SOUTHERN GOVERNORS’ WIVES FORUM: WHAT’S IN A UNION?
The last time I holistically checked, Nigeria in her entirety could
strongly boast of a union that unites the wives of the governors of all the
seventeen states in the Southern part of the country comprising South-East, South-West and South-South.
It’s no longer news that in virtually every quarter, it’s being cited
that ‘what a man can do, a woman can do even better’. As one who never believed
in equating the men folk to the womenfolk, I almost disagreed with this
ideology but currently it appears I’ve been propelled to have a change of
mindset as regards the perception.
Honestly, the pace at which our women are making histories nowadays is
really fascinatingly striking my innermost imagination that I’ve come to see
them as societal frontiers. Though personally I’ve always been of the view that
women remain the controller of any society they find themselves but not to an
extent that seems as if when the men are deeply snoring in their sleeps, their
wives are seriously thinking.
Believe it or leave it; the fact remains that our women have made a
remarkable and formidable history having thought it wise to inaugurate the
aforementioned group – Southern Governors’ Wives Forum, thus I’m strongly proud
of them and I enjoin every right thinking man that hails from the Southern part
of Nigeria to do same.
I want to hastily broaden our mindsets a bit. Most Nigerians are of the
opinion that the people from the North in its totality are united in all
ramifications. I beg to disabuse them of this lingering notion. Believe me,
socially, Northerners have never been together; but politically, they are. For
instance, on a social ground, if you dare address an average man who hails from
Plateau State as an Hausa man, he may be tempted to design your entire body
with dagger or any weapon within his reach.
The truth is that ordinarily people from the North Central geo-political
zone don’t share similar philosophies or traditions with those who hail from
such other geo-political zones of the Northern region as the North East or
North West. However, on political ground, people from all the nineteen states
in the said region enjoy an unalloyed unity or togetherness. Suffice it to say
that they have one voice when it calls for politics; this remains the singular
reason the Northern politicians are invariably ahead of their counterparts in
the South.
Politically, even when the Emir of Kano, for instance, speaks, the
overall citizens of the 19 Northern states would listen to him without much
ado. In the entire North, only one traditional ruler can decide what would
happen in the political cycle because they are formidably together. In view of
this assertion, it’s therefore needless to reiterate that these set of
Nigerians (Northerners) who understand the rudiments of politics have gone too
far in the game; this is why, they continue to ostensibly suppress those in the
South whenever they tango.
Before now, I’ve been reiterating the need for the politicians in the
entire South to speak with only one voice, all to no avail. This implies that
the history that was recently made by the female politicians in the region,
which might not be unconnected to the dogged effort reportedly displayed by the
wife of the Imo State governor Nneoma Nkechi Okorocha and her likes prior to
the emergence of the group, is no doubt a wake-up call. Hence, I sincerely pray
their husbands replicate this gesture that is obviously worthy of emulation.
Unarguably, this wondrous union whose leadership is ably pioneered by
the above named First Lady, is timely as well as a giant step in the right
direction. When members of the epoch-making amalgam had their inaugural meeting
in Imo State, specifically on the 3rd and 4th of March
2016 respectively, the state was tremendously agog. Of course, the convergence
of the amazons deserved the overwhelming applause.
Unequivocally, their male counterparts are presently faced with no other
option than to follow suit; hence, it’s high time they awoke from their
long-lasted slumbers. I challenge them to prove to their respective amiable
wives that they are in charge and on form too. Ironically and intriguingly,
it’s apparent that their Excellencies cannot actualize this without employing
or seeking the indefatigable efforts of the women in question.
To this end, I implore the affected governors to employ their wives as
Special Advisers on Issues relating to Way Forward. Thus, I urge them to wave
farewell to anachronistic views or outings with a view to concentrating solely
on the needful. Frankly, I wouldn’t like to come up with a piece similar or
related to this very one in subsequent time; in other words, the time to act is
now.
Most importantly, as these able First Ladies strive unrelentingly towards creating a greater political atmosphere in the South and Nigeria at large, they are expected to do everything within their reach to ensure that they aren’t carried away by trivial or retrogressive issues. Think about
Comr Fred Doc
Nwaozor
