Brig-Gen. Udoakagha Jacob Esuene, Atta of Eket

Brig-Gen. Udoakagha Jacob Esuene, Atta of Eket: 

An Upright Military Officer, Astute Administrator, Pioneering State Governor, Ibibio Pioneer, a Loving Husband and Father (October 7, 1936 –  April 6, 1993)

by Samuel Asamudo

Introduction

Brigadier-General Udokagha Jacob Esuene was the first Military Governor of South-Eastern State from May 27, 1967 to July 29, 1975. According to late Governor Esuene’s wife, Senator (Arch Bishop) Helen Esuene, while the war was still ongoing in Calabar, the new state capital and some other parts of the newly created state, Governor Esuene started work in a temporary office at Ogoja (Abang 2017). He assembled a team of experienced civilian administrators drawn from the federal civil service and the civil service of the defunct secessionist Republic of  Biafra. Over a period of eight years and two months (more than two and a half of which were war years), the nascent administration achieved landmark physical, economic, social, and political milestones which helped to integrate the previously neglected and marginalized part of the country into the new twelve-state federal structure. 

After the Gowon Administration in which Brig-Gen Esuene served was removed from office in a bloodless military coup, Esuene lost his military commission and rank as a result of an unwarranted witch-hunt orchestrated by tribal leaders and senior civil servants who felt that Brig-Gen Esuene’s government did not favour them. However, with time people were more objective in their assessment of his Administration and Esuene was not only praised for his exemplary leadership and achievements in the infrastructural, institutional and manpower development of the state, he was cleared of false accusations, his remunerations and military rank were restored retroactively to July 29, 1975 when he left office.

A Royal Heritage

Brig-Gen (Chief) Udoakagha Jacob Esuene was born on October 17, 1936 at Ekpene Afaha Eket in the former Eket Division of then Calabar Province of Nigeria. He was the son of Chief Jacob Esuene of Ekpene Afaha Eket village. In the oral history of Afaha Eket villages as related by Barr Akpadia Etukakpan, who is himself an indigene of Ekpene Afaha Eket, the genealogy of Esuene’s grandfather is traceable through Udoakagha Akanimo Akanimo Akpadia to Edon Akanimo Akpadia Ayekong Ndogh, the original founder of Afaha Eket. General Esuene’s mother was Madam Lucy Esuene of Ekpo Odungide (Adong Idi) family of Ekpene Afaha Eket. Going by Gen. Esuene’s family tree,  he was a scion of an ancient Afaha lineage. Generally, the Afaha people in Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas  trace their origin to “Edik Afaha” (Afaha Creek) located in Isangele (Usak Edet in Efik/Ibibio) in the Rey del Rey region (Ndian Division) of South West Cameroons (Akpan 2023:2). Currently Afaha people are found in Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia and Imo States as well as the Republic of Cameroons (Nyong & Mkpong 2009).

According to Barr Akpadia Etukakpan,  oral history of Afaha Eket indicates that Udoakagha, Brig-Gen Esuene’s great grandfather and namesake, was a very prosperous and generous chief who was known to have had many children but who took in the children and grandchildren of his relations to bring them up. Some of the children of Udoakagha Akanimo were Mkpo Nne Udoakagha, Adong Idi (Odungide) Udoakagha, Mfanam Udoakagha, etc.

Brig-Gen Esuene was not just an Ekid son, he was also a famous son of a proud and brave Afaha lineage which had thrived in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria for a very long time. Echoing two Ibibio historians, Prof. Monday Noah and Obiofiong, Akpan (2023:1), posits that Afaha is the core of Ibibio people and “Afaha kinship and Usak Edet thesis permeate all sections of Akwa Ibom State”. According to Akpan (2023:7), historically, Afaha people were warriors and natural leaders and Brig-Gen Udoakagha Jacob Esuene was  the first in the line of Afaha-Ibibio people who had served South-Eastern/Cross River and Akwa Ibom states at the highest level of leadership (op. cit. p.9). Today the Afaha people are found in almost all the villages of Eket and Esit Eket Local Government Areas as well as Ibibio and Annang lands. 

Gen. Esuene’s father, Chief Jacob Esuene was a no-nonsense man (Ikoiwak 1999:43). No doubt, such a non-sense Afaha father who was well-grounded in Afaha leadership traditions, social and cultural values and mores, would have instilled discipline, strict moral behaviour, industry and a sense of purpose into the young Esuene, qualities which might have attracted him to a military career. Young Esuene was the only son of his father. His other sibling was his sister, Nsiin (Nsien in Efik/Ibibio language).  

What is in a Name?

