Insult and appeal are two words that are not similar in any guise, no matter who attempts to force a resemblance. While the former means to offend (someone) by being rude, insensitive or insolent; to demean or affront someone, the later simply means to call on one for aid; to make earnest request, etc. While insult suggests disrespect, disregard, demeaning disposition, appeal amplifies humility, respect and regard for others views.

Attempting to compare the outright disrespect on Akwa Ibom sons and daughters by OBA who called them dogs with Pst. Umo Eno's solemn appeal for people to "enter a car without reading the inscription" is laughable. OBA'S statement of "Who Born dog" is alien to our culture, but popularly believed to be imported from clandestine/nocturnal associations while Pst Umo Eno's statement is a common adage used by our elders to appeal or encourage people.

Interestingly, there are two broad instances to the contextual usage of the above lines by the frontline gubernatorial aspirant of the People's Democratic party, Pst Umo Eno. First, the statement is a faith-based statement. It suggests trust and undying faith in the promise of God. As a pastor, Umo Eno will never make any statement that is not wrapped in the cloak of faith, and as the scripture puts it, spiritual things are considered as foolishness in the eyes of a carnal man.

God told Abram to leave his hometown to a strange land where he knew nobody. Abraham would have asked God for direction, for guarantee, for clear terms and all of that. But as a man of faith, he didn't question God. He gathered his household and off they embarked on a journey of "undefined" destination. Abraham simply entered the vehicle of God without reading the inscription. This is faith. When God is involved in a case, your job is to trust Him and not to explain to him how difficult the case is.

Pst Umo Eno simply told the people
to trust him on this assignment, and forget the campaign of calumny, character assassination, body shaming and name calling. His words as resoundingly echoed was "Trust me on this race, and forget about what they are writing against me". It was an appeal. He never called them dogs. He didn't beg to be compensated. He gave the people hope, and staked his integrity, when he urged the people to enter the vehicle and forget about all else.

Second, the statement "enter the vehicle and forget the inscription" is similar to the popular statement: "Don't judge a book by the cover."
This English idiom " is a metaphorical phrase that means one should not judge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone. For example, "That man may look very small and insignificant, but don't judge a book by its cover – he's a very powerful man in his circle".

It equally means that one should not form an opinion on someone or something based purely on what is seen on the surface, because after taking a deeper look, the person or thing may be very different than what was expected.

This phrase which goes back to at least the mid-19th century equally made an appearance in the newspaper Piqua Democrat, June 1867 and was quoted in full thus:
“Don’t judge a book by its cover, see a man by his cloth, as there is often a good deal of solid worth and superior skill underneath a jacket and yaller pants.”

Pst Umo Eno is a man of character who knows how to choose his words. He has been in the corporate business world over the years, and trust me, these business players value words, and they know how to use them.

Richard Peters