By Bassey Nkponam
ORON
The Akwa Ibom governor has stressed the need to value relationships by humans, as it is an asset that must be preserved from politics and ethnicity.
Pastor Umo Eno, who bared his mind, Thursday, at the traditional marriage ceremony between the deputy governor’s daughter, Miss Blessing Eyakenyi and Mr. Olumuyiwa Adewunmi of Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, which took place at Oron Sports Stadium in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, said there was need to protect and preserve human relationships as valuable assets that should not be subjected to the erratic caprices of politics and ethnicity.
Eno recalled the over 21 years of inter-family friendship with the Eyakenyi family, saying, people who leave relationships over flimsy differences risk losing the benefit relationship would hold in the long run.
According to him, one lesson about life is that it is all about relationships which, irrespective of how bad, should be preserved, saying, “I am not just here as the governor. Even if I was not the governor, I would have still been here. One lesson about life is that life is all about relationship. Irrespective of how bad, keep it. We have known the Eyakenyi family quite long. We have been close to this family for over 20 years.
“The point I am trying to make is this, if these families along the line had had any issue, you can imagine what today would have been. We have had a good working relationship with the Eyakenyi family. As a deputy governor, she is a mother, a sister and a friend. God has helped us with all round peace and we thank God for that”.
Eno congratulated the couple on their fulfilment of traditional marriage ceremony, and commended the two families for not allowing the ethnic distance or political affiliations to be a hindrance to the marriage between the two love birds, as love does not yield to such sentiments.
The governor, who described the marriage as a cross-tribal, cross-cultural and cross-political marriage, expressed delight over the mix of dignitaries at the event, which included chieftains of several political parties, ethnic groups and states, noting that such co-existence remains the prevailing atmosphere in Akwa Ibom.
“This is a cross-tribal, cross-cultural or a cross-political marriage. Love does not know political party. So when you fight, remember that your children are still out there. They are like water and they can meet at any point. That is why we need to pursue the peace of God and love. Let politics be played with decency. Let it be played on issues and let’s stop attacking each other.
“I want to thank God for His place in our State. The political temperature in this State is almost zero. That does not mean that we don’t know where we come from. I have seen distinguished Senator Ita Enang, I have seen His Excellency, Sam Enwang, I have seen the director of the National Population Commission and others. That is who we are and that is who we will continue to be. We work together, and we are looking at a common goal of providing dividends of democracy,” Eno advised.
The governor charged the couple to take care of each other, eschew all sorts of abusive tendencies and external influences, while maintaining the things that endeared them to each other at the initial phase of their relationship.
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