Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has recounted how the death of his father forced him to hawk soft drinks on the streets of Lagos to support his family.
Governor Eno made the disclosure while delivering the Convocation Lecture at the seventh convocation of Mountain Top University, Ibafo, Ogun State.
He said his father, a police officer, died in the line of duty, plunging the family into hardship.
“Life became very difficult after my father’s death. I had to help my mother augment the family’s income by hawking soft drinks on the streets of Lagos, even as a Senior Prefect of Victory High School,” the governor said.
Eno described the experience as the foundation of his entrepreneurial drive, which later led him to build a hospitality business in Akwa Ibom State.
In a statement issued on Friday by the Press Unit of the Akwa Ibom State Government House in Uyo, the governor urged Nigerian youths to discard an entitlement mentality and the desire for quick success.
He said society had been reshaped by technological change and required a creative mindset that was willing to challenge long held norms.
“Let me state here that we are living in a world shaped by new realities, a world where known boundaries have been breached and expanded by advancements in technology, where values once considered sacrosanct are no longer the defining ethos, and where groupthink is rapidly dissolving and being replaced by the need to do something daring, something different, and something that challenges long-held norms,” he said.
“The majority of the graduands here belong to the now-famous Generation X. Quite a number of people in this generation believe in the concept of immediate gratification and, to some extent, an entitlement mentality.
“They want to achieve success without putting in the corresponding hard work, and most times, they crash and burn.”
Eno said the growth of his business was made possible by his “implicit faith in the Invisible Hands of God to bring destiny helpers who would propel me to the heights God had destined for me.”
Maintaining that success required uprightness and hard work, he added, “You will achieve success only if you are upright in your dealings and guided by ethics and morality, and with faith in God.
“God can and will do the same for you, but you must learn to start something, grow something, dream of something, and put in the hard work.”
He also said he had not forgotten the values instilled in him by his parents and his sense of compassion for the poor.
The chancellor and General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Prof. Daniel Olukoya, praised the governor for inspiring the graduands.
“We specially honour and thank our Convocation Lecturer, His Excellency, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, for accepting to be part of this historic celebration,” Prof. Olukoya said.
The vice chancellor of Mountain Top University, Prof. Elijah Ayolabi, also commended Umo Eno for delivering the lecture.
