly, the touted aspirants are said to be a blend of “professional” politicians from the legislative and executive arms of government at the federal and state levels, respectively, with one private sector player.

It would seem like a competition of who was seen and perceived to be closest to him, especially at public events. Matters may have been aggravated by the fact that the governor kept the entire state in suspense with his often repeated statement that he was waiting on God to reveal his successor to him.

And when he eventually announced his choice, the surprise was that it was not one of those tagged “prominent politicians”, as was generally expected. Eno, the surprise choice, was not even thought to be interested in politics, let alone have an eye on Government House even though he has been in government for about two years.

Most certainly, there would have been questions in some quarters about the proprietary or otherwise of the governor suggesting his successor, with some concluding that Emmanuel may have settled for a quiet and humble choice he could probably control even outside office, thus elongating his tenure to a “third” term, a very familiar conclusion that is often drawn in Nigeria when an outgoing governor attempts to support anyone as his successor.

“The question that needs to be asked is whether Governor Udom Emmanuel has a right to choose a successor, or should even be interested in who succeeds him”, said Adeola Makinde, a Lagos-based public affairs analyst and political commentator. “The obvious answer is ‘yes’. It is normal and natural for a leader to be interested in who succeeds him. In fact, a leader should not just be interested in who succeeds him; he should be actively involved in the emergence of his successor. You find it in the corporate world where leaders actually groom their successors”.

He cited the emergence of Godwin Emefiele as Jim Ovia’s successor as managing director and chief executive officer of Zenith Bank Plc, a position he held briefly until former president, Goodluck Jonathan, appointed him governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. “The emergence of Emefiele was not happenstance”, he said. “Ovia identified him and began to position him to take over the position of chief executive officer of the bank long before the time came for him to leave the bank. That was why the succession was seamless and without any hiccup.”

Makinde says the best measure of a successful leader is his ability to produce a successor. This belief explains the reason leaders play an active role in the process that leads to the emergence of their successors.

“It is done all over the world, in political and corporate environments, and even in social organizations”, he said. “In the case of an outgoing governor like what you have in Akwa Ibom, Governor Udom must be interested in who succeeds him for many reasons, chief among which is the need to ensure the person coming after him shares his vision and would be committed to the development of the state along the path he set out.”

A major positive that has trailed Bola Tinubu since he left office as governor of Lagos State in 2007 is his ability to identify good materials for the position of governor of the state, people who would stay focused on his vision of a highly industrialized state with economy that ranks among the biggest in Africa, if not the world. Babatunde Fashola, his successor, bought into the vision by continuing the drive for the creation of a free trade zone that would be an industrial hub in the country, followed by Akinwunmi Amobode and Babajide Sanwa-Olu, in that order.

The first fruit of the free zone is the Dangote Fertilizer Company that was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari in March, 2022. The Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company, the second largest in the world, is expected to come on stream in the zone before the year runs out.

Emmanuel came into office with a development agenda that is in line with the vision of the founding fathers of modern Akwa Ibom. Part of the vision is to transform Akwa Ibom from a purely civil service state into a highly industrialized state and an economic hub in the West and Central African sub-regions, and an economic powerhouse on the African continent. High profile projects such as Ibom Air, the most successful state government owned airline in Africa, Ibom Deep Sea Port and a heavy investment in infrastructure are designed to fit into the vision.

In nominating Eno as a possible successor, the governor settled for a man who has shown capacity to drive that vision through his belief and commitment to the economic development of the state. 

Eno demonstrated this belief when he chose to leave his comfort zone to come home to invest in a state that did not have much to offer in terms of investment attraction, when he could simply have set up shop in Lagos, a more attractive environment, where he spent his entire working life.

He took the risk (calculated, as it turned out to be) of obtaining a N100 million loan facility to execute a hospitality contract that gave him the big break and made him the biggest individual player in the industry in the state. That he is today a success story in the private sector – the focus of the government’s economic drive, is a testimony to his belief in the vision of the current administration.

Emmanuel’s choice may have been borne out of conviction that the industrial and economic development trajectory of Akwa Ibom would continue under Eno.