A Word For Imo First Lady, Mrs Nkechi Okorocha

By Nnenna IHEBOM

The spate of irresponsible leadership in this country has made it imperative for us to keep looking back to find any similitude of virtue in governance. Imo State provides a very good example of this phenomenon. Successive administrations have forced us to keep chanting the name of Dee Sam Mbakwe as an enviable model of selfless leadership. At the time this icon held sway in Imo, he came under severe attacks for some unpopular actions he took, especially against teachers in the state, whose condition of service was deplorable then. He was also notorious for vendetta against perceived political opponents and went to ridiculous extents to punish communities that voted against him. Imo people hoped for a leader who would improve on Mbakwe's achievements and offer relief to those who were oppressed under him. Unfortunately, until today, we still look back to the days of Mbakwe as the best that Imo State has known.

Governor Okorocha and Lady Nkechi Okorocha at a church service

It is on this note that I celebrate Maimuna Zubairu, the First Lady in the last military administration in Imo State. Her husband, Tanko Zubairu, handed over to Achike Udenwa in May 1999.

There is very little to remember or celebrate about the Zubairu regime. It was that regime that dabbled unduly into issues that touch on people's faith and culture, while neglecting weightier matters of state administration. I still remember the crisis that trailed the controversial decision to remove the Ikenga statue from the State Library round-about in Owerri and replace it with a giant cross. I also remember that era as the time when no one could loot the state treasury unless he had a large-sized Bible and a religious title. The ability to prophesy and speak in tongues was an added advantage. Nothing in terms of concrete achievement.

But the First Lady’s office recorded a better deal. Of all the wives of governors who have superintended over the affairs of women in the Imo State since inception, none has been as visionary and pragmatic as Maimuna Zubairu. Within the time her husband ruled the state with military fiat, this lovely woman, under the Family Support Program, was able to give Imo women and children two solid legacies that have stood the test of time: the F. S. P. Park complex, located between Mbari Street and Wetheral Road in Owerri, which till today remains the best playground for Imo children; and the F.S.P. Primary School at Ugwu Orji, which was built to international standards to serve the educational needs of Imo children.

At different times, Imo women have been harassed by the noise of such programmes as LAVAM, under Lady Victoria Ahuikpeghi Mbakwe; Better Life for Rural Women, Family Support Programme, and Family Economic Advancement Programme, all under the military First Ladies; Heartland Child Care Trust, under Lady Theresa Agbomma Udenwa; and Empowerment for Women and Youth Initiative, EWAYI, under Lady Chioma Ohakim. With all these high-sounding family-oriented programmes championed by privileged women of substance, one would have expected some visible achievements that would affect the lives of women and children positively. Unfortunately, what we notice at the end of each regime is that the so-called First Ladies merely used these phantom programmes to showcase their greed and satisfy their lust for filthy gains.

Maimuna remains the odd one out.

Against the backdrop of the enviable achievements of this amiable Northern woman, one cannot but wonder why successive Igbo women that have occupied that position have not recorded any meaningful success. Will it be right to conclude that Igbo women cannot see beyond their gold-bedecked fingers and costly fabrics? Are Igbo women so selfish and senseless that not one of these our own daughters could think of leaving a good legacy for posterity?

Anyone who has come in contact with Igbo women will attest to the fact that these are not attributes of a well-bred Igbo woman. We can only say then that these daughters of Imo State have totally misrepresented the womenfolk from these parts. When one considers the level of raw insolence and arrogance displayed by some of these First Ladies, one wonders whether they went through any form of tutelage to prepare them for public service. Granted, many of them never bargained for leadership at that level. Some did not even have the advantage of a good formal education. They merely benefitted from a culture that says that a woman whose husband is crowned king automatically becomes a queen and leader of the women. This sentiment that thrives in monarchies found its way into our brand of democracy and has remained there. Well, since that seems to be the only way the African woman can find relevance in a male-dominated society, so be it.

My concern is that these privileged women should endeavour to approach their task with a sense of responsibility and decorum. The immediate past First Lady of Imo State, Chioma Ohakim, is a good lesson on how not to be a First Lady. While in office, the Mbano-born barrister was everything a First Lady should not be. A situation where a governor's wife surrounds herself with high-ranking women who are supposed to be her advisers and yet commits social blunders with reckless abandon is reprehensible. One wonders what exactly these supposedly educated Imo women did for Chioma beyond running errands to attract cheap favours and flattering her whenever the occasion presented itself.

Chioma Ohakim: abused the office of the First Lady

What can Mama Imo, Lady Chioma Ohakim, point to as her achievement in her four years in office? Even her predecessor, Lady Theresa Agbomma Udenwa, cannot honestly beat her chest and say she accomplished any meaningful thing to justify all the money that came her way for eight years. Attending August meeting in various communities where rural women are mandated to contribute foodstuff and money to welcome Her Excellency cannot pass as a project worth pointing at. Beyond distributing some frying pans and jalopy sewing machines to a few women, what solid achievement did these our First Ladies record?

Another political era is here and a new First Lady has mounted the podium in Imo State. Imo women expect a lot, not only from the people’s governor, but also from his lovely wife. I wish to call on Lady Nkechi Okorocha to take her time, count the cost carefully before deciding on a path of action. It is advisable to toe the path of honour right from the onset. One may choose not to run the First Lady’s office like a political office. That is a path of honour. But if she chooses to make her voice heard, it is better to conceive good and credible programmes that will write her name in gold as far as Imo State is concerned.

Her choice of aides and companions matters a whole lot, and must be done circumspectly. It will be a good thing if after four years of her first ladyship, we begin to refer to her achievements as a benchmark of achievements for first ladies rather than keep referring to Maimuna Zubairu who left Imo State many years ago.