FACTS ABOUT UFOT EBONG’S FINAL DAYS AND SENATOR AKPABIO’S INTERVENTION: SEPARATING THE TRUTH FROM FALSEHOOD
By Ata Ikiddeh
I haven’t posted on my wall for sometime now, because I am yet to recover from Ufot Ebong’s passing. Ufot was not a Facebook friend, I’ve known him for over 39 years, he was a young lecturer in UNICAL, when I was a student.
When I first heard of his passing, I was shocked and because there’s so much pranking on social media I did not believe the story at first. Then it was confirmed from reliable sources. I was coming to terms with the news of his passing, then I had a conversation with a man who was in contact with Ufot in the last days of his life and he narrated to me his condition before he passed on and the details of what he told me threw me completely off balance. If you’ve not seen me on social media lately it’s because I’ve been thinking of what Ufot went through. I cannot say more than that.
Ufot was a man who keenly watched his health and I remember two years ago he came online and declared his doctors had given him a clean bill of health. And today my brain keeps asking – what happened between that clean bill of health 2 years ago and September 2024 when he suddenly fell ill. What happened between then and now. This news has challenged me to go for regular health checks.
Ufot’s sudden and unexpected demise has bruised me badly. I don’t think anyone’s passing has hit me like this, for a long time. It’s still hard to believe he’s gone. What’s even most perplexing is the suddenness of his illness. People are ill for a while – you see them – you get yourself mentally prepared for the inevitable. You know what’s coming. But not when someone is one minute hail and hearty the next minute you are told he’s gone. And when you enquire, you are told he was very sick. Now, that doesn’t make sense to me. It really doesn’t.
This scripture keeps coming to mind. Jesus said the end of the world will come like a thief in the night. Ufot’s illness throws that same picture at me – like a thief in the night. Misfortune that comes suddenly, unawares, unexpected, like a thief in the night. And before you know what’s happening – the thief is gone. You’ve been robbed. Many of us who were close to Ufot feel robbed, he was such a good fella. Whenever I was in Nigeria we would hangout together he was never short of ideas. Agriculture was his thing. He singlehandedly galvanised the elites in Uyo to take vegetable gardening seriously. Ufot had Tomato, Cucumber and Pepper farms he was an indefatigable farmer and I admired this about him. You wouldn’t believe he graduated with a first class and worked in senior management with Shell Petroleum, pioneering most of their Malaysian projects in Nigeria.
Last Saturday I was introduced to a man who had a conversation with Ufot Ebong when he was still very sick in September and I couldn’t believe what he told me. This wasn’t the same Ufot Ebong – bubbly, entertaining and so full of life with that his characteristic loud laughter accompanied with his knee slapping, his signature body language when he’s enjoying a good conversation. This man I had never met before told me Ufot could hardly speak on the phone. Ufot was so weak and ill.
I have tried to piece together his final moments and those that were in touch with him. This man had spoken to Ufot Ebong about 3 weeks ago. He said to me he was shocked because he didn’t know Ufot was that ill. He said Ufot could hardly speak on the phone. Like me, he said he had also read up his clean bill of health on his Facebook wall about 2 years ago. Of course this person did not know that was the last time he was ever going to speak to Ufot Ebong.
Examining my late friend’s Facebook wall, I discovered his last post was on September 2nd 2024. That would mean for over 4 weeks Ufot was absent on social media and none of us his friends noticed it. It’s an indictment on me and on all of us. This is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Social Media. Facebook and social media in general gives off this impression of camaraderie, fellowship, love, care and friendship but it’s all a facade. It’s all empty and hollow on the inside. Truth is – on social media you are like a single pebble in the midst of dry empty sand. You are on your own. We don’t check each other up.
I checked our dear friend’s wall and his last post was on 2nd September. He celebrated his wife’s birthday. Ufot an avid Arsenal fan he had reposted some funny news about Chelsea on the 24th, 29th and 31st of August. Then 2 posts on 2nd September – then he stopped. That must have been when the illness started, perhaps about Thursday the 3rd or Friday the 4th of September.
It appears his illness was so sudden and so debilitating within weeks his doctors were telling the family to fly him abroad. That must have been when Ufot reached out to the only friend he knew could help him, the Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio.
Ufot and Akpabio have known each other from childhood. Some people have made some rather unfortunate remarks, accusing the Senate President of abandoning his childhood friend. I was speaking to someone the other day and he was saying the same thing.
I say, the Senate President who helps people he doesn’t know, why would he abandon a friend he’s known most of his life!? Sometimes one wants to stay quiet and not say anything but the problem with lies and ignorance is this, if not dealt with decisively and on time, it becomes the Truth. How can someone say the Senate President is only interested in funerals and not in his friends. And the problem is – there are people who will ignorantly believe these stories about the Senate President.
Let me tell you what really happened to Mr Ufot Ebong in his final days. When his doctors told him he had to be flown abroad, he reached out to the Senate President, and he gave him a bill. The Senate President did not hesitate he sent $35,000 to Ufot Ebong, that is about N58m. But Ufot was too sick to fly out of Nigeria, he needed to be stabilised. And unfortunately his condition must have deteriorated so fast stabilising him became difficult.
Conversation between the Senate President, His Excellency, Sen. Godswill Akpabio GCON and Late Elder Ufot Ebong
Therefore the people spreading lies on social media that Ufot was abandoned by Senator Akpabio, really ought to examine their hearts. The Senate President did all he could to save his dear friend Ufot Ebong, Ufot was even well enough at the time to acknowledge the financial help, look at the screenshots, posted.
But this piece is really about you and I, not about the Senate President. It’s about us. Those of us that are not watching each other’s backs on social media. Our relationships must not end at just – Liking, Sharing and Commenting , we need to watch out for one another. If we don’t see our friends regular posts we ought to send a message find out how he or she is doing? There was a time, not too long ago, when people pass on we would mourn for a while. Not nowadays. We comment RIP and move on to the next news.
When I listened to this chap who was relaying to me Ufot’s final days, I was asking myself, “Where was I?” Some might say, if you are sick put it out on facebook, so people will know, it’s not that easy. I’ve been there. Sometimes one is so sick you can’t muster the will to do anything not even write, all you are thinking of, is how you are going to walk out of hospital, especially when your body has turned you into a prisoner.
We will miss you. You were such a fine gentleman. In your final days, people must have prayed for you in your sick bed and it is my prayer that you must have made your peace with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
God be with you Ufot till we meet again.