In late the 1920’s the Colonial Government had imposed Efik language on the whole of Calabar Province (Jeffreys 1936:106). Thereafter Efik became the vernacular taught in schools and used in commerce and social interactions in the whole of Calabar Province (Offiong et al 2013:25). When Brig-Gen Esuene was registered in school, the  Ekid name “Udokaa” given to him at birth was spelt and written in Efik as “Udoakagha” or sometimes abbreviated to “Udo”. In Efik/Ibibio language as well as in Ekid dialect, “Udo” means the second son of the father or mother. Barr Etukakpan explained that “Akaa” (Akagha” in Efik/Ibibio) in itself means the ”ruler”, “one who is greater than others”, thus “Udoakagha” would be the second son who was greater than the others or who was a ruler over others. It is little wonder that Udoakagha Esuene became the ruler of a political division of the Nigerian federation. General Esuene who was named after his great grandfather, Udoakagha Akanimo, really lived his name!

Just as his first named was spelt and written in Efik, his native surname “Asunno” was written as “Esuene” in Efik/Ibibio. The word translates literarily into “Shame” in English. With this meaning in mind, one would naturally wonder why parents would name their child “Shame”.  However, Clasberry (2012:15) explained that “Naming practices that tell histories behind names were the norms in Nigeria-Ibibio, and in fact Africa, until the encroachment of the two forces of Christianization and colonization, more than any other forces in history, shattered the connection between personal name and cultural affinity, and have ever-since contributed to the gradual erosion of African cultures and names.”  Clasberry (ibid.) further explained that among the Ibibios, names were given to signify the history of a child’s family or the circumstances of the child’s birth. For instance, in a polygamous society, the name Asunno (Shame) could be given to a child whose mother was unable to give birth for a long period of her married life while her co-wives were delivering children without much ado. In the olden days, childless women were shamed in the society and were derogatorily called “Ada” (“barren” in Efik, Ibibio and Ekid dialect). If the “Ada” eventually gave birth to a child, such a child could be named by the mother “Asunno” to convey the notion of “shame to the people who mocked me for not having a child of my own”, or “I endured so much pain before I gave birth to this child” or still, “my shame has been wiped away by the birth of this child!” Dr Esuene (Asunno) Mkpong-Onyong Akpe’kanim Sampson, a London, UK-based Geoscientist and ICT Leader from Afaha-Eket Odoro Enen village in Eket Local Government area explained that that was how his grandfather, late Rev. Samson Esuene Inoh got his name, Asunno (Esuene).  In the case of Gen. Esuene, it is not known exactly the circumstances under which his grandfather was named “Asunno” (Esuene) but in the words of Clasberry (2012:70), “…personal names in any culture are a reservoir of information about individual and/or collective identity of a people, language history and social relationships.” 

The Education and Training of Brig-Gen Udoakagha Jacob Esuene

Brig-Gen Udoakagha Jacob Esuene started his formal primary education at the Afaha Eket Group School from 1940 (Ikoiwak 1999:43). Like most schools in the Eket area, Afaha Eket Group School had been established by the Qua Iboe Mission which had been founded at Ibeno in 1887 by the Irish Presbyterian Missionary, Rev Samuel Arthur Bill (Graham 1984:39). Ikoiwak (op. cit.) provided Esuene’s progression from Primary School to Etinan Institute and Teacher Training College, Uyo in this way:  Esuene transferred from Afaha Eket Group School to Ibeno Central School to complete his primary education and sit for the Standard XI examination. This he did successfully in 1948. (Although Ikoiwak did not indicate why Esuene transferred from Afaha Eket Group School to Ibeno Central School, it could have been that Afaha Eket Group School like many other primary schools in Eket area at that time, did not have up to Standard XI). Esuene’s brilliance and thirst for western education took him in 1950 to another Qua Iboe Mission-owned school, the Etinan Institute which, according to Akpan (2015:90) had been established at Okat in 1891. Okat is a village in present day Onna Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The school was a special primary school called the Qua Iboe Mission Boys Institute and it was later transferred from Okat to Nditia in Afaha Eket area in 1896; in 1903 it was relocated to Ikot Edong in Abak; and in 1913 it was closed down but was reopened at Etinan in 1915 with funding from Ireland (Graham 1984:301). According to Akpan (2015:90), an Irish Presbyterian Minister had bequeathed money to Qua Iboe Mission for the establishment of a school in West Africa. Etinan Institute was the beneficiary of this bequeathal. The school gradually evolved into a secondary School from 1937 and in 1938 the primary section was closed down; in 1944, the school entered 7 students as the first set to take the Cambridge Senior School Certificate Examination (Akpan 2015:90). Thus by 1950 when Esuene was admitted into the school, it had become a full-fledged co-educational institution in 1949 with a house system and full English secondary school curriculum. Esuene completed his studies at the school in 1954 and obtained the Cambridge Senior School Certificate (Ikoiwak 1999:44) 

At that time, teaching and colonial service careers were the most readily available options, so Esuene was employed as a teacher. From 1956 Esuene proceeded to the Government Teacher Training College, Uyo (now University of Uyo, obtained his Teachers’ Grade II certificate in 1957;  thereafter he taught briefly at the Central School, Ikot Ubo in present day Nsit Ubium Local Government Area (Ikoiwak 1999:44). Ikot Uboh was then the headquarters of Eket District which covered Eket, Oron and parts of Nsit District (Arrowsmith 1991).  In 1957, Teacher Esuene joined the Nigerian Army as did many teachers in Eket at that time (Ikoiwak 1999:44).  At that time, the three major component regions of the country, i.e. Western Region, Eastern Region and the Northern Region, had already become self-governing, and the Royal Nigerian Army was being expanded and indigenized in preparation for Nigerian independence in 1960 (Adeyeye 2024:11). 

