Will Enugu Elect A Rights Activist- Juliet As Dep-gov?

The forthcoming Governorship election in the erstwhile South East regional capital of Enugu is bound to attract serious attention going by the nature and position of that state in the hearts and minds of every South Easterner.

Enugu State also occupies a place of pride in Igbo land because of the undeniable fact that most persons of South East origin still has spiritual and emotional attachment to this beautiful and amazing state which till date is the number one choice place for the building of family edifice by all and sundry from all Igbo speaking state. Enugu has a peculiar and uniquely beautiful climate and the beauty that nature bestowed on this aesthetically edifying place has made it imperative that it is the number one tourism attraction in the South. Enugu is serene, calm and peaceful and is blessed with many first class higher institutions of both governmental and non-governmental ownership.

In the last eight years the man who occupied the position of governor of Enugu State Mr. Sullivan Chime has attracted diverse opinions on both his performance and even his human rights record which to some persons with an eye for gender equity who have rated his human rights record to belong to some of the lowest in terms of respect for the human rights of the Nigerian women. Opponents of the state governor are quick to point to his unsavory experience with his then estranged but now reconciled wife Mrs. Clara Chime as one evidence that his administration has no good respect for women rights. The wife of the Governor had accused her husband of illegally detaining her for nearly six months within the premises of the Governor's residence in Enugu which the Governor denied. I terms of infrastructural development especially in the urban area, the current governor is said to have done exceedingly well.

In the primary elections that produced the candidates for the various elective positions in Enugu State the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ran into troubled waters because of the unilateral decision of the incumbent governor to single handedly nominate a member of the national parliarment Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi as his successor thereby tearing apart the once united house of that political platform. Senator Ayogu Eze is contesting the validity of the recognition of Mr Ugwuanyi by INEC as the PDP official candidate.

Other political parties such as the All Propgressives Congress [APC] cashed in on the seeming schism within the PDP to nominate a respected gentleman the Nsukka,Enugu State born business executive Mr OKECHUKWU CLEOPHAS EZEA as its candidate. This gentleman has also selected a versatile human rights activist and scholar Mrs Juliet Ibekaku as his running mate and so a lot of commentators have zeroed in the contest of the governorship as purely a straight forward fight between the PDP candidate and that of the APC.

Presently, Okechukwu Cleophas Ezea is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) of his freight and Logistics Company, Ideke Shipping Limited and Damik Ventures Ltd, which he set up in 1993. Both companies employ more than 250 staff, most of whom are from Enugu State.

Conversely, Barrister Juliet Ibekaku has twenty-two years postgraduate experience as an international criminal law attorney and development expert. She was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1993. She has a Master degree in International Human Rights, Humanitarian and Criminal Law and a postgraduate certificate in anti-corruption studies.

Barrister Ibekaku is an alumnus of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, University of Lagos, Nigerian Law School, Hague Academy of International Law, Netherlands, University of Hong Kong Program on Anti-corruption, University of Salzburg, Austria's program on international human rights and humanitarian law as well as the United States International Florida Bankers' Association.

Through her work on governance, she made significant contributions to the review of laws, regulations and procedures to strengthen anti-corruption institutional and legal measures in Nigeria and internationally.

Growing up, Barrister Ibekaku's dream was to be a lawyer-not just an ordinary lawyer but also a lawyer whose role would intersect the critical crossroad of “justice and development”. Determined to achieve this goal, Barrister Ibekaku on graduation from law school, worked closely with women's rights organizations to achieve her dream. Her work with “BAOBAB for Women's Human Rights and Shelter Rights Initiative” gave her the opportunity to speak out for women and children's rights. She also provided pro-bono legal services to victims of rape and domestic violence. From 1999 to 2002, she participated actively as a member of the Nigerian civil society delegation in the negotiation of the provisions of “Gender-based violence” in the Rome Statute during the establishment of the International Criminal Court.

She is an advocate for the strengthening women's rights, human rights, and governance.

Honestly, if the Enugu electorate give their mandate to these two great minds then they can be certain that good governance will be witness phenomenally.

* Emmanue Onwubiko is head Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria.