OPINION
By Tony Udoh
Since creation as was captured by the Holy Bible as well as the Big Bang Theory of the scientific evolution, one of the most referenced and revered books has remained the Holy Bible. This is largely due to its prophetic and timeless application despite being documented many years ago.
Naturally, many have cited, and interpreted some portions to suit their purposes, intents and dispositions, but one of the surest things remains that Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but the words of the scriptures shall remain forever.
These explain why the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Pastor Umo Eno has remained unperturbed despite the litany of vain litigations, mudslinging and blackmails from dream-killing brothers in the State like the brothers of Joseph as recorded in the book of Genesis.
Pastor Eno whose story could be likened to that of Joseph, was favoured from his birth and despite the circumstances that surrounded his childhood and growing up, he surmounted and greatly excelled according to his God given talents. And, as the Holy Bible says, “A man’s gift, maketh a way for him.”
Having lost his father at a tender age, one would have expected an end of the road for the barracks trained but humble Akwa Ibom “golden boy,”. He braced up the challenges, picked up jobs with private firms where he sat at the management cadre before leaving to establish the Royalty Hotel in Eket.
As a man on a mission, the Lord was with him and he managed the Royalty Hotel from five rooms to what it is today; a conglomerate with apartments, catering services, coffee shops, and many others, providing direct and indirect employment for hundreds of Akwa Ibom people and even beyond.
Pastor Eno being loved, as Israel had loved Joseph, favoured and chosen by God through Governor Udom Emmanuel and majority of Akwa Ibom people, has evidently angered some supposedly entitled and self-serving individuals who have conspired to kill the 2023 vocation of Pastor Umo Eno.
As recorded in Genesis 37, “Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. They conspired against him to slay him. … Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”
Despite the conspiracies and execution of their evil intentions, the bible in Genesis 43:28 records that at the end, they, as was ordained by God and revealed in the dreams of Joseph, bowed down their heads, and paid obeisance.
It suffices to say that the manifestation of Godswill is not limited to the case of Joseph and others as contained in the bible stories, but evidently abounds in contemporary society even on the negative as captured by Ola Rotimi in the gods are not to blame.”
This biblical scenario, is not dissimilar to the fact that, Pastor Umo Eno, is among those, Governor Udom Emmanuel, brought onboard towards the sundown of his administration. And this has angered those who feel that they have been on the saddles longer than Umo Eno, a situation which has triggered entitlement mentality which is symptomatic of what medical science calls “Delusions of Grandeur,” a false sense of possession than it is in reality.
Going down memory lane, Pastor Eno, like David in the bible, was tending to his business when fate beckoned on him to serve in the Directorate of Agric Investments and later, the Ministry of Lands and Water Resources before the present call to lead the State as governor from 2023. These calls to public service have no doubt given the opportunity to dream killers like in the days of old, to conspire in their hearts in an effort to stop the manifestation of his dreams and vocation.
Undoubtedly, it is the fruit of these conspiracies that have manifested in litigations, blackmails and many other predictable and even unpredictable channels of attacks. But according to Psalm 34:19 and as rightly quoted by Pastor Umo Eno during his thanksgiving service shortly after his return from Abuja, where he received his certificate of return, “many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them from them all. The ones they did before, the ones they are doing now and the ones they’ll do tomorrow, God will deliver us from them all.”
The different allegations, of course which are politically motivated, against Pastor Umo Eno can only be described as vain attempts to distract the PDP certified governorship candidate for the 2023 elections. While the detractors have failed in their search for tangible sins to hold against Pastor Eno, they simply settle for elementary litigations like the case of Hon. Mike Enyong rightly captured by Prince Chris Abasieyo who said, “what others call PDP parallel congress in Akwa Ibom State, was actually an incognito ritual for the cleansing of fetish oath takers and those who administered the same. Babantan did not stage that drama to win any primary, in his innermost layer, he did so to provide an opportunity to carry out exorcism on his oath takers and those who administered the oath.”
It therefore could be said that the litigations we see today against Pastor Umo Eno are mere vent of Biblical allegories and very soon, we shall see them no more and Pastor Umo Eno, with the grace and mercy of God upon him, will be sworn in as Akwa Ibom State Governor in 2023 to further the development strides of Governor Udom Emmanuel.
