Their exploits are the sort not a few believe are exclusive to men. After all, they are supposed to be the weaker vessel. But these women have shown that what lies in them are far more than what the ordinary eyes can see. Their inside must be made of steel.
They radiate love, true love, candour, panache, mercy and Samaritanism. And the icing on it, their acts have nothing to do with politics or quest for political offices. All they want is just a better society.
These women I write of are seven in all and have done great exploits to better the Niger Delta. For their feats, they are princesses of hope. You will understand better as I go on.
Let’s start with Mama Rose, whose real name is Mrs Biobara Makalabh (aka Mama Rose). The 55-year-old lawyer and ex-police officer, who rose to the rank of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), hails from Otuabagi in Bayelsa State. She is the founder of The Makalabh, a development foundation propagating peace.
Otuabagi, her hometown, is host to over 22 oil wells, but that is all about it. In terms of infrastructure, the community has nothing to show for it: no water and there is erosion everywhere. Her people are not happy. They are suffering.
During the 2011 elections, the community almost went up in flames. The people wanted a particular candidate to represent them, but the people in government wanted another. The battle-line was drawn. Bloodbath was imminent. The youth were determined to ensure no one would hijack the polls and women were ready to bare it all to uphold the one man-one vote doctrine.
It became the lot of this woman of uneasy virtues to pour ice on the scorching scenario. She got a compromise which saw the community putting peace first and it eventually resulted in every camp being absorbed. But for her, things would have fallen apart.
She has a good company in Mrs. Mfon Edidiong Esua. At just 35, this native of Akai Atti Udesi community in Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State is the Executive Director of Dynamic Youth Development Organisation, a Non-Governmental Organisation which is involved in several peace building efforts and conflict resolution. She has averted conflicts between the youth and leaders of Ikot Ambon in Ibesikpo Asutan.
An interesting conflict she was instrumental to stopping centres around the selection of beneficiaries of an empowerment programme launched by a construction company. They were accusations and counter-accusations and in time, hell would have broken loose. Mrs Esua held parleys with parties in the dispute. She was able to discover the core of the crisis: favoritism, the evil man-know-man syndrome that is at the heart of the Nigerian dilemma. She also discovered there were elements of corruption. Bribes were offered ad received in exchange for slots. At the end, she ensured the real idea behind the scheme was implemented and only the less privileged and the vulnerable had the last laugh.
”Community leaders and youth embraced dialogue and transparently selected trainees; “the names of those selected were read to the hearing of all at a community forum and all agreed. I am proud that I have been able to mitigate a conflict which would have resulted in war between families and heads of the community and that I have been listened to by men not regarding the fact that I am a woman,” says Mrs Esua.
For 64-year-old Mrs Mercy Akpowowo, her intervention was in helping farmers through her Progressive Women Cassava Farmers Cooperative Society in Evbuwa Village of Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State. It was her own way of mitigating conflict within various groups in the village.
Before Mrs Akpowowo’s intervention, the women were marketing their produce individually and conflict often arose over non-payment by debtors.
In her words: “One conflict I helped mitigate is that between a couple and a certain woman. The couple sold three acres of cassava farm to the woman for a given amount. She defaulted in the agreement terms and this led to serious fighting between the two families. The matter was reported to me by the seller, who is a member of my Cooperative, and I immediately invited some opinion leaders and influential people in the community, including the Community Head (Odionwere) to intervene.”
Mrs Akpowowo’s Cooperative has attracted two grants from the World Bank Fadama III scheme and another from the TY Danjuma Foundation. With the grants, the co-operative now owns a facility with which they process their cassava and make more profit selling as finished product, instead of raw material.
The people of Rumuekpe, an oil-bearing enclave in Rivers, cannot easily forget Mrs Blessing Orijos. One of the reasons for this is the conflict which almost sent the community under in 2005. The oil almost became a curse when financial largess from the oil company operating in their land induced a leadership tussle. Blood was shed. Heads were broken. It was as though the end was near.
Mrs Orijos, who founded the Rumuekpe Women Prayer Warriors, was one of those who lost loved ones: “People were dying every day. Many people were killed and the community was deserted… They even came to Port Harcourt and killed some people in their houses. My brother was also killed.”
Her group staged protests and prayed vigorously. Through their acts, they appealed to the conscience of the evil doers.
She recalls: ”When we entered, the boys came out from their hideouts confessing and surrendering.”
And in Delta, many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) will for a long time remember Hon Fanty Wareya, who fed hundreds of them during the May 2009 clash between militant and troops of the Joint Task Force in Gbaramatu area of Warri.
“I had over 30 persons in my house in Warri who managed to find their way through Sapele River and other routes. I had to take care of them. Then came the duties at the IDP camp. I had to be at the camp every day. I drove from Okumagba (Avenue in Warri) to Ogbe Ijoh daily to make sure that the women and children were catered for.”
There are three others who have shown that being a woman should not be a drawback. Emem Okon, who is the founder of Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre in Port Harcourt Rivers State, is one of them. She led the historic ‘Mothers for Peace´ marches held in Tere-ama, Emuoha and Ogoni land, which made many denounce militancy, cultism and other violent practices. The other two are Mrs Ajih Florence, the Executive Director of Women Advancement and Development Initiative and first female State Coordinator of Civil Society Organisation on HIV/AIDs in Nigeria and Ngwamma Onuoha, Assistant Secretary, P4P Central Working Committee from Ondo and Abia states. Their exploits made the Partnership Initiative in Niger Delta (PIND) honour them on Women’s Day.
My final take: Service should not be offered only when it is a means to getting the people’s votes. We are in a season when politicians are giving gifts left, right and centre but they are not giving freely. They are given for what they will get in return. That is wrong. One good turn deserves another but we should not always give because of what we are expecting. Do yours not because you expect back. That is what selflessness is all about.
