Adaobi Alex-Oni is the founder of ROWEAD; Role of Women in Emerging African Democracies. An initiative set out to ignite the mindset of women with the shared experiences and values of other active and prominent women in business, politics, academia and media within the African continent. In a quick chat with Bimbola Segun-Amao, she shares her passion for women’s involvement in nation building and governance
Tell me a bit about your background
I am the 4th child of my parents. I grew up in family of intelligent and widely traveled people whose minds were open to independence and love for freedom to be who they are. I attended Federal Government College Okigwe, Imo State, then University of Abuja where I graduated with M.A theatre Arts and after my youth service went on to University of Ibadan for a Masters degree in Business and Administration in Theater Arts.
What informed the vision for ROWEAD? Was there a particular experience that inspired your decision to start the initiative?
It’s easy for human beings to paint a picture of what they would want to see happen or change and not make an effort to effect the change they seek. ROWEAD had to happen to reawaken the consciousness of women as agents of change and insist that women have long liberated themselves and encourage them to take their rightful place in the democracies they helped enthroned in Nigeria and all over Africa. ROWEAD is a platform that seeks to project women agenda for equality and equity. Women have the power to create a balance in our emerging democracy that ultimately will yield good governance to the citizenry. Having more women in power will change our government. That is the gospel of ROWEAD.
There are many foundations and initiatives already, what makes you think this is different or would achieve something different?
There are not enough initiatives to meet the social, economic and political needs of our people. For me it’s not how many there are but how much desired impact is created and what deliverables have we seen. My sister, look around you there is still so much to be done. ROWEAD has decided to reeducate our minds to begin to change the mindset that our country is irredeemable. We must begin to revisit our past. Have our civic knowledge intact to appreciate what credibility and collective service to self and nation means. Then we can begin to look at a changed nation. We can’t have minds who don’t place value for good governance give a credible leadership. We must learn that we must develop our minds to help us put value to governance otherwise we would sacrifice professionalism in the altar of nepotism. So ROWEAD seeks to arouse our consciousness that we must be intellectually active to understand the dynamics of good governance as the only way to attain the change we seek. That is why we champion talking and engaging discussions at every level.
Then I learnt ROWEAD has a little sister, WOW-i, Why WOW-i again? Could you not have put everything under one body?
WOW-i; Women On Women initiative is what i like to call the ROWEAD foot soldier. You must understand that change does not come just from talking. You must seek ways to reach out and touch lives. Be on ground to act out the solutions suggested at these talk shops. WOW-i is the arm of ROWEAD that acts on the moment., it will reach the all and sundry from the top to bottom of the pyramid.
There’s an event slated for 17th September, what’s the event about?
On the 17th of September 2014 at the Nigerian Institute of international affairs we are Launching WOW-I and also going to have a roundtable discussion. It is the mother of all roundtable discussions. We have raised issues from the importance of girl child development as a key factor to development in our nation. And Her Excellency Mrs Onari Duke former first lady of cross river state is speaking on this. While Nze Charles Anyiam- Osigwe is giving us an insight into the effect of globalization on our identity and culture as Nigerians. Now the issue of the ethno religious crisis, the Chibok abduction saga and what role women have, can and will play to help resolve this big catastrophe. Professor Abiola Awoshika is taking us through this road, a bitter reminder of Chibok. So my dear you see just like the theme of the roundtable discussion says “WE NEED TO DISCUSS: BECAUSE WE ARE INVOLVED. It’s going to be a very interesting discuss. People can visit www.rowead.org to get more details on the event.
WOW-i is also involved right now in the sensitization campaign about the Ebola Virus Disease, EVD. This talk will be spread across the most volatile sectors of our society , the markets, the shanties and the very low income settlements who may need to understand that prevention is far better than spending their little salaries in hospital. We have also engaged in skill acquisition for young girls and I tell you the support we have gotten from some owners of training centres is quite overwhelming so in summary ROWEAD gave birth to WOW-i to help act out all decisions and solutions proposed in its discussions as a means to moving our nation forward, to help our people understand that we can change our lives and not wait for government to do everything.
Let’s talk about you, what have you been up to? Are you done with TV? Apart from running these initiatives what else do you do?
Ha! ha! talk about me. Ok I’m Adaobi Obioha Alex-oni. A wife to the only guy who regardless is my soul mate and a mother to the most incredible two boys who are my life and my all. As a person I am very much interested in doing all things right. Seriously speaking this new movement of being a change agent and helping the women see themselves as such is who I am right now.
I will never be done with TV as long as God gives me life. Look out for my program “True talk with Adaobi” which we have created a YouTube channel for. I’m still shooting and in a short while we will start up loading. TV gave me an identity that has stayed with me. Even at malls in London, New York as big as these cities are, people have walked up to me asking if its Adaobi Juke box. Not to talk of here in Nigeria, from the streets of Gbagada to Alaba market I have never been to these places and not have people remember me. Being on TV gave me the opportunity to help people, to make people happy. Juke box was more than a music show on MINAj television. It became an avenue for people to heal and have merry hearts. In fact it got so serious that I was called Adaobi Jukebox. So my dear TV is not done with me yet… In fact I’m back.
What do you take Pride in?
I take pride in being a catholic with a special devotion to the Blessed virgin Mary.