The Pretty Female Bosses in the Nigerian Police

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, March 18, 2016

So I was going through a trailer for a Nollywood TV drama series titled 2four7and just as I was expectant of anything to catch my fancy, something finally did. It was the female police boss in the movie.

Pretty police boss from the TV drama series 2Four7

Now, I digress to explain – I was actually watching the trailer to check out the quality of the production. I’m the kind of film buff who doesn’t just watch movies for the sake of entertainment but rather for a critical analysisof its level of production and try to figure out what must have gone on behind the scenes. I also take time to study the actors' performances and characterization (well, since I also review movies from time to time, that’s expected of me). It was in the process of taking in the characters that the role of the female police boss (I can’t figure out the name of the actress that played that role right now) caught my attention.

It wasn’t her acting performance that got my undivided focus but the fact that she was a pretty looking police boss in uniform. At that moment my mind went into a subconscious search just processing the image and suddenly another image or thought popped up in the recesses of my mind:

This policewoman in uniform looks pretty – like Ngozi Braide, former Lagos State public relations officer, a real life counterpart who also looked good in uniform.

Former Lagos Police Command PRO, Ngozi Braide

I remember the first time I saw Deputy Superintendent Braide on TV, I was surprised that the police force could have fine looking women. Most of the ones I had seen on Lagos streets were usually rugged looking.

Deputy Superintendent Ngozi Braide was finally redeployed from Lagos following an embarrassing fight between her and a Superiorofficer-an event that resulted in her threatening to stab her senior.

I used to have this funny assumption that anybody that is pretty and attractive is likely to have some scary flaw. It turns out I was somewhat right in the case of Braide as some aproko blog spilled the beans on her lifestyle and personality. The revelations were so shocking and they seemed to explain the kind of nature that would lead her to attack a senior colleague. It must have been a sensitive story that could put a blogger in trouble because it’s no longer on the gossip site that reported it. However, someone copied the info and posted it on the Naiiraland forum.

The pretty police boss in the TV series was pretty and fair complexioned like Ngozi. I could almost say the writers may have adopted the Ngozi-look for the character but then I decided against that when another Pretty policewoman boss that looked way better than braide (my opinion oh!) and looked a bit more like the TV drama cop surfaced recently in the news.

Mrs Onwuanaegbu with the Governor's entourage

I’m talking of the Divisional Police Officer of Ilasan Police Station in Lekki, Mrs. Onyinye Onwuanaegbu, who can be seen in the recent photos of the Governor Akinwumi Ambode entourage inspection of structures in Lekki Gardens.

Its as if Governor Ambode is resisting the urge to look at the pretty cop

There was just no way you could ignore Mrs. Onwuanaegbu in these pics; she stood out in resplendent beauty and with authority. I was stunned when I saw the pics. It seems pretty women are beginning to spring up in places of authority in the police force these days. Onwuanaegbu beat Ngozi in the height factor and body structure; she could have passed for a supermodel, even her glasses made her look even hotter…okay I will stop there before I start straying into talking about the other obvious body parts that men always notice.

\And while the Governor kept his face away, the guy on the extreme left apparently couldn't.

I have a 'silly' question…why are female police bosses these days always extra pretty and ‘yellow’ in complexion?

Okay, That's a hasty generalisation, I’m just goofing around, don’t mind me. I just had to put up this post ‘cause I just noticed these things people don’t usually talk about.

Or should I just say I needed to post something…and this is something, abi?

News Anchors & Cleavages: Has Naija's Channel's TV Anchor Joined The Trend? [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, April 01, 2014

I woke up yesterday morning to prepare for work and instead of switching on my radio to get a feel of the early morning news as I usually do every morning, I decided to put on the TV instead because I wanted to be sure about the rumour spreading about Boko Haram's jail break and battle with the DSS. As usual, the ideal local station to visit at such a time for such info was Channels TV.

