I see a Pastor Eno who will, being one who performs better at such a stage, dazzle his audience with his eloquence, pontification of words, utterances, delivery and above all, his calm, cool and coordinated mien
By Nkeneke Efo
The first of the Umo Eno Town Hall Series, a special interaction with professional bodies and interest groups in Akwa Ibom State organised by Connect Initiative, known for being the largest support group for Pastor Umo Eno, the Governorship candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, holds today, January 28, 2023 at the Ibom Icon Hotels and Resorts.
Pastor Umo Eno will use the occasion to engage with, inspire and rally guests to the meeting, to support his aspiration, together with his vision for a sustainably peaceful and progressive Akwa Ibom State after the elections. The guests are expected to discus with him, areas of concerns and challenges; offer ideas, build relationship with him and share experiences worthy of note for the cause he is pursuing.
Naturally, too, information on what Pastor Eno stands for will be shared easily. The guests, most of who have not had the opportunity to meet and greet him, will have the opportunity to, and a window for a feedback on all that has been discussed at other informal settings about him will be opened.
I see a Pastor Eno who will, being one who performs better at such a stage, dazzle his audience with his eloquence, pontification of words, utterances, delivery and above all, his calm, cool and coordinated mien. I see him, going by George Campbell’s postulation on the four ends of discourse, being able to “enlighten the understanding, please the imagination, move the passion and influence the will” of the guests.
Finally, I see the rainbow with all its colours on show at the event, either through Pastor Eno’s persona or through the great plans he has for the state if ( some say when is in order) he becomes Governor..
The rainbow is a multi-coloured arc which has its origin from the Bible. Often seen as a sign of hope, beauty after the storm, a pot of gold or a good fortune at the end of a struggle, or adventure, the rainbow also represents inclusiveness and diversity, and is also an all embracing image of God’s love and friendship.
Beyond Blue (with all its shades, including the very popular “new” shade of bala: A little humour is good medicine), the rainbow, has 6 other colours- red, orange, yellow, green, indigo and velvet, first brought to fore by foremost English thinker, physicist and mathematician, Isaac Newton, in the 19th century.
Each of the colour seems to capture, in representative capacity, the persona, the plan and the agenda of Pastor Eno in relation to his aspiration to be the next Governor of Akwa Ibom State by May.
I will use the popular acronym for the colours of the rainbow, ROYGBIV (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet) to enunciate this.
R stands for red. Red captures attention, elicits emotions and conveys confidence. In the Red Cross (used as a symbol of the international Society of the Red Cross and Red Crescent,) it signifies protection, neutrality, impertiality, unity and humanity. Pastor Eno’s personae can be seen in all these character traits. He’s a man who has no enemies, one whose true, just and fair acts with people, either as individuals or groups, is ordered by neutrality, impertiality, and the love for humanity. There is also a Red Cross on the internationally recognised symbol for health care. Health Care remains one of Pastor Eno’s area of core focus. In all places he goes to, he tells of his plan to boost primary health care, first with the construction of health centres in all the 329 wards in the state, sustain the health insurance scheme, start free health programme for the aged and make sure health Care is within the reach of all citizens of the state. He will certainly speak more about these lofty plans today.
Orange is a colour associated with optimism, energy and message of positivity. It is a colour which attracts attention and is close to golden. The Golden Boy certainly is a cynosure of all eyes and the man to beat in the race for Governor of the state whose official colour is orange. There is also a concept known as be orange economy which finds expression whenever Pastor Eno speaks. It is a production model where goods and services have intellectual value because they are products of ideas and expertise of creators. It is sometimes called the creative or cultural economy. Its practical forms are theatre, films, painting, dance, sculpture, communication, media, food, coding and entrepreneurship. Pastor Eno is synonymous with entrepreneurship. His human capacity development plans are covered by the noble purposes of the orange economy for the benefit of Akwa Ibom State.This too he will elaborate on today.
Yellow is the colour of sunshine, hope and happiness. It denotes freshness, clarity, loyalty, joy and energy. The positive effect of sunlight is that it stimulates the nervous system to act well. Pastor Eno evokes happiness. His smiles alone will get anyone who is downcast to be lifted. There is also a yellow economy in Hong Kong which classifies businesses according to their stand for good governance/ democracy or bad governance. Certainly, there will be a classification of this sort and the scale will tilt in favour of businesses his incoming good government, by God’s grace from May 2023, will support. He has a big plan to promote and support businesses. As a successful entrepreneur himself, Pastor Eno knows what it takes to, and how to, build a business. Guests will be delighted to hear stories of his start up and build up.
Green is all about life, fertility, renewal and resurrection. It is the work of Pastors to stand in the gap for all forms of renewals and regeneration for their congregants. Pastor Eno will serve as an agent of regeneration, linking it with his vision to take the green economy in the state to the next level. The Green economy basically is one aimed at reducing environmental risks and economic scarcities. It also aims at sustainable development without degrading the environment. Agriculture (the starting component of Pastor Eno’s ARISE Agenda) is the key focus of the green economy. Today, Pastor Eno will get guest through the ARISE agenda which also includes a place for Rural Development, Infrastructural consolidation/ maintenance, Security, Economic development. In the Five points are 17 focal areas including health, environment, education et cetera.
The almighty Blue is next. Blue signifies calmness, relaxation, peacefulness, tranquility, security, orderliness stability and reliability, all traits associated with the good character and conduct of Pastor Eno. Pastor Eno is closely and passionately associated with the Blue economy, an economy which he hopes to leverage upon to develop the extensive shoreline, riverine and coastal communities in the state. The World Bank refers to it as “the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs while preserving the health of the ocean ecosystem.” The European Commission describes it as “all economic activities related to ocean, sea and coasts.” It is also the exploitation, preservation and regeneration of the marine environment. Whenever he has had the cause to meet with marine and coastal communities, Pastor Eno speaks about the blue economy so passionately that one would think he established the model. Today won’t be different. He is sure to tell his guests how he intends take the state’s riverine and coastal communities to new paths of progress, growth and development through Agriculture, marine transportation, fish farming, extractive industry, marine biotechnology and bioprospecting.
Indigo and Velvet comes at the rear of the spectrum of the rainbow. Inigo is a rich colour which signifies wisdom, deep focus, inner awareness and the ability to plan for the future. It is also the colour of perception and intuition. Guests will see a Pastor Eno who is deeply focused and wise, and with great plans for the future of the state.
Though violet in christianity represents modesty, it also stands for royalty which comes with courage, candour, wisdom and courage, all good character traits that find indwelling in Pastor Eno.
What have I been postulating all along? That at today’s town hall, aside from the blue colour of the rainbow, all its other colours will mean a thing or two today to guests of Pastor Umo Eno as he reels out his good intentions to sustain the peace and progress of Akwa Ibom State if he wins Governorship elections of March 11, 2023.
Today’s TownHall will be the first in the series. More are to come and as the rainbow has no end, so will Pastor Umo Eno’s love for canvassing support and speaking about his good intentions for the state.
▪︎Efo wrote from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.