Otobong Sampson/Emeka Ogenyi
When on June 30, 2021, Elder Aniekan Akpan assumed office as Akwa Ibom PDP helmsman, he met a party that was scar-riddened and boldly simmering in fury against its leadership.
One of the primary reasons for this feeling was how it selected its candidates for the 2020 local government election. Many members, not hiding their grievances about the direction the party had swung, looked forward to revenge.
It was a worry. The unity of the party — which was looking forward to maintaining its impressive grip on the political structure of the state — was being threatened.
With the ratification of his position as the new chairman through a special election congress, Akpan’s first and immediate responsibility was to restore that “understanding in an atmosphere of disagreements,” an approach that has served the party well and made it formidable since 1999.
There was only one way to achieve this; by dissolving the clusters of grievances that existed into an agreeable whole. It was a huge task and no better person could handle that responsibility than him. In searching for a replacement, it was important that the new man cut the image of a peace merchant and possesed the skills of negotiation, dialogue and cooperation.
It’s the second anniversary of Akpan’s chairmanship and he’s done great, if not exceptional works for the party — deploying his interpersonal skills to great effect. The party’s goal in the last two years has focused on weakening of hierarchy and strengthening the powers and relevance of its members.
Its policy thrust has centred on healing and accommodation than political point-scoring. Where there are dissents and when the party is to disagree, the chairman brings to bare analytical temperament.
Since power isn’t his mental crutch, Akpan didn’t take long dismounting his high office, and building of the PDP a new community without borders. A community of faith; but more than that, of hope.
He has shown that building something new does not require the destruction of the old. What was once difficult now seem so easy. Akpan sits like the pleasant answers to prayers. He wears his devotion with pride.
The most significant highpoint of his chairmanship is the governorship retained by the PDP in the elections that held few months ago. He made tremendous personal sacrifices that steadied the ship amid storms and steered it away from shipwreck. He should be laurelled for democratically leading the party through its last primaries that blurred the lines of imposition with only minimal contentions.
In Akwa Ibom politics today, the PDP chairman has emerged as one of the most attractive voices. Soft, gentle and persuasive, and at the same time — intense and profound. The kind of voice that creates sympathy, empathy and confidence.
If it typifies anything about the man, it is his remarkable ability to argue a point and argue it so well, to make his listeners seize on his own views and make them their own. This is important in leadership so that followers do not feel coerced, but persuaded, and will go along.
Two years on, Akpan has been immense. Two years on, he has met expectations. Two years on, the chairman has answered all the important questions asked of him.