I flicked the remote to the the Station on my DSTV option and there was Chamberlain and the Sunrise Daily crew doing their early morning analysis of newspaper headlines. As is the custom with Channels news team, the suited look was in full effect - they were all corporately dressed for the show but then when the camera did a close up shot on the lady, I was stunned to notice that her own corporate outfit had a risque edge to it - the front part of her blouse was laced in a way that just messed with any man's imagination. No matter how corporate she intended to look, she spoilt it with a (un)deliberate show of cleavage under slits.

Its even looking like she's not wearing a bra...

I honestly wanted to listen to the discussion going on but I found myself getting distracted; I tried to fool myself into thinking I was just jumping to a hasty conclusion  and that it could be a camera glitch screwing with my eyes but reason made me understand that I was watching this on an LED screen after taking a bath (eyes all cleaned out from any sleep) so this couldn't be a glitch. I then decided to snap the picture and access it to be sure it wasn't. As you can see from the photo, that is a cleavage playing hide and seek behind naughtily styled fabric.

This shot where she turns her head sideways makes you
almost think this is a chick dressed to go clubbing.

It got me wondering - is she taking after the daring trend of news anchors in some western parts of the world? 

Anchors from different countries...with 'cowbells' all in your face.

Over the years, female news anchors in a number of countries have taken news casting to another level giving viewers the news with 'full frontal exposures' that would probably make you not pay attention to what is being said but focus on what is being 'bared'. (It's all over YouTube) I suspect that its the usual gimmick to raise ratings for the stations involved. But then, Channels is a reputable station and this is NIGERIA - dem no born you well to flash tits during news hour...well unless you're Cossy Orjiarkor who's not even a newscaster.  

Abeg Channels TV Management do something before una turn us good men into perverts!

Thank you!

Naija On Scotland's Currency [Photos]

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, October 02, 2013

The footprints of Nigeria's history will forever remain in textbooks, documentaries and stories passed down by our fathers. And then while some may appear in museums in the western world (as a result of stolen artifacts when the British invaded wealthy empires like the Benin Kingdom), others have remained as a pleasant memory on the faces of currency notes.

At this point I'm not referring to Nigerian currency but Scotland currency. A friend on facebook posted this heartwarming revelation he found on Scotland's £10 note. Many of us may not be aware of this. Here's what he wrote:

Last Year, I was in Scotland and whilst alighting from a Cab, the driver asked, are you from Nigeria to which I responded with a BOLD YES, he then GAVE ME A £10 Scotland Pound and said your towns are in there. In Scotland, currency denominations have different designs and one of the design they dedicated a Town In Nigeria called Calabar where Mary Slessor stopped the Killing of Twins.

Not only did this £10 note feature a picture of Mary Slessor with Nigerian children she helped rescue but also names of Calabar towns probably at that period.

How many of you ever actually noticed this on the £10 note?

Its nice to see that we are part of another nation's history.

Ayodele's 'I Am Yours': Soulfully Inspiring

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, February 26, 2013

I was at a colleague’s desk when I saw this music album lying on one corner of his desk. My curiosity got the better of me and I had to borrow it from him to listen to it. I wanted to see what the face printed on its sleeve was capable of belting out. Trust me for being the music critic. I wanted to see if another new Naija musician had added to the quagmire of crap already playing on air.

I listened to the album and was stupefied.

This lady was GOOOD!

Her name is simply Ayodele and her music is in the gospel genre.

Now I’ve always categorized gospel music into the meaningfully spiritual and the commercially crapped categories. Ayodele’s Album ‘I Am Yours’ falls into the Meaningfully Spiritual category. I was so thrilled listening to her songs that I had to load them on my phone to listen to while strolling home from work.

Ayodele’s type of music is Soul and what amazes me is the way she waxes indigenous lyrics with the genre. She immediately reminded me of Modele, another female gospel artiste who seemed to be off the radar since her last album. But Ayodele is clearly differentiable.

Nigerian Gospel artistes that sing in the soul genre are rare; the only popular ones being Modele and T.Y Bello. Ayodele brings another flavor into this category.

