She was a Former First Lady of Cross River State. Her striking beauty and very simple looks naturally endeared many people to her even years after she has left the government house. However, aside her pleasant physical attributes, Onari Duke’s accomplishments in the Law profession, Entrepreneurship, and Business Development are successes that have continued to make the difference in her life. Recently, our Senior Reporter, Anthonia Soyingbe, had an encounter with this United Nations Certified Coach on Alternative Dispute Resolution who equally has proven track record as a Girls’ Scout Council Chair as well as a mother of three. Excerpt
Have you only been involved in advocacy since you left the Cross River State Government House?
I am still doing what I was doing before my husband went into office. I have not gone into anything new. I
Onari Duke
was very conscious of every step I take and while in office, I knew it was just a phase in my life that would pass. This has always been me because I grew up giving. My father was a Church Organist, so I saw him giving. My aunt was Commissioner for Girls’ Guild and I also saw her giving. We grew up in an environment of love and love is sacrificial giving. That is what Christianity is about. How much do you need for yourself? Every other additional thing you have is for others. Oftentimes what makes a lot of difference to other people really doesn’t cost you that much. It is just me and really I can’t tell where I started from.
Do you still run your law firm?
I wasn’t actually running the law firm again at the time my husband went into office, because we started focusing more on my rice business then, but I have discontinued. Aside that, I have always been involved in charity work and that I continued while my husband was in office. I simply have been on the same track ever since then.
We have cases whereby First Ladies discontinue with their pet projects after the expiration of their husband’s tenure. What do you think is responsible for this?
I don’t know if it is true that they die naturally, but it largely depends on the objective for the formation of such organisations. I didn’t set up my organisation because my husband was in office, I would have done the programmes even if he weren’t in the office. It is just that he gave me a platform to operate when he was in office. Prior to when he became a governor, I was in Lagos, and after he left office, I returned to Lagos. The two non-governmental organisations (NGOs) I run now are nationwide because we run programmes across Nigeria. I can’t comment on why an initiative should end because the husband of the initiator is no longer in office. People have various challenges and issues. I think it depends on the structure the project founders had in place before they set up the projects.
What are your thoughts on women empowerment?
I have issues with that and I don’t think women are less than men. I don’t also think we should put ourselves in a position where we should be pitied and I don’t want to be given an assignment because I am a woman. I don’t want to be given an appointment because I am a woman neither do I want to fill a vacant position because they are looking for a woman to occupy such position.
I should be called to fill a position because I am competent to occupy that office. I encourage women not to see themselves as pity-party or less-privileged people because if you see yourself so, you will remain there. Women should be given equal opportunity so that women who are competent are able to show themselves to do whatever they need to do. I don’t believe that standards for women should be reduced and educating the younger ones is very critical.
Women can strive and when they know that they have to be competent to occupy a post, they will definitely work hard. If you keep lowering the standard so that women can fill the space, they will subconsciously feel they are lesser than men. They will also feel that they don’t have to be as good as men to occupy men’s position.
The truth is that whenever you see a woman in an office, she is often better than most of the men who occupy that position. A lot of declarations and conventions have been held, policies which will allow women to attain great heights are now in place and with time we will see an improvement. More men are beginning to realise that women can do it well.
We are having more women on board of public companies; we have women in financial institutions occupying more senior positions. Men now know that women are as good and in some cases better than them. Women are doing their lot, but we need to see more of that. Women are also bread-winners in lots of families.
What are your core values and what are those important values women should imbibe?
The most important is your relationship with God. When you have God, it will mean you love Him and when you love somebody, you will do things to please the person. When you have such relationship with God, you will reflect on most of what you do and your values will be what His values are. You don’t need anybody to tell you, you just see yourself doing that which is right.
Your self-esteem is key, and nobody can place you above where you place yourself, so you determine your level and don’t leave it in the hands of anybody else.
What aspects of the first lady’s life or office do you miss now?
Honestly I am not missing anything because nothing really changed about me when we were in office. I don’t know any other life outside work and being busy. While we were in government, we served the people to the best of our ability and we are still serving the people maybe in a different way. I am very busy with the entrepreneurial training. I am very active in Church. We do a lot of voluntary work and subsidised training for women. There are those who we train free of charge and those who can afford to pay for their training. The idea behind this model is for us to be able to raise enough capital to run the other arm of our organisation where services are not paid for.
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