Chinyere Stella Okunna
Chinyere Okunna is the first female professor in Mass communication in Nigeria. She has served in various capacities as an administrator and educationist in the academia and in the public/political arena.
Quotes
[edit]- Most of the things people do in government is driven by greed. People are there no matter how badly the governor or the president or their boss is doing. They stick in there because of the money
- prof-okunna-reveals-secrets-about-peter-obiProf. Stella's opinion on why people go into government: AuthorityNG
- Some countries allow the press to have that freedom unfettered. But in some places, there are impediments on the path of the media. Basically, the media often performs as well the political structure allows them to perform. We all know that in this part of the world, press freedom, freedom of speech and other watchdog functions don’t aways apply. Most government-media are practically lapdogs for the authorities.
- im-happy-and-fulfilled-okunna Prof. Okunna spoke about press is run: Punch
- The country is in a bad shape and on the brink of collapse, so much so that even those Nigerians who were apathetic towards politics are now sufficiently alarmed to show interest in who has the capacity to salvage the country. The intelligentsia are no exception.
- okunna-despite-federal-character Prof. Stella talked about the state of the country: Guardian
- You have to decide where to belong as regards professionalism in reporting because ethics in journalism is not negotiable. It is either you decide to do the job ethically and with best practices or not because truth, accuracy, balanced reporting, impartiality and objectivity are the hallmarks of journalism.”
- varsity-don-calls-for-recapitalisation Prof. Stella spoke about the hallmarks of journalism: Dailytrust
- As long as I can remember, women’s participation in politics and visibility in leadership positions have been major problems in many countries and not just in Nigeria. The entire world knows that women have not done well in politics in Nigeria. I’m sure you know there is supposed to be a gender policy in Nigeria which came to effect in 2006; affirmative action of 35%. The only time any leader approached that policy was the time of Jonathan’s regime and since then nobody is even trying and each time I think about women in politics and leadership, I like to give example from my own State, Anambra State. Anambra women are well educated, they are empowered. They are confident and knowledgeable about local and international affairs. Yet the number of women in politics in Anambra is laughable, so to say
- There was a time we thought we were improving. Before this last election, Anambra had two female Senators which was very good. There are usually three senators per state and women had two. But in the last election those two women lost their positions and so there is no single woman at that level now in Anambra state. In the House of Assembly, there was only one woman and the last election did not improve the situation.
- Women are handicapped when it comes to politics and part of the handicap is religion and culture. I don’t think any culture in Nigeria encourages women in this regard. May be Yoruba culture; but even then, most of our culture and religion in Nigeria don’t believe women should be in politics. Even up till today 2023, many men think women should not be in politics. If any woman wants to go into politics they shout: What is she going to do there?
- Many people see women politicians as wayward, irresponsible which is terrible; and that belief even among the educated men in Nigeria is still common. Many men will not encourage their wives and even their daughters to go into politics and that is a major handicap. So both before and after the last election, I’m disappointed. I’m even heartbroken. There are two ways women can go into politics. Either by election or through appointment. In many states like my own, the governors do not appoint enough women and there are capable women. Suppose women don’t have the courage or the finances to go into elections, don’t they have the capacity or the brains to be appointed by governors or by the president to support them through appointive positions? So, whether it is through elective processes or through appointment, the number of Nigerian women in politics and leadership positions has not been impressive
- I think some smaller African countries are small in quotes because we keep claiming we are the giant of Africa yet marginalization is very high here. Look at Rwanda which suffered so much recently. They have bounced back and women are doing very well there. This is because they are supporting women through inclusive policies and laws but when we make our laws like affirmative action nobody is implementing them. In these African countries like Rwanda, I mentioned, Kenya, and others, they make these laws and implement them. Rwanda has 40-something percent women inclusion in governance and yet we claim we are the giant of Africa.
- as long as elective positions are concerned, not many women were elected. The culture and religion have so intimidated women it takes a lot of courage for them to go into Nigerian politics. Nigerian politics is discouraging, so to say. But for those who run, there is also discrimination from fellow women. There is a combination of factors why women shy away from politics. Cultural, religious, financial, and women themselves are part of it
- Sometimes when women come out, others think they should not be in politics. They prefer to vote for their male counterparts rather than to vote for a fellow woman. But I think whatever the challenge is, women who are interested in politics should summon the courage to venture into it fully.
- A woman I believe will do better in laws that will benefit women because she understands what marginalization should be. Men should sit up to make more appointments for women and women should strive harder to go into elective positions.
- Male rulers of the land must implement any policy already made to achieve inclusion for women. For me, what comes to my mind is gender policy. We are not asking for much. What women are asking for is not equality. Sometimes when you ask for women’s empowerment, they say: Ahahaaaaa, Feminism!!! We are not asking for equality. Equality is 50-50. In Affirmative action and the gender policy, it is 35%. It is about 1/3 and I don’t think it is too much
- Do you remember the gender bills that were proposed recently? All of them were dropped; none of them were passed. I used to say I don’t believe in tokenism or quota system but it seems ideal in Nigeria now and women need encouragement and support through the quota system or policies to include them in governance or leadership.
