Chinemenma Umeseaka is a life coach for teenagers, a media/content creator, an on-air personality and Special
Adviser to the Abia State governor on Teenage Matters. As a humanitarian, football club owner, and a social entrepreneur, she has been empowering teenagers and youths since 2007. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, she speaks about her career and ambitions.
What is your job description as the Special Adviser to Abia State governor on Teenage Matters.
My work, in a nutshell, is to protect our teenagers and young adults from any form of harm (societal, family, etc.), to promote their affairs and activities, and to protect their interests before my boss, the governor. I equally advise the governor and the First Lady on teenage-related issues.
Does part of your work involve women matters/affairs?
Yes. Teenage matters involve all genders, both boys and girls. This is why I work more with the First Lady and the Ministry of Women Affairs of Abia State as well. So, I reach out to girls, boys, and sometimes women, like teenage mothers.
Your office, in partnership with the Chairman of Obingwa Local Government Area of Abia State, recently organised a training programme for youths and women of that area. What was the motive behind the programme?
The empowerment was necessary because there was a serious need to engage our students and teenagers during the long vacation/summer break. It’s one thing to complain about how the younger generation are getting into vices and crimes, but it is another thing to channel their energy into productive engagements. Therefore, we decided to organise the training and empowerment programmes so that parents would be assured that their children would get some skills and our society would be a better place.
When people hear empowerment, what comes to their minds is monetary compensation. But that’s not it. For me, real empowerment is when people are taught how to work with their talents, and are encouraged to expand on what they have been taught. For instance, when they learn to use their baking, dress-making, and graphics design skills, which we empowered them with, they will gradually multiply their skills and attract wealth. After the training, we gave seed money to some of the participants in the baking class, and the chairman gave seed capital to the best participant in each class.
There is no fast and easy way of making it in life. Nigeria is experiencing serious security problems. We see a lot of young people indulging in all manners of fraudulent activities because of lack of employment. However, with less job opportunities, we can still engage our youths in different vocational trainings.
How would the initiative help them in the long run?
It will help the participants, especially the mothers, to become more independent. The rural mothers who participated in the training were farmers, and with the skills learned, they can earn money for themselves and for their families. And, likewise, some of the teenagers that participated in the training were from impoverished families. With the training, they can improve their skills, make money with them, and equally save for their future.
How long have you been organising this kind of programme/initiative?
I have been organising this programme since 2016. I started it in Lagos State when I organised summer skills training programme for students in government schools in Eti Osa LGA, with the permission of the Ministry of Education of the LGA. We trained over a thousand public school students in that LGA in twelve different skills for free, without sponsorship from any organisation. Then, when in 2017, I got my political appointment as the Special Adviser to Abia State governor on Teenage Matters, I moved the training to Abia, where it’s now being sponsored by the state government.
I extended the programme to Yenagoa in Bayelsa State in 2018. However, the COVID-19 pandemic affected us in 2020. So, this year, I decided to partner with the Chairman of Obingwa LGA, Mr Ibe Michael Nwoke, who has the interest of his people at heart and is always eager to liberate rural people from poverty.
You own a female football club. Tell us about it and how it is faring in leagues/tournaments.
I know people will be wondering how I got into football. I really wanted to play professional football as a teenager, but my parents felt I was too beautiful to be a footballer (laughs). So, since I didn’t have the opportunity to play, I nurtured the thoughts of having one of my children play. But none of them plays football. My first son is interested in basketball. Somehow, I decided I would use my platform to help teenage girls who want to play football. That’s how I got 9ineteen Damsels FC registered this April. By mid-year, we went to Abuja for national competitions and qualified to the championship level. The interesting thing is that I recruited under-17 girls who had never played in any serious competition before. In fact, most of them live in rural areas and that Abuja trip was their first time of travelling to a big city, and that got them gingered into making the most of the time and opportunity. We are training our girls and hoping to scout them out more, locally and internationally.
Your office organises the One-Day Governor of Abia State. Would the programme hold this year?
Yes. The programme will hold this year, hopefully. Preparations will start this school term, because it’s through school essay writing competitions that we make the selections. And the hand-over is usually December period.
Would you continue the empowerment programmes after your appointment as SA to the governor?
Yes. The empowerment programmes will definitely continue even beyond my office, because I didn’t start them when I got into public service. Teens and youth development and empowerment is in my DNA. So, I look for creative ways to gainfully engage and to save them from indulging in social vices and delinquencies.
Have you ever envisaged an Abia State where a women is the governor?
Yes. I believe one day a woman will become the number one citizen of my state. Anything is possible and remember, the future is female. And, who knows, it could be me (laughs). I don’t know what plans God has for me in politics. But, for now, I don’t have such plans.
What was your job(s) before your SA appointment?
I am a media/content creator. I’m also an independent producer/OAP on different radio and TV stations. My show is called ‘Teen’s Time with Chichi’ on radio and TV. Also, I’m a licensed social worker from the Institute of Social Work of Nigeria. I’m a therapist for trauma and drug addicts, etc. There are many things I do apart from my public service job, and I’m gladly doing them in tandem.
Do you think you have a future in politics/government beyond Governor Ikpeazu’s administration?
Yes. I’ve a great future in politics, because I’m not doing badly now. I know I’m relevant in my state. But It’s up to me to want to support the next administration. It depends on who comes, and if my values and principles can align with the person. However, I love to be a diplomat. I’m hoping to someday become the youngest Nigerian ambassador to another country. Then, after achieving that goal, I’ll consider full-time politics.
What are the major challenges you face as an SA to your governor?
The challenges are numerous. Apart from my governor and his wife, who are both very passionate about teenagers, a few times, others feel teenagers aren’t dealing with serious issues to be given much time and attention.
How do you relax when the pressure/stress is much?
I’m a family-oriented person. My home is like heaven to me. Once I’m stressed and I get to my home, my stress literally disappears. I love my family. My four children and my husband are everything to me. The other ways I relax include sports. I love watching football and UFC a lot. I love travelling also, but the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t let me travel for over a year now, and it’s not funny. I equally relax at the gym. I carry weight (laughs). Unbelievable, I know.
The theme of this year’s International Day of the Girl Child was ‘Digital generation. Our generation’. What is your advice for Nigerian girls as regards this theme?
This year’s theme was straightforward, especially with the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has made almost everything become or go digital. Our younger generations live and do practically everything via digital devices and the internet. But the questions are: What exactly are they doing with these devices? How productive are they with their digital know-how? How effective and efficient has going digital made them? It’s one thing to claim we’re a digital generation, but it’s another thing to see how it has adequately progressed our lives.
So, my advice to Nigerian girls, as regards to the theme, is for them to see the good in technology. They should learn everything they need to learn with the advantage of the digital. They should advance their lives, and create and build the kind of future they would be proud of with it. Importantly, they should find decent people on the social media who would inspire them to become the best version of themselves.
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