A rose is precious because of its colour and its captivating aroma which sends those who smell it giddy in the clasp of unutterable joy. A rose is also tender, easily blown hither and yon by malignant winds bent on uprooting and laying it low in the dust, to become partner with dark and decaying things. If former Akwa-Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio was hitherto ignorant of this, the experiences of few weeks may have educated him.
He recently experienced the ugly side of life as her beloved wife, Unoma, slipped into the grasp of a recalcitrant ailment. News of Unoma’s poor health condition had spread in the grapevine like poison in the vital organs of a healthy man.
The despondent demeanour of those that were privy to the sad tale made it all look as if a bright star was on the verge of falling from the sky, especially as she was said to have fallen into coma after she was operated upon at a hospital in Germany.
But just as the hard oval husk of the coconut is a mere camouflage for the edible white meat in the interior, Unoma’s ailment has proved to be meretricious and ephemeral, as she is back on her feet and ready to once again enthral with her rosaceous presence.