In the lottery of life, there are some vital attributes among the humans which only the Almighty can bestow. Some of the attributes include Life, Beauty and Intellect. Over the years, scientists have tried with limited success to manipulate these attributes in man, but would always stop at the point God takes over.

Personages, through the ages, have never ceased to appreciate the transcendence of life, beauty and intellect in the affairs of men. Alexander the Great, the Prince of Macedonia, died at the age of 33 despite the fact that he had at his beck and call the best medical personnel, which the Ancient Greek Kingdom could offer. In his Last Three Wishes, moments before his death, he proclaimed that only God can give life.

Plato, the Greek Philosopher, stated that only men of intellect, i.e. the philosopher Kings, should rule a State. On beauty, Saint Thomas Aquinas, defined beauty as that which not only pleases the heart when seen, it also shines forth with lustre, expresses wholeness and harmonium, possesses necessary and desired proportions and above all, epitomizes perfection. According to him, beauty is that intricate tapestry woven by the mysterious hand of God.

Aquinas’ empirical perspectives on beauty refute the weird saying that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”. Emphatically, beauty is heart-warming. It uplifts the soul. This explains why at the first sight of the legendary Lady Lithia, the Roman General, Markus Vinicus, was so enchanted by her beauty that he exclaimed with a vow: Behold, she stands with her gown hung loose from her shoulder; reflecting her milk white beauty and intelligence; the perfect gift of the gods to me and I shall sacrifice a thousand white doves to commemorate this union. In the Greek mythology, Helena’s explosive beauty was so overwhelming that the greatest powers of her era, Greece and Troy, had to sacrifice thousands of their young men in the battle field. The sight and thralls of beauty are transanimatory. That is why the beauty can ride on the back of a tiger. Hence, “Because I Am Involved”

It therefore takes an exceptional woman, in fact a role model, to manage the attributes of classical beauty and robust intellect with panache.

My profession as a teacher and vocation as a humanist imposes on me the moral burden of condemning evil in the society and extolling the virtuous. I am tasked in conscience to strike a mortal blow at arrogance, immorality, drug abuse, adultery, obscenity, greed, delusion, etc that pervade our society and to hoist aloft the beauty of excellence, tenacity of truth and good conscience as well as the genuine passion to lend listening ears to the poor and needy in society.

One of my father’s parting words to me on his dying bed was to always strive to appreciate and throw up into the public discourse any virtuous persona wherever they are found among the humans. This is essential to ignite in the younger generation the necessary consciousness for ethical moral standards. This is because as the plant tendrils respond decisively to light stimulus (phototropism), so do certain personalities serve as veritable sources of inspiration to the youths for a better society.

In the first place, there are several young girls that cannot discern or interpret correctly their mirror messages. Many become so enthralled and overwhelmed by their beauties that they end up in the public convoy. But here is an elegant, skillful, beautiful girl who remained wholesome, determined and focused. For a dazzling beautiful girl to remain so focused in the pressure of her youth is the bedrock of her present success story.

Statistics show that most young ladies, when asked about the ideal husband will among other factors be confronted with the paradox of wealth, job security, professional status, physical attributes, family pedigree and social foundations, etc. With Holy Ghost fireand audacious disdain, most ladies will reject for marriage, suitors with no means. But here is a young lady highly endowed with amazing beauty, disarming brains and stellar background with various ready-made options, she rather chose to marry a young man from the Mpu of yore, whose only prerequisite appeared to be his legal profession.

Second, most ladies present two lives- a pre-wedding and a post-wedding lives. The former is the loving and giving angelic feminine essence whose disarming humility and pleasant animation can change even the hardest of hearts. The latter is a drama queen, an overbearing termagant, a nagging harridan, dissembling bedroom terrorist and an irrepressible gender activist, always stressing her rights. In fact, what most men find is a poignant contrast between the demure beauty they wedded, on one hand and the raggedy praying-mantis posture always out for a fight, on the other. But here is a graceful presence who in spite of her endowments- station in life, gift of the womb, educational and professional accomplishments has remained the most esteemed physical, emotional and spiritual companion to the husband.

We are told that the difference between a house and a home is a wife. The alluring homeliness, symmetry, manicured flowers and serenity that greet you in any Ikeoha residence are the outward expressions of her innermost heart.

