‘On the job, I sometimes forget I’m a woman’
Daily Trust: Have you had any stint in the core media profession? Petra Akinti Onyegbule: I haven’t had any stint in the media profession apart from writing opinion articles. DT: How does it feel like being the first female Chief Press Secretary (CPS) in Kogi State, in Northern Nigeria and second ever in the country? […]
Daily Trust: Have you had any stint in the core media profession?
Petra Akinti Onyegbule: I haven’t had any stint in the media profession apart from writing opinion articles.
DT: How does it feel like being the first female Chief Press Secretary (CPS) in Kogi State, in Northern Nigeria and second ever in the country?
Onyegbule: Let me say it’s a myriad of feelings; I feel humbled, I feel grateful but l also feel challenged because people are now watching how I’m going to do it, since like you pointed out, I have never been in the core practice of journalism. So, I need to put in a lot of time because in a patriarchal society such as Nigeria, where a man works one hour to get recognition, a woman has to work 10 hours to get the same kind of recognition. That is enormous work, having to strike a balance between my family, my job and knowing that there are people looking up to me and trying to give me my own scorecard, even before the end of my assignment.
DT: What does your appointment imply for women in terms of gender equity and participation in politics?
Onyegbule: It means you have to believe in yourself. For the married ones, you have to get your husband to believe in you because it takes a very confident man to allow his wife to express herself to the fullest. I encourage women to go into politics. By this time last year, I never thought I would be here. It is happening because I put in a lot and somebody somewhere noticed and recognized that. I urge men to look around them and reward selfless service, especially from our women folk.
DT: It is not a tea party being a media manager for a governor, so how are you bracing up to face the challenges ahead?
Onyegbule: When I joined the team newly, somebody asked me, ‘how do you cope in the midst of men?’ I don’t even remember I’m a woman, the only time I remember I’m a woman is when I am dressing up. I can still be tough without losing my femininity. If you can cope with the politicking of Nigeria, then you can manage Kogi State. Kogi is a mini Nigeria; three major ethnic groups, two major religions and all the little factions that always want to scream the loudest about being marginalized and all of that.
DT: Your success as CPS would depend largely on your media relations, so how are you going about that?
Onyegbule: We have already begun that. I know that the media is a critical stakeholder in governance, in ensuring development in society, so, we are not joking with the media. We have already established that link and it would interest you to know that journalists in Kogi State have actually been very supportive. I have received 100 percent support in this short period and I look forward to more of this kind of relationship.
DT: How you are striking the balance between your new assignment and the family?
Onyegbule: There is nothing like balance. At some point, something always gives way. The balance will come when you are able to reach a certain altitude, where you can set your flight on an auto cruise. While you are auto cruising, you can decide to relax; you may decide to do other things. But right now, this responsibility has just come, that means somehow my family will just have to take the back seat for now. I cannot just sit here and say I’m striking a balance, I will be deceiving myself. I’m not striking that balance yet but I’m heading towards that point in the future because the media team is still very young even though we have worked together before. However, the new direction we are heading to means that we are doing a whole lot of reorganization about how we carry out our job. You cannot discountenance team spirit in this kind of environment and this means that we all have our strengths and weaknesses.
DT: What advice do you have for young women?
Onyegbule: I will like to advise young people generally and young women in particular that first and foremost, you have to have a purpose for living and know why you are doing what you want to do. Read good books and develop yourself. That one is non-negotiable. You need to get to a point people can choose you for assignments even without knowing you. You must be ready to work hard because nothing good comes easy. You must develop a thick skin because people will say all manner of things. People don’t believe women can get anything on merit.
DT: Do you have a political ambition?
Onyegbule: I don’t have any political ambition. I only have ambition to become a lecturer and a consultant on developmental issues. That is my ambition but for politics, I don’t have one.