BY HARRISON AKAMULE
Great destinies are born out of inconveniences. While some feed on excuses seeing why something cannot be done, others see such avenues as opportunities to fly high .
Back then in the early 1970s when girl child education was unpopular, parents who defied the odds stand tall today enjoying the proceeds from the girl child who was trained to face and surmount the rigours of the 21st century.
Such is the verifiable experience of Hon. Chief (Mrs) Flora Warelade Biripu whose parents went against the popular tide of male child dominance of the academic space and stuck out their neck to prepare her with the needed academic and mental ambience to face life independently.
Born in 1962, July 21st, Hon. Flora Warelade Biripu attended Esenabe Teachers Training College, Bomadi in 1982, College of Education in 1993 and proceeded to study Guidance & Counseling/English in the prestigious University of Port-Harcourt in 2004.
Her love for education afforded her the opportunity to impact the society with the huge academic investment in her as a teacher in the primary school at the age of 17 years. Though, her choice career as a young girl was to become Nurse, her father begged her being his only surviving child to go to Teachers Training School , so that she can get job easily after completion of Teachers Training School because he cannot afford to train her in higher school. Driven by this unquenchable passion, she rose through the ranks and retired as headmistress in 2014. When she was headmistress, Primary Schools Head Teachers’Association made her Public Relations Officer (PRO) from 2010 – 2014.
It is common knowledge that responsibility is the reward for effective service, her years of unbroken loyalty to humanity was rewarded with more responsibility. Thus, she was saddled with the responsibility to lead the women in Bomadi Federated Community as the women leader to pilot the affairs of the women in 2008–2012.
When she was women leader of Bomadi Federated Community, without hesitation she made it known to the women that success in their homes and lives largely depended on how disciplined and committed they would be to their responsibilities.
Having seen the great leadership qualities in her, the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ward 1 was left with no option than to yet add another feather to her cap by making her the party women leader in her Ward. All these assignments were undertaken without the slightest show of incompetence.
According to her “Even while I was in the teaching profession, I have so much interest in politics . I was popular in politics before I retired to become active politician because every political dispensation, I will come out and played an active role as a politician, it was there and then I was known by the political leaders in Bomadi LGA ”
Then came the search for a woman to run as vice chairman of council, Bomadi LGA under the auspices of PDP in 2018. As super lioness who has proven herself worthy in handling public offices, she was deemed worthy to be saddled with yet another huge responsibility because people are always happy with her representation to be the vice chairman Bomadi LGA and she has not failed to deliver on that mandate.
Now the election bells are dangling again beckoning on worthy sons and daughters of the LGA who can provide political leadership, who can give a facelift to the Local Government, to indicate interest to occupy loftiest position in the Local Government Council.
Hon. Chief Flora Warelade Biripu has once and again demonstrated her competence, political cum academic prowess and has provided political stewardship under her principal Hon. William Angadi.
Her creativity is no longer in doubt. She is a solution seeker, always striving for excellence with dedication and selflessness working towards the realization of common goals that will upgrade the living standards of the people.
Furthermore, Hon Flora is teachable and understands the dynamics of team work having worked at various capacities in relation to others. She is a proficient project manager, dependable, resourceful and can be entrusted with any responsibility.
The question in the mind of many politicians and others is that would she take advantage of the opportunity before her as is synonymous and characteristic politicians to contest the forthcoming Local Government elections ? Time will tell .
