Recently, at a public forum in Lagos, Daily Sun cornered her for an interview. Excerpts:
Is advocacy the only thing you have been doing since you left Cross River State Government House?
I am still doing what I was doing before my husband became the Governor. I have not gone into anything new. I was very conscious of every step I take and while in office, I knew it was just a phase in my life that would pass. This has always been me because I grew up with the culture of giving to people. My father was a church organist, so I saw him giving out to the less privileged. My aunt was a Commissioner for the Girls’ Guild. I also saw her doing the same thing. We grew up in an environment of love. For my family, love is sacrificial giving. That is what Christianity is about. How much do you need for yourself? Every other additional thing you have is for others. Often times, what makes a lot of difference to other people really doesn’t cost you that much. It is an innate thing in me and so,I can’t tell where I started from.
Do you still run your law firm?
I wasn’t actually running the law firm as at the time my husband went into office, because we had focused more on my rice importation business, but I have discontinued. Aside from that, I have always been involved in charity work and that I had continued with while my husband was in office. I simply have been on the same track ever since.
There are instances where First Ladies had had to discontinue with their pet projects after the expiration of their husband’s tenure. What do you think is responsible for this?
I don’t know if it is true that they die naturally, but it largely depends on the objective for the formation of such organizations. I didn’t set up my organization because my husband was in office. I would have done the programmes, even, if he weren’t in the office. It is just that he gave me a platform to operate when he was in office. Prior to when he became a governor, I was in Lagos, and after he left office, I returned to Lagos. The two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) I run now are nationwide because we run programmes across Nigeria. I can’t comment on why initiatives should end because the husband of the initiator is no longer in office. People have various challenges and issues. I think it depends on the structure which the project founders had in place before they set out.
What are your thoughts on women empowerment?
I have issues with that and I don’t think women are less than men. I don’t also think we should put ourselves in a position where we should be pitied. I don’t want to be given an assignment because I am a woman. I don’t want to be given an appointment because I am a woman, neither, do I want to fill a vacant position because they are looking for a woman to occupy such position. I should be called to fill a position because I am competent enough to occupy that office. I encourage women not to see themselves as pity-party or less-privileged people because if they see themselves as such, they will remain there. Women should be given equal opportunities so that the competent ones are able to show themselves and do whatever they need to do. I don’t believe that standards for women.
Again, educating the younger ones is very critical. Women can strive to the highest position, knowing that based on merit, they will be taken and judged like their male counterparts.If you keep lowering the standard so that women can fill the space, they will subconsciously feel they are lesser than men. They will also feel that they don’t have to be as good as men to occupy men’s position. The truth is that, whenever you see a woman in an office, she is often better than most of the men who occupy that position. A lot of declarations and conventions have been held, policies which will allow women to attain great heights are now in place and with time, we will see an improvement. We are having more women on board of public companies. We have women in financial institutions occupying more senior positions. Men now know that women are as good and in some cases, even, better than them. Women are doing their lot, but we need to see more of that. Women are also bread-winners in lots of families.
What are your core values and what are the most important values women should imbibe?
The most important is your relationship with God. When you have God, it means you love Him and when you love somebody, you will do things to please the person. When you have such relationship with God, you will reflect on most of what you do and your values will be what His values are. You don’t need anybody to tell you. You just see yourself doing that which is right. Your self-esteem is key factor and nobody can place you above where you place yourself. You, alone, can determine your level and need not leave it in the hands of anybody else.
What aspects of the First Lady’s life or office do you miss now?
Honestly, I do not miss anything because nothing changed about me even when we were in office. I don’t know any other life outside work and being busy. While we were in government, we served the people to the best of our ability and we are still serving the people but maybe, in a different way. I am very busy with the entrepreneurial training. I am very active in church. We do a lot of voluntary work and are into subsidized training for women empowerment. There are those who we train free of charge and those who can afford to pay for their training. The idea behind this model is for us to be able to raise enough capital to run the other arms of our organization where services are not paid for.
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