Military Career (1957 – 1975) 

Ikoiwak’s (1999:44) details Brig-Gen Esuene’s military career as follows: He joined the Nigerian Army on March 18, 1958 as a Cadet and received his initial military training at the Regular Officer Training School, Teshie, Ghana before proceeding to the Mons Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, England for officer training. At that time, Nigerian Cadets were given the initial six-months training at Teshie, Ghana before proceeding to the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst England for further officer training. Gen. Esuene attended the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, Berkshire, England from where he graduated and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant into the Nigerian Army. He also attended the Small Arms School Corps (SASC), Hythe, Kent in the South of England (Ikoiwak 1999:44). Gen. Esuene trained at the School of Infantry, Warminster, England before returning to Nigeria for deployment. Esuene’s initial posting was the 1st Batallion of the Nigerian Army which was deployed to the Congo for Peacekeeping Operations from November 1961, and he returned to Nigeria in May 1962 with the rank of a full Lieutenant. 

It should be noted that the former Nigerian Military Head of State and later civilian President, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, also joined the Nigerian Army in March 1958, and was a course mate of Esuene. Like Gen. Esuene, Gen. Obasanjo attended the Mons Officer Cadet School at Aldershot, England from September 1958!  

According to Ikoiwak (ibid.) in 1963 Lt. Esuene was promoted to the rank of Captain and later in the year when the Nigerian Government decided to establish the Nigerian Air Force, Capt. Esuene and three other Army Officers were selected for transfer to the newly established Nigerian Air Force (Ikoiwak 1999:44). Capt Esuene was sent to West Germany for training and with his knowledge of the German language acquired at Sandhurst, Capt Esuene took charge of all the Nigerian Air Force personnel who were training with the German Air Force. While still in Germany Capt. Esuene was promoted to the rank of Major in October 1964 (ibid.). This was an Army rank although he was then deployed to the Nigerian Air Force. This explains why Brig-Gen Esuene continued to wear Army ranks until he left the Nigerian Armed Forces in 1975 – he was a Nigerian Army officer posted to the Nigerian Air Force! 

According to Ikoiwak (1999:44) on Major Esuene’s return to Nigeria in June 1965, Esuene was appointed the Commanding Officer (CO) of the only Nigerian Air Force Base which was located in Kaduna. Under his command, the Air Force Base in Kaduna was commissioned on January 3, 1966 (ibid.). This event took place less than two weeks before the first military coup of January 15, 1966. 

Military Coup and its Aftermath

The new military government transferred Major Esuene to Air Force Headquarters, Lagos as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) Operations (ibid.) Six months later, on July 29, 1966, while Major Esuene was the SASO Operations, some elements of the Nigerian Army from the Northern part of the country, carried out a successful counter-coup against the Federal Military Government headed by Maj-Gen Aguiyi Ironsi and the Chief of Staff Army, Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon became the new Head of the Federal Military Government. In the countercoup, Maj-Gen  Ironsi and the Military Governor of the Western Region, Col. Fayuji, were killed and several military officers and civilians from the Eastern Region were executed in a senseless slaughter which compelled Nigerians from the eastern part of the country to relocate to Eastern Region. The standoff between Lt-Col Gowon and Lt-Col Ojukwu, the Military Governor of Eastern Region as to who should succeed Gen Ironsi and the pogrom that ensued during and after the counter-coup, led to the creation of 12 states on May 27, 1967 and the appointment of Major Esuene as the Military Governor of South Eastern State, one of the twelve states. Major Esuene was promoted Lt-Col and with the other eleven State Military Governors was made a member of the Supreme Military Council of which Maj-Gen Yakubu Gowon was the Chairman and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. According to Ikoiwak (op. cit., p.45), in the course of his governorship, Lt-Col Esuene was promoted a full Colonel and later a Brigadier-General in 1972.  

Military Governor of South Eastern State

As the first military Governor of the newly created South Eastern State, Esuene set up an administrative structure from the scratch. He assembled experienced civil servants of South Eastern State origin who had served in the former Eastern Region (Biafra) civil service and the federal civil service to help kick-start the administration of the state. Some of the notable civil servants were the late Chief Michael Ani MON as the Secretary to the State Government and Head of Service; the current Paramount Ruler of Eket Local Government Area, HRM Obong E.C.D. Abia, a Chartered Accountant in public practice (Accountant General) and later Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance; late Chief Udo Udo Okorouen, another Chartered Accountant and an experienced Tax expert to head the Eastern States Interim Assets and Liabilities Agency (ESIALA); late Chief A.H. Ikwang from the diplomatic service and late Mr Etukudo Essien as Permanent Secretaries; and many others. Mr Justice D.A.R Alexander (from the Island of St Lucia in the Caribbeans) who was a High Court Judge in Lagos was appointed the first Chief Judge of the State. Governor Esuene set up the  State Executive Council which according to Mr W.O. Inah, a former Head of Service of Cross River State, was made up of only 12 Commissioners. There was also a Public/Civil Service Commission. Esuene set up a Department of Development Administration to supervise the Administration of the 10 divisions of the young state, namely, Calabar, Ogoja, Ikom, Obudu, Itu, Uyo, Ikot Ekpene, Abak, Eket, Opobo which was renamed Ikot Abasi in 1976. Oron Division was created in 1970 after the Alhaji Ali Akilu Commission Report. Each of the Divisions which used to be headed by a Divisional Officer (DO) was now headed by a Development Executive/Senior Development Executive.  

