I love this Ada Owere I Movement ably piloted by Dr. Betty – Anyanwu Akeredolu, former First Lady of Ondo State who like, Hillary Clinton before her, is digging deeper into politics. My chat with the multitasking Activist revealed the very strong connection.
She said : “My political role model has always been Hillary Clinton. I have always admired her intellect, resilience, courage and unwavering commitment to public service. She demonstrated that women can aspire and compete at the highest level of leadership with competence, grace and determination.”
Ada Owere and Hillary have a lot to share. Their lawyer husbands were state governors. Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas. Rotimi Akeredolu governed Ondo. The Clintons are lawyers. The Akeredolus were born in July.
Today, Hillary serves as the Eleventh Chancellor of Queen’s University, Belfast. That institution produced Adegboyega Adedoyin as its first African graduate. He was also the first Nigerian at the Olympic Games, although he represented Great Britain at the London 1948 Games.
Ada Owere was in the Philippines during the years of President Corazon Aquino. I felt she could have been influenced by the woman whose husband was also a governor (of Tarlac Province) and had tried to study law. I was wrong.
“No,” she responded. “I was a post graduate student at the University of Philippines in Iloilo City, where I was pursuing my Masters degree in Fisheries and Aquaculture. I admired the democratic changes taking place under Corazon but she did not influence my political journey.”
Before Dr. Anyanwu – Akeredolu flew to the Far East, there was Filipino presence in Owerri through a Miss Subala who taught and lived inside Government Secondary School, Owerri in the late 1970s.
Ada Owere believes in women. Hear her : “Women are natural nurturers, that instinct when translated into leadership, can drive compassionate, purposeful, people – centred governance – exactly what Nigeria needs at this time.”
We discussed Dr. Ngozi Okonjo – Iweala of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Amina Mohammed of the United Nations as the most positively visibly Nigerians globally, while the men are often highlighted for the wrong reasons.
“It speaks volumes about the capacity of Nigerian women. When given the opportunity, Nigerian women excel on the global stage because they are resilient, hardworking intelligent and results driven.”
She is eyeing a House of Representatives seat for the Owerri West Constituency under the Labour Party. The attraction is that, “for the first time, a major political party is under female leadership. This is not just symbolic, it is transformational.”
Do not be surprised that Ada Owere I has become a Fisher of Votes. She understands both Man and Animal. Her first degree from the University of Nigeria Nsukka came in Zoology, as far back as 1977. The Amazon also obtained a post graduate degree from the University of Ibadan.
Ada Owere has public and private service background. For nearly three decades, she worked at the Federal Department of Fisheries.
As a First Lady, this helped. It was not about sharing handouts and distributing Ankara, there were solid ventures.
The Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN) took centre stage. She also ran Aquatic Farms Ventures and never forgot where she came from. Governor Akeredolu was so supportive of a wife he met while serving in Enugu.
Ada Owere was emphatic about that support even in death. “Aketi would have been my strongest supporter. He believes in my capacity, my courage and my passion for service”, she said.
The energy is great. She told me why she keeps jogging even as a grandmother. “Yes, I was actively involved in Sports as a young girl. I enjoyed athletics and other school sporting activities because they taught me team work, discipline and endurance.”
After shaking hands across the Niger and still standing strong, I wanted to know her base during the Civil War. She did not hold anything back. “I was in the then Biafra, already a teenager in class 2 of secondary school.
”Like millions of other other children, I experienced the hardships and uncertainties of war. But amidst pain, I witnessed the indefatigable spirit of the Igbo people – the remarkable ‘I Can Do’ spirit that thrives against all odds.”
Ada Owere 1 represents the never dying Igbo – Yoruba connection which not even Fourth Republic politics can erase. Eastern Region governor, Akanu Ibiam chose Eudora Olayinka Sasegbon, an Ondo Lagosian as wife. First governor of Kwara State, David Bamigboye took Beatrice Chinyere Asagwara, from Uzoagba, to the altar.
Mama Nnenna Esther Akpara, left Akwete to join Senator Ayoola Adeleke. She is one of the few Nigerian women, with Alhaja Bamigboye, to have produced two State governors as children. Isiaka and Ademola Adeleke, Senators and governors. Now we know why Davido chose Chioma, from Owere Nkwoji.
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