Princess Ann Nwanyibuife Agom Eze was an All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial aspirant for Ebonyi South in the recently concluded elections. A retired Permanent Secretary in Ebonyi State Civil Service, she insists that though retired, she is not yet tired. In this interview, the effervescent technocrat talked about her service years, encounters with military administrators and civilian governors. She also revealed why she is called Margaret Thatcher and why she threw out the property of Abia State workers in the Lagos liaison office during the asset-sharing brouhaha between Abia and Ebonyi states.
You retired from civil service and went into politics. What was the transition like?
As a permanent secretary, I was up-and-doing but on retirement, I realized that I still have so much energy and things to give to the society. So, when my husband was vying for the governorship in the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party), and later went to the Labour Party, that gave me opportunity to see what politics is all about and I realized that I can afford to do it.
What lessons have you learnt so far in politics?
The lessons I’ve learnt from getting involved in politics on the positive side is the fact that it gives you opportunity to reach your people; it gives you the opportunity to know their yearnings. It introduces you into different localities; it brings you into contact with a lot of people. When you look at the negative side of politics; it’s like you’re not sure of whom you’re sleeping with: everybody has got what they have in their minds and so it’s a game you need to play very carefully close to your heart while looking at the ball; so these are the few lessons I think I have learnt, that even your own mother might abandon you when you need her most in politics.
With your experience, should we say you have received the baptism of fire?
Well, I got introduced into a new school because it’s no longer as democratic as what I’m used to when you work with rules and regulations. I realized that in politics there are no rules and regulations; people just wake up in the morning and decide what to do and when they tell you they’re going right, they may not be going right. And, I realized in the course of politics, most times people tell me: ‘Perm Sec, that’s not the way it is done.’ When they say meeting is fixed at 10 o’clock, I would be there exactly at 10 o’clock but sometimes the meeting may not even be at the point where you are staying; they may have changed it in-between. So, it’s a new school of thought that teaches you to be at alert, to keep reading in-between lines and to keep monitoring situations. It’s quite different from what I’m used to.
Have you had occasions in which your gender became an inhibition to progress either in public service or politics?
The answer is no because as a child I grew up with a lot of boys. As a matter of fact, during that period, they used to call me a tomboy. I grew up believing that I’m a man: I relate more with men than women. Women don’t get too comfortable with me. I operate at a higher realm or I seem to be a little faster in what I do, so, I prefer to be in the midst of men because I learn more from them given that they’re faster and that makes me try to catch up with them. So, my gender has never been an inhibition, coupled with the fact that they say there is so much in a name. When I was young, my mother called me Nwanyibuife (the female child is something or an asset) and that name has been a propelling force in whatever I do. I always remind myself that Nwanyibuife, you should never see yourself as a lesser person or being inhibited by your gender. She used to tell me, you must focus on where you’re going. I used to play football, I did a lot of things that boys do. So, it has never been an inhibition and I have a husband who has allowed me to be me. I have not been able to change from the person I used to be: he has given me the enabling environment to operate unlike what is happening to other women who may have the same opportunity to do what I’m doing.
Should we say that your case is completely different because several other women complain that they are not allowed to reach their height?
Mine is completely different because even my father-in-law, His Royal Highness Ezeogo, Dr Agom Eze, they all encourage me to keep moving on. One thing women must realize is that you don’t just try something and if it does not go your way, you back out. Sometimes, you have to keep trying; you have to go through it so many times for you to get it right. Even if you don’t get exactly what you want in the course of doing what you’re supposed to do, if you are consistent, God might throw up a lot of things that might work better in your life. So, I have always believed in not giving up hope: the more I lose, the more I put in more effort, so, I don’t look back where I slipped. I keep moving.
We are still talking about the 35 per cent affirmative action in Nigeria about 25 years after the Beijing Conference. What’s your advice to the Nigerian woman?
I pray that we women can learn to be persistent in what we want. What I have observed is that we women talk about the 35 per cent affirmative action when elections are coming but I am in a lot of women groups’ platforms where we are encouraging women. Yes, we were promised we were going to have increased women representation. At the end of the day, we’re having 0.05 per cent but we must not give up hope. We will not because things didn’t go our way, then we go and relax; we must continue to talk about it and keep up the tempo. Let me remind you that in the last Law School results, it was the women that had most of the First Class and these are the crop of women we’re talking about; these are the women they want to put behind. We have a lot that men can enjoy from us and the society will enjoy the women. We have so much to give to the society and so rather than go back home, we must keep working, we must keep encouraging other women. For me, I’m not going to go back even if I don’t get anything at the end of the day. I must continue to talk about this gender issue because it is only by talking about it that we can get can get what is due for us. So, the quota system for now, if they ask me, is the best way we can get women inclusion at the apex of politics. You can imagine in the House of Representatives, how many we have – only about seven women in the last dispensation. This time around, we don’t even know how many because women are not there.
