Eleven lessons from the making of Governor Umo Eno

Anietie Usen (2024), And It Came To Pass. Lagos. Parresia Publishers. ISBN: 978 – 978 -788 -772 – 1. 322 pages.

And It Came To Pass tells how a Qua Iboe /United Evangelical Church deacon turned an Apostolic Church pastor / All Nations Christian Ministries International founder, Eket, into a State Governor. It is the biographical account of the making of Umo Eno as the governor of Akwa Ibom State.

And It Came To Pass could be described as an experiential autobiography/biography because the writer emerges as an active witness to the unfolding history. The author became an active participant-observer in some scenes in the unfolding drama.

Autobiographies and biographies have the power to reveal someone’s life in raw form. From the struggles they witnessed to the hurdles they overcame – this genre covers it all.

Anietie Usen’s book is delivered in simple, down-to-earth, clear, concise, captivating prose. It is detailed, well-researched, racy, and gripping. Through this book, Anietie Usen has defended his best-in-class status among journalists of his generation in West Africa.

And It Came To Pass is a blow-by-blow account of an electoral contest from the search, selection, ‘anointing’, presentation, endorsement, nomination, litigations, campaigns, victory, assumption of office and strides of an elected Governor in the first year in office. Moreover, this book was written and published in record time – within four months: February and May 2024!

LESSONS:
A curious reader gets to know that the former Governor, Udom Emmanuel, is a man of courage and strong convictions who decided and ensured that Umo Eno became the governor because of the attributes he saw.

As submitted by Assam Assam, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Russia, “Even for daring to bring a Pastor as a successor, a man without political sophistication… and declare that this Eket Pastor will perform 100 times better than him, an international banker… that is a mark of uncommon courage…”

The second lesson shows the former Governor as one with a ‘God complex’. Someone possessing a God complex exudes the impression of one who is both “King and Priest”. The author titles chapter nine of the book ‘King and Priest No. 1! Leaders with that complex believe in the infallibility of their plans.

Lesson 3 is about the life of the book’s principal subject, a contented person. On page xxxi, Governor Umo Eno says, “My father also believed that what he does not have cannot bother him. He was very contented with what he had, and I think that is one of the graces God has given to me. I don’t disturb myself over what people have, and at every point in my life, I have been contented with what God has done for me.’

The fourth lesson speaks to industry, independence, and seeing and embracing opportunities (See page xxxii, lines 18 – 32).

Lesson 5 is that there’s joy and fulfilment in self-help. “We were six of us…so my mother would help. She would buy soft drinks, and we had to go around the streets of Ikeja and hawk them. We helped joyfully. It wasn’t embarrassing at all. In the Barracks, it was like a competition amongst us children. My friends would call on me when they were leaving for the streets. It was fun. (Page xxxiv).

Lesson 6 teaches about being a Church-centred ethical person and following a path that doesn’t conflict with one’s internal reactions. Pastor Umo Eno shut down a nightclub even after borrowing money to set it up ‘on getting called into the Ministry ‘. He said, “When I left the Church that day, the Club ended. People couldn’t believe it. Yeah, it was painful – a great pain.”

We learn that documents filed in the Court of Justice must be defended verbally, as such documents cannot speak for themselves, especially in criminal cases.

Two lessons on page 99. One teaches that anyone can rise from the lowest estate in life to the highest rung in society. If I could crawl my way up from the abyss of hopelessness and, a few years later, became the second largest employer of labour in the State, after the Government, with a monthly wage bill of over N25 million, you, too, can”, Umo Eno declares.

The other lesson on that page is the subject’s heart of gratitude and humility.

Seemingly negative framing can turn into hilarious positivity. On page 207, Umo Eno’s wife declares, ‘They say my husband is albino, and some call him yellow fever, but I call him my Golden Boy.’ It is not what others call you; everything depends on what you and those in your inner circle, your loved ones, call you!

Lesson 11 presents Pastor Umo Eno as a man of uncommon empathy, as shown by his achievements as governor.

I commend the author for his latest contribution to political history.

This book is part biography and part autobiography! The subject contributed a chapter—the Epilogue—to the Book, while Anietie Usen takes credit for the more significant content of the work.

In a word, one of the greatest strengths of And It Came To Pass is its recency. The account isn’t about yesteryears. Most readers would have witnessed the events and can relate to the book’s contents.

Dr Udeme Nana, a Mass Communication scholar, founded the UYO BOOK CLUB.