from Funsho Arogundade
Since the year she assumed office as Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Dame Maureen Piribonemi Tamuno has done everything possible to fulfill her mandate. In this interview with Saturday Sun, she talks about her tour of duty, her relationship with the Ooni of Ife and how she has worked to help black people in the Caribbean find their roots.
How would you describe your experience since your arrival in the Caribbean as the Nigerian High Commissioner?
It was a wonderful experience. There is an unmistakable connection between two people. We are actually the same people. Love, bond and connection are so strong. If you look at Jamaicans, you can tell the part that was from Nigeria. Most of them were convinced that they had left Nigeria because of the similarity in our ways of life. In fact, there is a town in Jamaica called Abeokuta. It is actually under the rocks like we have in Nigeria. So as we have Abeokuta in Nigeria, they also have Abeokuta in Jamaica. There is also a Calabar High School in a town in Jamaica linked to the one in Cross River State. I visited the school and talked to the students. They are doing very well. My predecessor in the High Commission during the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan once brought some of the students and their teacher to Nigeria on a cooperation programme. When I visited the school recently, I discovered that the teacher who led them to visit Nigeria is the one running the school now. The students were very excited to have me around and they asked a lot of questions about Calabar and Nigeria in general. So there is that connection between Jamaica and Nigeria. You could feel the connection and most of them do after they were taken by force, it made them forget the culture aspect, especially the common respect for Yorubans. They lack that aspect and so the youth are eager to reconnect with their Motherland.
What are you doing to make their wishes come true?
This is an interesting question. On my resume as the Nigerian High Commissioner to Jamaica, I discovered that we have had three joint commissions with Jamaicans. Now, I’m already looking at those MOUs and working on putting together agreements to make them happen. In the past, we visited Jamaica to have those three WCs. But this time, I had to insist that Jamaicans come to Nigeria. Fortunately, when they agreed, it was their foreign minister, Mrs. Kamina Johnson Smith, who led the delegation to Nigeria for the bilateral meeting. After her arrival, they landed in Lagos and we took her and her team to Badagry to see where the slaves were headed. They took pictures and asked questions, which shaped the narratives she told the government and their people in Jamaica. We later sent them to Abuja where we formalized the issues around the Joint Commission. To officially launch the relationship, we are looking at an airline deal that will give us a direct flight to and from Jamaica. Of course, there was already an experimental direct flight to Montego Bay in 2019. It was an 11-hour direct flight. We are now looking at fine-tuning that deal. The MoU is under development as the Aviation and Justice Ministers of both countries are looking at it. The agreement that was almost ready and at the signature stage and was supposed to be signed at the last United Nations General Assembly in New York, as a side event, was the one on culture. Even without an agreement, we have started cooperation and work together. During the 60th anniversary of Jamaican Independence, we participated fully as Nigeria. We were given an hour to appear on their program. During the celebration, we received several cultural groups such as the Seki Dance Group from the Niger Delta, an Igbo cultural group and the Nigerian Unity Dance Group with Hausa/Fulani, Tiv and Akwa Ibom fused to offer a “One Love Nigeria, One Love Jamaica “. performance. The people there were excited to know a lot about Nigeria, which they did not know before.
How far did you go to make it happen?
Inevitably, I represent Nigeria in the Caribbean, and most people in the Caribbean are of African descent. These people know that they actually left some parts of West Africa, especially Nigeria and some parts of Ghana. Their ancestors were forcibly taken as slaves and migrated to various parts of the Caribbean such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize and other countries. So there has been a growing desire for them to come to the Motherland to reconnect with their roots. And here I come in. Since I took office, most of them have come to the High Commission office to have their DNA done to trace their roots. Some say they are Yoruba and I have to connect all the dots. They strongly believe in our culture and heritage and want to connect. This is what led me and my counterpart, the Jamaican High Commissioner to Nigeria, to gather to visit Ile-Ife, which is seen as the source of the Yoruba. We chose to see what the Olojo Festival is all about in order to give those people more insight into what we are talking about.
Is this what fueled your close relationship with Ile-Ife and Ooni Enitan Ogunwusi in particular?
