As I begin the chronicle of my ‘date’ for this week, I remember an election period in this country when Sarah Jibril declared her intention to run for the seat of the president of Nigeria and she got only one vote which was actually hers. It was quite discouraging because it showed clearly that women may not necessarily be their own supporters.
When my ‘date’ for this week told me she wanted to run for the Governorship position in Imo state, I said to myself “This lovely, self-effacing and very intelligent woman, can she cope with the copious challenges involved?” Then I saw her fliers and manifesto and could only admire her determination.
“It is not a decision that I have taken lightly, being fully aware of the enormous responsibility and also the dangers it portends. In the words of Van Gogh, ‘The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible, but they have never found these dangers sufficient reasons for remaining ashore.’ I am afraid. But I am more afraid of what will happen if I don’t.” she tells me.
Ifeyinwa Maureen Okafor (I.M.O), is a gubernatorial aspirant in IMO state, graduated with a first class in Law from one of UK’s top universities. She also has a Masters in Business. An alumnus of the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership , University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, USA, a seasoned chartered accountant, chartered secretary and administrator, she has over 23 years cognate experience in different sectors of the economy. A multiple international and local award winner, she is on the boards of several profit and nonprofit organisations. She is young, energetic and determined to see a developed Nigeria starting with Imo state in her lifetime.
Ify remembers her days of being young when she begins this interview telling me “I am the first of five children so I was always expected to get good grades and set an example for my siblings. My parents were University dons who gave us a strict religious upbringing in the Catholic Church. We grew up surrounded by books and we were constantly encouraged to read. I am privileged to have lived and schooled in different parts of Nigeria”
“In the North, I went to Ahmadu Bello University Staff School, Zaria. In the south, I attended Federal Government College, Ikot Ekpene. In the west, University of Lagos and of course, I was born in the east so you could say I am a thorough Nigerian.” She says.
Ify spent her early years in the United States; an era she believes helped to shape her significantly. In her words, “The exposure to a developed country in my formative years was critical in developing my cognitive abilities and giving me the spirit of excellence I carry till this day. Therefore, one of the priorities of my government will be education with special emphasis on early child education (nursery to primary) because experts have proven that it is the most critical stage of lifelong learning. Growing up and studying abroad (later in the United Kingdom) has made me cosmopolitan and to realize that if we develop our resources we can give our children a better environment than we currently have today.” She reveals.
I asked Ify why she decided to run for office of the governor of Imo state and she brilliantly gives it away. “When I speak to certain audiences, I use my four W’s approach. I tell them ‘Who’ I am; Ifeyinwa Maureen Okafor. My initials stand for IMO. I tell them ‘Where’ I come from; Ehime Mbano in Okigwe zone of Imo state. I tell them ‘Why’ I am aspiring; As a people we yearn for a new kind of leadership, founded on love, excellence, accountability, development, empowerment, responsibility, service, humility, inspiration, purpose (vision). The acronym is Leadership.”
“I am prepared to be that kind of leader that is why I have offered myself to serve my people. And for my ‘When’, I tell them the timing for women in governance has never been better. This decade has produced more women presidents globally than at any other time in history. Evil thrives when good people sit down and do nothing. I have decided to offer myself to serve my generation. Like Esther, I believe I was born for a time such as this. The question now is whether the electorate is ready for good leadership.” She tells me
There is the general belief that ‘politics is a dirty game.’ I asked Ify her opinion and she says “politics is not dirty, just the way we play it currently. In my blog, www.ify44.wordpress.com, I write about politics. The aim of the blog is to redefine who a politician is and encourage ‘good’ people to join politics so together we can build a greater nation. I advocate a new kind of politics founded on a different set of values. So, rather than say politics is dirty as a reason to stay away, good people should get involved.”
