Having female president, govs will be good –Ugoeze Ohanweh

Ugoeze Edith Ohanweh

A woman politician and former senatorial candidate for Okigwe zone in Imo State, Ugoeze Edith Ohanweh has revealed the need for women in politics to be given the opportunity to emerge as President and Governors in their states as well as top party executive positions. She spoke with Eze Adiuku.

Excerpts

May we meet you madam?

I am Ugoeze Edith Ohanweh, former senatorial candidate for Okigwe Senatorial zone. I live in Owerri. I am a politician and I do my politics with my integrity intact. I do not mince words, I say it as it is and because I am a true democrat, I stand by what I say, no matter what it may cost me.

Since 1999, Nigeria has maintained democratic rule. So far, will you say the country is growing in democracy?

Well, everybody that is being born starts in a day. And the baby starts and by the time the baby sits down, the baby begins to crawl. After crawling, the baby will begin to stand and move on. It is the same way it is in politics. We started in 1999; I will say we are growing. All we need to do is to speed up; because there are people that started at the time we started. Where we are today is not where we are supposed to be. But we are looking forward to a better Nigeria, where we will stand tomorrow and say of a truth that democracy has come to stay.

Do you think women have grown commensurably with the rate of democratic growth in Nigeria?

In every society, there are a few differences. Women are trying. All the women need to know is that our own democracy does not only start by being a woman leader and remaining a woman leader. I think in Liberia we have a woman who is the President. And I thank God in Nigeria too we have had women senators. We have not got a woman governor in Nigeria. I am looking forward to the day we will see a woman in Nigeria who is a governor and a woman in Nigeria who becomes a president. But generally, the women are trying. So all they need to do is to sit up and think of what next to do. I am also looking forward to seeing a woman having a position in the political party as a financial secretary, as a secretary, as a chairman of a local government, elected not nominated. And being a governor also will be very good; being a speaker in the House of Assembly and so on and so forth. The position men are holding today, the women could equally be in that position. All they need to do is to be focused, they will get there.

Recall that in 2007, when the then governor of Imo State, Chief Achike Udenwa completed his tenure and was about to hand over to a new person, crises brewed with the PDP then that it was easy fir him to hand over to PDP person. This time around in 2019, we are having another opportunity for an incumbent governor to hand over to a new person. Looking at the issues and challenges facing the All Progressives Congress and even the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), do you foresee a situation where a relatively unknown political party may become victorious at the end of the day?

I am a party woman too. I belong to the PDP and I stand to remain in the PDP. Yes there are crises but one thing you need to understand is that they are supposed not to be in our state… we do not have that problem. All our people need to do is to be educated to understand…. We had elections right from the wards to the state. The people that were being elected are the ones leading in the party.

And talking about the (2019) election, I cannot just stand and tell you a new party will emerge…. But one thing is that, we know what we are in the state right now. And people are looking forward to change and definitely this present governor has served for two terms and definitely he has to handover to somebody else. So, we are looking forward to seeing the man being duly elected to take over the position. But nobody knows who is taking over for now.

Continuing Voters Registration is ongoing nationwide, as a woman politician, has enough awareness and mobilization been made at the grassroots for people to go and register?

I think it is left to the leaders to educate the uneducated to understand that registration is going on. I think I have heard some churches where they have announced (that) it is your right, go there if you have not registered and register so that on the day of election, you stand to make a choice of who to vote for. I believe in schools also, the students are being told that once you are up to 18 years, those that did not register before now, they also know that they should register…. I think everybody is warming up to make sure that they participate in the 2019 elections.

As we dream and wait for 2019 general elections, what is your advice to the people, especially the women in terms of participation and all that?

Well, what I will tell the women is that everybody should be at alert and be sensitive. Do not allow the moneybags to convince you to vote for them when they are not yet ready. The problem we have with the moneybags is that when they give you the money and you vote for them, they will get there and they will not do anything for them. But if they would vote their conscience, whoever comes up, they would stand to say this is the man we voted for. Not the man that will just give them money and at the end of the day when he enters and sits on that position, he would do nothing about you.

I just pray, there are people when they get to that position, they forget that somebody voted them in. but once somebody is able to understand why he or she is voting, then during the election, the women will go out and do their voting. But I tell you, it is the women that do the voting because I am a woman. During the voting period, and you get to the polling booths, you only see women and the youths that vote during election. I am sure that the women will come out en masse and vote for whoever will be their candidate come 2019.