For Commissioners, Esuene tapped politicians from South Eastern State who had held top positions at the federal level or in the erstwhile Eastern Region and seasoned educationists: 

Chief Louis Orok Edet, for Inspector General of Police (Ministry of Home Affairs)

Mr Vincent D. Uwemedimo (Attorney General & Commissioner for Justice)

Late Chief Michael Ogon, former Administrator for Port Harcourt in Eastern Region (Commissioner for Economic Development & Reconstruction); 

Chief Dianabasi J. Umondak, an educationist and clergyman (Commissioner for Agriculture & Natural Resources)

Chief Anthony George Umoh (Commissioner for Education)

Mr Emmanuel Essien (Commissioner for Works & Transport) 

Chief Macdonald Odey Ogar (Commissioner for Survey & Town Planning

Mr. D.S. Udo-Inyang (Commissioner for Finance)

Mr Joseph Agba (Commissioner for Information and Culture),

Late Mr Justice S.E.J. Ecoma (Commissioner for Development Administration)

Chief Bassey Urua Ukpong (Commissioner for Health)

Mr Patrick Odey Ode (Commissioner for Trade & Industry)

With the above government structure, the Esuene regime charted a new development trajectory that emphasized the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged during the war, rehabilitation of people displaced during the 30-month conflict, initiation and completion of new infrastructure to give a facelift to the previously neglected area, provision of social services including health, education, and social welfare, establishment of economic institutions to power development, promotion of agriculture, industry, transport, trade and culture and generally took development to the grassroot. Governor Esuene’s government placed priority on the development of Calabar as a modern state capital. 

Development Strides

Under Brig-Gen Esuene, South Eastern State recorded giant strides in infrastructural and industrial development, education and manpower development, transportation, health, agriculture and rural development, tourism and culture, especially with the Second National Development Plan 1970 -74 which was launched immediately after the Civil War with focus on the 3 R’s, namely Reconciliation, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction (Ukaugo 2017:70-74). One of the key institutions which drove agricultural development in the new state was the South Eastern State Marketing Board which wqs set up to encourage farmers in the state by ensuring the obtained the best prices for their products.

Notable achievements of the Esuene Administration included the construction of new roads and the rehabilitation of old ones damaged during the 30-month civil war, construction of the State Secretariat at Calabar, the Calabar Sports Stadium, the State Housing Estate in Calabar, the building of new schools and upgrading of old ones, establishment of the State Library in Calabar and Divisional libraries at the divisional headquarters, building of the Cultural Centre, Calabar, The Polytechnic, Calabar, the Calabar Campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka which metamorphosed into the University of Calabar, Calabar-Itu Road, the Calabar - Ikom Highway, the Advanced Teachers’ College Uyo, etc. In order to speed up the economic and industrial development of the state, the Esuene regime established the state-owned Mercantile Bank of Nigeria, Manilla Insurance Company Ltd and the Investment Trust Ltd.  The government partnered with the Romanian government to set up the  Seromwood Industries Ltd, Calabar and the Calabar Veneer and Plywood Ltd (Calvenply). Also established were the Asbestonit Company Ltd, Oron, Seastate Seafood Ltd and the Champion Breweries, Uyo. In order to disseminate information to keep the people informed of government programs and development efforts, the government established the South Eastern State Newspaper Corporation, Calabar (publishers of the daily Nigerian Chronicle and the Sunday Chronicle), and the South Eastern State Broadcasting Corporation (Radio and TV stations). Metropolitan Hotel, Calabar, Qua River Hotel Phase 1 in Eket and Catering Rest Houses at the divisional headquarters provided lodging/accommodation and leisure for business visitors and the population generally. South Eastern State Coastal Transport Ltd (SESCOT) provided buses for intra-state transport and pontoons for crossing the Cross River from the mainland part of the state to the state capital. 

As the civil war was ongoing, Brig-General Esuene recorded one singular achievement which is easily missed by commentators. He successfully lobbied the Federal Military Government to ensure that Mobil Producing Nigeria located its operational base onshore South Eastern State. According to Akpan (Akpan 2013:145), late Justice Udo Udoma and late Mrs Emma Brown assisted to make this possible. As an inducement to the company, Esuene’s government allocated land at the Stubbs Creek Forest to the company to build its tank farm, offices, oil treatment and export facilities, and other ancillary and supporting facilities. The initial plan of the company had been to use a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility to commence production with minimal utilization of onshore facilities immediately the mainland part of the state was liberated. That singular bold move by Governor Esuene regime ensured that the oil company located its operational base at the Qua Iboe Terminal (QIT) thereby ensuring that the people of the state enjoyed the reward of supporting the Federal Military Government against the secessionist Biafran regime and benefited fully from oil exploration and production in the area, e.g. employment and manpower development, provision of infrastructure in the host communities, business opportunities, and overall social and economic development of the state. 

