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Umunna, Nigerian Tipped as First Black British PM
Chuka Umunna of Nigerian descent on May 7, 2015, could make history by becoming the first black Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Born in London in 1978, Chuka was bred in the UK. His late father, Bennett, hailed from Anambra State while his Irish mother, Patricia, is a solicitor.
He is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Streatham since 2010 and the Shadow Business Secretary since 2011.
Co-incidentally, Chuka shares startling similarities with the United States President, Barack Obama, who is the first black President of the world’s most powerful nation.
For instance, Chuka is of mixed race, being the child of a Nigerian father and an Irish mother while Obama is also of mixed race, being the offspring of a white American woman and a Kenyan father.
Also Chuka’s father, Bennett, was killed in a mysterious car accident in Nigeria in 1992 while Obama’s father was killed in a car accident in Kenya in 1982.
If history repeats itself as it is being predicted by British political observers, Chuka, who is also a six-foot tall lawyer like Obama, could become the first black Prime Minister in the UK.
Chuka’s life story is perhaps a better guide to his future political direction. It is the story of a rise from the streets of South London (scene of some of Britain’s worse race riots in the 1980s) to the parliament. But it is not the story that some might expect.
His father, Bennett, was a Nigerian labourer, who arrived in Britain in the sixties with one suitcase and no money.
Having borrowed the fare from Liverpool to London, he worked in a carwash, became a successful businessman and died in a car crash when his son was 13.
Bennett began an import-export business trading with Nigeria and was starting to make a decent living when he met Patricia Milmo, a solicitor, at a London party.
She happened to be the daughter of Sir Helenus Milmo, a Cambridge-educated High Court judge and a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Nazi trials. They later got married, a rare combination during a time of high social inequality and racism.
Chuka believed his father was killed because he refused to indulge in corrupt practices when he was running for the governorship of Anambra State during the administration of former military dictator, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.).
Bennett died after his car ran into a lorry carrying logs along the Onitsha-Owerri highway in Anambra. Bennett had been splitting his time between London and Nigeria – where he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Anambra State and had taken a stand against bribery.
At a point Bennett was also the owner of the Rangers International Football Club of Enugu, the darling of the Igbo people.
When quizzed about his father on Sky News, he had this to say: “There was a lot of speculation in Nigeria at the time around his death. He was a national political figure standing on an anti-corruption ticket and refused to bribe anybody.
“We don’t really talk about it because it is not going to bring him back but I think he would be bowled over that his son is now a politician just like him.”
Chuka, an English and French Law graduate from the University of Manchester, who also holds a Master’s degree from Nottingham Law School, says his interest in politics was shaped by seeing extreme poverty while visiting his father’s relatives in Nigeria and the social divide in his own Streatham constituency in the UK. He says that he is “not super-religious” but that his soft-left values are “rooted in my Christianity.”
The 35-year-old Labour Party Member of Parliament, however, has two hurdles to cross if he is to make history in the UK. This is because in the UK, for one to become the Prime Minister, the person must first be a Member of Parliament, the person’s party must win majority of seats out of the 560 seats in the House of Commons during the parliamentary elections and the person must be the leader of his party.
Presently, Chuka is the Member of Parliament for Streatham, a position he has held since 2010 but must re-contest in 2015 and win to retain the seat.
He is also the Shadow Business Secretary, a position held by a member of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. The duty of the office holder is to scrutinise the actions of the government’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and develop alternative policies. The office holder is a member of the Shadow Cabinet.
According to the UK Telegraph, Chuka is rumoured to have the strong support of a former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who was also a Labour Party leader.
According to the British newspaper, when asked if he was Blair’s anointed candidate, Chuka said, “I really don’t know anything about that.”
However, when he was pressed further whether he aspired to head his party, he said, “I don’t entertain any discussion beyond winning the election next year. That would be completely hypocritical of me. To start thinking about hypothetical scenarios would be totally indulgent. All my energy is focused on winning the election, and so should everyone’s. It will be very close.”
Chuka is one of the youngest MPs in the UK having been introduced into British politics by the current Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, while he was in his 20s.
It was Milband that helped him become an MP and later made him his Parliamentary Private Secretary before he was promoted to the Shadow Cabinet in October 2011. He is tipped to become Miliband’s successor and could become the Prime Minister should the Labour Party win next year’s election.
Chuka, however, claims to hate the comparison of him and Obama which he terms the “construct of lazy journalists.” He sharply divides opinion in British politics. Good-looking, articulate, new-media-savvy and a good orator.
According to FT Magazine, he is not universally popular among his own colleagues, who see more style than substance.
“He just has a knack of alienating people,” said one experienced Labour MP. “He is probably the most natural communicator I’ve seen since Tony Blair. The problem is that each week he has fewer supporters than he did at the start of the week.”