Everything about this album was just on key; the lyrics, the sound engineering, the arrangement and sequencing of instrumentation all topped by Ayodele’s powerful soulful voice. Her singing pulls at the strings of your heart such that I could only arrive at an obvious conclusion – she is not just talented but most definitely anointed to sing. The lyrics of her songs actually minister to you and not just pass by your ears like a number of pointless so-called gospel songs out there; the tracks that worship are pure, selfless and you could feel the spirit and anointing in the delivery.

That’s what strikes me about Ayodele’s singing – her voice is subtle yet powerful, piercing yet humble.

The Album is a 10 tracker. It’s actually hard saying which is my favorite among the tracks because each time I listen to the album, I’m forced to change my mind again and again (a similar occurrence that happened with Lara George’s ‘Higher’ Album). 

However, I had to make one of the tracks my present ringtone because I just loved the way she sang that song. The song on my ringtone is titled ‘Shilekun’ which is a song that actually beckons to people to open up their hearts to Christ. The Album was produced by Cobhams Asuquo and Flo.

The Album was released last year November and is still very fresh. I’m hoping I hear a lot of it on air because Ayodele is one gifted singer that you just can’t ignore. In an industry that has been saturated with copycats and profaned gospel music, Ayodele's ‘I Am Yours’ is a breath of fresh air and definitely worth having in your collection.

Myne Whitman on The Heart of The Matter

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, September 20, 2012

I was seated at my desk working on a TV Ad presentation for one of our clients this morning when one of my subordinates called my attention to the TV in our office.

"Afro! Check it out...your friend, the owner of Naija Stories is on TV!"

And sure enough there was Myne Whitman, the brain behind Naija Stories (the site that helped ressurect the sleeping writer in me back to life) on air on a TV show titled The Heart of The Matter, being interviewed by the host Pastor Wale Adefarasin. I was able to catch and record a clip from the show where she talked about how she came about Naija Stories. 



The Heart of the Matter is a show that interviews and gives us opportunities to hear and know of people who are making a positive impact in the Nigerian society. I'm not surprised that Myne got to be interviewed; she really is an impacting individual and I'm proud of her...even if no be my mama born am...lol.

Image courtesy  www.mynewhitmanwrites.com

Well done Myne...more power to your elbow, thanks for inspiring so many talents out there and God bless you for all your efforts!

The Lady That Rocks The Truth - Stella Damasus

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, September 06, 2012

You’ll never hear me say I’m a fan of some celebrity or well known personality. This is simply because I see them as human beings and not some deity that some obsessed fans unknowingly end up turning them into. Aside that, I do admire celebrities that are original, real and true to themselves; because I believe this is something that makes them stand out in their own unique and positive way.

For a long time, I’ve found it hard to really admire Nollywood stars simply because the only thing that one seemed to know them for was just gracing our screens with fabulous or mediocre performances for movies with awkward plots and cliché storylines.

So you can imagine how stunned I was when I came to discover that Stella Damasus actually writes; and that she features her write-ups in some newspapers, on-line magazines and journals. It wasn’t only the fact that she wrote that impressed me but the depth of her writings.

From my own experience and training as a writer, I know a writer’s nature from the way they write. My analysis of Stella Damasus’ writings revealed that she is a woman of depth; a thinker who took time to dissect the status quo and paint reality in its true color. This is something you don’t come across easily in Nollywood stars, at least from all I’ve come across so far.

After reading one of Stella’s articles where she critically analyzed the wanton deception and backwardness of red carpet events and of a particular movie premiere, my curiosity was ignited and I wanted to know more about this pretty actress and mother of two.

For somebody who writes like that, I was sure she’d have a blog.

I was right. She had one.

And just as I guessed, she had a recent update.

This says a lot about the writer in her; she always has the drive to write something. Also she had inspiring write-ups lined up on her blog. In her personal experiences she comes across openly and with simplicity. You get positively counseled or provoked into thinking by her articles.

