It takes a strong woman to manage Wike

•Says she unwinds watching news, football matches

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

Eberechi Suzzette Wike, wife of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has opened up on what it takes to manage a strongman like her husband.

The FCT First Lady, who spoke to Sunday Sun in an exclusive interview at the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) Base, Goodluck Jonathan Golf Course, Abuja, jovially responded that it takes a strong woman to manage her strong husband.

Mrs Wike, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, was among the dignitaries that teed-off at the golf event organised by Monica Bolna’an Dongban-Mensem, founder, Kwapdaas Road Safety Demand Foundation, to mark the International Road Crash Victims Africa (IRCVA) Sports programme featuring cycling, walking and golf.

Speaking on the sidelines, she also revealed how she unwinds, enumerating watching television programmes like news, football, and cooking.

Told that many Nigerians would be surprised to see her playing the game of golf, she replied: “It is not my first time of playing golf. But, this is better than the first time. I was happy to get it right at a few attempts.”

She equally explained her mission to the golf course. “We are here because our Lordship, the President of the Court of Appeal invited us here. The golf event is part of the activities earmarked for the remembrance of the incident that led to the death of her child through an accident in 2011.

“Yes,it was a sad moment and ordeal for Her Lordship to go through that traumatic experience of losing her first son, but it is just a relaxing time for all of us to come here and give her support. She has an NGO and I have of course seen her controlling traffic to enlighten motorists on how to be more aware of road traffic and usage. She has become a very good advocate of that and as I said earlier, we are here to identify with her.”

Revealing how she takes time out of her tight schedule to unwind, she said: “My unwinding is always at home. I watch television a lot, especially the news. I flip from one channel to the other following the news. I need to update myself on what is going on because I don’t want to miss anything. You don’t know what will come before you in court, which if you are ignorant of, may result in your making a mistake. That is how I unwind.

“I also eat good food. I don’t eat so much but I tried to eat good meals, which I enjoy and relish. What else do I do to unwind? I also watch football matches. I used to be a footballer myself while I was in school. I was among the first eleven during my secondary school. I understand football and enjoy the game.

“The only challenge is that I don’t have that time to watch the matches full time. I watch them in-between my work schedule, picking interest when I hear the shout of goal. It will push me to watch the replay to get what I missed. I am also a good swimmer but I swim occasionally, always wondering if I can do more of pleasure. I tried to create time to balance my work and engaging in exercise,” she said.

The question that threw her into a frenzy mood was the inquiry on what it takes to manage a strongman like her husband. She simply responded: “It takes a strong woman to do so. I don’t want to go further than this.