Like Mute Efe stated in his book; The Beautiful Life, everybody has issues. But what is key is being able to forge ahead in spite of them. That is what makes you a winner. Franklin D. Roosevelt, despite his physical disability became the 32nd President of the United States while Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a woman, emerged from a war torn African nation to lead. Speaking on her challenges, Ify admits “I have faced and still face many personal and professional challenges including certain stereotyping and cultural dogmas that attempt to limit me. I also strive to balance my family and professional roles as I take on greater responsibilities. I have had negative workplace experiences but I am indomitable. I thank God for my sterling academic achievements and my work place successes but more so for my failures for those are the fires that have forged a greater and more refined me.” she concludes.
Statistics show that women representation in leadership positions is quite low. This Ify agrees to as she gives me details to buttress her point. Hear her “the statistics show that we do not have enough women in political leadership. In fact, there has been an overall regression in women’s representation in political decision-making positions. 7 out of 109 (6.42%) senators elected in 2011 are women compared to 9 (10%) in 2007, while only 24 out of 360 (6.66%) members of the House of Representatives are women, down from 26 in 2007. Out of Nigeria’s 36 states, we currently have only 4 female deputy governors (11.1%) and no female governor.” Ify tells me and continues “my political party has already begun the efforts to change this statistics by encouraging women to aspire. Article 6(5) of the PDP Constitution says ‘The party shall support the emancipation and participation of women by encouraging their representation at all levels and Article 6(7) states, in nomination for party offices at least 35% shall be allocated to women.”.
“The National Gender policy confers a 35% affirmative action and the Woman for Change Initiative of the current administration is also geared towards more women participating in politics. However, all these are not enough because the number of women aspiring is still low (9%) so the number that will eventually be elected will be commensurate. Issues that affect their aspiration include political violence, our cultural mindset about the woman’s role and campaign financing. I believe once we can address these issues (and here I must acknowledge the work of the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund) and the idea of independent candidacy, more women will be encouraged to enter the race.” She quips.
Ever heard of the saying ‘women are their own worst enemies?’ well, hear Ify’s take on this “This is a general assertion but I do not agree because there are not enough statistics to back this up. Personally, I have excellent female mentors in the workplace (Iyalode Alaba Lawson and Eniola Fadayomi) and in The Woman Leader, a faith based organisation that challenges women to arise into their positions of leadership and to be catalysts for change, women like Ibukun Awosika and Ambassador Folake Marcus- Bello have equally been a source of encouragement and inspiration to me.”
“However, the challenge for women is being able to balance their 3-fold ministry of wife, mother and workplace. Some women just worry that in trying to reach for one, you may jeopardize the others so they ‘encourage’ you to maintain a good balance.” Ify admonishes.
It is common place to hear various people speak of their manifestos when vying for a position. I asked Ify what she plans to do differently and what we should expect from her and her response said it all. “What I intend to do I have already begun. I plan to offer a different kind of leadership based on the values I mentioned to you earlier. The holy book says that where there is no vision, the people perish. Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai, in his book, My Vision, said ‘The strength of a nation lies not in its natural resources, but in the visionary capacity of its leaders’.”
“I have made my vision for the new Imo clear and I have documented it in well articulated and detailed sector by sector vision statements in my ‘What Imo Needs’ series. This is published weekly in two of Imo state’s widest circulating newspapers and also on my website www.ifeyinwaokafor.com and other social media. No other aspirant has ever done such a thorough and detailed work of envisioning the greater IMO state. I am also implementing what I call authentic democracy. Questionnaires/Surveys are being administered to IMO citizens right now so that they can participate in governance. We want to know how we can best serve them when elected. This is a first of its kind as we continuously redefine governance.”
Concluding the interview, Ify gives her parting shot “my promise to IMO people is that it cannot be business as usual. As a qualified accountant and administrator, diversifying our internally generated funds and prudent management of our resources are pertinent to me. The vision will be a reality. Real change is coming to IMO and make no mistake, IMO under my leadership will be the best state in Nigeria.”
KEMI AJUMOBI
