A perfect Presidential spouse The day my comments were published in this newspaper, the Dame came to Rivers State and we were told that she would stay here for a while, attending various social and official functions. And she quickly made her presence felt. First she was enthusiastically welcomed at the airport by a large crowd of politicians who have axes to grind with Amaechi. Then she created massive traffic jams in the centre of town – where she has built a palatial residence – because several roads were totally shut down by her security operatives. Then, in a speech that she delivered at a wedding, she not only lavishly and pointedly praised Amaechi’s opponents and predecessors but scathingly implied that Port Harcourt has ceased to be a beautiful garden city during his tenure. She has also informed the anti-Amaechi elements who have treated her like a Queen since she arrived that this is the first time she’s been “properly” acknowledged on her home turf since her husband became President. Meanwhile, she’s been holding meetings with stakeholders. And I’m hearing that senior police officers are reporting to her; and it has to be said that many people feel that she’s (inappropriately) carrying on like an alternative governor. I have always liked feisty females who fear nobody, bluntly speak their minds and do their own thing. But Dame P is being a bit too feisty, even for a Feminist like me! She is generating too much tension and being excessively combative. Most of the Rivers State indigenes I know – Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi included – were very happy when one of our own became the most influential woman in Nigeria. And I know that looks are not important within this context, but we can be forgiven for frivolously boasting about Dame P’s prettiness. Official residence Amaechi proudly hung a nice photograph of Dame P on the walls of his official residence as soon as she became First Lady; and it is so damned sad that a plethora of possibly avoidable misunderstandings have muddied the waters and made Dame P feel neglected and slighted by her own state government. But she and Amaechi can resolve their problems without being spiteful and confrontational. Most conflicts can be sorted out via honest and humble communication. And I – and so many other onlookers – will be immensely disappointed in Dame P if she continues to parade herself as an implacable rival who is eager to abuse powers to which she is not constitutionally entitled. A perfect Presidential spouse is one who is quietly supportive rather than aggressively self- promoting. A word is enough for the Wise.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 08:14:02 +0000
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