YOUNG WOMEN IN POLITICS! An inspiring Interview. with Prof.Chinyere Stella Okunna. (Fmr Commissioner for Information. Anambra State.) THE FULL INTERVIEW!

"like I say all the time, you cannot do this without the support of your family, the result will be a broken home, your marriage will breakup, your children will turn against you, so any time a woman wants to accept a position, either appointive or run for an elective position, you must sit down, .. and Discuss." ~Prof.Chinyere Stella Okunna. (Fmr Commissioner for Information. Anambra State.)



It was a great time with Professor Stella Okunna, a former Commissioner of Anambra State under the two tenures of Gov. Peter Obi Administration.
A receptive, inspiring and strong Nigerian woman, her amazing achievements, flair for hardwork and passion toward life is truly endearing.
Listening to her as she shares her experiences, in politics, as a Journalist, a lecturer, a mother and a loving wife, increases my hope for an emergence of more number of Nigerian women, who are loving and living a balanced life!
If you are reading this, you are a supporter of "women enhancement and general participation." Particularly in Politics.
Enjoy!

Excerpt..







Can we meet you ma'am ?
I am Professor Chinyere Stella Okunna .

Please tell us a little about your career history?

Well, I have been a teacher all my life.
As a teacher I began teaching Mass Communication at Enugu, in the year 1998 when I came to Unizik.(Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka), I was made the Head Of the Department for Mass Communication, a position I held for 8 consecutive years, then from there, while serving as HOD I was appointed Commissioner into Anambra State Government. I began as Commissioner for Information and I was there from 2006 when I entered government, for 3 years, then I was made Commissioner for Economic Planning, and Budget. I was there from 2009 to 2012 and in 201cornersng another Cabinet reshuffle, I was also made the chief of Staff, combining the position of Chief of Staff with that of Commissioner.

I came back here (Unizik) in April 2014. The Peter Obi administration ended for us on 11th of April, it was a Friday by Monday 14th I was back here. (laughs), and recently, they made me HOD again.


How many years were you with the Commissioner?

Eight years. I was there all through with Peter Obi. I began with him in 2006 when I was appointed, and all through the Cabinet changes I was with him.

Why did you come back to unizik?

(laughs), that is a good one, well, why not, you know if you knew me by my nature I cannot stay idle so to say, people were thinking “oh, she will go and rest, maybe one year, she will go away and unwind”, what am I unwinding from?, and like I told you, the government I worked for was fanatical about work, and for eight years my body had been tuned to work round the clock, and I tell you without mincing words, that if I had gone away for even one month and stayed idle, I would have become sick, so the only way for me was to come back and continue with my work, and in all honesty I missed my students, even though I was in government, my mind was with them, and also my colleagues, immediately I had the chance to come back, I ran back!


What made serving in the Anambra state government interesting for you?

All the achievements, all the hard work, because Anambra was at the cross road when we came, in terms of peace and tranquility, anybody who knows governance in Anambra State then, it was so fractures, there was so much bad blood, so many division, so many rivalries, the government I worked for was somehow able to bring a measure of peace and tranquility, and I think we also worked hard, nobody can achieve everything , but ordinarily I think the government did quite a lot, using an innovative approach to government like ANIDS, which means, Anambra Integrated Development Strategy, and the MDGs, guided by those two philosophies, a lot was done. We touched areas that were hitherto untouched. So one thing I look back to is the legacy, because whatever legacy Peter Obi had left, is my legacy also because I was there for 8 years, and we had a number of people who were committed to the work.

When we came initially in 2006, we were all technocrats, maybe one or two were politicians, but the bulk of us were professionals from our different fields and we came in there trying to work hard and give our best, so I think, whatever we did to touch lives in government is my legacy too.

What will you say politics means to you?

It is the use of resources by political actors to do good, to develop the constituencies, your community, your State, your Nation. A good politician should be a Nation builder, but you know sometimes people are not committed to the ideal, there are all shades of politicians, in Nigeria today, some are even not anywhere near the ideal politician.

What should someone in politics aim to achieve?

It's to leave a legacy, by deploying the resources of the people, on their behalf. You should aim at making sure the power given to you, even if it's within two years, four years, any amount of years, you make an impact on the community, doing good.
There is so much to do, there are so many people's life to touch, and your job should be to wield the power you have, not for selfish interest, but to make sure you do good. You should be a utilitarian, not an egoist, not somebody who is always thinking about yourself, you should be guided by the common good you can do.

