Representative of Njaba constituency in Imo State House Assembly, Rt. Hon. Amb. UjuOnwudiwe, stands out not just for her elegance and composure but for the uncommon passion she brings into her job. As she clocks 50, in this much anticipated chat with Tricia Iwuoha, she talks about the essence of her work, her personality and the challenge of woman leadership in Nigeria.
Stay tuned…
Can you please tell us about yourself?
My name is Rt. Hon. Amb. Mrs. Uju Onwudiwe (PhD), popularly known as Igolo Njaba, member representing the good people of Njaba constituency in Imo State House of Assembly.I am a simple woman, married to a handsome lovely husband and my friend with two children. I have already passed through primary, secondary education and tertiary institution. I now have MBA, MSc and PhD.
What inspired you to go into politics?
I can’t really say. I have never thought or dreamt of being a politician, but my mother was. Maybe it was the way I socialised with my co-wives and kindred. Then whenever I visited home, I always shared to them the little I had, it could be wrapper, food stuffs, anything and this became a routine and I related well with them which made my husband’s cousin try convincing me to represent Njaba as the deputy governor in Action Congress because he said I would do well if given a chance. But I out rightly said no. He pressurised me for an answer and I told him to give me time to pray over it. I consulted all my siblings and they rejected it saying that no family member should join politics so I should forget about it. I called my spiritual director, Rev. Fr. Chidi Osondu who was in Lagos then but now late and I told him about the offer, he asked me what do I think about it and I told him I wanted to pray about it. He gave me some prayers, (Novena prayers). After the prayers, he blessed me and told me to call back my siblings which I did, behold all of them said they will support me. Then I got back to my spiritual director and he said the hand of God is in it and I should let them know that I was interested. I then called my husband’s cousin and gave him my answer and he asked me to come back immediately to meet with the gubernatorial candidate. When I returned, he took me to Hon. Uche Onyeagocha, who was the gubernatorial candidate of the Action Congress. When Uche Onyeagocha saw me, he laughed and asked are you the person Njaba wants to represent them as a deputy governor? Because at that time I was young and in my thirties. Before then, they had already gotten a deputy who was a retired teacher from Orlu. He told me that I was young, vibrant and outspoken, that I should join the campaign and stand in for chairmanship position in Njaba and this is an environment I was not familiar with except my community, Okwudor. Then campaign started, anywhere I step out to speak, people were like who is this woman, within a short period, I was appealing to the people through my voice, personality and humility. When I told my husband about the responses and support I was getting from people he was happy because from day one he supported my ambition and always said if it will make me happy I should go for it.We had a very serious campaign but at the end Uche Onyeagocha didn’t make it. Trust politicians, Njaba people gathered and decided we move to the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and it was Ikedi Ohakim who won then. They said there is future for me and if I am given the opportunity that they know that I will do well. So that was how I joined PPA, from there we started campaigning but the election was dragging for a long time and within that period God blessed me with the fruit of womb which I have been longing for eight years, and then I took a bow. I then travelled to take care of myself and my son and later joined back politics in 2011.
You have a strong personality which is highly commendable. What would you say influenced your becoming the woman you are today?
What always motivate me is knowing full well that I am for the people, not for myself. I have never seen this position I occupy as a means to promote myself or my immediate family. I see it as a means that will make me touch lives and this is what makes me happy because that is the joy I derive from politics, making people happy, elevating lives, reconciling marriages and others. This is the strong foundation that keeps me going in the political world because those people I touched their lives go home praying for me from different angles especially prayers from the vulnerable and I think it is the reason why I am who I am today and I will never stop serving the people.
People have the notion that women in politics are not good home keepers, what are the necessary factors needed to sustain a good home while in politics?
