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By Christy Anyanwu
The 2023 general election, economic hardship and the menace of insecurity in its various ramifications (bandits, gunmen, terrorists, kidnappers, etc) are currently dominating public discourse.
In face of these challenges, Convener of the Arise Women Conference, a faith-based non-governmental organisation focused on women empowerment and grooming young women for leadership, Mrs. Siju Iluyomade, who is a lawyer, is actively advocating for a change in mindset of Nigerians, to pursue and promote a national vision that eschews the divisive tribalism that has held the country down 62 years after Independence.
In the run up to the 2022 Arise Women Conference holding on October 29, Iluyomade, a graduate of the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, speaks on the state of the nation, in this interview.
As a notable woman of influence, what advice would give, to guide women in choosing a presidential candidate to support now that campaigns for the 2023 general election have started?
We have a few months to the election. You know, the problem with Nigerians is that we wake up too late. So in 2023, you probably would have to vote for whatever you like. The question we should ask is this: what should be our focus at this point in time?
We are the people to dictate the tune and the tone of the government that we want rule us. Let us be wise in all that we do. It is time to talk about real change and pursue a national vision. There’s nothing in governance than to give the best to your people. The vision 2020 was coined a few years back but how far have we gone with the vision. Has Nigeria provided clean waters, have we built enough schools for our children, are our children educated, have we given food to the poorest of the poor?
If we had a vision that we had pushed for 62 years, we would be far better than we are today. I’m a Nigerian product, I grew up in this country, I was born in this country, I went to the best schools in this country. I’m a Queen’s College girl, today we stand tall. I’m told to pass on the torch to greater heights, to the next generation. We don’t need to keep going backward every four years. Where are our schools today, where are our beautiful colleges, where are our universities that trained you and I?
Many Nigerians are now migrating abroad, do you think that’s the best way to go? And I would want to ask if there’s hope for those of us remaining?
Let me tell you one funny thing. When I left the university in 1984, people were leaving the country at the time. My husband and I met in college, and we have been on for 42 years. We looked at ourselves and said we we would not go anywhere. We never went anywhere. We ended up building a law practice, businesses and to the glory of God, we did well. Going abroad is not the solution. However, let the truth be told, the country is not paying professionals well. So, those are the things we need to look at. How much should the minimum wage be, how is it going to be affordable? How do we ensure the best of the best are not leaving the country? When we get to the countries in the Western world, the doctors, the nurses, especially in the medical fields are Nigerians. Nigerians are so good scientifically; you look at a patient you can assess by feeling and just by touch you know what is wrong with that patient.So, if we encourage that instead of us going out, let people come here for medical tourism. Will that be so bad? Let there be universal insurance for health so that anywhere in the world, I can get healthcare. Those that went returned to meet us. Nowhere can be like home. Wherever you go, there’s a ceiling as to your achievement. It is in your country that you achieve more. Let’s join hands and build this nation. Don’t go anywhere.
Could you tell us briefly how Arise has been a succour to the less privileged Nigerians?
The fingerprints of Arise are all over Nigeria. How responsive are we in this nation, how responsive are we to the survival of Nigeria as a nation or a country. Are we ready to see our people suffer, see my neighbour not eat, see that little child go to bed hungry?
Wherever there’s a need, Arise will step in, and provide succour as much as we have. Arise has built hospitals in the villages, in places where many people will not dare to go. Would you believe that in this country as we speak today, in 2022, there are places where people are not wearing clothes, they are called the bush men. I saw them. My colleagues also. We met them in their villages. Do you know that in this country, children of multiple births are still being put to death? It’s still existing. We dare to go to places where you would not go. We have statistics but we are a charity organisation. As we move forward after 14 years, we are going to map out to you the progress and the work that Arise has been doing.
We have worked in health and education, within the social and arts landscape, in government and in partnership with the most influential people in Nigeria and they are doing their best. One of my very good friends, Dr. Zainab Bagudu, has been with me in the field; she has delivered babies in the IDPs camps. She has been with us treating and helping various patients who nobody would want to touch. I saw humanity. Because of the school I went to, there is no tribalism. The minute we erase tribalism and include love and compassion, we will see a greater and better Nigeria. If you are sick, would you care if your doctor is a Muslim or a Christian? You probably wouldn’t. If you are dying, you will get the best healthcare you can and not care if the person is from the North or the East. Nigeria must come together as a unit. We must come together to work for the purpose of our people. Arise is non-denominational, we will work for you. Our team went to Campos Square, Lagos for a medical outreach. We didn’t know the people there. They wrote to me, to say that they need medical aid. I thought they were about 500 but they were 5,000 people. The building and re-building of our nation lies in our hands. The COVID-19 crisis has caused a significant disruption to many homes. The palliatives we distributed, tagged ARISE Pink Bucket contained major food items like rice, spaghetti, sugar, toothpaste, flour, seasonings, groundnut oil and few others. This was part of ARISE interventions for the country during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the economic hardship which low-income families face.
You mentioned remote areas, what motivated you to go to those areas which politicians would not go to except during election campaigns?
Compassion. I love people. I care deeply about people. Going to those areas did not matter to me. I’m concerned about the wellbeing of everyone that I come in contact with and it’s not a joke. My husband always has to caution me and say, take it easy. I can go anywhere, do anything for anybody. I will go out of my way. The people in those villages are people just like you and I. I call my myself half caste. I’m Yoruba and my maternal grandmother is Igbo. I can go anywhere. I schooled in a place where I met everybody in Nigeria. There is absolutely no village or state I have not been to in Nigeria: from Maiduguri to Sokoto, Kebbi, Gusau, Ekpoma, Port Harourt and Owerri, I have been there. They are not different from you and I and they need you and we need them.
There are places in Nigeria where there are no roads, there are places quite next to our nation’s capital, where they don’t wear clothes. Compassion is the word. I just feel the need for one another. I say that religion is not our problem in Nigeria. Our problem is that we are insensitive; we don’t care about the next person. It’s time to begin to build the bridge and love everyone.