The Change of Government that Truncated Brig-Gen Esuene’s Sterling Military Career 

Instability seems to be an inbuilt feature of military dictatorships. For almost 14 years, i.e. from January 16, 1966 when the first military coup took place to 1979 when Nigeria reverted to the return to democratic governance, Nigeria experienced three military coups. On July 29, 1975 the third military change of government was carried out by Nigerian military officers who were opposed to Gowon’s style of governance and his failure to honour his promise to return the country to civil rule in 1976. General Yabuku Gowon was removed from office alongside all the state military governors who were said to have become very powerful as members of the Supreme Military Council (SMC). Brig-General Muritala Mohammed became the new Military Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. Twelve new military governors were appointed but unlike the Gowon regime, they were not members of the SMC. Col. Paul Omu was the new Governor of South Eastern State which was later re-christened Cross River State.

The new military regime embarked on the process of ridding the government, the military and the civil service of corruption, inefficiency and abuse of power. Ten of the 12 military governors were dismissed from the military for corruption and inefficiency. Unfortunately the process of identifying the guilty officers was not spelt out but the exercise was carried out with “immediate effect” which became the mantra of the new Head of State. Under the guise of fighting corruption, inefficiency and abuse of office, well placed officials of the government who had axes to grind with other officials who were not favoured by the new regime, used the opportunity to purge their enemies from the government. The affected officials were not afforded any opportunity to defend themselves or to offer explanations to clarify or justify their actions in government. Brig-Gen Esuene was not only removed from his position as Military Governor of South Eastern State, his military career was truncated and he lost his hard-earned rank as a Brigadier-General in the Nigerian Army.  

Highly placed state government officials and tribal leaders who felt that Governor Esuene had unduly favoured people from his area in appointments and deployments had a field day and  levelled all kinds of false allegations against the Governor. These people succeeded because the new Military Governor, not being an indigene of the state, did not understand the political intrigues of the politicians and senior civil servants. For instance, Esuene was accused of obtaining a bank loan from the state government owned Mercantile Bank without following due process, i.e. not waiting in the queue. He was also accused of being allocated an unreasonably large expanse of land in the State Government owned Housing Estate at Calabar without payment.  According to Ikoiwak (1999:46), it was later found out that Governor Esuene never applied for the allocation of any plot in the housing estate but that the General Manager of the State Housing Corporation had used his initiative to allocate two plots of land to the State Governor, of which the Governor was able to pay for only one. The two plots were undeveloped. Also, the bank loan was found to have been validly obtained through due process. It was also discovered that for his entire military career spanning 18 years, 9 of which he was the Governor of South Eastern State which had expended hundreds of millions of pounds and Naira on various projects and expenditure heads, Brig-Gen Esuene had only one house to his name! This was his family home in Eket which had been built on land gifted him by his village. Those who had not even seen the house physically swore that it was a sprawling mansion! The reality is that the house was just an ordinary two-storey building with Boys’ Quarters. Not one to keep plots of land he did not need, Esuene had given out to friends more than half the land that his village had gifted to him! 

As it happened, during the administration of General Ibrahim Babangide as Military President, the Armed Forces Ruling Council restored General Esuene’s rank along with many other military officers and paid all his benefits with effect from July 29, 1975 when he had initially lost his rank. Thus “history vindicated the Just”, as Zik had rightly postulated.  This development showed clearly that the government was aware that injustice had been done to many people during the 1975 “with immediate effect” purge. 

The anti-Esuene sentiments post-July 29, 1975 extended beyond the persecution of Esuene and the withdrawal of his military rank. It extended to canceling or suspension of development projects which had been earmarked for Eket, Esuene’s Local Government Area. The construction of a six-storey main block of the Qua River Hotel was abandoned but the uncompleted structure is still there for everyone to see. Successive governments in the state have been playing politics with the project ever since. Despite the viability of the project located near Mobil Producing Nigeria facilities, successive Akwa Ibom state governments have built new hotels in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene while the uncompleted Qua River Hotel was sold to private interests who have been unable to revive the project. Also, the Uyo – Etinan – Eket road was abandoned by successive state governments until the government of Gov Udom Emmanuel completed it a few years ago. 

Public Opinion on Brig-Gen Esuene’s Tenure as the First Military Governor of Cross River State

Generally speaking, after years of “Esuene bashing”, public opinion about his tenure as Military Governor of South Eastern State changed dramatically, especially after years of poor performance by successive civilian and military administrations in Cross River and Akwa Ibom State. Perhaps this is what Ikoiwak (1999:45) meant when he wrote that “… vain attempts were made to besmirch his reputation. No one seemed to have appreciated his achievement then all because there was no era to compare with.” 

