For the family of the Ohakims in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State, March 23 of every year is a special day that calls for celebration. It is the birthday of their matriarch, Lady Chioma Ohakim (mni).
Born to the family of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Ahamefule of Umuneke Anara in the same Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of Imo State. She is the third child and the first daughter in a family of 10. The then little Chioma left no one in doubt that she is an achiever who will not give in to the restrictions imposed by a typical Igbo society, where many felt restricted from achieving their dreams due to the perceived impression that the place of the woman is the kitchen.
She attended St. Michaels Primary School, Umuahia (now in Abia State) from where she proceeded to the famous Girls Technical College (now Abia State Polytechnic) for her secondary education.
She holds a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business Administration and Management from Yaba College of Technology in Lagos; a Law degree from the Imo State University. She was called to the Nigerian Bar after attending the Nigerian Law School in Bwari, Abuja. She has a Master’s degree in Law from the Abia State University; and only recently she graduated from the prestigious Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and thus has the coveted Member National Institute (MNI) attached to her name.
She got married to Dr. Ikedi Ohakim (KSC) at quite a young age, but coupled with the challenges of marriage, childbearing and home making, she still proceeded to the higher institutions of learning to hold degrees in both Business Administration and Management, and Law, emerging among the best graduating students of her set.
To describe her person would be quite a herculean task. No one word best describes her. To many, she appears as strong, others committed, but you can never miss the attribute of humility in her. Not given to pretences, she always speaks her mind on any issue, no matter whose ox is gored. That is irrepressible Chioma for you.
Her husband, at every public forum, always describes her as “his dark and lovely”, and it is quite understandable. In our clime, it has become fashionable to see beautiful dark-skinned women bleach their skin in the erroneous belief that fair women are prettier. Thus, Barr. Ohakim still cherishes her beautiful dark skin.
While, as a student, reports abound that she wasn’t one to swallow any order by fellow students without testing the waters. One incident stands out while she was a student at the Girls Technical College, Umuahia. One particular day, she was unable to smuggle her then school mother’s food to the hostel, which resulted in her missing her siesta for the day, a move little Chioma did not find funny. The next day, she walked up to her school mother and asked her to show her (Chioma) where it was in the students’ handbook that she must serve a school mother before she can be deemed to be a good student? The school mother was shocked; and while she tried to bring up a valid reason, little Chioma told her senior she had had enough of school mothering or mentoring and will no longer serve! That was Chioma in her elements, never to inconvenience herself just to please other people.
A committed lady given to details, nothing escapes her eagle eyes; absolutely nothing. Thus many joke that while you can cheat her husband out of anything, she is a hard nut to crack.
An avid reader (actually you can’t be associated with Dr. Ohakim without being a lover of books), Barr. Ohakim stays up late nights just to cross her ‘T’s and dot her ‘I’s, and if she is not satisfied with a concept, she does not hesitate to change it entirely, so long as it will benefit humanity.
A committed wife, who works hard at shielding her family from the eyes of invaders, she is one of the few women of repute who, despite being in public office, has a grip on her home. How she achieves that is a lesson to many.
A born leader, Mrs. Chioma Ohakim is Life President, Umunnuma Okohia Meeting, Lagos; and Treasurer, Amato-Numa Okohia (Home and Abroad) Okohia Meeting, Isiala Mbano Local Government of Imo State.
As the First Lady of Imo State from 2007 to 2011, she was Chairperson, South East Governors’ Wives Forum; Leader, Imo State chapter of National Women Coalition on AIDS (NAWOCA); Patron, Women for Change Initiative (W4CI), Imo State; and Convener, New Face of Imo Family Prayer Project.
She also founded the Empowerment for Women and Youths Initiative (EWAYI), with headquarters in Owerri, Imo State, a platform she used to reach out to many indigents in Imo via start-up capital for small businesses; houses for indigent widows; scholarships for indigent students, and education of the girl-child.
A stickler for decent dressing, she champions proper dressing for girls and women, condemning all forms of obscenity under any guise. Like she says “you are dressed the way you wish to be addressed”.
She holds numerous awards which includes: Special Gold Award by International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) for contributions to the uplift of women and children in Imo State – November 2007; Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Okigwe branch, Gold Award for Excellence – May 2008; Award of Excellence by National Association of Women Journalists – November 2009; Distinguished Trail Blazer award by the Women’s Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) – August 2009; Most Outstanding First Lady Award by Imo State Union of Journalists (NUJ) – October 2010; and just some days ago, the Golden Mother award by the Holy Trinity Anglican Church of Umunuma, Okohia in Isiala Mbano Local Government area of Imo State.
Her Excellency has equipped hundreds of orphans and widows with empowerment tools ranging from Sewing machines, hair dryers and clippers, generating sets, milling and grinding machines, palm kernel crackers through EWAYI.
She effectively lobbied the Imo State Government to increase the appointment of more women into positions of authority, thereby helping to achieve the 35 per cent representation of women in public offices while she served as the First Lady of Imo State.
Barr. Ohakim built a five-classroom block for the FSP International Nursery and Primary School in Ugwu-Orji, Owerri; and maintains a consistent partnership with the less-privileged in Imo.
She successfully hosted four editions of the Imo Women’s Day (which is likened to Women Christmas and one of the highest events in Imo that showcases the state to the world).
In 2009 alone, during the annual Women August Meeting in Imo, she visited the 543 autonomous communities spread across the 27 local governments during which she empowered 1,629 women (including the indigent elderly) with sewing machines, milling and grinding machines, and cash grant to help them earn a living.
A born leader, Mrs. Ohakim is a distinguished woman, a workaholic, an achiever, and a scholar par excellence.
Her marriage to the immediate past Governor of Imo State is blessed with five children – two males and three females, and now a grandson. Her hobbies include meeting people, reading, researching, and engaging in community services.
• Nkwo-Akpolu is the Chief Press Secretary to Barr. Ohakim
