His
arrival was awaited with much anticipation by a mammoth crowd of
supporters. As early as 9 am on September 23, 2015, they had defied the
rain and thronged the Ibom International Airport to welcome home their
hero and leader, the Minority Leader of the Senate and the former
Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Obot Akpabio.
Before his arrival, tongues had been
wagging and the rumour mill was agog with incredible stories about
Senator Akpabio following his involvement in an accident on September 1,
2015 and subsequently being flown abroad for further medical attention.
Obviously, political opponents had sought to make a huge capital and
score cheap political points with the accident. With glee, the
opposition in Akwa Ibom clinked glasses and popped champagne that the
man they dread so much was out of the way. They had prayed fervently
that he should not be back to Nigeria.
But at about 2 pm, the flight which had
brought him from Abuja touched down at the Ibom International Airport.
The supporters made up of family members, youth and women groups and
some members of the political class were thrown into frenzy when Chief
Akpabio alighted from the aircraft which had brought him. They defied
the rain to catch a glimpse of him. Many surged forward for a handshake.
It was such a relief for them to once again see Chief Akpabio in flesh
and blood.
If the scene at the Ibom International
Airport was chaotic, his triumphant entry into the world class, Nest of
Champion which was same day formally rechristened Godswill Akpabio
International Stadium, Uyo was simply electrifying. From all nooks and
crannies of the state, Akwa Ibom people had filled the 35,000 capacity
stadium to celebrate the 28th anniversary of the creation of the state.
The entry of Senator Akpabio had temporarily brought the anniversary
proceedings to a halt as the Master of Ceremonies announced his arrival
into the stadium.
The crowd was simply uncontrollable.
From the topmost row of the stadium, enthusiastic supporters who may
have last seen him on the day of the inauguration of the new
administration, simply jumped down to see Senator Akpabio at close
quarters. It must be to the credit of the security agencies that they
were not overwhelmed by the swelling crowd who followed Senator Akpabio
for a lap round the VIP stand of the stadium.
Known for his oratorical prowess,
Senator Akpabio did not disappoint when he was called upon to address
the gathering. He started by introducing himself: “My name is Godswill
Akpabio,” a proclamation which threw the crowd into another round of
frenzy. And then he proceeded to thank the people for their prayers and
support and also thanked God for sparing his life to join the people for
the 28th anniversary celebration.
“God gave me life, God sustained my
life, and my life will never be extinguished until it is time. When the
governor told me that we must celebrate Akwa Ibom at 28, he did not tell
me he was planning to give me a surprise after coming back from the
land of death,” he said.
Giving a background to the mishap,
Senator Akpabio said: “When that accident happened on the 1st of
September (2015), I was rushing in the morning to join my daughter who
was ill in her school abroad and when it happened I lost consciousness
and all I shouted was “God take care of my children and my people.” But
surprisingly I woke up at the National Hospital in Abuja, and within one
hour after I had regained consciousness, I saw His Excellency, Udom
Gabriel Emmanuel sitting by my side. I was moved to tears,” he said.
The former Governor was full of praises
for his successor for his drive to industrialize the state. “In less
than no time you solved a puzzle. You brought back Peacock Paint
industry, it is working. Udom, I will ask you how you did it? The APC
factory has taken off, the LED factory has taken off, Beko Group of
companies are going on in spite of the lean resources. You have
continued to bring foreign direct investments to Akwa Ibom, you are
attracting attention to Akwa Ibom, you are making Akwa Ibom a
destination for industries, you are creating job opportunities for our
children, you are showing that we were right in electing you as the
governor of Akwa Ibom State. To God be the glory,” he said.
The media had also been awash with why
the former Governor was flown abroad for treatment instead of the Ibom
International Hospital that he had built and Chief Akpabio seized the
opportunity to address it. “Udom, when people are talking about the 20th
Anniversary Hospital, they should go there and find out. Even the CT
(Computed Tomography) scan that I saw in London is not up to the one
that you have in Uyo.
That is the one they call 64 slides.
Udom, the one that you have here is 640 slides. Ten times in
magnification of what you have in Europe. Why has the hospital not taken
off? It is because the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria expects to
register anybody who wants to work as a doctor in Nigeria.
“You cannot go to Britain and work in
Britain unless you pass through the procedure. Besides the Immigration
must give you the necessary resident permit for you to bring in those
doctors and those doctors must in turn have at least two to three people
with them in order to pass technology to them. We are not going to
bring in people to work here forever. They must handover to indigenous
skilled manpower trained by Udom Gabriel Emmanuel.
“You have assured your people, I’m sure
you will tell them that in less than one month from today the processes
will be completed. When I was ill (I don’t pray to be ill), if I were to
be ill next time I’m sure instead of flying me for six hours to London,
they will bring me 50 minutes into Akwa Ibom International Hospital and
I will be very proud to come there and thereafter stand in front of
you. Oh, my people. To God be the glory,” he said.
Senator Akpabio was full of praises for
the country’s leaders who had identified with him in his moment of pain
and hospitalization. “Let me place on record the support of the
President, President Buhari who did something extra ordinary. The
president called the hospital that I was in London. He called the
hospital line, and said put me through to the Minority Leader of the
Senate who is in your hospital. And they connected him. The room number
was Room 215. And he spoke with me. He said, ‘Akpabio we are praying for
you. Insha Allah, it shall be well with you.’
“Shortly after the President’s call, I
received a call from Abba Kyari, the new Chief of Staff and he said hold
on for the Vice President of Nigeria. Vice President Osinbajo, he spoke
with me and he prayed for me. He said: ‘I’m an anointed child of God,
you will come back alive to this country, you will not die.’ The Senate
President also called. Almost all dignitaries in Nigeria called. But who
made it possible for me to even get out of here? It was my governor,
Udom Gabriel Emmanuel,” he said.
Indeed for Senator Akpabio, it was a
triumphant home-coming. His Ukana, Essien Udim, country home became a
Mecca of sort. Youth groups, women groups, socio-cultural associations
and political associates trooped in to see and consult with him.
Impromptu thanksgiving services were held to appreciate the Almighty God
for sparing the life of their leader in what could have been a fatal
accident.
For the four days Senator Akpabio spent
in Akwa Ibom State, the people identified with their leader. He had some
words for other leaders. “I have always said that when you are a leader
and you hear footsteps of people behind you, you should try and look
back and see whether the people are following you or running away from
you. With the caliber of the people who have thronged here since I
returned, I can say that the people are following me,” he said.
Mr. Ekong served as a Special Asistant on Media to the former Governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
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