In an interview to mark the 50th anniversary of the creation of South Easter/Cross River State, a former Head of Service of Cross River State, Mr W.O. Inah, said: “Udoakaha Jacob Esuene, Military Governor of South Eastern State between May 1967 to July 1975, remains the best governor Cross River State ever had because of the level of infrastructure he meticulously identified and developed for the state.” Mr Inah echoed the words of Ikoiwak (1999:45) who maintained that “For over eight gruelling years, Governor Esuene laboured against all odds to give the people he governed a better lease of life in the social, educational, economic and cultural spheres. He gave South-Eastern State an honest, selfless, dynamic, charismatic and productive leadership that has made the effort of the best of his successors only a humble specimen juxtaposed against his colossal achievements… Esuene’s achievements are there for all to see -.” 

When Brig-Gen Esuene passed on in 1993, Governor Clement Ebri of Cross River State not only declared a public holiday in Cross River State in Esuene’s honour but his government declared Esuene’s burial a State Funeral and funded aspects of the burial ceremony. He also renamed the Calabar Sports Stadium built by the Esuene Administration as “U.J. Esuene Stadium”! After listing all of Esuene’s physical achievements, Ikoiwak (1999:45) wrote: “The foregoing are only physical structures. Esuene did a lot more in trying to unite the people and kindle in them the love for and pride in their various cultures.”

Commentators have provided instances where Governor Esuene showed moral fibre. Quoting from Brig-Gen Esuene’s funeral programme, Ikoiwak (Op. cit., p.46) mentioned how Governor Esuene rejected Elder Dempster’s offer to sell its property located in Leopards Town, Calabar to the Governor through the Governor’s relation who was in property consultancy business. This offer was made when the company was folding up its activities in Calabar. According to Ikoiwak (ibid.) Esuene’s stand was that “it was unethical for him as the Chief Executive of the State to benefit personally, from such a sad incident. Ikoiwak added that Esuene argued that his critics might not even say that he bought the property but that “he stage-managed the Elder Dempster’s departure in order to acquire the said property.” What Governor Esuene saw as “unethical” was something many Nigerian government officials had been relishing in for decades and are still doing up till now. Ikoiwak further explained that Esuene ordered Chief Michael Ani, the Secretary to the State Government, to ensure that the property was acquired by the State Government. 

Governor Esuene’s action in the above case reminds one of the late Chief Sampson Udo Etuk, the great Ibibio educational pioneer and community leader who was the President of Ibibio Union in 1938 when the Union sponsored six Ibibio sons to study abroad. Chief Udo Etuk rejected the offer of one of the scholarships to study Law abroad because, according to him, he did not start the scholarship scheme to benefit from it; instead, he sponsored himself to study education overseas but led the six Ibibio “Angels of Light” on the UK (Akpan 2014:163).

On the accusation of corruption against Brig-Gen Esuene, quoting from Esuene’s funeral program, Ikoiwak (Op. cit. p.46) wrote:  “… late Asiak, then General Manager of the South Eastern State Housing Corporation, virtually compelled him to take a three-acre plot in the Housing Estate, for the purpose of building a family house to retire to. This single three-acre plot later became 120 plots; 240 plots; 480 plots, etc. to his successors, who after accusing him of corruption, grabbed the plot for themselves.” In a discussion between this author and the late Mr A.B. Akpantun who was the Credit Manager of Mercantile Bank during Brig-Gen Esuene’s years in government, confirmed the statement in Esuene’s funeral program and revealed that Elder Uko Inoyo, a fearless public servant who became the General Manager of the State Housing Corporation, at an official meeting challenged state Government officials who were levelling accusations against Brig-Gen Esuene on the land allocation issue to examine themselves as they themselves had already been allocated several plots of land in the government-owned estate soon after assuming offices in South Eastern State whereas Brig-Gen Esuene was allocated a three-acre plot after more than eight years as Military Governor! 

Oron people accused Brig-Gen Esuene of favouring his Eket area with the siting of Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) Operational Base instead of locating it at Mbo and Efiat areas of Oron (Ukpe 2023:64).  Our enquiries indicated that only the current QIT location and Bonny were considered for the siting of the MPN Operational Base, therefore the accusation by Oron people was not true. Of course, the siting of such critical project by a multi-national oil company is not usually based on political considerations but on several economic factors, e.g. cost, geographical advantage, seamless integration with other segments of the logistics network, e.g. production pipeline network, export facilities, security considerations, etc. which would have been highlighted during feasibility studies and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). 

Some of the accusations against Governor Esuene were outrightly ridiculous. For example, some Oron people were unhappy with Esuene because they believed that during the civil war, he ordered the bombing of Oruko market during market hours in which incident a large number of market women was killed (Ukpe, ibid.). Although this accusation had nothing to do with Esuene’s performance as the Military Governor of South Eastern State, it also demonstrated a lack of an understanding of the military command structure. As already stated above, the last Air Force command position that Brig-Gen Esuene held was Commander of the Kaduna Air Force base which he relinquished  on January 3, 1966, long before the civil war started on July 6, 1967. Only commanders of military units or formations could advise on or order a military action of any kind. During the civil war, there were many laughable exploits attributed to Esuene which cannot be covered in this essay. 