Absolutely! But you should also know that my connection and interest in Ile-Ife is about culture. However, I am someone who believes in building relationships across borders. When I got the appointment to serve as Nigeria’s ambassador to the Caribbean, the first thing I did was to research Jamaica. I later discovered that one of the easiest ways to connect with them was through culture. So, I looked at different areas and Ile-Ife featured prominently in achieving my goals. Of course, I am from the Niger Delta and very close to my kings. So, the first time I chose to visit the Ooni Palace to inform Kabiyesi of my plans, I did not come only after visiting him with my king from Rivers State. On that occasion, the Ooni immediately adopted me as his daughter and christened me Adetamilore (which simply means ‘She who has been blessed by the crown’). This is how the relationship with Kabiyesi began, giving us all the necessary support. I am not only close to him but to other monarchs including the King of Bonny in my state. I am also close to other Nigerian business giants and politicians who have been very supportive in my quest to fulfill my mandate. A few months ago, Alhaji Aliko Dangote was in Jamaica. He visited the embassy to talk to me. Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Corporation, also visited. So I’m just a person who believes in building relationships across divisions.
How do you think our traditional rulers can help to achieve your goals?
You should see what can give you the best result. As we are as Nigerians, our culture has made it appropriate for us to respect our traditional institutions and not mix it with politics. They are more permanent. Government comes and government goes, but these thrones are more permanent. So I think our kings should direct certain parts of the activities that happen in their space. The government should partner with them so that we don’t have a break when there is a change with another person coming with a different style. There must be continuity. And we must give honor and respect to them so that we can build a productive symbiotic relationship that will help both parties and the people who entrusted us with their hopes and aspirations.
You seem very passionate about every task you have been tasked with since your days in Rivers State and now in the Caribbean…
I have realized that what has really worked for me in all my activities as a private and public servant is to put everything before God. Everything I do, I put God first. So with that, the spirit of perfection has been instilled in me and I have always wanted to perform optimally. When I was the Executive Chairman of my Local Government —Ogu/Bolo LGA— in Rivers State, it was under my tenure that my community was connected to the national grid within my first 100 days. To this day, whenever I’m around, my folks would say ‘Maureen don’t come; light don’t come.’ When I moved to the State House of Assembly, I did so many projects and programs to the extent that I was appointed to represent Nigeria in the Commonwealth Women Parliamentary Association. I won that election in Cameroon and continued to do extremely well to the extent that people think I should remain a parliamentarian. So I know it’s God and the spirit of excellence, although in my private life as a consultant, I have a PhD in Consumer Behavior and a specialized certificate from Harvard University in Strategy. I have always tried to work with passion for everything I believe in. So, even while serving in the government, this is the spirit I have absorbed. Being a parliamentarian, it was easy to break in when I got to the Caribbean. The Jamaican Senate found out that I was a parliamentarian and an ambassador, so they welcomed me to their Senate floor. They called on the Speaker, a woman, to give me all the necessary support. My colleagues—fellow ambassadors including those from Germany and Belgium—all paid me a courtesy call and we all had a conversation about how to do our jobs better. I have only been in the chair for a year and a few months, I have quick access and I have received the necessary support from the government and the people of Jamaica to the extent that some people think I have been there for three years.
Let’s talk about women in politics. How would you rate their participation and acceptance?
The main issue facing our gender is that of the traditional barriers that have held women back in this climate. The idea of not allowing women to be heard or seen is the biggest elephant in the room. I remember when I ran to be a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I ran against two chiefs and a lawyer. All three of them united against me, saying that the matter of the assembly is like that of a fish’s head which can only be eaten by men and not by women. They went so far as to push their prejudices into the media. But kudos to the women in my constituency who rose in support of me and insisted on voting for me as their representative. So, due to these natural obstacles, some women become withdrawn. But I will take this opportunity to say once again to those women who are interested in the service that they should put what they do before politics. They should have a second address, because politics for me is a profession. It’s not a career. I am a management consultant dealing with politics. I still have a life outside of politics. But if you’re going to get into party politics, you’re still going to need money to do things for people. If you don’t have money to do things like a young politician, you become vulnerable. So any woman who wants to be in party politics should empower herself. Empowerment does not just mean monetary. Education and travel can broaden their horizons and open doors. You can’t play politics if you don’t have options. Building relationships and a wide network would help any woman go a long way. What has helped me so far in politics is my network, which is my net worth. People are my net worth. So no one can underestimate me because of the kind of people I have as friends. The people I connect with are my greatest asset.
How do you balance the game of politics with your duty as a wife and mother?
Of course, politics takes time, but luckily for me, my children are no longer babies. When I was raising them, I didn’t deal with politics. I was on business, which happens to take a lot of time as well. But I made time for my family. Even now that most of them are grown up and living abroad, especially in England, I am always in touch with them. In fact, we talk every other day. Every time I travel I make sure to take my ticket through London so I can see them. But Christmas and Easter, we all come together as a family.