Comparing the past and the present, have women been actively involved in politics?

Things are improving, but it has not gotten to where it should be. If you look at Nigeria population, there is almost a balance between the number of men and the number of women, but looking at politics and the people taking part, you do not see that parity. When women come into politics we should also make sure they are doing important and visibilities things do not put them in obscure corners so that we have 10 women doing absolutely nothing. The government I just left now, we had women occupying very important, fundamental positions, and they did their best.

Women should find the courage to run for elective positions, there are many women politicians in Nigeria today who have what it takes to go out there. Truly many are coming out, and doing quite well. When a woman is given a position, and she does well, it encourages others to find the courage, and when you are appointed as a Commissioner or something like that, and you do well, you encourage those who appointed you, to appoint more women. Also I think that more women should find courage to run for political positions, and when they do come out, they should merit support from those who have the eligibility to vote. Women have the capacity, the training, the education, the feasibility to do well in politics, so if more women will go into politics and do it with merit, I think things will improve. For me it’s not so far so good, there is still a lot of improvement needed.

What is the general perception of Nigerians to women in politics?

Negative. Nigerian culture, hasn’t been kind to women in politics, sometimes, because they feel women should not do that kind of thing, they see politics as a ‘manly thing’, and a woman coming there, they think you are being audacious, you are being forward, and they look at you like if you are doing the wrong thing. They feel how can a woman come and start campaigning, and start challenging men, I think that is a very stupid way to look at women, but that’s the way many men even the educated ones look at women.

They say, “what are they looking for in politics”, it's not so much as go back to your kitchen, but they say politics is dirty, “don’t come in here you are a lady, why are you coming to swim in the murky waters of politics”, it’s not true! Politics can be decent, that is why the electorate must make sure they elect people who are decent in politics, if you elect those who are educated and decent, and well mannered, they will clean up the image of politicians. Even religion do not look kindly on women politicians, but things are changing, because women politicians who are doing well, are cleaning up the image of women in politics.

There is this saying that ‘women are their enemies, how true is it?

It’s not true, do not even listen to that kind of crap. That is what men say to put us down. I remember after I came from Ministry of Information and I went into Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget which is a very core ministry, my Permanent Secretary was a woman, and they said “haa! two women, they are going to kill themselves there, how can they cooperate? how can they have peace there”, and all eyes were on us. Mrs Nwando! And we showed them wonders there, we worked so hard, so well, both of us, our ministry was up there, in everything we did, and if you ask anybody today what we did in that ministry together, they will tell you.
So it is not true I don't believe in that, women are not their worst enemies and they cite things like traditional practices, like when the husband dies or funeral rites, it is the men who made the laws, and they are using women to enforce them, is it their laws they are enforcing? When you will know is, if they do anything that the men don't approve of, you will see where the power lies, women don't make laws in rural societies, they implement laws made by men, so all those burial rites, even though it is the women enforcing them, the men are right behind them breathing down their necks, to make sure that they are implementing the law properly, I don't believe women are their worst enemies, heard that for so long!

Even if some women are, there is also rivalry among men, even more vicious and more deadly, women could compete on petty rivalry, but the men can go all out, they kill, they are murderous when they campaign to compete for scare positions, they shouldn't give us that crap about women, it is not true and as a young lady, don't even believe that, as you grow believe in your fellow women pull together, whatever the men tell you, they are trying to divide you so that you don't gain the power to mobilize, to ask for your right.
They say that to be uncharitable, just as they say, “all women, what do they know? they are just gossips, they stay around, they do no work”, have you not watched this department, what women have been doing here, look at the former HOD here, (of Mass Communication department Unizik) was she gossiping around and not achieving anything? See the small time she spent and legacies she left here.

They even think we are inferior to them in intelligence, it is a stupid argument, I looked through my entire career, I have never been beaten by a man, from my primary school, to my secondary school and university, no man ever put me in second position, I have always been top of my class, I'm intelligent, I'm hardworking, these are the things we need for leadership.
Do not even listen to that, it is a way of undermining your self confidence, your self esteem so that they will weaken your resolve. So as a young person, please, if you have that idea, change it, it is not true.

I am not saying anything a man can do, a woman can do, I don't believe in that phrase, but the women can cope with challenging position and support themselves , competition is everywhere. When two women are competing for something scares, there is bound to be competition, in the same way, when two men are competing for something, conflict comes in also, it is not peculiar to women, don't let anybody convince otherwise.