Esuene’s funeral program quoted by Ikoiwak (Op. cit., p.46) summarized the General’s situation this way: “This man ruled South-Eastern State for eight years and left without a single house in the State Capital. He continued to live in Calabar, however, until his death but in rented houses. Once he was evicted by his landlord for inability to pay the market rent of the property. In fact, in the whole of Cross River and Akwa Ibom States, the only house Chief Esuene ever had, is his family house at Eket built on a piece of land donated to him by his village, Afaha Eket, and with money borrowed in 1972 from Mercantile Bank of Nigeria Plc. This loan was fully repaid a couple of months before his death.” 

Esuene in Partisan Politics

With the return to civil rule from October 1979 Gen Esuene became very active in the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN). He actively supported Dr Clement Isong to become the first civilian Governor of Cross River from October 1, 1979.  In appreciation of Brig Esuene’s standing in the state, the government appointed him the Chairman of Champion Breweries, Uyo. In the run up to the general elections of 1983, Gen Esuene resigned from the NPN and joined Chief Awolowo’s Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) under which he contested for the governorship of Cross River State against Senator Donatus D. Etiebet. Unfortunately, the 1983 elections were marred with irregularities and although Gen Esuene was very popular in the state, the FEDECO declared the ruling party’s candidate, Senator Etiebet, winner of the governorship election. 

The military coup of December 31, 1983 swept away the government of President Shehu Shagari as well as governments in the states. Change of government ushered in a military dictatorship headed by Major-General Mohammadu Buhari who was himself removed from office by Gen Ibrahim Babangida on August 27, 1985. In 1992, Gen Esuene joined one of the two government sponsored political parties, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and contested for the Presidency under the Option A4 system which produced the late Chief MKO Abiola a presidential candidate of the SDP. Gen Esuene supported Chief Abiola and campaigned vigorously for him in the build-up to the elections. Unfortunately, he took ill during the campaigns and passed on on Tuesday April 6, 1993. In the thick of the election campaigns but as a mark of his appreciation of Brig-Gen Esuene’s support for his candidature, MKO was physically present at one of Esuene’s funeral events. 

COMMUNITY SERVICE

The late Brig-General Esuene did not serve only South Eastern State and the nation, but he also served his community. He was a foundation member of the Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio and under the aegis of Akwa Esop he helped to forge Ibibio unity, especially during the face-off between the Dr Joseph Wayas-led Lagos Front and the Home Front led by the State Governor, Dr Clement Isong. In a colourful ceremony held at the Local Government Secretariat, Eket, on May 22, 1982 which was attended by dignitaries from within and without then Cross River State, including the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Presidential candidate of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), the Paramount Rulers of all the local government areas that made up former Eket Local Government Area comprising, Eket, Uquo, Onniong Nung Ndem, Ibeno Edor and Awa/Ikot Akpan Ntembom, jointly conferred on Brig-Gen. Esuene the foremost chieftaincy title of Atta of Eket. This title is reserved for indigenes of Eket who have performed outstanding or exemplary feats in battle or war, business, politics, etc. In former times, the hunter was a revered personality in the community. If a hunter killed a leopard, it was considered an exemplary feat of valour and he was recognized as an “Atta” and all the “Attas” in the community were referred to as “Mme Ittagh”. Chief Esuene had gone to war, won laurels, successfully administered and developed a state from the scratch and recorded groundbreaking achievements. He was indeed an Atta. 

According to Ikoiwak (1999:48) during his tenure as Governor of South Eastern State, the University of Nigeria Nsukka conferred on him the Honourary doctorate degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) while the University of Calabar conferred on him the Honourary doctorate degree of  Doctor of Science (DSc). The Polytechnic, Calabar which he founded recognized him as a Fellow of the institution.  Gen Esuene was a keen sportsman who played tennis and squash. 

Esuene’s Legacy

On Brig-Gen Esuene was married to Archbishop (Senator) Helen Esuene, a retired civil servant, business woman, a former federal Minister, a Distinguished Senator who represented Eket Senatorial District from 2011 to 2015, a philanthropist and community leader who has done a lot to preserve the Esuene legacy. The couple had 5 children – 3 male and 2 female who are highly qualified and experienced professionals in different fields. There is no doubt that Senator (Bishop) Helen Esuene has done a lot to uplift the name of late Brig-Gen Esuene. In 2006, she launched a book on her husband entitled “The Future in our Hands: A Biography of Udoakaha Jacob Esuene” which was published by Favour Books, Lagos). She has also immortalized her husband by establishing the Esuene Foundation which has been sponsoring sports competitions, e.g. Squash which her husband loved to play, and awarding scholarships to needy children from Akwa Ibom State. Furthermore, through her dogged efforts and the support of Eket Local Government and the Government of Governor Udoma Emmanuel, the Esuene Square was commissioned in 2024 and the statue of the late General was also unveiled. The Esuene Square is a beautiful edifice which is  located at the junction of Eket-Oron and Hospital Roads junction and has a seating capacity of 5,000. It is the meeting point for different social interactions including watching international football matches beamed from a large TV screen. In addition, Eket Local Government has named the segment of Eket-Oron Road from Esuene Square to Ikot Uso Ekong Bridge “Esuene Way” after the late Atta of Eket. 

