By OFONIME UMANAH
On December 6 last year, history was made in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. That was the day the vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima, visited the sleepy village of Ikot Udo Obobo, Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
It was the first visit by any vice president of Nigeria to that village. Dr Unyime Idem, the member representing Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives dragged him there to flag-off the first-of-its-kind family empowerment in Nigeria, where a millionaire emerged from every family in the constituency. Idem who voted a whooping N1billion for that purpose.
Shettima, himself a former senator, was miffed, that someone in the lower chamber of the National Assembly could do so much.
When he was to speak, he praised Idem, a former recharge cards seller, even as he described him as a model whose style and sacrificial representation should be copied, not just by his colleagues, but by the federal government.
Saying that Idem was a man with a sense of possibilities, Shettima also said Idem’s ability to produce a millionaire from each family in his federal constituency was more than empowerment, but a deep commitment to the social and economic prosperity of his people.
Idem got into the House of Representatives in 2019. Before then, there were the likes of Obong Eno Akpan(1999-2003), Ubong Etiebet(2003-2007), Sabbath Obot(2007-2011), Emmanuel Ukoette(2011-2019). Each of them served for a term, except Ukoette who did two terms. His attempt at a third term failed and that was how the constituency discovered Idem.
There is hardly anyone in the constituency who would not affirm that whatever all the past representatives achieved in 20 years is nothing compared to what Idem alone has been able to do in about seven years.
For example, apart from attracting roads, school building, water projects, solar lights, scholarship for students et cetera, he has sponsored more bills and motions than all the past representatives put together.
But the turning point appears to be his ability to restore electricity form the national grid to the federal constituency, after the people had wallowed in darkness for 15 years after. He broke the hex and brought life back to the economy of the two local governments.
Courtesy of Idem, many of the constituents now have international business exposure, because of the training opportunities they had in China.
A few weeks ago, as the APC announced the beginning of preparations for party primaries ahead of the 2027 elections, the zoning question was raised-nobody has ever secured a third term mandate from that constituency, so Idem will not be allowed to get the APC ticket for a third term. Some even argued that even though they were aware that he had outperformed others, they would prefer to get someone from the Oruk Anam bloc, to take over, in line with what they called the no-third-term-unwritten policy in the constituency. This came largely from some persons from Oruk Anam, who felt it was their turn to produce Idem’s successor. They were not willing to hear the argument that the man who had shown capacity in all ramifications, should be supported to go for a third term, to enable him do even more. In fact, they were not ready to listen to the argument that Idem stood a better chance of becoming a principal officer if he returned to the seat in 2027.
Anyway, those with that line of thought were in the minority. A very infinitesimal proportion indeed. So, on Sunday, stakeholders from the federal constituency met and decided to vote for performance, reliability, sagacity, sacrificial representation and selflessness, instead of zoning. They chose Idem as consensus candidate of the APC for the 2027 election, a decision that is said to have got the imprimatur of the senate president, Senator Godswill Akpabio and the governor, Pastor Umo Eno, who prefers to call Idem “The China Man,” apparently because of the people Idem had exposed to opportunities in that Asian country, many of who are now involved in international trade at an ambitious level.
Idem has not just broken the hex in performance, he has not just broken the whammy in bringing a sitting vice president of Nigeria to his federal constituency, he has not just scored a first in making 100 millionaires form his constituency, he is on his way to breaking the zoning jinx and will be the first to occupy the Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency seat for 12 straight years.
So, the next time you see Dr Unyime Josiah Idem, you can call him the whammy breaker.
