Oby Ezekwesili: Fearless activist aiming to make history as Nigeria’s first female president
Widely respected as a fearless activist, Obiageli Ezekwesili has every right to believe she stands a chance to become Nigeria’s number one citizen.
Following what she described as a “tough decision” to declare her ambition to lead the country, Madam Oby revealed on Monday that she will be contesting against President Muhammadu Buhari, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and several others, on the platform of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria.
Though Buhari and Atiku are the most popular candidates going into the 2019 poll, Ezekwesili’s records as a fiery believer and vocal advocate of the provision of better welfare for the people would make her fancy her chances.
The outspoken convener of the Bring Back Our Girls movement is only one of few females who are eyeing the presidential seat next year, but she is well known for her inability to cower even in the face of the most daring situations.
The woman, Obiageli Ezekwesili
Oby Ezekwesili, an Anambra State native, was born 55 years ago on April 28, 1963. She is a master’s degree holder in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of Lagos, while she holds another Master of Public Administration degree from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Ezekwesili also qualified as a chartered accountant after training with Deloitte and Touche firm. She once worked with a Professor at the Center for International Development at Harvard.
She was, in May 2012, awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSC) degree by the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) in Ogun State.
She is married to Pastor Nedu Ezekwesili of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and they are blessed with two sons – Chuba and Chine.
Public Office
Before Ezekwesili became the new face of fearless activism in Nigeria, she had made her mark in public service.
She was widely referred to as ‘Madam Due Process’ while she served as the Pioneer head of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit under former president Olusegun Obasanjo, and was hailed for sanitising public procurement or issuance of contracts at the Federal level.
Ezekwesili, in June 2005, was appointed Minister of Solid Minerals (Mines and Steel) and a year later, in June 2006, was appointed the Federal Minister of Education. She held the position as education minister until May 2007, when she resumed a new position as the World Bank’s Vice-President for the Africa Region.
Ezekwesili also co-founded Transparency International, a global anti-corruption body based in Berlin, Germany.
Her advocacy for the release of abducted Chibok girls since 2014 has attracted global attention.
2019
Ezekwesili has always been a vocal critic of successive Nigerian governments, many times drawing scathing criticisms from the general public as a result. But she has continued to hold firm onto her beliefs on good governance, believing now, that she should be allowed to practice whats she preaches.
“I have fully persuaded myself to lead a people’s movement that will permanently terminate bad leadership, ethnic and religious divisions, mediocrity, and failures in governance. We, the people of Nigeria, shall run together and win,” she said of her aim in contesting the presidential seat in the February 2019 poll.
“I want to run for, and win the 2019 presidential election to serve and put the citizens first by mobilising and taking decisive actions on a number of big ideas that will help all of us build an exceptional nation that our future generation will be proud to call their own,” she added, confidently.
She will, however, have a tough mountain to climb in beating President Buhari and Atiku to the seat, as they remain the favourites going into the election year.
But whether she wins or not, Ezekwesili would have made an inspiring statement that Nigerians can look outside of the most popular parties to choose their next leaders.