If I may ask the rate of divorce in the society today, how many of them are politicians? People always tag negative thoughts to politicians especially women. It isn’t just about not making good homes; they even call them harlots. Once you are a female politician you are automatically there for men. This is the mentality and the way they reason. But I keep telling women not to listen to them and this is the reason I told myself, my journey into politics is not to dent my image or name but to defend women and help them attain political positions because we need to start living an exemplary lifestyle. Women need to stand out to prove them wrong and that is why I’m out to fight for the women. Though, we are humans, if any woman should do something wrong doesn’t mean it should be used to generalise all women. So I keep on appealing to women to do their best because we are the most vulnerable and any women given an opportunity should please use it well, work like they have never worked before and write their names in gold in any office they find themselves in so that when they leave people will be praying for another woman to occupy that office. If I’m leaving tomorrow, I will want over ten women to be identified politically in Njaba because I lived a life worthy of emulation and served them well too. Talking about the impression that you are a female politician automatically means you cannot build a home is wrong. Men should build their homes too, it’s not meant for women alone because the children have to be raised by both of them not necessarily financially but being there to train, correct and guide them in certain decisions they make. So parents have a lot of work to do in the family in order to make our society better. It’s not a woman thing.
What do you think helped you most to make a career as a woman?
My parental upbringing. My parents were awesome and they were there for us and it is sad that my mother left us early but with the little training I got staying with her for ten years, had a lot of influence on me. At that time, I already knew what was right and wrong and could take a decision on my own.We were raised in an environment where my mother was a politician and a business woman, my father was a civil servant but they created time for us, inculcated in us good moral values, by letting us know what is right and wrong. They raised us with Catholic teachings and checkmated our friends, reminding us that bad friends can make us change our decisions if we were not careful. My father impacted in us a strong character by letting us know that we should never see ourselves lesser because we are women and there was no difference between a man and a woman, that the only difference is the sex organ and that we are equal in the sight of God. He always told us to stay firm in anything we are doing as long as we have the capacity to do it. These were instrumental to my being who I am in my career today.When I’m out there with men, I don’t see them as men but as my fellow human being. So what I owe men is respect, I don’t disrespect them, I respect them a lot because in my home after God, my husband is the next and must give him that respect.
In Nigeria, what are the challenges hindering optimal participation of women in politics.
A lot and nobody is ready to help solve these challenges so we are trying to jump these challenges in order to be where we are today. Our culture is one those challenges that is hindering us. Some men do not believe that a woman should be on top and men should be under them. Most people do not believe that a woman should be talking while men listen. I use myself as an example, when I wanted to contest for House of Assembly, some men there vehemently refused and said over their dead bodies will that happen, that it was an abomination for a woman to represent in Njaba. I sighted some instances where women represented their constituencies in the state but they insisted that it won’t happen in Njaba and not a woman who is from Enugu State and I reminded them that I am now married in Njaba and that has made me an Njaba indigene and Imolite too. Amazingly, all these they said to my face not minding how I felt about it.Others are religion and finance. Now go round the state and take a record of all the contracts that are executed, you will find out that 99.9% of them are awarded to men and their companies. I have never seen any woman that benefitted from the state government or a woman that has be awarded a N1billion contract I’m yet to see so tell me how can women sustain themselves politically. Another is the challenge of women not mentoring themselves because they don’t have what it takes and the few who can are not interested in politics unlike men who can pick somebody and sponsor them for election. Also discriminatory attitude which is on the increase, you can imagine a young woman vying for an elective position and her age and marital status are questioned but a man of 25 years old goes for same and its okay and if we don’t address this now our children will inherit it, that is why women like me are putting in all we have to correct the imbalance. In Imo State House of Assembly, out of the 27 representatives, we have only two women isn’t that worrisome despite how exposed the state is. It is expected that we should have at least six women in the house or more. Well I’m believing that our gender friendly Governor Hope Uzodinma and his lovely wife will give women opportunity in the forthcoming elections because there is a whole lot of difference when a woman is in leadership because she leads as a mother with love and care, gives her people the sense of belonging and can make sacrifices too.
Can you assess the inclusion of women in various cadres of governance in Governor Uzodinma’s administration?
Governor Hope Uzodinma has done well in terms of women inclusion in his administration. Out of the eighteen in the commissioners list, six are female and in the SA and SAA lists, they are countless. I’m yet to see any committee formed by the governor that doesn’t have women in it. Because of his love and respect for women, this necessitated his assenting to the controversial VAAP bill which is a huge gift to Imo State.
