Minutes:
The Mayor made the following acceptance speech:
“Good evening and thank you for joining me today in this wonderful diverse borough of Enfield.
Welcome Councillors, officers, friends and families and a very special welcome to the Igwe-In-Council of Cabinet and Honorary Chiefs of Nanka, Ajie Nanka, Odenigbo Nanka, Ezeudo Nanka, Onwa Nanka, Ikeoha Nanka and all high chiefs present representing Your Royal Highness, Igwe G.N. Ofomata, the Obu Nanka who could not be here in person. Also a special welcome to all the dignitaries from Nigeria and other countries and to my guests who are joining us via video link, seated in Committee Rooms 1 & 2.
First of all I offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to all Members of the Council, especially Members from my side. Without your support and belief in me, I would not be standing here today.
I would like to take this opportunity to provide you all with some background information about myself. Mine has been a happy, but also at times a painful journey, however with determination and discipline I have plodded on. Thanks to my church St Judes Catholic Church Nanka, St Edmunds R/C Edmonton, Nigerian Chaplaincy and all prayers from friends and well wishers. Especially staff from the maternity unit in North Middlesex Hospital.
As must be obvious, I am from Nanka, a town made up of seven villages in South Eastern Nigeria with roughly about 50,000 people, excluding those in diaspora. Within this community we have over 92 Professor’s and PhD’s. Education is a major trade of the community, and there is hardly any family in Nanka without a University/polytechnic graduate. The major drawback for the town is the menace of gully erosion which is scattered all over the seven villages. Some of the erosion sites are among the hidden routes exploited by the slave dealers and their local collaborators during the notorious slave trade. The community and Government are fighting the menace of erosion through planting of cashew seedlings, control of flooding and other measures and also looking forward to international help.
I am the eldest daughter of deeply religious parents. I was one of two girls and five boys brought up in a strict, old fashioned and God fearing environment, my mother being the disciplinarian. She is also a princess, the daughter of the first son of the King. Hence I am also from the Royal lineage as are my brothers who are with me tonight.
From the age of five, I was very well versed in etiquette, good manners and behaviour. In other words, there was little scope or even desire for youthful rebellion. I attended a convent school run by the Catholic missionary sisters which was even stricter. I realised that I was a clever girl who excelled in all subjects and I always worked hard.
After my Primary education I started Teacher training and half way into a four year course, I was to leave to join my spouse in England. With seven children and the end of civil war, it’s no wonder my father married me off. He had no choice. Nevertheless I do applaud my father who believed in gender equality, he gave me the same chance in education as any other child. I promised my father that I would continue with my education and follow a nursing profession as this was his wish.
I must share some of my first experiences and surprises in England. First of all there were the chimneys. I had never seen chimneys like these and I automatically assumed that everyone in England baked and ate a lot of bread.
Kissing on the doorstep was simply outrageous and not becoming of a woman. This would have given my mother a heart attack.
I knew I was in England because it was not long before the weather became something of a preoccupation. Needless to say, I found the climate a real trial and the business of putting money in the gas meter to gain warmth was something else, not to talk of paraffin heaters which baffled me.
During my first winter I marvelled at how all the clothes pegged out on washing lines seemed to have starched themselves. I had never experienced the phenomenon of frost. I soon learned. Then there was the snow. I had sung about snow many times as a child and read about it in many books, but seeing it at first hand was a revelation. I had problems walking on snow, not to mention frozen fingers and toes and the steam coming out of my mouth. The countless times I fell on snow, I am surprised that I am not riddled with arthritis.
In 1972 less than a year after my arrival into the country and armed and empowered with my background skills, I gained admission at North Middlesex University Hospital, this was the beginning of my nursing career. I was fulfilling my father’s wish.
In the same year I moved into Enfield Borough after living briefly in South West London. From a class of fifteen Student Nurses, there were four from an ethnic minority, three from Malaysia and me the only black African. I also became a member of St Edmund’s R/C Church Edmonton, where I have been worshipping for the last forty years and am a very active member. Reverend Father Emmanuel, the Parish Priest of St Edmund’s R/C Church, Edmonton will be my Chaplain in my Mayoral year.
After qualifying as a State Registered Nurse (as it was then called) I worked as a Staff Nurse in the Intensive Care Unit for one year, before embarking on another journey to train as a Midwife. Following my qualification as a Midwife in July 1977, I worked in the Labour Ward until June 1984 and as a Community Midwife up to December 2010. In the last year I worked in Maternity Triage, first port of call for all pregnant women who attend the Maternity Unit.
My duty as a midwife involves caring for women from antenatal period to birth, giving parental education and advice on informed choices. I prepare the women and their partner/spouse by guiding them in their emotional, mental, physiological and psychological needs where possible. I also mentor Student Midwives and Medical Students.
