My Dear Governor,
It was Marcus Tullius Cicero, who said that, “The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living,” and it is with great pleasure, that I congratulate you, on the successful burial of our dear mother, your beloved wife, who to us, was a mother to Akwa Ibom people, even though, we didn’t have enough of her service to the state, but the outpouring of tributes and testaments of those who were close to her, speaks volume of her person.
On the 28th of April, 2024, when my Dad passed on, Your Excellency, you were the first person I informed about his passage, and you quickly reached out with words of condolence. Those words which you told me, were a soothing balm at that moment, and it emboldened me to face the reality that had stared me on the face. I did not truly understand the true meaning of losing a loved one, until that fateful day, when I saw my father’s lifeless body.
Your Excellency, in so far as the world sympathizes with you, no one truly understands the deepest pain and the burden, which you bore as a person, and as a Governor. Like you stated, Pastor Patience Umo Eno was a woman you spent almost four decades together, and no matter how we pretend about it, a part of you has gone. All of what we have left, are memories of the dead, and these are what we will continue to cherish, as we move forward.
Despite losing your dear wife, you never allowed governance in the state to suffer, and sometimes, I wondered where you got the strength to carry on these tasks. Commissioning projects, moving to inspect projects, coupled with the day to day running of governance. No wonder the Deputy Governor, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, described you as a Workaholic.
Your Excellency, without doubt, you have once again proven to Akwa Ibom people that they hired the best man for the job of the State Chief Executive, and your prowess have left no one in doubt. Not too many persons can muster the courage that you have exhibited, without a mental breakdown.
As the Bible stated in Ecclesiastes 3; 1 and 2, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck.” We know that Her Excellency is having a perfect rest, and for her, she has finished her race on earth, it is left for the living, to take the lessons of her life, and improve on it.
My dear Governor, may God continue to give you the grace, the strength and the enablement, to continue to lead us right, at this period in life. May you find solace in the eternal words of Aristotle, “That someday, all men shall one day die.” This journey is a necessary end for all mortals, irrespective of class, race or status.
In the face of this adversity, please continue to stay strong, Your Excellency, because a man’s life, is without tribulations. We are mortals, awaiting our own time of departure, but the time, is what we do not know. Just as Joy Ellis said, “Death is certain, but the hour is unknown.” May this affliction never rise again.
Dr. Eneh John, a Journalist, writes from Ibeye Ikot Ndito, Ikot Uso Ekong, Eket, Akwa Ibom State.
02122024
