By Etim Etim
Since Gov. Umo Eno defected from the PDP to APC in June, the few remnants in the PDP have presented severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental health condition that occurs after a person has experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as an accident, childhood or domestic violence, assault, war or even natural disaster. Symptoms include reoccurring nightmares, uncontrollable thoughts about the event, feelings of detachment, anger, anxiety and even depression (The reader may wish to explore this subject further to better understand the context of this intervention). For some PDP members, the departure of Gov. Eno was the most traumatic political experience of their life, so much so that some are still nursing uncontrollable nightmares about the event and anger and abhorrence against the governor. They’ve unable to move forward from their pain. One person I know who claims to have a Ph.D has been writing repeatedly that Umo Eno should return to PDP – something the whole world knows will never happen. But this PTSD sufferer is too traumatized to recognize the futility of his pleadings.
Last night, another aggrieved member, who was recently named as a member of the PDP Caretaker Committee in the state, posted a long list of grievances against the governor, alleging, in main, that the governor hasn’t achieved much in two years. I feel a strong sense of pity for him and his ilk, and I have taken the decision to ignore them, for now, just to allow them enough time to heal and exhilarate. But for how long shall we continue to ignore these malcontent grumblers? Personally, my patient is running thin, but I am restrained from picking a fight by the need to not to cause undue distractions to the governor who is engrossed in his work. Pastor Eno has shown an incredible sense of purpose and dedication to duty and his achievements speak volume. In education, infrastructure, rural development, tourism, health, agriculture and others, he has made considerable strides in just two years. It is therefore an idiotic absurdity for Unwana Assam, a Caretaker Committee member, to come up with his grating grumbles.
It is not for nothing that the governor’s approval rating is well above 70%, the highest by an incumbent governor at this point in their tenure. Gov. Eno is the only leader in the state that has made completion of abandoned projects a cardinal programme of his administration. So far, he has taken on the abandoned hotel and convention centre at the Tropicana Complex; the abandoned Nsit Atai – Okobo Road and several other abandoned projects and roads. Akwa Ibom is the only state created in the 1980s that has no standard event center. The government’s decision to complete the convention center started in 2009 is therefore a commendable act by this governor. How could we be a tourism hub without such a facility?
Pastor Umo Eno is also the first governor in the state to make rural development the centerpiece of his blueprint. In just two years, he has pumped over N5 billion as fresh capital into rural-based small businesses and farmers in many of our communities. The impact on those communities are huge. Eno is also building a multipurpose recreation center in the heart of Uyo; revamping state-owned hotels and golf course, thus creating a new economy within the tourism ecosystem, an effort that has earned plaudits even from UNDP. But the governor is giving wide berth to the coconut factory abandoned by one of his predecessors. The coconut farms planted for this strange factory has long withered away, and pastor Eno probably does not find much sense in pursuing the project. Could that be the cause of Assam’s misgivings?
In Akwa Ibom State, the uncomfortable truth is that PDP is a shadow of its former self. Most of its members have moved into APC and their sources of funding, support, patronage and strength have been cut off. Gov. Eno’s departure and the intractable crisis at the National Headquarters of the party have further inflicted serious harm on their collective psychology. In 2018, the party was able to build back quickly after the defection of Senator Akpabio. Then, PDP had a governor who rallied members and overcame the impact of Akpabio’s departure. But in 2025, it is the governor that left with all the elected officials. It is a political holocaust!
I understand the magnitude of this loss and the pain the remnants in the party are enduring. They have been so used to government patronage that they are not willing to move on. They can’t even understand that the cheese has been moved (Please read the seminal book, ‘’Who Moved My Cheese?’’ by Spencer Johnson). In the months ahead, I expect more complaints, bellyaches and ridiculous allegations – something akin to the last kick of a dying horse. But we shall not continue to ignore them for much longer. Akwa Ibom people deserve to have the benefit of the other side of the story and this governor deserves our undiluted support.
Etim is a Journalist and Political Analyst based in Abuja.
