Nnaemeka Geoffrey Okahia studied, Unilag, Nigerian Law School, LLM (in view), Global Sustainability Law department, University of Ottawa, Executive Leadership Programme at Ontario Institute of Governance
He loves Unripe plantain and dry fish
Lives in Ottawa, Canada.
Actually, Onome wears braziers’ size 22, and she is so comfortable in them. Men became so compelling and left her in between her choice and that of others. A row of suitors, but with same choices. To keep Timi as his first choice, she squeezes into size 20. It was a very uncomfortable situation. With this, her busts stand so firm and points strongly towards the equator like an apache bomber. Then, to wade through and snub off other guys became a bigger task, she decided to readjust. So, in Timi’s absence, she devised a way of hanging loose brazier size 28 on her shoulders, leaving the mammary glands sagging, wagging and dancing to the rhythm of her footsteps. To her, it is the biggest repellent device against their eyes.
Though she became more friendly, she was less attractive. It worked for her. Onome and Timi stuck. But, things began to fall apart when all Timi talks about was about PDP and APC. Then Onome couldn’t cope. The relationship went so sour, and she had to “quit” or “defect”. To quit, the first thing than ran through her mind was her brazier Size 22. She needed it to “defect”.
Like most Nigerian women, Onome obviously detests politics but in contrast, she plays the game of knowing her skills and applying same as a means of “attraction” or “distractions”. Girls have an unfair advantage over men. If they can’t get what they want by being smart, they can get it by being dumb. That is Politics. The innate ability to make choices or influence decisions is naturally attached to the human state of our being. God endowed both male and females species with this feat. It is a fact that runs contrary to the prejudiced view that a woman is created with limited abilities or confined to some sort of responsibilities. Our Africa of today seems not to be in cognizance of the realities of the day, or lacks the ability to draw a line between the past and the present. Consequentially, the mirage left by our, ethnic, cultural and religious affiliations dumps an inequitable and impartial balance between masculine and feminine interests.
Even at independence, the women rather became more dependent, and in dire need of a seeming “political consciousness and liberty”. We have come to that age when gender prejudice should be abhorred and get our women more encouraged and involved at all levels of decision making process. Politics is about choice, raising your voice, getting strategic, vote or be voted for beyond the “kitchen” constituency. Being a mere observer or critic is not enough. It is not the critic who counts; rather the credit belongs to the person in the actual arena, who strives despite his or her shortcomings. A cold and timid soul knows no victory or defeat. The Nigerian woman should desist from being disgusted, bored and cynical about our politics, but should rather seek any means of participating within her capacity. If it doesn’t affect you, it affects the price of beans in the market, so you are not totally free. Women are not inadequate; they could rather powerful beyond measure. We are born to manifest the glory of God; it is not in some of us, but in all of us.
Overall, women have proven themselves in the past, in the present, and have the mindset to do so in the future. Whether or not change is in our future as a people, I believe women can be impactful. Our fight is one full of difficulty, but one worth fighting. If women of all ages could help our country emerge greater, then we can push for success in everything we do. Onome is a woman, she is smart, she never lost an argument or a strategy, she can cook, she likes to read fashion magazines and loves to be right, but she can do more. She should strive to unlock her potentials and abilities to attain any level of greatness. Assuming Onome applies “her bra antics” in a socio-political affair, then she would be trailing the parts of women like Joyce Banda of Malawi, Ellen-Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, or Catherine Samba-Panza of Central African Republic. These are a few women who made headlines beyond their braziers. If the world were ruled by women, perhaps there would be no war, maybe just a couple of nations “not talking with each other”,
I believe all hope is not lost.
The end of the tunnel is close.
ACHALUGO'S 