Thomas Thomas
Every democracy has its critics. Some are motivated by conviction, others by ambition, and still others by the craving for attention. The recent essay by Aniekan Udofia, “Dreams of Akwa Ibom: Echoes of My Heart,” falls neatly into the last category.
It is less a critique of governance and more a diary of self-promotion—an endless recollection of “when I met the governor,” “when I anchored an event,” “when I was called at 1 a.m.,” “when I refused an appointment,” and so on. Paragraph after paragraph, Udofia inserts himself at the center of Akwa Ibom politics, as though the state’s future rests solely on his choices. This is not political commentary. It is vanity masquerading as courage.
Governor Umo Eno does not need such dramatics. He has never shied away from consultation. He has met civil society groups, professional associations, religious leaders, and the media. His ARISE Agenda Sectoral Briefings compel Commissioners to defend their policies openly before the public. His development programs are already delivering roads, schools, healthcare interventions, and agricultural projects across the state. These are not the hallmarks of a governor surrounded by sycophants, but of a leader committed to measurable service.
Udofia’s suggestion that appointees are cowards simply because they do not indulge in theatrical rebellion is both insulting and dishonest. True service to the people is not performed in WhatsApp groups or in nostalgic anecdotes. It is performed in classrooms, hospitals, farms, and communities. Those who wake daily to deliver on government policies are not “yes men”—they are men and women who prefer action to noise.
What is most telling is that Udofia himself admits he was repeatedly invited into the governor’s team, praised the governor in public articles, and enjoyed direct access. If Governor Eno truly feared bold voices, would he have kept that door open? The contradiction is glaring: one cannot enjoy the access, then posture as the excluded prophet of truth.
Akwa Ibom does not need self-appointed martyrs of conscience. It needs builders, doers, and problem-solvers. Governor Umo Eno has chosen that path. His administration may not be perfect, but it is grounded in substance, not theatrics.
Udofia’s essay may provide him a moment of self-satisfaction, but it adds nothing to the governance discourse of Akwa Ibom State. It is a loud performance with little relevance, a monument to personal ego rather than a contribution to public policy.
History will not remember those who wrote endlessly about themselves. It will remember those who rolled up their sleeves and worked. On that score, Governor Umo Eno and his team are already ahead, while Aniekan Udofia’s “echoes” fade quickly into the background noise of self-aggrandizement.