Talking about the controversial VAAP bill, I am aware that most House of Assemblies in the federation have passed the bill to law but are yet to receive assent of their governors. How did you feel when Gov. Uzodinma assented it to law?
I was so happy. Many Imolites called and congratulated me even though at some point I was pressurised to drop it but I never heeded to those self-centered calls because I knew the benefits are more. In fact, that made my day and the interesting thing is that it was on Her Excellency’s birthday and all she requested for as a gift from the governor was the VAAP bill and he granted it and that really touched me. VAAP law is now a veritable instrument and will help to checkmate violence against girls and women in the state because violence is high in marriages, offices and public places and minors are being raped every day, a child of two years old and more. Imagine a situation a man rapes a child of six months old and nobody is talking about it because the victim is from a poor home and the villagers tend to conceal it in favour of the man while the victim is intimidated. Thank God for the Imo State Committee on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, if not a lot would have happened in this state and Her Excellency has been working tirelessly for the interest of the vulnerable in that aspect, helping people, sustaining and rehabilitating them, also taking the cases to court to defend victims through selfless female lawyers who have been helpful. So now victims don’t have to be bothered because the government is now involved in their cases and all they need to do is just speak out and watch the government take over the case till judgement is given. Mind you, if anyone takes advantage of this by lying against somebody that you were raped when it’s not true, you will be punished too.
Do you think young women can drive change in political leadership?
Absolutely, give women a chance you will see what they can do. What is happening in Rwanda will be a small thing and with this bill our sister Nkiru Onyejiocha is on which seeks for more seats to be created for women in the House of Reps and Senate. This will allow only women to contest for that seat in any federal constituency and senatorial zone, if granted and assented before this election; honestly I give you twelve to sixteen years from now Nigeria will be a different thing all together. All women need is a platform and opportunity to serve.
What endearing trait do you have that people do not know about?
I have a gentle, unassuming manner but I have a transparent character that people may not know of. My humility, resilience, friendliness, honesty, kindness, integrity, self-control, dedication and prayerful life are known to many who are close to me but not known to others. I believe in the sanctity of life and respect for cultural values and dignity of humanity. Irrespective of any exalted position that I may have, I believe that I must respect elders, men and mankind but not to compromise my resolve to champion the betterment of womanhood.
At 50, what can you say, you’re grateful to God?
I am very grateful to God for making me reach 50 years because my mother did not see 50. I am so thankful to God for giving me life, good husband, children, siblings, friends and co-workers. Also for my educational feat that’s my doctorate degree and saving my life during the incident that led to the death of two traditional rulers because I was at that meeting. After all, here I am counting all my blessings and to God be all the glory.
If you could change anything about your personality, what would that be?
Uhmmm! Nothing because I’m good all round and appreciate everything about me.
Apart from politics, what are your hobbies?
I love seeing movies whether at home or cinema, listening to music, reading novels and interesting books and travelling.
Any pet project?
Yes, my foundation which is all about poverty alleviation in Njaba. We are there to help the less privileged who can’t afford to feed, give monetary support to those who want to start a trade and render medical aids to the people because we discovered that majority of our people here don’t want to go to the hospital because they can’t afford it and this leads them to patronising chemist shops; where most of the drugs sold there are fake and not good for consumption so during our medical outreach you will see people trooping out in their numbers to get free medical treatments which have saved so many lives and we are happy about that. We usually do this annually until the insecurity in Njaba which has not given us the opportunity to gather people for any reason but as soon as this is over we will go back to what we know how to do best.
What word of wisdom would you want to give to young women in our society today?
To all the young women out there, don’t give up, identify yourself, know your abilities and keep on doing what you know how to do best. Don’t ever think anyone can pull you down except yourself. I encourage you to be bold in whatever you are doing and always be exceptional. That’s why Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is where she is today because no one can match her all thanks to her intelligence and versatility. So women strive to improve yourselves and live an exemplary life.
