A Nigerian Again, This Time In The United Kingdom.

Wannabe MP Chinyelu Susan Onwurah is returning home


^{Chinyelu Susan Onwurah}

LABOUR wannabe Chinyelu Susan Onwurah last night told of her dream to return to her home town and become the North’s first black woman MP.

The 44-year-old was born in Newcastle and attended the city’s Kenton Comprehensive School before leaving and eventually heading to the bright lights of London to go to university.

But with long standing MP Jim Cousins set to stand down from his Newcastle Central seat at the next election, Chi, as she is known to her friends, will soon be returning to her roots after she was elected to replace him and defend his 4,000 vote majority.

Chi is preparing to pack up her belongings and move back to the city in which her father was a dentist on Gosforth Road.

She lived in Newcastle for most of her childhood, except for a small stint in Nigeria, which ended with the family fleeing the war-torn country.

Now Chi says she is confident the city in which her parents met will welcome her back and show the same warmth she came to love as a child.

The engineer says she is used to traditionally white male workplaces and is undaunted at the stereotypes she may be up against.

She said: “Since I was child I have been interested in politics. Around this time of year my mother would always be watching the conferences on television and I was raised with Labour party values.

“I have always felt really privileged to have grown up in a country where education is free and to go to Imperial University, one of the best universities in the world for engineering, and to not have to pay.

“And I don’t want to sound pretentious but I have always wanted, in a sense, to repay that in Newcastle.”

Chi said she had the option to run for a seat in another constituency but decided it “did not feel right” and instead waited for the chance to go back to her home town.

Describing herself as “a bit of a swot”, Chi spoke warmly about her Newcastle childhood.

She said: “At Hill View we were among the only black kids and in Kenton. I think there was maybe just one other black family.

“And, yes, I experienced some racism, but I’ve had the same experiences in many other places, including Nigeria.

“You get that sometimes, especially from kids because that’s what they do.

“But my strongest memory is of the fairness and integrity of all the grown ups I knew, so that when I was being teased or bullied the teachers at school were just so determined that I and all of us would be educated and learn something so I knew I had the support of the school and that was so important.

“The vast majority of people care more about who you are than the colour of your skin. My memories of Newcastle are built around the kindness we experienced from people who never had reason to do so.”

Those childhood memories include reading the Sunday Sun while her mum cooked a roast in the kitchen.

Her father would also have been a familiar figure in Newcastle, with potential voters already telling Chi they remember her dad as one of the nicest dentists they ever met.

The would-be MP says she wants to hear from anyone who knew her father, or just from people who want to explain what they want from a Labour MP in Newcastle.

She can be contacted by emailing chi@chi4central.com

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 . . . a wannabe is someone who aspires to a role or position

They could have said "aspiring", "wannabe" gives off a negative vibe to many. Congrats to her though, I'm happy to see more of us in highest positions abroad.

That's very true. That kind of reminds me of an experience I had while in Britain last year. Some stranger came up to me and asked me if I had a fag, I gave him a very dirty look and he just walked off. It took my cousin to tell me that he had just asked for a cigarette!

The way we dey CLAIM ehN!!! She was born there.