Prince Michael Nku Abuo|21 August 2017
Yesterday, I attended the funeral service of late Hon Mark Ukpo at his country home at Okpoma in Yala LGA and below are some of the lessons learnt from my sojourn there.
(Please this analysis is personal and made from independent findings).
1. It seems to me that death has more friends than life.
2. Death has no enemy, it befriends all and comes at spark.
3. Beyond the politics and rituals of speaking good of the dead -Hon Mark Ukpo was indeed a good, simple and humble man.
4. As a true politician you should be at home and have a home at your village. For in the end this is were you will return to.
5. You can build the best of friendship across your political divide. Hon Mark's best friend during his short service at the National Assembly was of UPN-Assam Assam, SAN though he was NPN.
6. He was a man who placed the interest of others before his own. (Hon Mark made Assam the leader of the liberals at the House of Reps though he conveyed this gathering of majority of members of the House).
7. There is something wrong and unusual with the current state of how politics is played in our state compared to how it was then and in the nature of Hon Mark.
8. The said gathering for his rites brought together people of the major political parties in the state, who sat as one and were unanimous of Hon Mark's trait as a true statesman.
9. Aside politics our major goal as a people should be Cross River first, no matter what, we must not let anyone or group of persons come against our collective interest as a people and state.
10. You can be godly (God fearing in every sense of it, humble and down to earth) and still be respected and make the best of politicians.
11. You can be a politician and still have time to care and love your family truly. There's no excuse whatsoever for you not to care or be there for your family.
12. As a man who wants to go far in politics be extra careful who you make your wife. A supportive and faithful wife may be all you need to attain your next height and keep your legacies intact.
13. Hon Mark Ukpo is unarguably the first Northern Governor of Cross River State we never had. In 1999 he ran his elections against Donald-PDP on the platform of APP and his party was majority in the House Of Assembly but how he lost in the general governorship elections is an open conscience.
14. My generation, the youths of this age have a lot to learn from the older generation and Hon Mark's personality in terms of their open display of brotherhood irrespective of political party differences.
15. The North of Cross River State is indeed most backward in terms of infrastructural development in Cross River and needs intervention urgently.
16. In all as politicians and humans of other endeavours what we will be remembered for is the impact we made on people and not the wealth we accumulated, even the said wealth will be Ieft behind for another to use at will and we will be buried with nothing.
17. The Ukpo family are one big united and blessed family who stand for one another and therefore have stood for and made many others.
18. Don't forget those who stood by you in your struggles and be magnanimous to those who an lost out and show love in life for it will be more appreciated than after death.
May the soul of Hon Mark Ukpo rest in peace and like him may the labour of his likes not be in vain…and may their light shine on in us….Amen!
Prince Michael Nku Abuo,JP
20th August 2017