I didn’t stop there. I went looking for her twitter page.

Most times when you come across the twitter pages of celebrities, you see titles, awards and achievements displayed on their profile but all you see on Stella’s twitter page is just her name, her twitter handle, the link to her blog, a few digits and the slogan ‘God Pikin’.  That’s a profile that’s plain humble and not screaming out for recognition.

All I found from my search was a humble, simple, honest and down to earth woman who did not let the fame get into her head and thwart her perspective to life.

In a society where values are being corrupted everyday on screen by so-called celebrities and there is scarcity of role models for our kids, I can whole heartedly say that Stella Damasus is a breath of fresh air. 

The Day Labi Stole the Show on Entertainment Splash

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, August 27, 2012

Imagine you’re a guest on a call-in show being interviewed about your latest effort in waxing an album, song or producing a video. You’re expectant that viewers and fans will call in and appreciate you after you’ve dished out tales of how you ventured into the music, the segregation of womenfolk in the industry and stories of your struggle that are structured to endear the audience to you.

Then the calls start coming in…and instead of them focusing on you, they begin to focus on the hostess of the show and almost totally forget that the it’s you, the guest, that they should be calling to speak with.

This was the case of a call-in entertainment show I saw on TVC (Television Continental) some days ago. The name of the show is Entertainment Splash and it’s hosted by this cute anchor simply called ‘Labi’.

Either Labi apparently has a good make-up artiste, style person or she’s just a cutie that knows how to look good in front of the camera, I’ll never know. But one unbeatable fact was that she look marvelous on screen; even her mannerisms seemed to have earned her fans and admirers from the viewers.

The guests on the show were artiste Essence (Remember her? She sang ‘Facebook Love’ with Jaywon) and an upcoming act called ‘Ink’. The two had done a collabo and were featuring on the show to talk about themselves, their song and the video production as well as share views on the industry.

Later viewers began to call in and Labi in all fairness tried to direct them to focus more on Essence and Ink, but the naughty viewers kept talking about how good Labi looked and handled the show on air. One feisty dude almost asked to meet her but Labi was smart enough to divert his attention and change the subject to the matter of the moment – the neglected guests on the show. Some viewers still managed to appreciate Essence and Ink for their work but not after pestering Labi with serious admiration.

Essence on her part looked cute too in her short flowery gown while Ink just maintained the urban leathery feel but Labi just stole the show with her richly done hair, nicely fitted and fluttery lashes, flashing dimples, side-toothed gaps and sweet demeanor. I sort of felt for Essence. She had actually been in the industry for a long time but didn't seem to be making enough waves to gather enough attention. She really does have a lovely voice; unfortunately she doesn't have the good songs. Maybe she has to find a way to hook up with the right people to make the desired impact and get good songwriters to do collabos with. Her voice is the one that sings the theme song for the popular TV drama called ‘Super Story’. 

As for Labi, the lady is just something. At the end of the show as she bids viewers goodbye, flutters her eyes sensually and blows a loving kiss at the screen – a sight that is sure to keep viewers glued to the next episode of Entertainment Splash; not because of the guest who’ll be featuring, but because of her.

I usually don't stick around to watch shows like these but I couldn't resist watching the drama between the hostess, her guests and the viewers. And if you also are not a stickler for shows like these, maybe Labi might one day get you glued to the screen with her charm.

SAFARI - Movie to star Halle Berry, Omotola Jalade and Genevieve Nnaji

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, July 12, 2012

Nigerian movie stars and movie makers are really making strides that's breaking the barriers between local and international viewership - from shooting high quality movies that can stand in the international market to starring with renown names from Hollywood...it's amazing how the industry is crossing the hurdles and making impressive impact. Not only that, the themes being explored are beginning to stray away from the usual cliche ones that are so predictable (well...I'm not really saying there are no more movies like that anymore. I'd be kidding myself if I denied that!).

