Photo of Don Etim kneeling before Akpabio’s wife sparks outrage

Mr. Don Etim kneeling down to discuss with Akpabio's wife

By Nse Peter

A photograph showing the Commissioner for Works in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Don Etim kneeling in the public before Governor Godswill Akpabio’s wife, Unoma, has sparked outrage on the Internet.

The photo which has gone viral on the net was most likely taken during a recent Peoples Democratic Party governorship campaign rally in the state. It shows Don Etim, one of the longest and most powerful commissioners in Akpabio’s government, kneeling with his right leg while discussing with the governor’s wife, even as the photo indicates there were empty seats close to the one Mrs. Akpabio was sitting on.

Most people who commented on the photo consider it as being shameful for the commissioner to kneel before the governor’s wife.

Mr. Inibehe Effiong, a human right activist and convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD) in Nigeria, is one of the many persons who shared the photo on Facebook. He mockingly called Unoma Akpabio ‘the assistant governor of Akwa Ibom State,’ apparently referring to the enormous power and influence the governor’s wife has in the state.

“This is what corruption, nepotism and mental slavery has done to Akwa Ibom State. This woman should be reminded that she is not a public officer; she is an unconstitutional being,” Mr. Effiong said of the photo. “This is the true picture of Governor Akpabio’s ‘democratic dividends’. The other day, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs was fanning her (Unoma) in public, shamelessly. Unoma Akpabio has usurped arbitrary powers in the state. Her words are laws. This is an ordinary woman that is feeding fat on public resources and tax payers’ money.”

From Inibehe Effiong’s Facebook wall alone, the photo has been shared 147 times, and has equally attracted hundreds of comments.

“This is a very demeaning picture. How did it get this bad? Men are no longer men,” commented Sykes Moren.

“I can't kneel before a woman no matter how highly placed. Except she’s too old and can’t bend down as well to talk with me, then I'll assume a squatting position instead of bending. I respect women no doubt (both old and young) but not to this extent. Just like Inibehe Effiong said, he should have sat down on that chair close to the First Lady. Those chairs are not sacred, I think,” said another commentator, Aniefiok Nduonofit.

One commentator, Frank Taylor said “anyone who sees nothing absurd about this has slave mentality”.

One Benjamin Benson described the photo as being ‘the shame of a state’.

The photo has also been published on the popular Linda Ikeji’s Blog, and has similarly attracted several comments there.

Unoma Akpabio is perhaps the most controversial woman in the history of Akwa Ibom State. She has oftentimes been in the news for making controversial remarks and for allegedly molesting women in the state.  Recently, she came underfire from her husband’s kinsmen in Essien Udim Local Government Area for making derogatory remarks against the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Umana Okon Umana.