- Kindly
tell us a little about yourself? A brief profile
My name is Eunice Atuejide, I
was born in Iwaya, in the Yaba area of Lagos, to parents who moved to Lagos as
teenagers from Ukehe town in Igbo Etiti LGA of Enugu State. My dad was a taxi
driver and my mum, a petty trader. My mum sold food stuff, water, beverages,
alcoholic drinks, and ran a restaurant. I learnt to cook from my mother at the
age of seven so I could help her out in our corner shop in Iwaya. I cooked and
I also helped clean up between 11pm and 1am daily. So, I have been doing 16 to
20 hours average work-day since I was 7 years old. A lot for your average
little girl, but I was a very happy child. I loved helping my mum. And over the
years, I started enjoying helping many others. That is the person I became!
Growing up in Lagos was very
exciting. It was not rosy, but it was a lot of fun. Many would say I did not
have time or opportunity to be a little girl, but the truth is, I did that too.
Maybe not as others, but I played! Particularly when it rained. I would join
other kids and we would dance around stark naked in the rains. And the heavier
the downpour, the more exciting. There were the 10-10 games, boju-boju i.e.
hide and seek, tug of war etc. I most definitely loved the moments of reckless
abandon during my childhood, but I also enjoyed every moment of being a
responsible adult in a little girl’s skin. I really liked taking responsibility
for myself and others as a kid so, I believe I have my early days in Iwaya to
thank for the woman standing before you all today.
I attended primary school at
Onike Girls Primary School in Iwaya. My Secondary School was mainly at Reagan
Memorial Girls Secondary School in Yaba, where in SS1 I took all the final year
exams and JAMB as an external candidate, and then move to University. At the
University of Ibadan I studied Agricultural Economics, however continuous ASUU
strikes and pressures on me to marry early led to my decision to leave for
Europe and further my education there. I left for France (via Cameroon) where I
studied French language; moved on to Germany where I studied German language
and Business Administration; the USA where I did Film making, acting and
communications management; then the UK where I studied various degrees in law
and then back to Nigeria to complete law school.
I set out to research for my
doctorate degree on corporate governance as it affects political institutions
in Nigeria, however the project was put on hold indefinitely because the
decision to form the National Interest Party (NIP) and through NIP; help great
Nigerians come to the forefront of political leadership in Nigeria took
precedence.
- Tell
us about your Company and your career?
My primary job now is the
development of democracy in Nigeria and I am doing this through the political
party I founded – National Interest Party (NIP).
NIP is the political party of
the future. The only party in Nigeria which guarantees members transparency,
fairness, accountability and a free and fair platform to compete for political
office.
NIP is the first political
party in Nigeria to do things predominantly online. All our structures are firstly
digital, so that everything we have on the ground backs up what we have
designed and programmed in the web. All our elections are programmed to hold
online – including elections as important as Presidential primaries. All our
aspirants and party leaders are screened to ensure we do not end up handing
power over to the less qualified and less suitable amongst us. We do not charge
a dime for nomination forms, as we do not want to fuel the system of the
highest bidder takes the reign, as is the status quo.
- What
does Peace mean to you?
Peace to me means harmony, the
absence of hostility, a lack of conflict, freedom from fear of violence, and
tranquility in our communities, countries and the world in general.
- Is
Peace possible in Africa?
I am confident that it is
possible to achieve a peaceful Africa. We just have to work together across the
board to reduce the fear of ourselves, to increase trust between us a people,
and to work together to reduce the influence of people who thrive in conflict
settings. In particular, prevent that conflict loving leaders come to power in
Africa
- What
is the impact of corruption on the African economy
Corruption is the reason there
is lack of development and lack of peace in the majority of African countries.
Our systems and institutions are so deeply rooted in corrupt practices that
nothing works the way they should in Africa.
- Tell
us about what makes you happy
I am happiest when the people in
my immediate environment are happy.
- Can
we achieve peace through legislation or law
If achieving peace through
legislation were possible, the entire world would be at peace today. Therefore,
laws alone cannot help us achieve peace in Africa. To achieve peace in Africa,
all African countries need to put leaders who will work together for the common
good in charge of their affairs.
- What
are your key experiences
I have experience in film
making; brand management, marketing and distribution; immigration, corporate
and property law; procurement; managing start-up companies; arbitration; infrastructure
project management and financing; and various forms of civic engagements –
particularly as it relates to managing and developing political activities for
young and disadvantaged people.
- What
you think is the futures democracy in Africa
It is up to our generation to
raise the future leaders of Africa and to raise them to join politics for the
purpose of service – not for selfish interests. If we achieve this, the Africa
of tomorrow would be the envy of the whole world.
- Tell
us about the African Tourism industry
There are countries in Africa
with vibrant tourism industries e.g. Kenya, South Africa, Tunisia etc. However,
most of Africa including Nigeria still have a lot of work to do to boost it’s
tourism industry.
- Can
tourism be the key to eradicating poverty in Africa.
To my mind, not at all. Bad
leadership is more the problem that lack of tourism.
- What
is the way forward for Africans with the pending possibility of world war.
I don’t think a 3rd
world war is imminent.
- What
advice do you have for the youth?
Young people need to discover
their individual talents and harness them with the purpose of becoming the best
at whatever their fields of interest are. Provided young people work hard at
those things they are naturally good at, it is only a matter of time and money
will flow to them through those activities. Putting money ahead of all else is
one of the reasons we are not growing as a people.
- What
do you think of the role of the youth in Peace building in Africa?
Young people are pivotal to
building peace in Africa. It is up to them to envisage tomorrow and decide how
to ensure today is led in a manner that ensures tomorrow is beautiful for all.
- African
leaders are renowned for holding onto power at all cost, what is your
view?
It is really sad that our
leaders do this, however I blame the people. Where a people rise up against
tyranny, it is only a matter of time and the tyrannical elements would be
brought down or put in their place.
- What
do you think of the African Peace Magazine initiative?
I think it is a good
initiative
- Investment is key to national development
and poverty eradication, what’s your take?
I absolutely agree, however I
will add that the quality of investments matter too. Putting money in ventures
without long-term positive impact on the system is of no use.
- How can we achieve a balanced trade
system between Africa and the world?
African countries need to
renegotiate bilateral agreements that unduly favors the foreign trade partners.
We need a more collaborative and not the common extortive types of agreements
African countries have with the more developed countries of the world.
- How can we best tackle the problem of
early marriages in Africa
We need to have conversations
with the leaders of the areas mostly affected by this problem and where one on
one dialogue does not help, we enforce the consequences of forcing little
children into early marriages. Be they by enforcing prison terms on parents,
guardians or proposed spouses, and/or by taking the children away from such
abusive parents, guardians, proposed or actual spouses.
- Do
you run any NGO and what are your passion
No I don’t. However I run a
political party – National Interest Party (NIP)
- Can Africa survive in the absence of oil
and gas
Yes. There are many world
power countries without oil and gas. And oil and gas is going out of vogue.
African countries need to develop other areas of inflow.
- What
is your plan for the future?
For the immediate future, I
plan to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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