RABBIT PUNCH (XVII) With Ogar Emmanuel Oko
ASUQUO EKPENYONG'S SMEs PRESENTATION: A TIP OF AN ICEBERG
In the last couple of weeks, the immediate past Cross River State Commissioner of Finance and the southern senatorial candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), for the 2023 senatorial election, Mr. Asuquo Ekpenyong appears to be the cynosure, a focal point and the bride of some mainstream media outfits in the country.
Like the biblical Magi— Balthazar (king of Arabia), Melchior (king of Persia) and Gaspar (king of India) otherwise known as the Three Wise Men visited Christ in the manger having seen his stars from the east as recorded in one of the canonical gospels, Matthew 2:1-2 and the prophet, see Isaiah 60:1-6, so the Nigerian media houses have seen Asuquo's star glowing and twinkling from his sterling presentation at the Eko Hotel & Suites during the Tinubu/Shettima manifesto: Renewed Hope 2023 unveiling in Lagos.
Asuquo's presentation centred on the economy and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs). He was dramatic as he argued for a strong SMEs sector. Strengthening this sector means boosting the sagging economy, according him. A lot of his arguments are economically factual and workable. For example, in a consuming economy like ours with high rate of unemployment, a well patronized SMEs would act as a buffer. It helps to create employment and serves as the mitochondria of the economy. In his word; "a weak economy will always lead to some level of insecurity." One cannot agree less as one of the reasons for rural insurgency and urban terrorism is solely and unarguably due to unproductive economy.
With such a brilliant outing in the Question & Answer section, every pressman wants to interview him and he goes to whom he obliges with some avalanche effects. Raking the available points as though he foreknew the questions. He calmly responds to every question in a subtle, soft, calculative, direct and in a simple fashion leaving his host in awesome
