MARIA NWACHI: AN EXCELLENT MATERIAL FOR PUBLIC OFFICE!

 As 2015 beckons, it is imperative that we begin early enough in our quest for excellent materials, who can wrest power from the self-seeking, opportunistic and egocentric leaders we have in place today. Apparently, we need an excellent material, who can re-position our people to meet the challenges of the 21st Century Her name is MARIA; she is from the ancient city of AFIKPO; a town she is so much proud of. Hence, she attaches the name of the town to almost everything about her. Her Hummer Jeep bears it. On social network, we read her as Nwanyi Afikpo and Afikpo Chic. Nobody has ever promoted and projected Afikpo nationally and internationally the way she does.

In her wisdom, it is Afikpo or nothing. Of a truth, her love for Afikpo and her people is legendary. Her patriotism is unparalleled. Nwanyi Afikpo is a woman, who believes so much in the maxim that "charity begins at home". When she was in the United States, anytime she comes home, every Dick and Harry must know she has come as her benevolence knew no bounds. Even when she finally returned home to put up a palatial edifice, popularly known as "Maria Island Resort" along the Ndibe Beach road, she gave half of her wealth to the downtrodden. I still remember her car gifts to over ten youths, who were used and dumped by spent politicians in Afikpo and who would have become our own version of the "Boko Haram" today if she had not pacified them with those gifts and placed them on monthly stipends to enable them go to school or get empowered by other means.

It is also worthy of note that before our leaders contemplated the distribution of welfare packages to selected indigent persons and widows as a democracy dividend, Nwanyi Afikpo had been doing so. In her generous fashion, she personally moves along the streets of Afikpo and inside the market, distributing wrappers of varying kinds and cash to men and women without discrimination. I must say that our present leaders, who bring few people together and distribute gift items to them before TV Cameras, copied this welfarism from her. Need I say again that this woman demystified leadership and bigmanism in Afikpo? At a time some people lorded it over others because of their privileged positions and wealth, Afikpo Chic used her own wealth to reduce the 'lords' to the lowest common denominator.

Where the rich aristocrats display braggadocio and intimidate the poor, Nwanyi Afikpo maintains unprecedented humility inspite of her awesome splendour. She had bought brand new laptop computers as gifts to so many people and so many others are on her payroll. As far as she is concerned, there are no dull moments. Unarguably, she is a welfarist par excellence. In Electronic Information Technology, Afikpo Chic is the brain behind the creation of so many facebook pages and groups like "Afikpo People", "Ndi Igbo page", "Igboist" etc. Of course, we all read her blog on daily basis and get ourselves updated with happenings across the globe at no cost. Nothing can be more indicative of a selfless woman and a generalissimo of youth empowerment.

As 2015 beckons, I beckon on her to offer herself to the service of her people in Parliament. She should start with the Ebonyi State House of Assembly as a representative of her Afikpo North East Constituency because charity begins at home. When a people are in dire need of messiahs, God will be merciful enough to provide one. Nwanyi Afikpo is an excellent material for public office.