Obi Emenloye is one movie producer and director that's making the Nigerian movie industry proud. Presently he's getting ready to shoot another movie titled 'Safari' that will feature a heavy mix of Nigerian and American stars namely, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Halle Berry, Genevieve Nnaji amongst others. 

According to him, he has sent a copy of the script to Halle Berry and is awaiting her approval.

Omotola

Genevieve

Halle Berry
Source

For Omotola this will be another opportunity working with another renown actress (Halle) after her recent collaboration with renown american actress Kimberly Elise on the Leila Djansi movie 'Ties that Bind' which is currently showing at Silverbird Cinemas. Elise is well known for featuring in 'Diary of a Mad Black Woman' and a host of other Tyler Perry movies.

Obi Emenloye
Source

In case you don't know or recollect, Obi Emenloye is the same producer of the movie 'Mirror Boy' which featured Genevieve, and the recently premiered 'Last Flight to Abuja' a movie based on a plane crash tragedy (first of its kind in Nollywood!) which also featured Omotola along with Hakim Kae-Kazim, Jim Iyke and Jide Kosoko. Check out the trailer below...looks quite impressive for a Nollywood production.

Source

Myne's Birthday Photoshop!

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, October 28, 2011

How man ways can we say Happy Birthday to woman that's marking time in the sands of Naija's literary world? Okay...I missed the birthday by a day but I still decided to wish Myne a happy birthday by giving her a gift...so Kimson and I got together and started thinking what to do. We could have done a portrait for her but that would take time and birthday fever might expire by the time we finished.

So we thought of something else - why don't we do different photoshops of Myne's pic for her birthday?

I present to you our 'lazy effort' - the Myne Whitman Birthday Photoshop series...

This is the original photo of Myne

We call this the glitter version

We call this the pencil version

This is the charcoal version

Diffused version

Water Colored version

The 'pencil version' is our favourite.

Happy (belated) Birthday Myne Whitman!

From Kush & Kimson

That's Myne!

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, April 07, 2011

And I felt bored at work and didn't want to get online.

And I picked up this popular Naija news magazine

to read in my office; inquisitive to know what pot of luck

they claimed our 'puppet presido' had...

And I reached page 10 of the magazine and who do I see on the page?

OMG! It's Myne Whitman in an interesting exclusive interview

on her work and Naijastories! It was an encouraging interview

that rang one bell in my mind -She's definitely going a long way

sticking to doing what she loves best. 

 With another novel out not long after her first,

(which gathered impressive reviews) no doubt about it,

she's gathering momentum as a force to reckon with. 

Click to view larger and read.

Its hard being encouraged to be a writer here in Naija,

I have friends who stopped writing because they were just plain discouraged.

I had stopped writing for a while until I met Myne online

and she encouraged me to start again (Hence 'The Chronicles X' series).

Then I joined Naija Stories and the dead writer in me ressurected totally.

All of a sudden, everything around me had a story to tell

and I had to write or I would run crazy!

Keep doing what you're doing Myne! We're proud of you!

Happy Birthday Standtall!!

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Tuesday, July 13, 2010

A force for the women amongst men...a celebration amongst geniuses...

a voice that cries out for the sake of the feminine gender

She never forgets my birthday...why should I forget hers?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my paddy Standtall!!

Remember those days in OAU?

Alaere Alaibe...Gone...Saddening

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Thursday, February 12, 2009

Her name is Alaere Alaibe.

45 years of age.

Married to NDDC chairman, Timi Alaibe for 20 years.

She's the Founder of the FREE Foundation which stands for Family Reorientation Education and Empowerment, an NGO that has touched the lives of many less priviledged people and given them hope for a new life.

Her NGO has won awards upon awards.

Also the owner of 'Pretty Woman' on Toyin Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

This beautiful and enigmatic woman who last year was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (a form of cancer) is no more.

She died in her husbands arms singing her favourite song at a London hospital.

She'll be buried today.

...She's also a blogger. Check out her blog here

My guess is that she must have stopped blogging after being diagnosed of her illness.

