By Jude Ndukwe
It was Charlie Chaplin who said that “We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity, more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost”.
Office of the First Lady in Nigeria has since become synonymous with power, influence and flamboyance. While many have used such positions to simply elevate themselves and prove their class before others, some others have come to see the opportunity of being the wife of a governor or president as a divinely ordained channel for the betterment of the people whom their husbands govern.
Those who belong to the latter have also used their privileged positions to positively impact their husbands on the way they govern, and it surely shows, in Abia. Most times, when a performing governor like Dr Okezie Ikpeazu is being commended for his sterling performance in the State, some do not reckon the contributions of a woman like Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu, whose supportive role has proved greatly beneficial.
As Wife of the Governor, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu has conducted her activities in the State like a true angel sent by God to meet the needs of the downtrodden and the less privileged even long before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Apart from her awareness campaign against COVID-19 in the state, Mrs Ikpeazu called and led women of the State in a prayer and fasting session against coronavirus on Friday, 10th April, 2020. The concluding session of that solemn exercise was featured live on a majority of the radio stations in the State in order to further carry as many participants as possible along. She did not stop there, through her Widows/Indigent Shelter Scheme, WISS, the Wife of the Governor has built about 80 befitting houses for widows and indigent women in Abia, the most recent being 5 units of bungalows presented to vulnerable members of the society on Thursday, 14th May, 2020.
The implication of this is that, at an average of six persons per family, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu has provided befitting houses to 480 Abians at no cost to them. Most of the beneficiaries either had no form of shelter at all or they were living in makeshift houses that could barely protect them from the elements. Seeing that it is only those who have homes that could actually obey government directive to “stay at home” as part of the steps taken to curb the spread of coronavirus in the state, the Governor’s wife came to the rescue of these ones who can now truly observe the stay at home order and help stem the spread of the pandemic in the state.
From the foregoing, Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu who has brought exemplary simplicity to her role as Wife of the Governor, once stated: “The world can be a better place if we see each other through. We are not here on earth to see through each other, rather, we are here to see each other through”.
Having done so much for the people, spiritually and physically, her drive and passion to touch lives and bring succor to humanity without getting weary is defined by her relationship with God. To this end she once said, “This is my covenant with God, to give hope to the hopeless. With him, we will do more.” And, indeed, this woman with a heart of gold is doing more. Abia State is a witness!
Jude Ndukwe is the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Abia State House of Assembly