Akwa Ibom 2023: Deconstructing Umo Eno
By Uduak Edward
Going through Pastor Umo Eno’s curriculum vitae (CV) provides some sobering moments. Throughout, the intention of presenting him as a finished quality product is not lost on the reader. However, every product has a building process, a very interesting point of study in growth analysis. For, once the foundation is wrong, the end can never justify the means!
According to the writer of that CV, Eno is a “tenacious business leader with a proven track record in achieving positive business results”. He is said to have provided jobs to over 2,000 persons; runs a church with over 3,000 members; owns businesses which “span through hotels, apartments, eatery, coffee shops, industrial catering and water production”.
By the CV, Eno is a success with “keen interest in community development”. He is said to have been “involved in key corporate social responsibilities in community development, upgrade of some schools within his environs, providing scholarships and trainings to several students as Interns and Industrial Attaches in Royalty Group”. However, whoever wrote Umo Eno’s CV deserves an award in concoction, exaggeration, manipulation and mind control!
Mr Umo Eno was appointed Commissioner in 2020. Before then (in 2019), he was the Executive Director, in charge of Agricultural Investment, Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation (AKIPOC). Between 1997 and 2019, he managed the Royalty Group, his personal business concern. And between 2004 and 2007, he was the Chairman of Akwa Ibom Hotels and Tourism Board.
The first curious observation here is: Was he still in full control of the day-to-day running of his business (1997-2019), even as the chairman of the Hotels and Tourism Board (2004-2007)? Additionally, what were his positive impacts on the common man while on those assignments?
The above questions are pertinent considering the claims that Eno had “keen interest in community development” and was “involved in key corporate social responsibilities in community development”. Can the public be furnished, for instance, with the names of the schools he upgraded and the students he provided scholarships?
That can’t be too much to ask of a man who seeks our votes. Corporate Social Responsibilities? Are we talking about the same Umo Eno, who abandoned Idua Road project in Eket, after receiving the initial contract sum without any remorse or compunction?
As for the claim of training “Interns and Industrial Attaches in Royalty Group”, even a roadside food seller does better without including it in a CV. Providing a spot for students to hang around, for a short term, in order to fill out and submit their continuous assessment forms is no big deal.
Umo Eno’s much touted achievements rest mostly on the claim of providing jobs for “over 2,000 persons”. Yet, the question of value remains largely unanswered. Assuming, without conceding that the claim is true, it stands to wonder how much each of the 2,000 staff would be going home with, judging by Eno’s claim that he pays a wage of N25m, per month.
Do the mathematics, please! Should the salary be flat, each worker will take home N12,500. But, certainly, all the staff can’t be on the same scale. There must be a hierarchical structure, I presume. So, if a manager or supervisor, for instance, earns higher than N12,500, what is the fate of the underlings. You can only imagine!
Another claim is that Umo Eno runs a church with over 3,000 members. Yet, there is the unanswered question of forced membership on his workers and the allegation of illegal deductions from staff salary, ostensibly for tithe.
Yes, it’s commendable that Eno has a string of businesses which “span through hotels, apartments, eatery, coffee shops, industrial catering and water production”. But, pray, are all the listed not one business? Whether hotel or apartment; whether eatery or coffee shops or water production, those are mere services provided by one business – Royalty!
The only extra is the “industrial catering”, which is simply provision of food to ExxonMobil staff. So, the attempt to make Eno sound like the Leventis or UAC of old is simply deceptive and manipulative!
Eno is said to have started Royalty Hotels & Recreation in 1997. In one public address, he nebulously claimed that he “sourced” money to set up the business. What about the angle that he defrauded a lady in Lagos and fled back to birth the 5-rooms hotel? The CV may not be a place shed no light on that, but it is pertinent for his handlers to enlighten the public, to save his image.
Between 1982 and 1985, Eno reportedly worked with the Union Bank; he also worked with Norman Holdings Ltd (1990-1997). Before then, he was with Bertola Machine Tools Ltd (1985-199). The circumstances surrounding his exit from Bertola, some say, remains as hazy and controversial as his unceremonious exit from The Apostolic Church, some years later.
At Bertola, reports insist Umo Eno was sacked for undisclosed reasons. True or false? One had expected the pastor to be truthful with the people he hopes to lead by opening up on the circumstances surrounding his exit from Bertola, instead of glossing over it in his CV.
Eno is said to be currently pursuing his doctoral programme at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. He attended Lagos Business School and has Masters Degree. But the foundation of his education is another controversial area. Admittedly, Eno’s CV in circulation may be varied. But if one views the one published by Umo Eno’s publicist, Anietie Usen, one should be justified to ask certain questions bordering on facts, transparency, integrity and morality.
Two Secondary Schools – St Francis Secondary School, Eket, Akwa Ibom State and Victory High School, Ikeja, Lagos (1975-1981) – are listed as Eno’s academic foundations. But the CV left a gap that must be filled to boost confidence.
Why did Eno leave St Francis Secondary School unceremoniously? Some say ignominiously? A concerned citizen, Etim Etim, was the first to raise dust on Umo Eno’s academic foundation. Is it true that Umo Eno was expelled from the school for poor academic standing and examination malpractices?
Another shock in Umo Eno’s CV is that he claims to have acquired Senior School Certificate (O’ Level)! But a curious check shows that Senior School Certificate of Examination started in 1989, replacing the West African School Certificate of Education (O and A Levels).
How then could Mr Eno have acquired SSCE in 1981? As at 1981, Nigerian mirrored the British system of six years of primary and five years of secondary schools. The certificate earned at the end of the five-year programme was West African School Certificate/ General Certificate of Education (WASC/ GCE). Why did Umo Eno acquire “Senior School Certificate” when the 6-3-3-4 system had not started by 1981?
Umo Eno’s CV is loaded with bogus and flimsy claims. How, for instance, is organising a conference or seminar a significant achievement that should qualify someone to be a governor of a great state like Akwa Ibom.
When did inauguration of committees and receiving approval from the governor to build a warehouse also become significant achievements? Are those the kind of achievements Akwa Ibom people should expect from Umo Eno, should he become the next governor?
Akwa Ibom deserves the best. Akwa Ibom must get the best. Akwa Ibom must be redeemed from audio achievements. It is time for physical, tangible, verifiable and impactful achievements. In 2023, Akwa Ibom people want a governor who knows and understands our peculiar problems and has the capacity to tackle and resolve them. Akwa Ibom people would no longer be hoodwinked by phantom, bogus and unsubstantiated claims.
Usuak Edward is a Lagos-based writer and public affairs commentator.