Even potential allies recount stories of apparent slights or snubs. A senior party figure says, “Chuka has put people’s backs up.
They feel he is inaccessible.” Another long-serving MP adds, “The idea of learning the trade first is only for mere mortals, not for him.” Peter Mandelson, the former Labour business secretary who played a key role in Blair’s rise through to the top, thinks the explanation for this is quite simple, “Envy plays a big part in politics,” he says.
Like Blair, Chuka sometimes connects better with those beyond his own circle. John Cridland, head of the CBI employers’ group, calls him “a guy with whom we can do business.” Andrew Tyrie, Tory Chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, say: “He’s extremely talented and charming.” Andrew Adonis, a former Labour minister, sums up his cross-party appeal: “The best politicians are those who look outwards not inwards.”
However, allies of the current British PM, David Cameron, scoffed at the idea that Chuka might represent a threat to Cameron’s second term bid.
“I can’t think of any issue where he’s put us under pressure,” says one close friend of the prime minister. “He’s pretty average – he’s a slick corporate lawyer.”
Also, among his fellow party members, Chuka’s lack of political definition is another source of irritation as some claim they struggle to work out what he really believes in. But Chuka says people should show a bit more patience. “It would be rather unhealthy if after just three years in parliament I was setting out some blueprint for my country,” he says. “What do people expect?”
But some see him as the potential leader of a mainstream 21st-Century Labour party with the kind of crossover appeal of Blair’s New Labour. Despite initial reservations that Chuka might be a bit too left-wing, Blair has started seeing him regularly. “Chuka strikes Tony as very smart,” says one close ally of the former PM. “Business is a particularly important brief in tough economic times and Chuka seems to be rising to the challenge.”
As if Blair’s blessing was not enough, Chuka recalls the “honour” of spending “a small bit of private time with former US President, Bill Clinton, who he describes as one of his political heroes. “I think he defies the left-right description,” Mandelson says in approbation. “He’s part of a generation that transcends those labels.”
He has also recently been to Europe to meet his friend, the French PM, Manuel Valls.
According to statistics, almost 15 per cent of people in Britain describe themselves as “non-white” but the country has never had a party leader from an ethnic minority background. Nobody has ever come close. Chuka confesses that until his late teens he had not even thought about a career in politics because there was “nobody who looked like me” running the country.
Chuka has been vocal in the call for a reduction in government spending as well as issues on immigration. “They [the French] have something like 40 ministers compared to our 80,” he says.
On the EU itself, he has called for reform, saying not long ago that free movement of workers was not intended to mean free movement of jobseekers. “As one of the most pro-European shadow ministers, I don’t think you can ignore the impact that free movement has had on some of our communities,” he says, adding that it has changed because there are “many more EU members.”
He adds, “There’s a number of things we need to look at. Those who tend to raise the issue of immigration with me are my African and Asian constituents. They want confidence there are proper controls.
“They want to see people integrate, which is why we shouldn’t be spending all this money translating documents and [instead] directing resources to ensure people learn English. And you do need to look at free movement.”
Next year’s election may not be based on ethnicity but it obviously will be hard not to notice that a British-Nigerian could become the leader of one of the world’s wealthiest countries.
On the issue of ethnicity, Chuka has this to say, “A lot of people presume – because of my ethnicity – that I come from a particular social background. I am very quick to disabuse people of any sense that I’ve wanted and struggled in the way that, say, my father did. I come from a fairly middle-class background. People try and pigeonhole you in a box and I find that frustrating sometimes.”
If Chuka is hard to pigeonhole, that may be linked to his own pedigree. It seems likely, if not certain, that Chuka, whose name means God is the greatest, is destined to become a larger presence in his party and thus a bigger potential target despite being a person whose father came to the UK from Nigeria without a dime.
The story has often been told in tech circles of how a relatively unknown Nigerian female student became a sensation of sorts among the international student population back in the early 80s in India owing to the unusual course of study she was undertaking.
Chioma Ekeh
Electing to study Mathematics at Bachelor’s degree level – a course that required not only battling differential equations, calculus, advanced algebra, and so on, but also pitting one’s wits against that of wizened professors – is not a task for the faint-hearted. But that was the path that this unusual lady took at Punjab University, located in the culturally rich and aesthetically pleasing city of Chandigarh, India.
It was a decision that would lead Chioma Ekeh (nee Emelonye) along the path of meeting the love of her life, a certain Leo Stan Ekeh and returning to Nigeria with him to play a leading role in shaping the course of technology distribution in Africa.
Undoubtedly, unusual may also be a word that defines Chioma and Leo Stan Ekeh’s remarkable journey together. A power couple and exemplary partners who have worked together for over 30 years building a successful technology empire is a rarity, one that is not often seen.
