As I sat in the beautiful Oriental Hotel Ballroom yesterday at the investiture of my sister, the ever-so-brilliant and elegant Uto Ukpannah as the second female president of the very powerful Institute of Chartered Secretaries, my eyes surveyed the room
Uto’s investiture had pulled in power.
Emir Sanusi was in full attendance, Keem Bello Osagie, the Board Room titan and now a Professor, the GMD of the uproarious NGX, Temi Popoola, Dr Karl Tomori, the GMD of the giant MTN, former Ministers, and so many other bigwigs, including the top Senior Advocate who administered the oath.
Just as I was about to sneak out, Usoro Akpabio sent me pictures and a news statement detailing her receiving her official letter from the Secretary to the Federal Government formally signposting her earlier announcement as the Chief Executive of the Multi billion Naira South South Development Commission a mighty Intervention agency with a budget over N500 billion
I smiled and looked at pioneer Akwa Ibom powerful woman Mary Alibaba who rose to the position of Executive Director in two major Banks and who in her days was a true leader and who was sat in front of me at the Event.
Akwa Ibom, as a state and a people, have come a long way.
We have moved from a conglomeration of ‘little people’ with funny accents to a powerful force that continues to hold and contribute very powerfully to our nation
Today, we hold the number three position in the land, we have captains of industry and great military men
People like Admiral Akpan, Udo Udoma, Udeme Ufot and his wife – Ekaette Ufot, famed estate surveyor Tony Nda, Mayen Adetiba and my dear Aunty Mrs Eshiet, who held sway at the NNPC in a very strategic position for years, to mention a few.
Uto and Usoro’s ascendency has not only been on the back of the pioneering role these titans mentioned above have played in opening the eyes of the nation to the quality manpower our state can bring to the table, their push has also been on the back of their individual merit
Uto has had a rich professional career. From UBA, through Afribank and now MTN, where she is the Company Secretary, she has continued to herald brilliance and professional integrity in all she does, hence the huge respect and influence she continues to parlay in her career.
Married to the brilliant Aniekan who is also a globally revered legal practitioner, Uto continues to push merit-based leadership in her space to the constant admiration of not only her peers but all stakeholder groupings that she belongs
It is no wonder that the room was bursting at the seems with very influential people flying in from all over the world to be part of her investiture.
Usoro is a veteran on power. She is one of Nigerias best when it comes to international protocols and who has also parlayed a career in Oil and gas despite a medical background into one of the most admired careers in the country
It is no wonder that her choice for the new intervention agancy isnt considered as far fetched.
The South South Region which is the wealth basket of the Nation continues to suffer neglect deosite billions earned by the various supra national Govts and other such interventionist platforms in the region.
Poverty levels are atrocious, infrastructural decay is in epidemic propotions, health care delivery is a mirage and level of despondency is pervading despite the oil wealth
It is in this vortex, that Usoro is expected to wield the magic wand.
President Tinubu’s government by this singular act of not only establishing the Commision but also manning it with this kind of merit based leadership has sent a very strong signal to the serially underperforming NDDC that its days may just be numbered.
Usoro comes to this job with a well funneled clarity that will further sharpen her ability to deliver on her objectives leaving us in no doubt as to her determination to succeed.
Let me however at this point digress and look at the socio-Cultural milliue that Uto and Usoro have come out from
They are both Ibibio a sub cultural collective found in the Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria
Same sub cultural milliue that I belong to.
I have used ibibio in a very loose form to identify the people that can be found within Akwa Ibom
Akwa ibom is made up of many tribes – ibibio being the largest hence the loose umbrella formation in describing their forebearance in this article
My people are strongly patrilineal and the woman is but at best a help mate and not necessarily an equal
It is from this seeming double jeaopardy that these two hve struggled thru to leverage on the achievements of pioneering figures like the aforementioned Mayen Adetiba who was a nationally respected Engineer who sat on the Boards of CBN and many other huge corporations to attain this massive positioning
It is as a result of this, that Uto and Usoro are today seen as very strong beacons of hope to not only the Akwa Ibom female but Nigerian females as a whole
These two have broken the glass ceiling, pushed thru a male dominated socio – cultural enclave to position themselves in a way that their voices would be held
As a minority tribe, the national ascendency of these two beautiful women is being celebrated with so much pomp that an observer will begin to wonder why.
It is for this reason that our State Governor Umo Eno sent a high powered delegation to Uto’s investiture.
Uto and Usoro for me represent the final coming of age of the Akwa Ibom woman who has been caricatured as usually nothing but a barely literate housemaid or a sexual object.
Today, cos of these two the Akwa Ibom woman more than ever before now has a very strong voice and this by extension also gives the Akwa Ibom nation much more than a bumbling Senate President as our own contribution to nation-building
Akwa Ibom isong o
Come and beat me
Duke of Shomolu