Ugwuanyi’s Curious Love for Amaka Anajemba

•Governor appoints ex-convict as waste management boss

T he nuisance of the tropics is the sheer necessity of the fizz and temperate region. Little wonder Enugu State governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, appointed an ex-convict into his government, particularly at a time when the country is reeling and groaning under the weight of bad image and corruption.

Why would Governor Ugwuanyi, appoint Amaka Anajemba? Was it his way of showing appreciation and payback for some significant work done, or support in gaining entry into a powerful political clique controlling immeasurable wealth and authority? Or was it simply an outpouring of human kindness, reflective in the Christ-like injunction: “Go and sin no more?”

Whatever the truth is, Ugwuanyi’s appointment of Amaka Anajemba, a woman widely acknowledged as Nigeria’s Queen of 419 (Advanced Free Fraud), as the Managing Director of the Enugu State Waste Management Agency (ESWAMA), is ruffling a lot of feathers in the state. Since Anajemba’s appointment was announced, several commentators on the social media have expressed dissatisfaction with the state government’s preference for a woman convicted for fraud.

Back in 2005, under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration, Anajemba bagged a prison term of two and half years for conspiring with others to commit a scam to the tune of $242 million in faraway Brazil.

She was convicted in July 2005 by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja.

According to a news report in Daily Trust on July 26, 2005, “by her conviction, Mrs. Amaka Martina Anejemba, mother of four, became the undisputed Queen of the scam that continues to wreak havoc to our international image and integrity.”

Her conviction had earned a presidential recognition, with Obasanjo writing a letter of commendation to the EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu, for the first time, for a job well done in the successful prosecution.

REALITY BITES! OKOCHA, NIGHTCLUB NOT SOCCER PITCH

The finest plans have always been spoiled by the littleness of those that should carry them out. Even emperors couldn’t do it all by themselves, likewise Austin “Jay-Jay” Okocha. The former Super Eagles mercurial midfielder and playmaker could not replicate his success on the soccer pitch in the challenging world of nightclub management thus the failure of Bar 10, his wondrously constructed nightclub. The venture which cost the former Paris Saint German and Bolton Wanderers mercurial midfielder quite a fortune became the favoured watering hole of many fun seekers in Lagos until the sad news of its closure stealthily crept in.

Though there was no specific reason attributed to the closure, rumour has it that Okocha had persistently complained about the viability of the business. Okocha reportedly lamented that he was not making money from the capital intensive venture claiming he regretted venturing into bar business. He was quoted as likening the bar business to another failed investment of his in the distressed Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) where he lost about $1million. Though he was lured into the business by some bootlickers, we gathered he has gone back to the drawing board to repackage the business.

ON THE LOCAL PASTORS’ ALPHA WIVES

One of the great trends of the current century is undoubtedly the rise of the alpha female; that highly educated and motivated new breed of woman. Like unquenchable cultural fire-starters, these women are threatening to tear apart what many believe as gospel when it comes to changing gender roles and modernity. Many have described their emergence to be a result of the sexual revolution that has spawned a relatively new being called the “Alpha female”. Affluent and successful, the alpha female’s fast-living world is that of powerful, influential professionals – she holds jobs that only men used to have. Many of them become neurosurgeons, pilots, marine combatants, pastors to mention a few. Some however, simply choose to support their husbands by assuming more challenging roles and becoming more visible in the Church.

This latter breed represents a tectonic shift in gender roles and perception according to the gospel. As wives to prominent pastors, no more are they scarcely seen and never heard. Today, they have become more visible, more assertive and fashionable too. The dawn of the 90s no doubt triggered a new awakening for these women in the Lord’s vineyard. Their fashion culture changed, so did their attitude to various other issues. Not that they have grown less subservient but they have become self aware and enamoured to do things their own way.

And today, these Pastors’ wives have become as prominent and conspicuous as their husbands; even dandier and more outstanding to the delight and amazement of their teeming congregation. Such pastors’ wives include Ifeanyi Adefarasin, Ibidun Ighodalo, Nike Adeyemi, Faith Amaga, Siju Iluyomade to mention a few.