March 17, (THEWILL)- If there is one thing that unites some of President Bola Tinubu’s female ministers, it is definitely their penchant for insensitivity. Not only do they lack emotional intelligence, but their inclination also to be brazen and vulgar while rubbing it in the face of the mass populace amid the daunting economic hardship, is to say the least, mind boggling.
First, it was the Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye. Popular for always being enmeshed in one controversial issue or the other, the last controversial issue she was associated with was a letter inviting her fellow ministers to the birthday celebration of her ‘darling’ husband, Double Chief Kennedy Ohanenye. Besides the fact that the letter of invitation to a supposed private party was printed using the ministry’s letter headed paper, the details of the letter showed an apparent lack of coordination and untidiness.
Like several other Nigerians in positions of authority, she was unable to discern where private and personal matters should end and where public matters begin. And more worrisome is the fact that the party was organised at a time when her principal has been running helter-skelter from one country to another to curry the favour of foreign investors in order to revive our almost failing economy. Not too long after that, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiru Onyejeocha posted a photograph of herself in a handshake with her boss, President Bola Tinubu in a luxurious ensemble. She made sure to display her Louis Vuitton scarf and Gucci belt as loudly as possible, like an upstart who has just come into money.
While that furore was yet to die down, the Minister of Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, Hannatu Musawa also jumped into the fray. While on a diplomatic trip with her boss to Qatar, she brazenly flaunted a Hermes bag valued at 116,261.89 Euros which is about N197,008,446.628 in blatant disregard for the office she occupies. A virtuous woman is never moved by fashion labels and flamboyance. But Hannatu does not know that. If she does, she doesn’t care. And a public office holder who doesn’t care is a self-centered, acquisitive woman. While it is her choice to decide how and what she spends her money on, it is certainly not ok for her to rub it in the faces of Nigerians. Her choice of accessory as a public servant who receives her salary from taxpayers’ money, in an era where inflation has hit the roof and millions are grappling with eating three decent square meals daily, was to say the least, insensitive.
The same politicians who preach for the masses who work hard with nothing to show for it, to wear made-in-Nigeria products, to stay hungry as they take them to the ‘promised land,’ are the same ones displaying with obscenity, foreign brands bought with dollar and further boosting the American currency, while the Naira continues to have an uncontrolled free fall. It is okay to not blame her for the economic depression the country is passing through, but it is certainly not ok for her to lack emotional intelligence.
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