While Cross River State has immortalized its first military Governor, Akwa Ibom State is yet to name any landmark in the state after the first Military Governor of South Eastern State out of which Akwa Ibom State was created on September 23, 1987.

An arial view of Esuene Square, Eket

End Notes

Abang, Mike: “There’s More of Politics today than Governance in Nigeria – Helen Esuene” (Business Day May 28, 2017).

Uwem J. Akpan: “The Afaha Factor in the Reconstruction of Akwa Ibom History”,  Akwa Ibom State University of Arts, 2023.

Mkpong, Okon and Nyong, Bassey: “An Address Presented by Mboho Akwa Afaha on the Occasion of the Installation of Edidem Robert James Obot, the Paramount Ruler of Nsit Ubium Local Government Area as the Enin Akwa Afaha II at Ikot Edibon” on Saturday, 11th April, 2009, p.1 quoted in Uwem J. Akpan: “The Afaha Factor in the Reconstruction of Akwa Ibom History”,  Akwa Ibom State University of Arts, 2023. 

Ikoiwak, Akpan Abasi: “Profiles in Service: Some Eket Heroes and Heroines of the Twentieth Century” (Modern Business Press, Uyo, 1999)

Jeffreys, M.D.W: “Old Calabar and Notes on the Ibibio Language” (H.W.T.I. Press), 1935 

Offiong, Offiong Ani; Ansa, Stella: “Efik Language: A Historical Profile” (Research on Humanities and Social Sciences ISSN 2222-1719 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2863 (Online) Vol.3, No.21, 2013

Akpan, Uwem Jonah: “A HUNDRED YEARS OF ETINAN INSTITUTE, ETINAN, 1915-2015: AN ASSESSMENT” (International Journal of Research in Arts & Social Sciences, Vol. 8, No. 2), 2015, pp 90 - 92 

Akinyeye, Abayomi Olajompo: “From Colonial Occupation to a National Force, the Army in Nigeria: Past Experience, Presen Realities, and Future Prospects” (Faculty of Arts Monograph Series, Vol. 27, 2024). Online – Retrieved on October 10, 2024

Arrowsmith, Keith: “Bush Paths: Nigeria 1949 - 1957”,  Online: Pentland Press (Retrieved October 10, 2025)

VERDICT: “Esuene Is The Best Governor Cross River State Ever Had” – Interview of Mr Wilfred Inah on the 50th Anniversary of the Creation of South Eastern/Cross River State, May 27, 2017 (https://calitown.com/verdict-esuene-is-the-best-governor-cross-river-state-ever-had-wilfred-inah/ (accessed 21.48 hours on Friday October 3, 2025)

Graham, Richard J. “Qua Iboe Mission 1887 – 1945”, An unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Aberdeen (retrieved from EthOs, October 6, 2025 at 2.21 am)

Ukaogo, Victor: “Gowon’s Three R’s and Yar’Adua’s General Amnesty: An Analysis of Policy Failures, Security Challenges and Consequences in the West African Atlantic Seaboard” (ResearchGate June 2017, pp 70 -74)

Obun, Clement: “Father of Modern Cross River” – Interview of Mr Clement Ebri, former Civilian Governor of Cross River State published in ThisDay Newspaper of 28 April, 2018

Akpan, Uwem J: “Akwa Ibom State and National Development: An Abridged Assessment of the Contributions of the People and Land”, (ResearchGate, June 2013, p. 145.

Akpan, Uwem J: “Educational Development in Ibibioland: The Era of Sunday Udo Etuk” (Harvests from the Gown Vol. 2, Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Comfort M. Ekpo, 2014, pp 156 – 174).

Ukpe, Essien U: “The People and Culture of Akwa Ibom State” (pp. 49 – 64), a book chapter in “Understanding Nigerian People and Culture” by Vincent G. Nyoyoko and Iniobong Umotong (Eds.), University of Akwa Ibom State Press, Uyo 2015.

Owo, Etokowo (2006). Our Future in our Hands: A Biography of Udoakaha Jacob Esuene, Favour Books Publishers (Lagos). 

Otung , Peter E: “The Coming of Heroes: A Triumphal Salute to the Governor of the South Eastern State, Col. U.J. Esuene, Armed Forces and Heroic statesmen” (New Era Press, Calabar), 1968 

Esuene, U. J. The Maiden Visit of Governor Esuene : An Account of the First Official Visit of His Excellency Colonel U.J. Esuene, Military Governor of South-Eastern State, to Calabar after the Liberation of the Town. Calabar: Dept. of Information, 1968. Print.