Back From The Dead: Aniekpeno Mkpanang Recounts Journey Of Coming Back To Life...Holds Thanksgiving

Rumour was rife that he had died. Many grinned from ear to ear to find out if it's true. Others believed the death tale hook, line and sinker.
But today, Mr. Aniekpeno Mkpanang, held a Thanksgiving Service to thank God for sparing his life. Report by KENNETH JUDE

"The day they thought I'll die is the day God decreed that I should live." - Mkpanang

It was a moving scene. Somber, sober, reflective. Penitential.

It offered a moment for soul-searching, deep thinking and contrition.

Venue was Ukanafun, his country home. It was a thanksgiving service shorn of the ostentation his personality deserves. It was deliberate.

Mr. Aniekpeno Mkpanang, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, from his account, showed he came back to the land of the living from the land of death!

The man, sober, contrite, fought back tears as he narrated the near-death experience he went through in the past few months. More than once in the course of the sickness that befell him, he gave up on life, but, as fate could always have it, God stepped in and preserved him, the man, hitherto boisterous, told a stunned audience.

It was a gathering intentionally designed low in key, said the host, in order not to strip the event of its essence.

So, a few men of God, most of whom dedicated their time to praying for his recovery, others were different prayer groups that devoted their all in praying and fasting day and night for him. Family members completed the line up of guests at the modest Thanksgiving service.

"I only invited my immediate constituency to this event for connecting me to God. The Bishops were praying for me every second Tuesday of the month. And they had sent a message that they needed nothing. 90 percent of people here are men of God."

In his testimony, Mkpanang testified of the immensity of God's grace upon his life. Fighting tears intermittently, he said those who spread rumours about his demise were, to an extent, in order, given the nadir upon which his health had fallen.

"What you heard was almost true.
The day they thought I'll die is the day God decreed that I should live," he said with teary eyes.

Narrating how it all started, Mkpanang who came to public consciousness with the now rested radio show, "Something To Remember", said he was on his way to Huddersfield in England from Zurich, Switzerland, where he had been for one week.  He was in Switzerland to defend his dissertation having enrolled in a Master's programme in International Event Management in the country. He was hale and hearty throughout his stay in Zurich.

But it was on his way to Huddersfield to see Sunny Badu, a gospel music artiste, to strike a deal that will have him perform at the last year's Carol fiesta in the state. It was a train ride. But by a quirk of ill fate, he felt a sharp pain. That was the beginning of his ordeal.

Battling with the pain for which he had never felt before, Mr. Mkpanang said that for three hours inside the train, he was numb, could neither turn his neck nor lift his leg. When the train reached its terminal point, he struggled to alight coupled with his luggage. Other passengers had disembarked and off they left.

Standing alone in a "no man's land" in excruciating pains, Mkpanang said he stood there for long periods that lasted late into the night with nobody in sight. His voice quacking, he said he resigned to fate. But lo and behold, at about 3am, a car was coming from God knows where. He managed to flag down the driver who gladly screeched to a halt.

Long story short, the man took him to his hotel. He checked in. "I  would have died that day. Everything that would have killed me that night was present, but God spared me. My hand was numb, my knee was weak. I was down and didn't know what was happening around me. I survived that night."

Mkpanang whose reason for going to the city of Huddersfield could not be achieved as he was hobbled and humbled by ill health that came with unbearable pain. He battled for life. On many occasions, he felt it was over. But somehow, by a tweak of fate, he breathed on, he narrated.

Unable to actualise his mission, coming back home was the next option. Again, long story short, the flight he managed to board that was headed for Lagos State made a detour to Malta. He was checked into a medical facility where several checks were done on him. It was later discovered that he had appendectomy (appendix for short). It was on the severe side; almost ruptured. In fact, the doctor said he had just 15 minutes to live had he not been diagnosed and subsequently operated upon with despatch.

Let's hear him: "I passed out on my way to Nigeria 20 minutes after take off. I didn't know what was happening around me but I found myself in the hospital. If I was to land in Lagos, maybe I would have died. At the hospital, Xray was done, but nothing was seen. I was told I had 15 minutes to live after another test was done and it was discovered I had appendix. That's all I could remember till I was operated on without being aware of anything. After the operation, I stayed for three weeks in the hospital without eating," he narrated amid tears.

The three weeks he was to stay in the hospital had not elapsed when he insisted he must leave and return to Akwa Ibom to put finishing touches ahead of the Carol fiesta in December last year. He mounted pressure on the medics and against medical advice, he was discharged from the hospital.

Those who watched on TV or attended the Carol Night can attest to how frail he looked as he managed to read his welcome address. "I managed to read a welcome speech at the Carol Night," he said adding, "after that, I returned to the hospital.  I underwent another operation which led to other complications, but again, God saved my life."

As Mr. Aniekpeno Mkpanang narrated his chilling story, the  Chapel of Goodness and Mercy situated in his expansive compound was gripped with pin drop silence as many caved into emotions.

In between reliving his near-death travail, he punctuated it with songs of praise and thanksgiving. Mkpanang momentarily turned a Pastor, choir master, everything. He was visibly elated.

He thanked Governor Udom Emmanuel and his wife, Martha, for standing by him throughout his ailing period.

As he rounded off his emotion-laden story, he prayed in thanksgiving to God for giving him another chance to life, pledging to be of service to humanity with humility for the rest of his days on this terrestrial plane. It was a humbling scene.

The event was attended by Prelate Sunday Mbang, Prelate of the African Church, Dr. Emmanuel Udofia, Bishop Isaiah Isong, Bishop Udeme Simon, Bishop Gabriel Nkenang, Pastor Vincent Chiori, Bishop Isaiah Umanah, among others.

The short service witnessed Praise and worship, prayers, thanksgiving, appreciation for the prayer groups and churches that prayed fervently for the host during his difficult season, among other highlights.