ABIA STATE’S FIRST LADY AND HER MISSION OF MERCY
By Chuks Nwabueze Nwagbara
Originating in the USA in the middle of the 19th Century, the designation “First Lady” and “First Gentleman” as the official title of the spouse of the head of state or the Governor of a state has spread and become popular all over the world, including in Nigeria.
Over time, the status of the First Lady grew in prominence and power, which some past and present occupants have tended to use to feather their nests. But, other saw and used the position as a call to duty to support and complement their husbands as well as a pedestal to serve the society at large.
Madam Nkechi Ikpeazu, the Abia State First Lady, is a model of modesty that belongs to the latter category that has been quietly using the position as a constructive force for public good. In line with the age-old saying that “Behind every successful man there is a woman”, she uses her vantage position to positively impact on the huge governance strides of her husband. In this wise, therefore, the achievements of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in Abia State cannot be divorced from the pillow counsel of his better half, Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu.
As an ordained Deaconess of the Christian faith, the amiable and self-effacing First Lady of Abia State discharges her role and conducts her activities in the State like a God sent Angel of succour. Apart from giving benefaction and comfort to the neediest and weakest members of the Abia society, she is deeply concerned with the welfare of women and girl-children, especially when they are thrown into hardship and sorrow by circumstances beyond their control.
Deriving from her humane passion for assisting the afflicted and infirm, Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu, without much fanfare and fuss, uses her official position as First Lady in locating and lifting up some of the society’s most vulnerable persons from their situation of utter helplessness to a state of renewed hope and optimism. Thus, under the auspices of her charitable organisation, the Vicar Hope Foundation, she has been touching and changing the lives of many hapless and helpless Abians for good.
Crucially, the Vicar Hope Foundation has succeeded in increasing public awareness on the sickle cell disease that ails a sizeable number of our citizens, and has made more intending couples than ever aware of the need to check their blood groups and genotypes before going into marriage and parenting. Notably, it was through her efforts that the Abia State House of Assembly passed the Abia State Blood Group and Genotype Identification Law of 2018. This piece of legislation is considered a major step in curbing the incidence of the disease and the lifelong disability that goes with it.
Furthermore, the First Lady, through her Foundation, is funding the treatment of many victims of the sickle cell ailment in the State as well as championing the search for better treatment and advanced management of the affliction; so as to ensure in her words that “Abia children afflicted with the sickle cell disease receive the best attention and care to enable them lead normal lives.”
What many people are only now beginning to realise is the closeness and deep understanding that exists between this remarkable ‘Vicar of Hope’ and her husband. It is now clear that their mutual affinity is borne out of a shared vision built on a common commitment to make life more abundant for Abians. Indeed, many people have only recently come to know this much from the pages of their recently presented co-authored book entitled: “Towards a Better Tomorrow, a Guide for Teen Years”, in which they outlined their individual and joint commitment to the improvement of the welfare of the youths of Abia State.
Recently, the First Lady further enhanced her reputation as an unrelenting campaigner for woman and the girl-child rights, when she led an “A–List” of accomplished Abia women on an advocacy mission to the Executive Governor of the State. From that visit, which took place in the EXCO Chamber in Umuahia, Abia women extracted a pledge of the diligent implementation by the Government of measures for the protection of women and the girl-child from abuse and violence.
Owing to the prevailing economic realities, offices of government are facing diminished funding from the public treasury. The office of the First Lady has faced this challenge in a creative way is through extensive collaborations with public and private sector organisations to keep her pet project and humanitarian works going. For instance, her office partnered with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to train and transfer skills to over 250 women, who were subsequently provided with over 1,000 sundry equipment such as sewing machines, grinders along with take-off seed money and so on in order to the beneficiaries into self-employed income earners.
Through her Widows/Indigent Shelter Scheme (WISS), which is the widows’ empowerment component of her pet project, the Abia First Lady has, at the last count, built and delivered over 50 units of houses with modern amenities to widows and indigent women in various parts of Abia State.
Another feather to her cap is the commendable Abia Book and Learning Link through which she has built and furnished two new schools with over 2,000 books that were distributed to pupils free of charge. Many educationists have credited this initiative in schools and the education sector with contributing to the improved performances of Abia pupils and students in external national and international examinations.
A woman with a legendary capacity for doing good, the flow of the milk of human kindness from Mrs Ikpeazu does not stop with women, the girl child and students but extends to other citizens who are physically challenged. Either alone or in collaboration with charitable organisations such as Tolaram Charity Foundation, her Vicar Hope Foundation some time ago distributed over 340 wheelchairs, 100 crutches 150 prostheses free to beneficiaries.
What is evident from a close observation is that through her quiet exertions as a First Lady, Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu has touched and improved the lives of many of the lowliest and least endowed individuals across the length and breadth of Abia State. In consonance with her belief that those whose kernels have been cracked for them by a benevolent spirit must share their largesse with the less privileged in the society through the charitable act of caring and sharing, her Vicar Hope Foundation has been leading the way in the honourable act of giving and putting smiles on faces. According to her, her relentless drive in the venerable act of “giving hope to the hopeless” is simply a covenant with God.
It is pertinent to note that maybe owing to her humble mien and self-effacing nature which make her shy away from publicity and unnecessary showy displays, the activities of Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu have remained grossly under reported and have not attracted the level of credit that she truly deserves. This is notwithstanding that her record of serial acts of mercy, which has given lifelines to numerous widows and other female victims of some archaic customs and other obnoxious acts that tend to disinherit some women in our society, are available for all to see. Truly speaking, our Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu is a real Amazon who deserves our kudos for the amazing job she is doing.
