September 10, 2012
…Denies rejecting honour
By CHIMA TITUS NWOKO
As the controversy over the proposed introduction of N5,000 note rages, the family of late Dr. Mrs Margaret Ekpo has thrown their weight behind the Central Bank of Nigeria. This is even as the family denies insinuations in some quaters that Ekpo’s family was not pleased with the Federal Government’s gesture to have the portrait of their late grandmother on the new currency.
The families position was made known to newsmen over the weekend by Engineer Bassey David Ekpo,the first grandson of Dr. Mrs Margaret Ekpo. He said the family feels highly honoured. His words:
“We are pleased that our grandmother is so honoured. We will like to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. President, commander in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria, the first lady, the CBN governor Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and all his team that made this possible.” Below is the full interview
Meeting the grandson of one of the nation’s highly revered pioneer female politicians in the First Republic was exciting as it invokes the feeling that Lady Margaret Ekpo was still alive for the struggles that brought her to national limelight to continue. It brings back fond memories of the ‘good old days,’ as those who lived in the 50s and 60s would say.
Such was the mood over the weekend when our correspondent in company of a few newsmen met with the grandson of the traditional Nigerian woman activist, Mrs Magaret Ekpo (1914-2006), in his Lagos residence. For those who were not born at the time she emerged as a national woman activist, the late Margaret Ekpo, was a Nigerian woman rights activist and social mobilize. Once in the 1950’s she teamed up with Funmilayo Ransome Kuti to protest the killings at an Enugu coal mine. The Federal Government plans to have portraits of the late Margaret Ekpo, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Gambo Sawaba on proposed N5, 000 bank note.
Magaret Ekpo’s grandson, Engr. Bassey David Ekpo is the Deputy Manager, Well Operations Monitoring, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS). NAPIMS is a Petroleum investment management company and a subsidiary of the NNPC. It was set up to earn margin arising from investments in the Joint Venture Companies (JVCs) with the multinationals and to protect Nigeria’s strategic interests in the JVCs. The company also engages in frontier exploration services in basins where the multinationals hesitate to venture, like the Chad Basin. David in this interview says putting his grandmother’s portrait in the naira is a great honour which the entire Ekpo family is happy about, and is grateful to the Nigerian government.
Exerpts:
Can we meet you sir.
My name is Engr. Bassey David Ekpo. I am the first grandson of Dr. Mrs Margaret Ekpo. I am a chemical engineer and I worked with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), before I joined the National Petroleum Investment Management Services.
Can we take it that everything you say represents the views of the Ekpo Family?
Yes, I can say that right now, I am the head of the Ekpo family. Whatever I say here, is on behalf of the family.
How does the family feel about this great honour that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is about to do to your late grandmother
The family feels very honoured. We are pleased that our grandmother is so honoured. We will like to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. President, commander in-chief of the armed forces of the federal republic of Nigeria, the first lady, the CBN governor Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and all his team that made this possible.
Do you think she would have imagined herself on the face of the naira if she was alive?
I am sure she would have been very pleased for this honour. I don’t think she would have expected it. But I am sure she would have been very, very pleased that all her effort and sacrifice, her goodwill is finally being recognized. I think she would have been very happy about that.
What is your opinion about the argument for and against the new naira notes?
As I said earlier, I am a chemical engineer. I am not an expert in monetary policy and economic issues. I wouldn’t want to comment on that. All I want to say here is that we are very happy about the honour. We are grateful to Mr. President and all those who made this possible.
What distinguishing features do you think made the CBN and the federal government give her this honour?
I think that my grandmother contributed greatly to the growth and development of this country. She was one of the national heroes that fought for the independence of this country. She had always had the interests of this country in mind. For example, she was against the civil war and wanted the unity of this country to be protected. I believe these are part of the reasons.
Are there members of the Ekpo family that still share your grandmother’s vision as it were?
Yes we have a foundation set up in her honour. This foundation was set up while she was still alive. The trustees of this foundation were chosen by her and we have prominent people who are members. The chairman, Ukpo, is a Catholic Archbishop. We have the present governor of Imo state (Owele Rochas Okorocha) as a member of the board of trustee. Senator Bassey Ewa Henshaw is a member; Senator Ufot Ekaette is a member of the board of trustees. We have so many other people who are members including myself.
The objective of the foundation is to sustain what she stood for; especially women emancipation. We also take care of the under privileged in the society. We have given scholarships to some indigent students in some universities. We hold annual lectures and we intend to hold one in November this year. Usually, the tradition is to make first ladies grand patrons.
The last one we did was for Turai Yara’Adua. We want to do one for the current first lady. Perhaps we will invite the CBN governor to come and make a speech in that annual lecture. However, the foundation’s activities have been hampered by lack of funds. We need some support. So I will like to seize this opportunity to solicit for support to the foundation. But we are trying to carry on with what she stood for and what she fought for. I believe it is something that will last for a while.
How do you react to the argument that your grandmother would have preferred to be identified with a lower denomination currency that protects the interest of the masses?
I don’t know who made that argument and I don’t think that is true. It does not matter which currency it is. As for the other argument that it (N5, 000) will also cause inflation, I think it is for experts to determine. Those who are responsible for managing our monetary policies should know better. It is not for us to start talking about anything we don’t know about. I wouldn’t want to dwell on that.
Most people do not know that your grandmother has Igbo origin. How did the relationship come in considering the fact that she married into Ekpo family
Well, if I had to take you back into the history of her origin, I would recall that my grandmother’s father was actually an Igbo man. He migrated from the East within the time the missionaries were around.
They settled in Creek Town. He now got married to a princess from the Creek Town kingdom and they gave him the name Ekpeypong. That was his name. So he assumed citizenship of that area. My grandmother’s mother was a princess of that area. That was the story. I think somewhere before she died, she ran into the relatives of her father who are Igbo men. Some of them are alive. So we have links with the Igbos.
Do you believe that lumping together your grandmother’s face with that of Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti and Gambo Sawaba’s are a good match?
I believe that they should be lumped together. Mrs. Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti was my grandmother’s friend. They worked together during the time they fought for women’s right. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
SOURCE: 10 September 2012.
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