Third, most ladies married to the wealthy and the mighty develop such a false imaginary sense of grandeur that they look at the less privileged with contempt and condescension. But here is a woman who accords respect, humour, compliments and dignity to even the lowest in society.

Fourth, most married women engage in a psychological warfare and sometimes open conflict with the parents’ in-law and the relatives of their husbands. But here is a woman who holds her mother in-law in the noblest and highest reverence and esteem. She radiates love and peace not only to the extended family but to all and sundry. She is steeped in the Anaxagoras philosophy that men would live exceedingly quiet if these two words; mineand thine are taken away. Her enlarged benevolent heart, kindred and communitarian spirit are widely applauded.

Fifth, most women married to the wealthy hardly humble themselves to the rigours, discipline and ethics of public service. For the unenlightened, the discharge of official duties assigned by super-ordinates, advancing in learning and earning of promotions, etc are the ordeals of the less privileged among the married. But here is an exceptional woman of substance who in spite of the enviable height attained by the husband struggles to carve a niche for herself.

Sixth, some women abandon the culinary duties of the house to maids, claiming to be too big for the kitchen. Here again is a mother figure that excels in every cuisine she tries hand on; local, continental and exotic. She proportions her spices to produce an irresistible flavour; throws her dining table open to all her guests and then goes the extra mile to ensure that no one leaves the house unattended.

Seventh, there is a general gradient for tastes, social relation and companionship to respond to people’s stations in life. The higher in the social stratum, the more selective in friendship. Here again is a woman who derives pleasure in sharing jokes with her subordinates.

Eight, human needs are insatiable. It requires moral restraint for the wife of a council chairman to support the establishment of a charity outfit, the Ikeoha Foundation, back in 1998, for the upliftment of the less privileged. This is the noblest of all virtues.

Ninth, most women eavesdrop deliberations with their husbands and would betray signs for invitation to the discussions. They strive at being instrumental, central or at least tangential to the thought process of their husbands. But here is a very stable woman with self worth and strength of character. She has total confidence in the judgment of his husband.

Yet, the worst of the traits among the wives of the wealthy is infidelity and poor moral dispositions. It is argued in some quarters that the needy are more religious and that the licentious are found among the wealthy. Here is a virtuous woman whose inner heart and spirituality are the live battery that charges the husband to higher accomplishments.

This exceptional woman is Dr. Mrs. Nwanneka Ekweremadu, the wife of Sen. Dr. Ike Ekweremadu, CFR, Ikeoha Ndigbo, the Deputy President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nwanneka was born on September 10, 1966 to the family of Chief and Mrs John & Monica Okah of Umuori hamlet, Enuguagu-Achi in Oji River LGA, Enugu State. She attended St Patrick’s Primary School and proceeded to Idaw River Girls’ Secondary School, both in Enugu. In both the primary and the secondary schools, she was her teachers’ delight. Nwanneka pursued higher studies at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). She holds a Bachelor of Education Degree with honours in Accountancy and Economics. She proceeded to Enugu campus of the UNN, where she obtained a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA). The irrepressible zeal for self actualization propelled her to Ebonyi State University, Abakiliki where she became intellectually accomplished with a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in Accountancy.

Nwanneka has served as a teacher in the Federal Government College, Enugu; Federal Government Boys College, Apo, Abuja. At present, she works in the Office of Accountant General of the Federation, Abuja. She is admitted into the Lady Order of the Good Shepherd, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion. She is a recipient of various merit awards and traditional titles including the Nneoma Ugbo. She has four lovely and promising children.

Those who are puzzled by the Ikeoha phenomenon can now refer to the book of Proverbs 12.4 : “a virtuous woman is a crown to her husband”. And that beside every successful man is a woman of substance. We salute at 50, the Ikeoha crown, the summary of virtues, the end of discussion in womanhood; a woman with a spark of God, a benevolent spirit and quintessential compassionate mother. We salute at 50 an amazing Amazon, an angelic mother essence, a paragon of discipline, kindness, sensibility and spirituality; whose inner feminine qualities play an archetypal role in the Ikeoha subconscious.

Chiedozie Alex Ogbonnia
Okeosisi Ugbo