What should a woman in politics possess?

The first thing you must have as an aspiring female politian is courage, because you are delving into almost a taboo area where they think you should not be, the same thing applies to journalism, many women journalist face challenges which their male counterparts don't, quite often, they are raped, harassed sexually, even murdered, and many of them don't report because it stigmatizes them, these are challenges women face even in politics, for you to rise some men are thinking, before they give you a ticket, before they do anything, you have to debase yourself, also the financial aspects, many women do not have the financial capacity, politics is a very expensive venture and because, society, culture, religion, also combine to give women a weaker economic position than the men, when they go into politics, many of them don't have the wherewithal.



Benefit of politics for women?

You know, politics is policy making, participation, inclusiveness so if women don't go in there, people who are there may not raise women issues, it takes women who are there, to raise them, to crusade for them, and advocate for them. Take a place like the House of Assembly where they make laws, if there are no women there, there may be nobody providing for gender sensitive policies, and laws, so women should be there for us to have a voice, politics gives voice to people. Wherever you are no matter how small your position is, from local government Chairman, to all the Councilors, to House of Assembly, to House of Rep, to Senate, to Governorship, to Presidency, wherever you are in politics, it gives you voice and visibility, and for a woman, you can use that opportunity to voice out things concerning women, and crusade for them.



Challenges of women in politics?
Financial constraints, though many women are beginning to make their own money now. Then unfair cultural practices.


Women in politics and home front, how can it be managed?

It is a major hurdle, but not insurmountable, many women have devised ways of managing both the home and their jobs, whether in politics or out of politics. It is a major problem because of conservatism and cultural practices, I don't see why managing the home should be a woman's duty completely, luckily, the younger generations now, both the wife and the husband are beginning to manage their homes, that is the way it should be, because they are still insisting on traditional practices, when the husband was everything, the men go out working and the women kept home.
Careers are changing so why should we keep insisting on the same age old division of labour and luckily, the younger women who are going into politics now, their husbands are supportive, ones you and your husband and the family discuss what you want to do, and they believe you can do it if you go in there, there will be ways of coping and supporting you, even the little children.

women should also explore the use of house help, not completely, but then a woman does not have to kill herself so that she can please her family, there are ways to combine them without the children going astray, you can also give quality time to your children, it shouldn't deter women from going into politics, their husband should support them, because when they too go into politics the women support them.


Home front and politics: my experience.

I came into politics when some of my children were still young, like I say all the time, you cannot do this without the support of your family, the result will be a broken home, your marriage will breakup, your children will turn against you, so any time a woman wants to accept a position, either appointive or run for an elective position, you must sit down, no matter how young your children are, even if they are 10years old, sit them down and say, “mummy wants to become the governor of this state, or to be a politician and I need all your love and support”, you may think they don't understand, they will understand, and you and your husband will discuss it, many husbands now may not mind, there are some ones who don't understand a woman's ambition, but I think many men will support, you must discuss it and agree on what to do, even men should not feel too big, when they want to do a thing, they should also table it in a family meeting, with their wife and their children, if your children are grown ups, you should also be able to consult them.

For me, I had my husband's support, completely, because he has seen me rise in my profession as a lecturer and a professor, he has seen me travel the world to attend conferences and I speak at conferences and do other important things, he didn’t mind, even when I was much younger, there was a time when any time I went to a conference, I was the only woman there, when women were still very scare in journalism, and he supported me. I remember the last time when I was pregnant with my last child, I had morning sickness, it was he who took me all the way, giving me the support I required. So when I came into politics, I had enjoyed a long period of support from my family, it wasn't an issue at all, they were proud of what I was doing, because I was doing it well, so they supported me all the way, and my children were slightly grown up, so it wasn't like they require round the clock attention from me.

My husband supported me, assuming there was crises and he was challenging me all the time, I couldn't have focused on my work to give my best. And above all my marriage would have broken down because I will have insisted on doing what I was doing, because usually, when a woman wants to do something in politics, two things could happen, it is either you succumb to the pressure and say, OK, the man wins, you go back and kill your ambition, you stay there, serving him and the children, no ambition, or you say, "I can do this, I want to do this, I am going to do this", and the man says "you cannot do this", the marriage packs up, or there is constant crises and that kind of constant crises is not good for raising the children psychological, even physically, that is lack of peace, so either you have the man's support and there is peace, and you go there, or you don't have his support and there is constant quarrel, and the children are traumatized, or the marriage breaks up. The man may not like it, but he can say, "this woman is human, she wants to do this, she can do this, and she loves doing this, so even though I don't want it, let me allow, if it was me, will I throw away my ambition because my wife says no?" Many men are beginning to understand and I hope.



