Women who are more powerful than President Jonathan of Nigeria

Powerful women in Jonathan administration
Since inception, President Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration has been accused of impunity,
usually caused by decisions and actions of the
President, including those of his ministers and
close associates.
Most of the glaring cases of abuse of power
including reckless spending of taxpayers’ money
have been carried out by the women in
Jonathan’s cabinet. These women have proven to
be more powerful than the number one citizen
of Nigeria because despite public outcries that
greet some of their decisions, they go scot-free.
Those who fall in this seemingly untouchable
category are the First Lady, Mrs. Patience
Jonathan; the Coordinating Minister for the
Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala; the Minister of Petroleum
Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke; the
Director-General of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, Ms. Arunma Oteh; and the Minister
of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.
These powerful women have some things in
common. They are all from the South-East and
South-South geopolitical zones. Four of them had
their higher education in the United States and
two of them are daughters of traditional rulers.
Needless to say they occupy some of the most
strategic and ‘lucrative’ positions in the Federal
Government.
PATIENCE JONATHAN
In Nigeria’s history, Patience Jonathan is
believed to be the most powerful First Lady in
terms of the amount of influence she has over
her husband and his cabinet.
Mrs. Jonathan first gave a glimpse into the
enormous power she wields in 2011 when she
traversed the country, campaigning for her
husband in a way that irked many Nigerians.
Several calls by individuals and groups to the
President to restrain his wife yielded no result.
Also, in June this year, in apparent violation of
the electoral act, Mrs. Jonathan reportedly
started campaigning for her husband ahead of
the 2015 elections.
Another show of impunity by the President’s wife
is the way she cripples any town or city she
visits with her long motorcade, including
bulletproof limousines and scores of armed
policemen.
She grounded Lagos in 2012 when she visited to
say “thank you” to some women groups for their
support in electing her husband.
Despite the protest by several Nigerians, who
felt that their right to move freely in their
country was violated by the movement of an
unelected individual, the President’s wife was
never cautioned, at least not publicly.
Instead, the Presidency rose to her defence,
giving her the liberty to do more in other cities.
Her visits and grounding of traffic in Port
Harcourt and Warri were also greeted with wide
condemnations.
To show how powerful she is, Mrs. Jonathan
publicly admitted making attempts to dictate to
the Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, a
move that largely precipitated the ongoing
political crisis in the state.
In Aso Rock, where she resides with her
husband, the fear of Mrs. Jonathan is the
beginning of wisdom as she leaves no one in
doubt that she is in charge. There is always a
retinue of favour seekers waiting to see her daily.
Mrs. Jonathan, a native of Bayelsa State, was
born in Port Harcourt on October 25, 1957 and
holds National Certificate of Education in
Mathematics and Biology from the Rivers State
College of Arts and Science, and a Bachelor of
Education degree in biology and psychology from
the University of Port Harcourt.
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA
Right from when the negotiation to bring her
from the World Bank started, it was obvious that
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was bound to wield so
much power in Jonathan’s government.
With her position as the coordinating minister
for the economy (a new position created for her)
and Finance Minister, Okonjo-Iweala, who is
currently 83rd on Forbes’ global list of powerful
women, calls the shots as far as Nigeria’s
economy is concerned.
While doing that, she has called the bluff of
many including state governors and the National
Assembly without any consequence.
The state governors, who have complained about
the shabby way the minister treat them, have
called for her removal while the Academic Staff
Union of Universities has called her a ‘dictator.’
But no matter the protest, Okonjo-Iweala
remains a darling of the President.
The sacking of Mr. Shuaib Yushau as the Head,
Media and Information Unit of the National
Emergency Management Agency, after he wrote
what was considered a critical article against
Okonjo-Iweala, further showed that the minister
was not to be messed with.
The article entitled ‘Still on Okonjo-Iweala over
Controversial Appointments’, published on March
6, called on the minister “to ensure that
appointments into important positions should be
done in credible and transparent manner that
can withstand public scrutiny.”
Similarly, Mr. Lawrence Ani, was reportedly
suspended indefinitely from his job as Saturday
Editor of Thisday Newspaper for publishing a
story that cited data that indicated a drop in
Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product under Okonjo-
Iweala’s watch.
In 2011, against the opinion of the majority of
Nigerians, Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke,
insisted on the removal of fuel subsidy, and
literally ordered it on the outset of 2012,
resulting in the Occupy Nigeria protest.
Okonjo-Iweala, who also served as finance
minister and foreign minister under President
Olusegun Obansanjo and as a Managing Director
at the World Bank, was born on June 13, 1954 to
Professor Chukuka Okonjo, who is the Obi
(traditional ruler) of Ogwashi-Uku.
She graduated from Harvard University in 1977,
and earned her Ph.D. in regional economic
development from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology in 1981.
She is married to Ikemba Iweala from Abia State.
DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE
Virtually all sections of the Nigerian society have
called for the resignation of the Petroleum
Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, all
to no avail.
