By Nsikak Ekanem
In Akwa Ibom today, apart from Deputy Governor Moses Ekpo, Uwemedimo Nwoko, the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, is probably the only cabinet official in the Udom Emmanuel-led administration that had populist leaning to a point of drawing media attention before getting into government. It was that backdrop that informed mixed reaction by some concerned individuals.
Some had considered his coming into former Governor Godswill Akpabio’s cabinet, barely four months into the end of that administration, as a measure by the then governor to shore up his credibility base while others saw it as a reward for Nwoko’s consistency in engaging government and powerful individuals on issues of human rights and constitutionalism. In fact, there was also the fear that his appointment was depopulating the ranks of genuine advocates of the masses as well as a ploy by the government to buy him over.
Nwoko, who had been in private legal practice for over two decades, makes a name largely through his doggedness in legal activism. In environment where sycophancy is a vast thriving industry and toeing a line other than overcrowded one is often seen as aberration, Nwoko’s activism remains exceptional and daredevil venture.
Based on his antecedents, Nwoko’s occupation of the Attorney General’s chambers in Akwa Ibom could be said to be role reversal. The office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Justice, the only non-elected political post in the executive councils at the federal and state levels that enjoys constitutional backing, is, as expressed by the nomenclature, a dual functions office with one leaning more to serving the government of the day and the other holding brief for the larger interest of the public.
In a society where the need to deepening the rule of law is of discomfiture to public office holders and powerful persons, Nwoko could be said to be on the flipside of his legal activism. In fact, his precursor as a pro-masses lawyer and defender of the defenseless – traits many of his colleagues lack – would constitute benchmark for which he would be judged.
Among sensitive briefs currently handled by the state is the prosecution of accused persons in the trial of the alleged killers of former deputy speaker Okon Uwah, who was killed last year in the thick of the 2015 electioneering. As the chief law officer of the state, the prosecution is under the direct watch of Nwoko. It is a twist of fate in that at the teething age of Nwoko’s rights activism, Uwah was the unseen man that provided some sort of backing to the then young lawyer, particularly in the celebrated legal battle to make former Chief of Air Staff Nsikak Eduok, come face to face with hangman’s noose over allegation bordering on murder of his domestic staff. His office has also instituted some legal actions in court, which determination by the courts would have far-reaching bearings on not only Akwa Ibom as a distinct component federating unit but generally on Nigeria’s beleaguered federation.
Owing to Nigeria’s peculiarity, while some would judge him on his handling of briefs on his table others would appraise him on a number of souls he uses his office to lift from the planet of penury to the paradise of prosperity, whereas, the office bears fabulous name but no juicy fruits.
Emmanuel can borrow a leaf from Lagos State government under Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola, who made Prof Yemi Osinbajo and Ade Ipaye as Attorneys General central to the functionality of the state government in their respective eras.
Interestingly, Nwoko is reported to have said that he is still operating with “same old perspectives” of a quintessential activist lawyer. As gathered by this writer, the human rights community still reckon with him, especially as Nwoko, who lives in uncompleted house in the outskirt of Uyo, still keep up with the Joneses, an attitude that is in scarcity among top office holders in Akwa Ibom.
- Ekanem, writes from Akwa Ibom State
The post Role reversal for Akwa Ibom quintessential activist appeared first on Vanguard News.
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