Within these years I was also fulfilling my duty as a wife. I have been blessed with four children, two boys and two girls and tragically widowed when my youngest was only 18 months old, hence I became a single mother. Today these children are all graduates and working. Thank you children for not disappointing me. In addition to my family are my daughter-in-law and my first grand-daughter, almost two and a half years old.
During all these years there was something that my heart was nurturing and that was to study Law. In 1992 I gained admission at the University of North London and embarked on a five year part-time program to study Law, my dream ambition. The boot of my car became my library and wardrobe. I am very good at multi-tasking hence I was able to juggle my studies, children and a demanding full time job. I proved that nothing is impossible as long as you put your mind to it. The Lord was my strength and salvation.
After five years of studying so hard and gaining my Bachelor of Law degree, it did not take me a second to decide where my loyalty lay. I am highly intoxicated with the miracle of the world and that is pregnancy and babies. I found it very difficult to leave the midwifery profession; it is a very fulfilling carer. My friends moved on and now run their own Law firm, but I was happy to remain with my babies. However I made sure that I utilized my knowledge in Law, by becoming the midwives union rep (RCM Steward), representing and supporting my colleagues in time of need. At this point I would like to introduce one of my babies.who now works at North Middlesex Hospital.
If midwifery was my vocation, it could be argued that politics and working within the community became my mission and my inspiration. However, today we are here for Mayor Making in which politics play no part. Instead I will endeavour to serve this multi-cultural borough to the best of my ability.
Youth will be the main emphasis of my charity appeal, especially those who are in care and care leavers aged 16 – 18. These are the forgotten youths, who once they are 18 are pushed out to the world unguided, and may end up in bad company. Funding raised from my Mayoral year will go towards providing mentor support for these identified young people living in Enfield. Funding could also help to extend the E18HTEENproject to more young people in care in Enfield. This project is currently helping to mentor 160 people across Haringey, Enfield, Waltham Forest and Barnet.
The Mayor’s charity will also support “Our Voice” this is a parent-led organisation seeking to improve services for children with disabilities in Enfield.
As midwives, we deliver many children but their outcome and future we don’t normally know. The plight of these young people is what I wish to highlight in my Mayoral year.
I hope that my charity can also support the Enfield Sickle Cell and Thalassemia organisation. This is a hereditary blood disorder which affects mainly people from Afro-Caribbean and Mediterranean origins and it is one of the main screenings in pregnancy.
I would also like to provide some support for the North Middlesex Maternity Unit as without it many of us would not have come into this world.
In my Mayoral year I would like us to celebrate and recognise the achievement of all our children and young people by having a dedicated day called Enfield Youths Day, which I would like to be an annual event. This would also be an opportunity to remember and celebrate the short life of our children, and young people who have passed away.
I would also like to mention the following individuals for their special help - Steve and Norman who are wonderful chauffeurs and have helped me so much in my year as the Deputy Mayor. Rhoda who is always on the computer and phone arranging engagements, and the rest of Democratic services. I have no doubt that we are going to have an exciting year.
In conclusion, my greatest thanks to my late father Ichie Fidelis Ezeobuoha Ezeasor for believing in gender equality, thus giving me the opportunity to pursue my academic career despite having five boys to care for. I thank my late husband Mr Ifeanyichukwu Festus Anolue who honoured my father’s wish to allow me to continue with my academic career on my arrival to England. May their souls rest in peace.
I miss my mum who could not be here with us today. I have no doubt she is holding her Rosary and praying for me. Mummy thank you especially for breast feeding me for nearly four years, that must be where my energy and good health came from. In my years as a Community midwife I do encourage the mums by telling them this little fact about me and breast feeding.
Also many thanks to all past and present managers, midwives and the entire staff at North Middlesex University Hospital, for their support and contributions in the early days and years of my widowhood. You were my rock and that helped me to maintain my full time job.
Special thank you to my siblings, family and friends including my childhood friend since nursery school who is here tonight from Dallas. I also wish to extend my greatest appreciation to Umudala Community Nanka, for recognising their hard working daughter in diaspora and who delivered your argument successfully to Igwe Ofomata, Obu Nanka and his Cabinet. Hence I was honoured with the Chieftaincy title in 2008 “Ada Jeru Mba Turu Ugo” meaning “Daughter that went to foreign land and brought us glory”.
As the First Citizen of Enfield, I will represent the Borough with dignity and I hope to work to your expectation. I have no doubt that you will support my Charity in any way you can. This year of the Olympics and Diamond Jubilee, it is going to be fantastic.
Thank you all for coming and God Bless.