Most of those who sought her removal had cited
several allegations of corrupt practices under her
watch as reasons for their demand.
After the revelation of massive fraud in the fuel
subsidy administration to the tune of N1.7trn,
many had thought that heads would roll,
including that of Alison-Madueke, who
supervised the rot.
Some heads did roll, but not that of the queen
of the Nigeria oil and gas industry.
Till date, the Presidency has not queried or
probed Diezani over allegations against her and
the indictment of departments under her by
several panels, including those headed by Nuhu
Ribadu, Farouk Lawan, and Aigboje Aig-
Imoukhuede as well as the Nigerian Extractive
Industry Transparency Initiative.
Diezani has also not explained to Nigeria, whom
she was appointed to serve, what role she
played in the massive corruption that led to the
loss of huge amounts of public fund.
Apart from the demands for the Alison-
Madueke’s resignation and prosecution by civil
society groups, who led the Occupy Nigeria
protest, the House of Representatives also
demanded her removal as minister.
Despite this, the President did not suspend her,
and gave no explanation for that. This shows
how powerful she is.
Alison-Madueke is the first woman to hold the
position of Minister of Petroleum Resources in
Nigeria, and in October 2010 she became the
first woman to head a country’s delegation at
the annual OPEC conference.
She was also the first female Minister of
Transportation, and the first woman to be
appointed to the board of Shell Petroleum
Development Company Nigeria.
Alison-Madueke was born on December 6, 1960
in Port Harcourt.
She graduated from Howard University in 1992,
with a Bachelor’s degree in architecture and
returned to Nigeria to join Shell Petroleum
Development Corporation.
About 10 years later, she earned an MBA from
Cambridge University and was appointed as the
first female executive director of Shell Nigeria.
In 1999, she got married to Admiral Alison
Madueke (retd), one-time Chief of Naval Staff
who was at different times military governor of
Imo and Anambra states.
STELLA ODUAH
Not many are aware of the tremendous power of
the Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, in
Jonathan’s government.
For her role in Jonathan’s 2011 campaign, she
was reportedly rewarded with a ministerial
appointment to the aviation ministry, even
though she had no prior training in the field of
aviation.
Many believe that the President feels indebted
to her for her role as the Director of Finance and
Administration of the Jonathan/Sambo Campaign
Organisation and in the establishment of
Neighbour-to-Neighbour outfit, which reportedly
spent billions of naira on adverts and media
propaganda in favour of Jonathan, especially
while the Occupy Nigeria protest lasted.
Considering this relationship with Jonathan, it
should not be a surprise that Oduah’s response
to critics after the Dana and Associated Airlines
crashes reeked of arrogance.
The latest revelation that she forced the
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to buy her
bulletproof vehicles has again elicited calls for
her removal and prosecution but considering the
way the President has treated public outcries
against these powerful women, Oduah is likely to
remain minister till the end of Jonathan’s
administration.
Princess Stella Oduah was born on January 5,
1962 to Igwe D.O. Oduah of Akili-Ozizor in
Anambra State on January 5, 1962.
She got her Bachelor’s degree in accounting and
MBA from American universities.
Oduah joined the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation in 1983 and in 1992, she established
a petroleum products marketing company, Sea
Petroleum & Gas Company Limited.
She was married to the former Minister for
Works, Chris Ogiemwonyi.
ARUNMA OTEH
Through her battles, the Director-General of the
Securities Exchange Commission, Ms. Arunma
Oteh, has sufficiently earned the name ‘Iron
lady’ even beyond her official sphere of
influence.
When she clashed with the House of
Representatives Committee on the Capital
Market, it was the chairman of the committee,
Mr. Herman Hembe, that got hurt.
The committee had accused Oteh of fraud and
misappropriation of funds. She fired back,
accusing Hembe of demanding bribe from SEC.
The SEC board suspended Oteh in order to
investigate the findings of the lawmakers, who
probed the capital market and indicted her. She
immediately petitioned the President and
Okonjo-Iweala.
After two months, the President returned Oteh
to her position, following the auditor’s report
that said her offence amounted only to
‘administrative lapses.’ The directors and staff of
the commission, who had protested Oteh’s
alleged high-handedness, were advised to calm
down and obey their boss.
On the other hand, Hembe was arraigned by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and
also stepped down as chairman of the
committee.
The crisis led to an intense battle between
President Jonathan and the House of
Representatives. The House demanded the
sacking of Oteh but Jonathan refused.
The passage of the 2013 budget was delayed
because of the fight. Eventually, the lawmakers
insisted on zero budget for SEC to force the
President’s hand, but he did not budge.
Calls for her removal by civil society groups also
fell on deaf ears.
Oteh, who is an indigene of Abia State, is also a
British citizen.
She graduated with first-class degree in
computer sciences from the University of Nigeria
in Nsukka and earned her MBA from Harvard
Business School.