Do you agree that some women compromise themselves so as to rise?

It depends, some women do that, it is not true that all women do, I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything to become Professor, I didn't do anything to rise in my job. I believed in hard work and I worked hard, nobody ever gave me one single mark I did not deserve in assessment, so I can hold my head high and say, a woman can rise to the top without compromising your integrity, or morality. Some women do it I know, but if you ask me, there are women who cannot on their own achieve anything. They require a man's attention to do that. There are times a man cannot approach you if he sees your self confidence and he knows you have the capacity, and he may not have the courage to proposition you, but when they see you are weak and you give the impression, and a "come on" to a man, the man reads your body language, and knows you are agreeable, you can be compromised, when you are sure of yourself, and are not compromising, men are also human beings, they can read the signs, that, "this is a no-go area". So I don't believe that a woman cannot do anything without compromising her integrity, it's not true. There are women who have not done that and they have gotten to the top of their careers.

What are the chances of Nigerian women as governors and president?

It should be possible eventually, like I know, Anambra is a typical patriarchal society, but a time will come. Do you ever think a woman could even be Speaker of the House, or even a Senator, or be in House of Representive? it was always a man's field years ago, things are changing, do you even think a woman could find the courage to run for governorship, Uche Ekwunife did it, even coming out amongst men, and more women are coming out, in Delta State, IMO state etc, so many are coming out for Senatorial campaign and to be in the House of Representative. Things are improving, and one of these days, women will find out that a woman can be governor, I don't see why not.

They have been deputy governor, and they have done well, I used to attend the National Economic Council Meeting, with my governor, and many of the women who were coming were deputy governors, when their governors couldn't come, they came and they made contributions that were smart, from deputy governor, the very next step is governor. If you do so well and people are seeing that this woman is capable, the time will come when you can come out for governorship. It can't always be this way forever. A time will come when a woman will become President of this country.


Advice to younger female aspiring politicians?

The most important thing is self confidence and self-esteem. You must believe in yourself, you must say to yourself, I have the capacity to do this. Capacity matters, women should always try to get into positions of authority, on merit, and that means you should be the best you can be, if you know your areas of deficiency, improve yourself. If it is education, go and find education, anybody can do anything at any age, there is nothing you cannot learn now, the internet is filled with knowledge, whatever you want to do, make sure you are the best in that area, upgrade your knowledge, empower yourself, acquired the right skill, and above all, believe in yourself. If you do not believe in yourself, nobody will believe in you. If you cannot say, "I can do this", nobody can.

Each time I speak I talk about SWOT analysis, know what your STRENGTHS are as a woman, then maximize them, if you are intelligent, or educated, you know those strengths, and you empower yourself more. The "W" is for WEAKNESSES, Identify your weaknesses, you are a human being, if it is lack of knowledge, gain the right knowledge, if it is lack of skill, gain the right skills. If you are a shy person, banish your shyness, if you feel intimidated, enforce self confidence in yourself. The others are THREATS, Identify what they are, if maybe your boss is trying to compromise you, try to avoid being in close proximity or in private with him, and don't give him the chance, minimize that threat. If you think you are a very pretty girl, everybody is looking at you, wanting to take you to bed all the time, don't compromise yourself by staying in an uncompromising position, don't give them the impression that you are available, these are threat you must overcome.

There are OPPORTUNITIES also, that is for "O", and it may come only once, look out for opportunities and seize them. Also know that even if you are young now, you are not young forever, there was a time we were your age. Your opportunity is also time bound. Know that you have your time, you are not growing young every day, you are young and pretty today, young and smart today, if you want to do anything now, don't procrastinate, go on and try and do it, you don't have forever, a time will come when you might even get to my age or even older, or even slightly younger, and you may lose interest or other things begin to take up your time, and you don't have the opportunity, time and resources, to do that. So these are my candid opinions, as a woman who have tried to work hard in my area.

I think any woman has the capacity, to do things that you put your mind to, the most important thing is to put your mind to it , and have a clear goal and consistently work toward that goal with self confidence and don't ever be intimidated by a man, tell yourself, this man is a human being, maybe he has a first degree you have same, you both have been to the best universities, so what's the point , barring cultural and religious practices, a man is not better than a woman any day.