What a woman can do, it would require four men to do - Executive Secretary, Oriade Local Govt
By STEVE AGBOTA
Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Within 21 days of her appointment as the Executive Secretary of Oriade Local Government Development Area in Lagos State, Mrs. Abimbola Jijioho-Ogun made such an impact that the people in the area were singing her praises.

She however does not attribute her quick achievement in office to the fact that she holds Masters Degree in Public Administration but says it is because she is a woman.


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According to her, women are naturally far better administrators than men.

"An adage has it that it is the woman that rocks the cradle," she insists. "As a mother she approaches everything she is doing with every seriousness. She believes that this baby must survive and therefore puts in everything she has, no diversion, no interest and no night crawling. She is wholly devoted to duty. It is this mentality that women bring into whatever office that they find themselves, that is why I say that what a woman can do, it would require four men to do it".

She said that the only problem was that men have refused to realize the women’s administrative potentials.

She attended Holy Child College, Lagos, and Federal Government College Lagos for her Secondary School and HSC respectively. Later she went to University of Lagos for her Bachelor degree, University of Ibadan for her Masters and Lagos State University for her Masters in Public Administration. She has been working for Lagos State Government for over 20 years and rose through the ranks to become the Assistant General Manager of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

My appointment

She explained that, she never expected she would be appointed the Executive Secretary of a local government.

"Actually my appointment as the Executive Secretary came to me as a surprise because I didn’t expect it. Though one always hopes one day he or she would get an opportunity to serve. When I was working in LAWMA, I was rendering some services but now it is a different ball game because I now have to call the shots. I have to define my programmes and it is quite a challenge. But so far we have been coping tremendously with the assistance of everybody I met on ground from the council manager to the lowest cadre of staff."

Challenges of office

According to her, the challenge of her new office is enormous as it has put her in the spotlight.

"Well, an adage has it that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. I find out that it has affected my going to bed at night and waking up in the morning because at night I would still be thinking of what I am going to do the next day but with God on our side we are making steady progress."

Mandate of office

The Executive Secretary said that the governor of Lagos State gave them a mandate to make sure that the area was clean and motorable in line with the Lagos Mega-city plan.

"The governor gave us a mandate that we have to make sure that among other things; there should be no filth in our area. He said that we must make sure that the environment is neat and that traffic flows. So we have to patch some of the roads and clear some of the backlog of refuse."

Previous experience

She has had plenty experience working in administration, especially working within government.

"For the past 20 years, I worked in Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency as a police for the environment. From there, I went to the LAWMA as a commercial officer for waste collection where we sell waste to the people and make money. I see my coming to Oriade as a continuation of what I was doing because we used to assist industries to clear backlog of refuse and that is experience that has been helping me."

The idea of a development council

"I think that whatever we have to do, we have to be cautious because it is the people that are important. People need development at the grass root. People need development close to their doorstep and the more you have administration at the local level, the better for the community. It is good to decentralize government down further. The number of local government and local development councils that we have in this state I am sure is not yet enough but it is something for the future. I want the Federal Government to join the state governments to decentralize power down to the grass roots. We should not play politics with development."

Coping with home and office

Being a mother who works very hard it cannot be easy. She attributes her success to having an understanding husband.

"He has always been of immense support right from my secondary school up to this present time. We are also blessed with boys who are now grown. The youngest is in the Senior Secondary School. By and large, they have been my pillars of support. Every body can make his meal. I make the meal for the week and everybody helps me. But right now my husband is not in Lagos but when ever he comes back, I give him all the attention because men want you to know that they the number one baby."

Advice to women

"Our first responsibility as women is to support the home spiritually. We are supposed support the men. Wherever we find ourselves, we must try to deliver. We must try to be of service to our children and the community where we find ourselves. A good mother is judged by the success of her home. To every woman, your first role is your responsibility to your family and your family starts from where you find yourself. My first family now is in Oriade and that is why I want to put in my best so that when I am out, the people will not forget me."




http://odili.net/news/source/2008/sep/23/504.html

So true.

She tried but abt the subject, you mean the reverse?