29/04/2026
Umo Eno and Uwem Okoko: When Friendship,Trust Speaks Volume
By N.T.A EFO
Yesterday, Uwem Okoko, a civil engineer, Fellow of the Nigeria Society of Engineers and Managing Director of Hensek Integrated Services Ltd, unarguably the best indigenous road construction firm in the South South region of Nigeria (for modest clarification), was awarded a Honorary Doctor of Engineering Degree by the Akwa Ibom State University, the best state owned University in the South South.
The Visitor to the institution, Governor Umo Eno, a business analytic researcher and holder of a doctoral degree in Public Administration, who celebrated his 62nd birthday a day before, was in attendance.
Aside attending the function as Visitor to the University, he was also there to share and honour his friends and associates who were amongst the graduands and those honoured with Honorary doctorate degrees like Okoko.
Those who know Governor Eno will tell you that he is intentional about everything he does. He is never under pressure. He does the things he believes in and though he panders to superior opinions, as he is also a listening Governor who loves to learn, he is wise enough to differentiate between wise and foolish counsel.
He is even much more intentional about the relationships he keeps and the people he associates and works with.
Political activities aside, Governor Umo Eno is one person who loves his space and can only share it with anyone at his pleasure. He never goes after someone's space, even at the person's pleasure. You can say he is a contented person.
That doesn't make him a recluse though. He keeps company, plays and have fun but he chooses his friends and associates, and keeps them very close. But because he has always been a strong example of courage, determination and dedication to enterprise, a lot of people seek his company, whether as associates or as friends. Even when he is aware of this, he still is the one who makes the choice of those to associate with. It is this selective association that has enabled him keep a list of only A-list friends and associates, most of who share the same character of being focused, determined and dedicated to whatever call they are into.
In politics, you meet, the beautiful, the handsome, the ugly, the best, the worst, the bad, the tall, the short, the intelligent, the foolish, the wise, those who believe in God, those who do not, those who are generous, those who are stingy, those who are greedy, all manner of people.
As Governor, it has always been his creative ability to know how to deal with all of these people, as he remains Governor to and for all. And this he has done well, to the cheers of all Akwa Ibom people regardless of religious and political beliefs, status and social standing.
Okoko has been a permanent fixture in the government of Governor Eno, especially as a regular on trips, tours, functions and meetings with the Governor, within and outside the country.
Not many believe he should be on those trips, tours, meetings and events. Not many also believe he should even be seen anywhere near Government House, the Governor or at political events. Many others think he should only be seen in the premises of Hensek Integrated Services Ltd or on the sites where the company has work to do.
So, why is he that close to the Governor and his government?
Those of us who have known Okoko for years know him to possess certain character traits that have defined him, and they have been as constant as the northern star over the years.
Like Governor Eno, Okoko loves his space. Like Governor Eno, he allows you into his space at his own pleasure and does not go seeking to live or play in people's spaces, no matter the gratification involved. He is also a principled, focused and determined fellow. As son of a former House of Representatives member and political giant who had good contacts and with elder brothers and cousins in good positions in the nation's oil industry, Okoko refused to do any of his internship and attachments with the then Mobil Producing Nigeria while in school, prefering to serve at his father's Hensek, where he learned the ropes of power installation and civil engineering, leading to where he is today.
As the Managing Director of Hensek in later years, he has combined the doggedness, smartness, toughness he learnt at the father's feet with the courage, dedication and determination he picked up through varied experiences and has succeeded as an entrepreneur. Despite the success, he can tell you the road wasn't that smooth and straight. He will tell you of trials, denials, doubts, rejections, difficulties and troubles. Even after succeeding, he will tell you it's been through the grace and mercies of God which is always abundantly around him.
For him, politics is an area he would rather keep away from. But due to his generous and compassionate nature, people keep pulling him in deeper and deeper into politics. And for him, he is in politics for the sake of people. For, on his own, he is better alone. But through politics, he has a larger platform to assist a lot of people and his community to get better.
That Governor Eno spotted him much earlier for association and friendship is a testament to his character.
Many do not know that it is at the pleasure of the Governor that Okoko is always around him. In a nation where people have to bribe their way into presidential and governors' entourages, it is hard to tell people he prefers to keep away from most of the trips, meetings, events but it is the Governor who sees and makes him an important part of his activities.
Is the Governor wrong? No. Why? As a Governor, the paraphernalia of office offers new insights to life. If you are not wise (and of course Governor Eno is), you may be doing the things you never envisaged doing or keep the companies you do not wish to. But Governor Eno is a detailed person. He reads. He listens. He observes. These he does wisely. He knows the character of everyone around and about him. He knows those to trust with responsibilities and those he cannot.
After reading Okoko like a book, the Governor has come to believe greatly in his counsel, his company and his acumen. He knows he is not around him for monetary and pecuniary purposes. He knows if he wants him to carry out a responsibility, he will do so cheerfully. The Governor knows he will not take a bribe from anybody to betray the government. The fact that he was made to oversee many of the political activities of government, including recently, leading, as the President General, the Arise With Renewed Hope Initiative, gives a lot of insight to this. The governor knows he is like him, an entrepreneur, who only found himself, like him again, in politics, to serve the people.
For a long time to come, Okoko will keep being beside, around and about the Governor, at the Governor's pleasure. This should not bother anyone. The question should be; is his being around the Governor affecting the jobs his company does? No! He runs a firm that is structured, and where people take their responsibilities seriously. Is his being around the Governor giving him undue advantages in contracts? No! There are several other construction firms working for the Government. At the moment, ther are over a hundred direct civil construction jobs going on in the state and Hensek is not handling up to 10 of them. There are also 62 one per local government area projects, over 1000 housing projects etc, across the state handled by different construction firms.
The Governor sees him as that brother, that associate who is not after what he can get from the government. He is that close person the Governor can send on errands and knows he will deliver. He is that close friend who can give the Governor good counsel, a friend who is reliable, dependable, trustworthy, upright, faithful, honourable and loyal.
Though Okoko is not the only of such friends, he is one, and he has earned it.
At the AKSU event, the Governor who spoke to the graduands on the power of enterprise, had himself and Okoko in mind. Both built their companies, Royalty and Hensek, from little beginnings to enviable heights. Both dared to dream big for their companies.
The Governor whose doctoral thesis was on Government and Private Sector Development: A Study of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in Akwa Ibom State, said "The world rewards those who dream, dare and drive change through ideas and vision. This is the same message I am giving you today: do something daring, dream of something, however small, put in the building blocks for its actualization and you will be mightily surprised where such may lead you."
To a friendship of shared vision and ambition, complementary strengths, trust and reliability, similar work ethic and standards, and personal compatibility, to Okoko's recognition and honour by AKSU, and to a Governor who keeps being intentional in all he does to raise the bar of progress, growth and development in Akwa Ibom State, I raise a glass.