Check her foundation's website here

So sad. Another good woman who has touched lives and positively affected others, gone just like that.

Read more about her here

Lillian Ladele - A Shining Example

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Monday, July 14, 2008

Its amazing how in a world that's been proliferated and corrupted with all manner of abominations against nature and what is proper, you still have people who maintain not just thier integrity but their belief ib that which is right.

Such is the story of Lillian Ladele the Christian registrar who refused to carry out gay weddings in the UK. Lillian was harassed and discriminated against after she refused to carry out same-sex civil partnership ceremonies yet she doggedly stood her ground and refused to violate the act of abomination against God's laws which man has taken and legalised.





Lillian's act has generated so much controversy that is reminiscent of the days of the famous black american lady, Rosa Parks who refused to seat in a segregated area in a bus during the segregationist periods of the 60's.
She also reminds me of strong women such as Dora Akinyuli and Chris Anyanwu who braved the odds when it seemed all around them was against them.

Lillian's doggegness paid off when she won the courtbattle over this case. The telegraph news described her victory as 'a landmark discrimination battle'.  





This ordinary woman has demonstrated the extra-ordinary by just standing for what she believes and God's laws.  Its amazing how doing the right thing can end up turning you into a controversy celebrity. I have to say I'm happy she stood her ground and I'm also proud for the fact that she's a Nigerian. Who says we can make waves around the globe?

Lillians story proves a number of things:

1. No matter where you are, you can make a difference and win as long as you stand your ground.
   
2. When what you stand for is what God stands for, you will always win in the end.
   
3. Your steadfastness will cause others to wake up from their slumber and take a stand
   

I guess Romans 12:2 is a very relevant scripture in this case.

WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE 2

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Friday, February 29, 2008

CHRIS ANYANWU

Meet another woman who like Dora, showcased herself as a Teflon way back during one of Nigeria’s worst military regimes.

I’m beginning to believe that a pretty face can equally brace the same storms as a stony face. Bespectacled Chris Anyanwu in those days of Abacha and his cohorts faced the danger of telling the truth and paying dearly for it.
At a time when women were not even considered seriously in holding positions in leadership or allowed to make much impact in the public (unless they were wives of leaders running better life programmes), this woman operated under one of the dangerous professions of that time – Journalism.

Journalists have always been ‘beefed’ by the big wigs in power simply because they always aim to expose their dirty dealings to the curious public. Chris’ arrival on the scene made matters worse for the Khaki boys because she wasn’t just out to report happenings but to tell the naked truth.

She told it and they arrested her and put her in the dreaded dark cells that nearly made her go blind. I remembered when I heard the news that day that she was nearly going blind, it was a terrifying thought. The Khaki boys thought they had things under control until Chris received an International courage award that made them realize that the global community was following the trend of things. They thus decided to be careful because of the possibility that things could blow up in their face.

In a deep article that she wrote for the World Freedom Day may 3rd 1999, Chris highlighted the limits placed on women in the Nigerian society; a limit of which she braved all odds to break through:

“I fully realize that my incarceration was a well-calculated plan by General Abacha and a certain misogynist clique in the ruling circle to force me out of the profession and by it send a strong signal to the female elite that there are limits for women in this society. The tragic demise of the only other female publisher and the gory murder of three outstanding and outspoken women in the country during this same period all fit into this pattern of behavior.

Without doubt, Abacha and his clique aimed to cause a reversal in the strides made by women in Nigerian society. He wanted to reshape woman according to his primitive mental picture of the world.

The extent to which he succeeded is becoming more evident in the dimished visibility of women and especially their low involvement in Nigeria's transition politics. Few women are running for elected office and even fewer are willing to get involved publicly in any form of assertive affair.even fewer are willing to get involved publicly in any form of assertive affair.”

We can really thank God that things are gradually changing and people are beginning to realize that women have something to offer society that men don’t seem to possess.

