Onofiok Luke: A ‘Coffin’ from Abuja – By Osondu Ahirika

Originally published in 1962, A Coffin from Hong Kong, is the title of a thriller from the stable of English Author, René Lodge Brabazon Raymond, more popularly known by the pseudonym James Hadley Chase.

It’s about a certain Nelson Ryan, who received what was the easiest £3,000 had ever made. Shortly afterwards, he found himself being played for a sucker. A telephone call, seemingly innocent enough, led him to the murder of a Chinese call-girl who talked too much.

I chose this title( sans the underlying crime plot) to best situate a shock story executed by immediate Past Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly and current Member, representing Etinan Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Barrister Onofiok Luke.

It was Tuesday, September 15, 2020. I received a call from Rt. Hon. Luke. Reacting to an innocent post on my Facebook page, he said something instructive. “Take down that post Osondu, you’re a Man of God. Let your distress call be made to God in private less people make jest of you. Not everyone cares”. That, for me, was a reality check. I retracted my blunder.

I’m about boarding my flight from Abuja to Uyo. I’d see you when I touch down, he added. On Wednesday, September 16, Rt. Hon. Luke’s call came again. ‘Where do you live”, he inquired. Response given, he indicated he is visiting that evening. I didn’t believe him, I must confess, knowing how tight his schedule can be.

It was 12 minutes past midnight that my doubt evaporated. The August visitor in September arrived my home in the semi slum area of Uyo. Of course, I was as stunned as the Biblical Zacchaeus, who Jesus told to come down from the Sycamore-fig tree, telling him(Zacchaeus), he intended to visit his house.

My kid’s were awake, eager to meet the man, we all had admired from a distance and about whom, they had heard so much. Rt. Hon Luke spent about 30 minutes with us. He shared experiences with the kids and preached a sermon for them as we all read from several scriptures. That done, he announced his real intention.

We were mourning my father in-law whose remains were to be laid to rest on October 3. He condoled with my wife and did the unexpected. “I will stand by you people in this difficult period. You will get a Cow and drinks for the funeral from me. Then he gave the kids a fat envelope. It was a miracle because, we were desperate, seeking help to pull through.

I never asked him for such support. It was the easiest assistance I’ve ever received. He got to know of our bereavement from a Facebook post mourning the departed. Folks’, in our clime, a Coffin is the most important thing you need for the funeral rites of a loved one. No! He didn’t buy us the Coffin for the burial, but what he did amounts to something that is as revered in our culture, perhaps, as the Coffin. A Cow for the funeral ceremony. Even if I were to have requested help from him, I don’t think, I could muster the temerity to ask for that much. Forty crates of canned drinks and six cartons of wine followed. Amazing Grace.

Now, this isn’t the first time Rt. Hon. Luke has shocked me with a miracle. On 21 December 2015, he, as then Member representing Nsit Ubium State Constituency, emerged Speaker of the AKHA. It was destiny slightly delayed. On August 22, 2016, I got an unexpected call.

From the other end, it was Speaker Luke.

Pleasantries done with, he announced his intention. God, he said, had instructed him to take me to see His Excellency, Governor Udom Emmanuel. He said that task had become a burden he cold no longer bear. He expressed regrets that, my contributions as an unrepentant advocate for the Akwa Ibom State PDP Government since 1999, with its peak being the Udom Is Right Campaign had gone unrewarded. He said, even though I’m of Igbo extraction, I have done so much in consensus building and media advocacy for the development of the State.

Long story short, on the evening of September 22, being the eve of the 29th Anniversary of the State, Rt. Hon Luke took me to meet Governor Udom Emmanuel. There at the Banquet Hall, after a media parley, the Governor gave me an appointment.

That providential meeting changed my story and landed me in the Publicity Secretariat of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, then competently led by Comrade Ini Ememobong, as State Publicity Secretary. It was a beautiful experience which came to an end after May 29, 2020.

Let me emphasize that, Hon. Luke has done this for many others. Today, I am a voice of acknowledgement on their behalf, that, he speaks for the voiceless and is a champion for the hopeless.

Many times, I give thanks for what people have done for me. Let me say this, even though I don’t go with the camera’s, I’ve been a pillar to countless people and families too at my low estate. I have paid hospital bills for so many, school fees for several, have about 3 in tertiary institutions under my sponsorship just as I have helped people pay house rents.

Indeed, where I can, I do support people for burials, marriages and child blessing ceremonies. Many times too, the spirit may be very willing for the requests that pour in every other week, but the pocket is/becomes weak. I meant to say, Hon. Luke gave me a breakthrough that helped me become a blessing to do many others while that package from the governor lasted. It’s up to them to either acknowledge this fact and also reach out to others beneath their station or remain mute.

As I sign off, here is me finding, Thank You, far too inadequate to express my/our indebtedness to Rt. Hon Luke. After taking me to the Governor, he refused to grant me appointment for a formal Appreciation Visit since 2016 and never picked my call after I declared my wish to do so. I was worried and even complained to many, that, I may have been blackmailed before him. His most recent unsolicited gesture has doused my presumptive fears.

It is amazing how Hon. Luke does these things for countless people. I understand the future holds a lot of promise for him and us. All I can say is, we cannot define a man’s destiny being human, but we can certainly state clearly, who a Leader worth following is. Onofiok Luke most assuredly is one. I have never worked for him as an aide of staff, but here am I, held in awe by his spellbinding empathy. Amazing Grace, how sweet it sounds.