"...no notion could be more puerile and laughable than the idea that a man who graduated at 24 and opened his own law firm just a few years later cannot thrive outside politics..."
✍🏻 By Henshaw NYONG
If anyone had predicted that Chief Emmanuel Moses Enoidem, SAN, would one day leave the PDP for another platform, not to talk of the APC, the reaction would have been, Never!. Isn’t that so?
Not because he was merely loyal to the PDP, but because he was one of the founding fathers of the umbrella party in Akwa Ibom State and, true to his nature, never sugar-coated words or played comedy with serious matters. He defended the PDP at all fora. He was unapologetic about it. On record. In public. In private.
To Enoidem, no other party was a political option. It was a line he drew clearly and boldly. Perhaps that is why news of his movement to the APC this Friday has come as a shock to many.
But in politics, just like life itself, moments arise when decisions must go beyond ego, public opinion and personal comfort.
Seen from this lens, Enoidem’s decision is not rooted in egocentrism, political ambition or desperation. Rather, it is driven by conscience, responsibility and, above all, love for Akwa Ibom State.
I have known Emmanuel Enoidem for nearly two decades. From a distance first, in 2009, when I worked as a reporter with The Ibom Times Newspaper, published by Sir Ubong Ekefre. Our office was then at Ewet Housing Estate, close to where Enoidem lived while serving as Commissioner in the administration of Governor Godswill Akpabio. Even then, it was obvious that he was not a politician driven by impulse. He carried himself as a man of character; a team player, a committed servant leader. A man of few words, but soaked in action.
By 2015, when Mr Udom Emmanuel assumed office as Governor, the demands of my work brought me closer to him. From that period till date, our relationship has remained cordial and robust. Over the years, I have watched him closely. Studied him. Learned him. Anyone who truly knows Enoidem will attest to this: his yes is yes, and his no is no. He is bold, brave and unafraid to take positions. A man who commands loyalty. A fighter with formidable and die-hard political soldiers, yet deeply peaceful in spirit, strong like a lion, calm like a dove.
Here is a man whose name needs little introduction. He earned his Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree at the age of 24. Shortly after his call to the Bar in 1989, he began his legal journey as Legal Adviser to the Mass Mobilization for Social Justice and Economic Recovery (MAMSER) in Benin City. He later worked with Victor Oviosun & Co. and subsequently served as a lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Uyo, where he taught future generations of lawyers, including a long list of heavyweight politicians from Akwa Ibom and across the country. By the age of 32, Enoidem had earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree.
In the early 1990s, he served as Legal Adviser of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Etim Ekpo Local Government Area and was later elected Chairman of Etim Ekpo Local Government under the then zero-party system, while still in his early 30s. He went on to serve as State Treasurer of the PDP, Commissioner for Housing and Urban Renewal, and later Commissioner for Special Duties, where he played key roles in supervising major state projects from Godswill Akpabio International stadium construction to the Governor’s Lodge and other critical infrastructure.
Between 2017 and 2021, he served as National Legal Adviser of the PDP. During this period, the party prosecuted and won numerous cases at the High Courts, Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court, with Enoidem personally overseeing many of the legal battles. By merit, he was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in November 2023, one of the highest honours in the Nigerian legal profession.
Beyond politics and law, his community impact is massive. His generosity cuts across party lines, ethnicity and religion. He has built a world-class hospital fitted with state-of-the-art equipment in his local government, at a time that hospital served nearly five LGAs. He has built schools, awarded scholarships to indigent students, provided potable water to rural communities and consistently empowered those who had the opportunity to serve with him. Enoidem gives quietly. And he still gives. Perhaps, this is why his current decision deserves to be properly understood.
The truth, though uncomfortable, is that the PDP today is not the PDP Emmanuel Enoidem devoted over 28 years of his life to. What exists at the national level is a party fractured by leadership crises, weakened by internal wars and stripped of cohesion, with no clear end in sight. This reality has affected everyone, including some of the party’s founding fathers. From Prince B.B. Apugo to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, Governor Douye Diri, and several serving and former senators, the list is long.
Still, some insist that Enoidem should have remained, that his pride, history and past statements should have anchored him. No, saint reader! Good leadership is not stubbornness. Loyalty does not mean remaining inside a collapsing house whose roof has been torn off, exposing everyone inside to destruction.
Come to think of it, Chief Enoidem was not just a supporter of Governor Umo Eno. He was one of the leaders who stood firmly behind his emergence. He sold the message of unity. He preached peace as Leader of the Maintain Peace Movement (MPM). He canvassed togetherness across Akwa Ibom State. When the Governor took the hard but important decision to leave the PDP in for the enlightened interest of the state, he called for unity, understanding, and collective purpose, beginning with those who had traversed the 31 local government areas to rally support for his vision.
For Enoidem to remain behind, purely for ego, would have created a contradiction, a man who led a governorship campaign built on unity choosing to stay in a divided house simply to protect pride and past positions. Leadership sometimes demands the humility to admit that circumstances have changed. This is where ego gives way to responsibility, where pride bows to state interest.
Enoidem commands a gargantuan political structure across his senatorial district and has honest supporters in the State. Therefore, before now, consultation was inevitable. Explanation was necessary. And the message to his followers was: look beyond sentiment. Look beyond old battles. See the bigger picture - a united Akwa Ibom for President Tinubu, Governor Umo Eno and Senator Godswill Akpabio.
However, no notion could be more puerile and laughable than the idea that a man who graduated at 24 and opened his own law firm just a few years later cannot thrive outside politics.
Have we forgotten that Emmanuel Enoidem has been out of government since June 2016, when he resigned as Commissioner for Commerce, Trade and Industry? In the ten years since, he has not accepted a single government appointment, yet he has survived, assisted the less privileged, lived comfortably, and flourished.
Enoidem is not only rich; he is truly wealthy and deeply accomplished. He laid professional and entrepreneurial roots that remain strong today and are built to last well over five decades. His business ventures are solid, enduring, and spread across the country. For now, service to his fatherland remains his foremost priority.
At this point, Credit must be given to Governor Umo Eno, who understands what loyalty and sacrifice truly mean. Pastor Eno recognises those who laboured when it mattered and understands that leadership thrives when experience, intellect and commitment are brought to the table. That understanding explains why he reached out, to build a peaceful and united house.
Therefore, as Emmanuel Enoidem, SAN, steps into the APC this Friday, his own is a story of a man who allowed love for his state to override personal pride. A man who chose unity over ego. The future over the past. Akwa Ibom over self.
Perhaps this is what the South African poet and philosopher; Gift Mona, meant when she observed that the success of any society rests on leaders who choose service over self-interest.
History will record this moment. And when it does, Emmanuel Enoidem will be remembered as a man who understood when conviction must bow to the higher call of unity and enlightened state interest. That, in the end, is genuine statesmanship.
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