Girl Child Empowerment: Gov Umo Eno’s Shining Example

By Emeka Alex Duru

I had until lately, not taken an interest in the activities of Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Bassey Eno, a clergy that has decided to step into the murky waters of Nigerian politics. Tales of how he emerged as the anointed candidate of his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, lumped him in a league of godsons being propped by godfathers in what is increasingly appearing as a race to hold down the people and pillage the resources of the states.

There was also the allegation of parading padded certificates. Fellow Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in the state, Akan Okon, had laid several allegations against Eno, including altering his date of birth and presenting forged voter’s cards and two forged West African School Certificates of 1981 and 1983 to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Eno also contended with candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akanimo Udofia; Young Progressives Party (YPP), Bassey Akpan; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), John Udoedehe, who challenged his election up to the Supreme Court. He came clean on all accounts and has steadily shown to be a man of his own.

But his victories, especially in the courts, did not make him a major subject for me, given the absurdities that took place during the elections and in the courts where persons with obvious cases of forgery and identity theft were cleared of the charges against them. I thus saw him as a typical politician.

What rather drew my attention to Governor Eno, was his compassionate and encouraging disposition to Citizen Abang Marris, a female member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) from Cross River State, who returned to her parents’ thatched house to thank her dad for sacrificing a lot to send her to school.

The young Marris was featured in a viral video, marching to her village in full NYSC attire. On getting to the family house, she pulled out her uniform and cap, put them on her father and gave him a salute in appreciation for sending her to school.

The background, depicting the thatched house in which Marris’ parents lived, indicated a family struggling to survive. But the young lady was proud of herself and her family. Her action caught the attention of Governor Eno, who sent a team to verify the video content.

On the conviction that what was displayed was real, he decided to build a three-bedroom house for the family. Eno was excited that Abang Marris was proud to return to her family house.

“For the girl to go back to the house, we decided to honour her. But the bigger lesson is that the father chose to send her to school, instead of building a house. That is the moral lesson”, Governor Eno enthused. The gesture, he added, was to support the family, promote the girl child’s education and encourage other parents to take a cue from Marris’ parents.

My wife, Dr Jane, a beneficiary and advocate of girl child empowerment, drew my attention to the video. Watching the governor make the remarks, melted my heart and made my day.

I have always had a soft spot for the girl child and prayed to have at least, one. 18 years ago, when my daughter, currently in university, was born at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH), I caused a stir of sorts. I never took an interest in knowing the sex of a child before birth. I rather took joy in the surprise that accompanied each birth. Every birth, for me, is a blessing, regardless of the sex.

So, when the matrons at the anteroom announced that my wife had successfully delivered a baby girl and I burst into ululation, they were shocked. Thinking that I did not get the information fully, the leader of the team, spoke again; “Mr. Duru, I hope you heard us well. Your wife gave birth to a baby girl”. I responded, “God has answered my prayers”.

Till we were discharged from the hospital, the medical team that supervised my daughter’s birth, never ceased to talk about the incident. They said that it was rare for someone from my part of the country to get excited over the birth of a baby girl.

You can therefore relate with my admiration for Governor Eno on his commendable feat towards Miss Abang. In Education, my first discipline before veering to other fields, we were taught the principles of motivation, one of which is positive reinforcement. By that, when an action is considered to be in order, it is reinforced. When a child answers a question correctly in class and the teacher asks other students to clap for him, he is encouraged to do more. His classmates are equally encouraged to follow suit. The intrinsic value of that action, cannot be quantified in monetary terms.

That was precisely what the Akwa Ibom governor has done. By encouraging Miss Abang, Eno has set in motion a shining example, which if followed through, will mark a significant step in giving the Nigerian girl child, pride of place in the scheme of things.

The beauty of his action is that it is not aimed at extracting political gains. Abang is from Cross River State, not Akwa Ibom his state, therefore, may not yield electoral fortunes for Eno, if and when he is going for re-election. Other governors should take a cue from that salutary action. Parents should also emulate the good deeds of Abang’s parents towards her.

It is only by such initiatives that the nation can begin to address the challenges faced by the girl child, support her empowerment and ensure the fulfilment of her human rights.

That has been the focus of the International Day of the Girl Child. Part of the message in the crusade is that adolescent girls have the right to a safe, educated, and healthy life, not only during the critical formative years but also as they mature into women.

If effectively supported during the adolescent years, girls have the potential to change the world – both as the empowered girls of today and as tomorrow’s workers, mothers, entrepreneurs, mentors, household heads, and political leaders.

An investment in realising the power of adolescent girls upholds their rights today and promises a more equitable and prosperous future, one in which half of humanity is an equal partner in solving the problems of climate change, political conflict, economic growth, disease prevention, and global sustainability.

That was what Governor Eno has manifested in celebrating Miss Abang Marris. He can only sustain the laudable gesture by ensuring that every Akwa Ibom child of school age, receives qualitative education. With the enormous human and material resources in the state, there is no reason why any Akwa Ibom child should not be educated. This is a task for Governor Umo Eno. Accomplishing this would make him a reference point in future.

*Duru is the Editor, TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos. (08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)