Could you recall some of your remarkable experiences or encounters while in public service?
In service, I grew up fast, not that I jumped some levels but I became the Liaison Officer of the Ebonyi State Government in Lagos when I was on Grade Level 10. You remember those positions were for permanent secretaries. But because I realized that the position was meant for a bigger person, I needed to work hard; that’s the only way the position would not be taken away from me. So it really helped me to get things done. When Walter Feghabo was made the military administrator of Ebonyi State and I was already there in Abia as a personnel officer, immediately the state was created, I swung into action to ensure that Ebonyi State was able to get all that was allocated to them from Enugu and Abia states. I know that it was some of my actions that made the then military administrator of Abia State to nickname me “Margaret Thatcher.” I was there for 15 years as the Liaison Officer before I was appointed permanent secretary and I now came back to the state from Lagos. Before I did, the governor asked me: ‘do you want to come?’ I told him yes if he thinks I would be more useful because I believed that I had stayed enough in Lagos and needed to come home and know what was happening around there. On arrival in Ebonyi State, people had been hearing about me. You can imagine Level 10 officer doing the work of a permanent secretary! So, I came to Ebonyi state with some people following me and all that.However,some people were sceptical. Then in the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Housing; I made sure things were done properly and promptly. Here I want to point out that as a permanent secretary, I never went to work late for one day because for you to show political leadership; you need to be there first and foremost. Initially, they were not comfortable because they used to have this kind of work attitude that didn’t go down well with me. In Lagos, we all wake up very early and hit the road and so being in the Ministry of Lands made each and every one of them to wake up early. And, I left there a legacy because since I retired, you can’t see any of my workers walking around the streets. It’s not possible; they must observe the rules and regulations and ethics. So, I enjoyed the job I did; I enjoyed going to the field because at a point I was also the permanent secretary of Abakaliki Capital City Development Authority. I went to the sites with them not just sitting in the office for people to come and lie to me and all that.
Looking back, are there things that given another opportunity that you would have done differently?
Yes! If I were to have second opportunity like in the Ministry of Lands, when the lands were being allocated; as permanent secretary, I believe I’m supposed to be at the forefront to ensure that things are done properly. A lot of my colleague permanent secretaries were put behind and we were not able to get lands because I travelled abroad. By the time I came back, they had finished it. I didn’t like it, so, I believe there would be a lot of people who would be able to develop the property and not just giving it out to people to go and resell because we need to develop. That’s why the lands are given to people to develop them.
Was there any decision that you took that looking back, you feel fulfilled you did?
The one I can remember at this point is that I told you about this late coming attitude to work where I had to lock out the directors making them to realize that they’re not special from the other people. Then being in Lagos; the second one was when the assets were shared between Ebonyi and Enugu States; I did a funny thing for each time I remember; I feel very happy with myself. The Enugu people never wanted us to share the Bishop Oluwole office in Victoria Island and so they kept arguing; while we were in the meeting, I just excused myself and called someone who went to call the bricklayer for me. We bought cement; blocks and I went back into the meeting; gave instructions so the moment we got to the point of ok; you know we’re going to share it; with some demarcation. I took off again; alerted my people and before they finished the meeting, we blocked the place and separated the two offices and the Enugu people were not happy; most of them never talked to me again; in fact, the liaison officer was posted out for allowing a woman to take over.
How come they called you Margaret Thatcher?
Because when the asset between us and Abia state was shared, they refused to vacate the property and we needed extra action for them to do that. So, I had to bring out their things. I called police and they brought out everything that belonged to Abia state outside in the residential quarters at Mobolaji Bank Anthony, Ikeja, Lagos. Because of this I was summoned to Umuahia with the exco members of Ebonyi and the exco members in Abia. And, you can imagine how little I was in 1996, being called to explain why I took such a drastic action without reference to my governor. When I was called, the then Abia military administrator said ‘where is the Margaret Thatcher’? The man nicknamed me Margaret Thatcher. The point is that somebody like the Ebonyi Milad, Walter Feghabo, understood the extent of work I do; I’m never tired. I can work from morning to night without getting tired and so he liked to work with me. Even when he went to Delta State, his liaison officer operated from my office because he told the man: ‘better go to her and learn how to work.’ In fact, I had maintained personal relationship with all the governors that ruled Ebonyi State, military and civilian, including Dr. Sam Egwu. Even our current Governor Dave Umahi, I know he likes to work with me though because of politics, we’re now in different divides.
What is your advice to young girls out there?
The young girls need to step up their act; there is nothing like hard work, focusing on where you’re going- focus on the ball and don’t see yourself as just a girl. Let me go back to Feghabo. He would tell us, ‘if you’re seeing yourself as a weaker vessel because you are a woman or a girl, you can’t work with me. You must work like a man.’ So, my advice to young girls is, you must not use the fact of being a woman or a girl as an excuse not to work as hard as a man. They must continue to work like their male counterparts if they want to enjoy what men enjoy.