By CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

Dear Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, writing this letter to you has become an overriding imperative for me given the rapidity of unfolding events in our dear country, Nigeria. And those events have national significance. As you are an iconic figure, who wields considerable influence, your actions and inactions will carry weight with highly placed Nigerians, who are influential. This consideration necessitated my writing this second letter to you, my first letter about you having been published in the Nigerian Guardian newspaper of September 19, 2018.

Dear Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, I would like you to know that I have always been a keen admirer of women, who broke the glass ceilings in their diverse endeavours and undertakings. And as iron filings are attracted to a magnet, so am I irresistibly drawn to female amazons, who are great achievers and trail-blazers in their chosen careers and endeavours. Among the Nigerian female high-fliers, who hold great fascination for me are Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the late Prof. Dora Akunyili, and Iyom Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

The aforementioned female amazons are not listed in any pecking order. While I admire Onyali-Omagbemi for her prowess in athletics, which culminated in her winning Olympic medals, I idolised Prof. Akunyili because she was an island of integrity. It was she, who rid the Nigerian drug markets of fake and expired drugs when she held sway as the Director General of NAFDAC. And when she contested against Dr. Chris Ngige for the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone post, I was one of the intellectual warriors, who campaigned vigorously for her.

Another Nigerian female achiever is Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. She left indelible marks on the sands of time when she served as Nigeria?s minister of finance. And she played no small role in Nigeria?s liquidation of her foreign debt. Over the years, Okonjo-Iweala has headed international financial organizations.

Alongside the Nigerian female achievers and high-fliers, whom I have mentioned, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu can more than hold her own in the group. She had captured the attention and imagination of millions of Nigerians at different periods in her terrestrial peregrinations. A paragon of beauty, her profound nous manifested when she served as the Nigerian ambassador to Spain.

Another quality of hers, which has endeared her to me, is her steadiness of character, which encompassed her steely resolve and unshakeable conviction. When she accepted to marry Chief Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, not a few people railed against it, citing the huge age difference between them. But she stood her ground and married her Romeo.

Now, the impulse that made me write this second letter to her stemmed from the ministerial post, which was given to her, recently. Not long ago, she was nominated for a ministerial position. After she had accepted the ministerial post, she was sworn in as the minister of state for foreign affairs. That she was given the ministerial post is a proof of her suitability for it, which is hinged on her possession of vast leadership experience and qualities, knowledge, patriotism, and integrity.

But surprisingly, President Tinubu, who nominated her for that ministerial post, belongs to a political party, which is different from hers. President Tinubu?s nomination of her for a ministerial post has portrayed him as a political leader, who is cobbling a rainbow cabinet that can drive our country?s developmental initiatives. He wants to be perceived as a statesman, who has a pan-Nigerian vision and dream.

But is there more to the ministerial appointment given to her than we know, as Nigerians are insinuating? For one, Iyom Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is known as a defender of the Igbo causes. Not a long while ago, before she was given a ministerial post, she called for the unconditional release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. And she is an APGA stalwart, who wields great influence in the party.

But now, as a patriotic minister of state for foreign affairs, she is expected to help the APC-led government achieve its noble goals for our country. So what is expected of her is to carry out her ministerial duties with patriotic fervour, assiduity, and elan. But if the policies of the APC-led government run counter to her APGA?s stand on our country?s matters, and if those policies are not favourable to the Igbo ethnic group, to which she belongs, will she, characteristically, speak truth to power? Or will she keep mum in order not to upset the apple cart and ruffle other people?s feathers?

The stark fact, which is indisputable, is that Iyom Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is caught in a spidery web of intrigue spun and weaved by the cunning old fox, who is making pretensions to being a well-intentioned and noble-minded statesman. So as a minister of the federal republic of Nigeria, and as an APGA political big gun, she has to do a balancing act to avoid attracting the wrath of two groups, which are antagonistically opposed to each other.

So it can be seen that Iyom Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is caught in a tricky situation that may lead to her abjuration of the dreams, ideologies, and beliefs, which she, once, holds dear. Known for her steadiness of character and unshakeable conviction, will she sacrifice all that she stands for on the altar of narcissism and egoism?

But nothing can detract from the fact that Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu is eminently qualified for the ministerial post given to her considering her possession of vast leadership experience and qualities, qualitative education, patriotism, and probity.

?Chiedu Uche Okoye, a poet, writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State. He can be reached via 08062220654 and 09125204141

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