Bonny Local Government Area in Rivers State, Nigeria moved a notch higher in its quest at achieving gender parity and women empowerment with the inauguration of Anengi Barasua as the first female Executive Chairman of Bonny LGA by the State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

This is coming on the heels of the unfortunate loss of her erstwhile boss, David Irimagha, who passed on to the great beyond on Saturday, September 18, 2021, barely three months into their second tenure. Before being elected into office as the sixth Executive Chairman of the LGA, the widely celebrated Irimagha had held office as a former Leader of the Bonny Legislative Assembly.

Barasua was sworn into office in Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday, October 14, 2021 before members of the State Executive Council, comprising, of course, the Deputy Governor, Dr Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, the State Commissioner for Local Governments, Rodaford Longjohn, who doubles as the leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bonny LGA, and the member representing Bonny Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Abinye Pepple, among other stakeholders.

An entrepreneur, financial expert, child rights and gender parity advocate, development enthusiast, and mother of two, Anengi Barasua, not only assumes office as the first of her gender to occupy the exalted office of Executive Chairman of Bonny LGA, but also comes from an antecedent of firsts – first female Vice Chairman and first female acting Executive Chairman.

On the business front, she is also the first female First Vice President of the Bonny Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA), where her entrepreneurial acumen, corporate decision making skills, and networking abilities are in play in driving up the stakes for the Chamber.     

As the euphoria of the history made by her inauguration continues to gather momentum, it is instructive to reflect on the path of progress that got the LGA to this point in its political trajectory cum history. The first elected Chairman of Bonny LGA – comprising the present day Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro LGAs – was Davies Ikanya. When the LGA was split up, and the other two geopolitical entities created into LGAs of their own – Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro – Victor Dan-Jumbo, was elected as the first elected Executive Chairman.

On the road to Thursday’s epochal event, Bonny LGA has made strident milestones in its political trajectory. On the legislative  turf, Bonny LGA witnessed its zenith, so far, during the 8^th Legislative Assembly, when out of 12 Councillors, four were women (Wards 5,6,7, and 11), and also had the Leader as a female, Miriam Hart, the first female to occupy the office.

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In the executive, Helen Jack-Wilson Pepple, crashed the ceiling as the first female Secretary to the Bonny Local Government Council in 2017 under the Caretaker Committee led by the then CTC Chairman, Simon Hart. She went on to also serve under the CTC led by Hart’s successor, Isobonye Tobin, from where she crossed to the traditional institution to assume the role of Woman Leader of Bonny Kingdom, a position which has now become a rallying point for women of the ancient kingdom.  

On different fronts, the stakeholders – political, traditional and business – have been intentional in driving up and expanding the scope of opportunities for women to be involved in managing the affairs of the island LGA. Currently, the Bonny Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (BOCCIMA) has a woman as its Director General, Constance Nwokejiobi. The Bonny political stakeholders (PDP extraction) also rallied around Betty Apiafi to elect her as the Senator representing Rivers West Senatorial District at the National Assembly.

Bonny LGA was also pragmatic in cashing in on the opportunity presented by the unanimous decision of the State Chief Executive, Nyesom Wike, alongside other PDP stakeholders in the State, to have women as Vice Chairmen in the 23 LGAs of the State during the 2019 local government polls. This resulted in the emergence of Anengi Barasua, as well as other 22 women as Vice Chairmen of their respective LGAs, and upon the dual loss by death of the Chairmen of Asari-Toru and Bonny LGAs, Alaso Johnbull-Obi, and Anengi Barasua, have now emerged Chairmen of their respective LGAs in 2020 and 2021, respectively.  

With the flurry of activities on social media that greeted her inauguration, it was clear that a grieving community, which was still mourning its beloved Chairman, can’t wait to have a new helmsman or woman to provide the much needed leadership to move the LGA forward – the anxiety heightened more by this leader being a woman many have come to respect.

It was also obvious, from the reactions trailing her Inaugural Address that the yearning for proactive, visionary and pragmatic leadership was at an all-time high. And true to character, for those who know her, she made ample use of the address to set parameters for measuring her time on the saddle.

Anengi Barasua listed Infrastructural Development, Youth Empowerment, Human Capacity Enhancement, Entrepreneurial and Educational Initiatives, Improvement of the Legislature, Environmental Cleanliness, Health, Security and Sanitation, Continuous Engagement and Synergy with relevant authorities for the advancement of Bonny LGA, Provision of Support Schemes, and Implementation of policies that will have positive impact on Bonny LGA as the pillars of her administration’s policy thrust.

In that listing, she effectively split up her policies into four key areas: Infrastructural Development, Human Capital Development, Economic Empowerment and Stakeholder Engagement, thus projecting herself as a leader with a clear vision of what she wants to do and where she wants to take her constituents to.

It further underpins her understanding of the developmental imperatives of the LGA she has come to lead and a commitment to sustaining the policy trajectory of her erstwhile boss. As the expectations mount, there is enough from her Inaugural Address to adduce hope of a new vista of leadership paradigm and developmental offerings for citizens to latch on to and possibly connect with to take the island LGA to the next level.

Though it is an arduous task ahead, Anengi Barasua has displayed dexterity and character to take on big challenges and succeed at them from her days at the Rivers State Microfinance Bank to where she has now met Bonny LGA. And though her success at leading Bonny LGA effectively appears rather concluded than contemplated the onus is still on her to demonstrate the stuff of leadership she is made of.