Chris Anyanwu has set milestones that will place her in Nigeria’s history books. Apart from braving the odds of a treacherous regime, she also happened to be Nigeria’s first broadcast entrepreneur when she set up her media company; Spectrum Broadcasting.

Sometimes it takes the outside world to really make us realize how we should appreciate our women and stop marginalizing them by limiting their leadership potentials to just the position of First Lady. And Chris makes the point when she states it clearly in an interview;
“It’s interesting – but we’re not a people or a society that makes sacrifices. You’re not appreciated for it. But the fact that foreigners took a special interest … it struck home to [Nigerians] that this person did something right, that it was something admirable and it earned quite a bit of respect.”

From the above statement you can see a reflection of how the global community views the women we fail to appreciate and give a chance to prove their mettle. Its clear and evident across the nation. We’ve seen how the Okonjo-Iwealas, the Ezekwesilis and a host of other have fared and struggled in a society clouded by the domineering force of men.
Many have come to the conclusion that a woman president will make a lot of difference in Nigeria if given the chance. I strongly agree. There’s just something that women will always have that men will never have and we must never underestimate them. The Nigerian political terrain is changing; more women are joining the race; more women are coming out to make impact. It's time to pay attention to them, it's time to empower our women and appreciate them.

WOMAN OF SUBSTANCE 1

Chronicled by Afronuts @ Wednesday, February 27, 2008

DORA AKUNYILI

I remember the first time I actually got to properly see the picture of the enigma of a woman called Dora Akunyili, my first reaction was, “So its this beautiful woman that’s showing all these fake drug peddlers serious pepper?”

I had thought it would be some-stone-faced vicious fire breathing Madame that would scare kids away with just a stare.
I was dead wrong. The strongwoman of NAFDAC has this sweet smile and lively eyes such that if you saw her for the first time, quizzical musings would bombard your mind left, right, centre.
In a country that is bedeviled with all manner and forms of corruption in high places with all manner of national treasury pilfers parading themselves as our leaders, its surprising and shocking that a member of the womenfolk can rise up and do things properly.


I will transparently say that I am ashamed of almost all the men that have occupied seats of leadership in Nigeria. There are minutely very few men that I can stand up for and acclaim that they are people I admire.
I have the gut feeling that if a man had been in the hot seat of leadership of NAFDAC, he would have masqueraded about throughout his tenure eating up from the coffers of funds he could get his hands on while promising Nigerians that they would ‘bring culprits to book’(Culprits of whom would have been caught earlier but ‘settled’ their way out of being brought to justice).


Dora Akunyili came on the Job and didn’t just do her Job but took it way beyond the expectations of Nigerians. Not even a close brush with death when an assassination attempt was made on her life could deter her from continuing her job. Her defiance in getting the Job done was reflected when she once quoted in an interview;



"My coming here and not doing the work is greater than any sin in the ten commandments. I just leave it to God and put in the effort that is humanly possible. I refuse to be intimidated. My life is in the hand of God. They forget that so many people have died because of fake drugs, even my own sister. If she had had the right insulin, she wouldn't have died.”


Dora has become so popular and beloved by many that she has taken the place of the ultimate role model in the lives of many Nigerians. Today more women are beginning to contemplate trying out the political terrain.



Dora’s performance has ultimately proven that women should never be taken for granted when it comes to handling the mantle of leadership. In a society that is undoubtedly patriarchal in nature, she has succeeded in breaking the jinx that women can’t do it like the men. Unfortunately, she even does it better than most men. That was actually proven when she bagged the Silverbird Television man of the year award. It’s funny that it was meant to be ‘man of the year’ but a woman ended up clinching it!




I needn’t mention that Dr Dora Akunyili is well read and has pedigrees that have equally proven that they are not a waste of accolades since her performance has paid off. It’s quite unusual in a society where there are people fronting pedigrees and achieving no noteworthy exploits in leadership. I strongly believe that until the world has noticed your efforts, then you are really a great person. Dora has drawn global attention and will remain a veritable point of reference in Nigerian history.