Governor Umo Eno’s Time-Tested Periscope At Work!

Iniobong Akpan

The investment world is a realm only for the daring hearts and individuals who are ready to stake for the future. Only those who are willing to take risks and invest for the long term can truly reap the profits.

Shelby M.C. Davis, a retired renowned Vice President of The Bank of New York, once said, “Invest for the long haul. Don’t get too greedy, and don’t get too scared.” True to it, every investment is today combated by two major forces – greed and fear. A situation that can easily be overcome with the aid of a time-tested investment periscope that sees beyond the obscurity posed by greed, fear, ignorance or procrastination.

Governor Umo Eno is a visionary leader with a periscopic foray into profitable investments and one who understands the value of emerging opportunities for the same. His successful ventures into the hospitality sector as a private citizen proved him as a climactic actor in matching investments with opportunities through a precision machine galvanised by experience and wealth of knowledge – to see beyond the thickened walls of playing safe at the detriment of the future.

It is no wonder, then, how he accurately visualised the massive opportunity in the state’s hospitality sector at a time when no investor would have considered it ripe enough for such. The result is 25 years plus success with many gains to the state, including employment, community developments, wealth creation and competitive indigenous services to the IOCs. What a periscopic entry, then, that has built a brand that continues to be celebrated as an iconic and indigenous hospitality giant!

Today, the 19-storey Ibom Towers poses as another periscopic immersion of Governor Umo Eno’s visionary leadership into his unrelenting commitment to making strategic and profitable investment decisions, albeit now for the interest of the State Government. It is a timely and excellent initiative that reflects his grasp of the future landscape of the nation’s economy, particularly in light of the imminent diminishing role of crude oil in revenue generation.

It’s essential for all well-meaning citizens of the state to support the Governor’s initiative and to recognise the long-term benefits it will bring to the state. Those who oppose these investments are simply trying to play safe or seek immediate gratification but fail to understand the importance of a strategic plan for the prosperity of our dear state. Let us, without doubt, trust the Governor’s successful track record with outstanding investment results in the private sector and believe the same to yield more for the state government.

While opposing voices are expected for every government’s drive, although the best, a deliberate reliance on a time-tested periscope can help us see better, understand clearly and maintain the required patience for time to prove it under the pragmatic leadership of an investment genius with unbroken antecedents.

Let me rest on the words of Charlie Munger, himself a time-tested investor who made it distinctly clear why many people will never appreciate investment with his renowned quote “Waiting makes you an investor, but a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.”

It’s not surprising, therefore, to see people calling for protest against a well-periscopic investment decision for the betterment of our future as a state. The question to ask now is “Are these the people who can’t wait or those who can’t defer gratification just for the future of Akwa Ibom State?”. Our respective actions will tell!

Let us jointly give our pragmatic leader and Governor the full support to leverage our relevance as a state in Nigeria’s uncertain economic future and his selfless foresight of turning a wasteland into wealth through investment as a sub-sector of the infrastructural and economic advancements of the ARISE Agenda blueprint.

.Elder Akpan writes from Uyo, Akwa Ibom