That sojourn to India and her subsequent career trajectory laid the groundwork for the impressive reputation Chioma Ekeh has built in the highly competitive technology space. Business associates and representatives of global brands never fail to cite her intellect and brainpower.
Job seekers who cross her path during interviews often recall being asked to solve a simple arithmetic problem. For those who eventually become employees, there is never-ending adulation.
Her husband, Leo Stan Ekeh, describes her as the integral analytics, the backbone behind the brilliant success of the Zinox Group where she has continued to support all the businesses across the board.
Such is the cerebral aptitude of this unusual woman that she is reported to have taken the stage once at a company-wide business review to present a financial report punctuated by humongous accurate numbers, figures and percentages, all from memory and without recourse to any notes, a device or an actual presentation document.
Born on April 25, 1964, the story of the impressive diffusion, accessibility, useability and affordability of cutting-edge technology devices and solutions in Nigeria and indeed, sub-Saharan Africa will be grossly incomplete without a detailed citation on Chioma Ekeh and the leadership role she has played – one she has continued to play as a silent innovator and disruptor–alongside her legendary spouse.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Certified Accountants (FCCA, UK), Mrs. Chioma Ekeh is the brains behind TD Africa, a regional technology distribution powerhouse headquartered in Nigeria and with branches across Africa and in four other continents.
A company she led from start-up stage, TD Africa with Chioma Ekeh as CEO, pioneered ICT distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa and has remained the industry leader by market share in the region and the biggest provider of credit to resellers.
Founded in 1999, TD Africa is Africa’s leading distributor of technology and lifestyle products, boasting an unmatched and growing network of partnership with global brands like HP, Microsoft, Apple, Starlink, IBM, Dell Technologies, Ring (by Amazon), Cisco, Lenovo, APC by Schneider Electric, Samsung, Bosch, Phillips, Logitech, Vivo, among several others. Under Chioma’s exemplary leadership, the company has achieved numerous milestones, earned a long list of local and international awards/accolades and ensured Nigeria and indeed Africa is reckoned with at the global table of technology conversations and discussion-making.
However, this remarkable story may have turned out differently, had Chioma not returned to Nigeria under the guidance of her husband.
Armed with a formidable Mathematics degree after completing her studies in India, Chioma had the world at her feet and was the toast of leading companies the world over.
Moving to the United Kingdom at the invitation of her husband, Chioma joined the exalted league of Chartered Accountants and thereafter, bagged an MBA at the reputable Heriot Watts University.In 1987, she joined Sterling Deveraux as an Investment Analyst, engaging in researchand analyzing assets, such as stocks, bonds, currenciesand commodities.
Her acumen and exceptional skills were growing in demand and before long, she left Sterling Deveraux, joining the London Borough of Lewisham as an accountant in 1988.
Between 1988 and 1991, Chioma’s sterling work saw her rise swiftly through the ranks at the London Borough of Lewisham, moving from Accountant to Senior Auditor and then to Financial Auditor.
Certainly, Chioma Ekeh had a clear path to becoming CFO and possibly CEO at the London Borough of Lewisham or even going on immediately to taking up other elevated roles at other organizations. But the love of motherland and the call of her husband – Leo Stan Ekeh – to return home to Nigeria with him and build a technology legacy for Nigeria and Africa proved too strong.
Back home, Chioma Ekeh’s initial area of responsibility was with Task Systems Ltd., the first of many companies in the Zinox Group set up by Leo Stan Ekeh.
She took up the position of Financial Controller and spent six achievement-filled years at Task before driving the vision of technology distribution birthed by her husband in launching TD Africa where she became the company’s pioneer CEO.
A quiet, unassuming tech icon, Chioma Ekeh has acquired a well-deserved status as unarguably one of Nigeria’s top three leading Women-in-Tech, a female technology business leader with extensive years of proven capacity in building high-performing teams and transforming businesses beyond stakeholders’ expectations.
In partnership with her husband, Chioma Ekeh has played immense roles in growing and nurturing partner businesses, launching several thriving new businesses and successfully closing some of the biggest acquisitions in the technology space in Nigeria.
The Tech Experience Centre – Africa’s first technology experience centre – located at Yudala Heights, a sprawling edifice in the heart of Victoria Island – is another project that has Chioma Ekeh’s indelible signature on it.
The launch of the Tech Experience Centre in October 2020 received high praise from the Nigerian government and representatives of global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).
Under her guidance, Celebrating You, an annual showpiece celebratory event hosted by TD Africa has become unarguably the biggest year-end event in the Nigerian technology industry for over a decade.
Also, she has spearheaded several CSR projects, including The Herwakening – an empowerment programme for female entrepreneurs– and Girls in ICT – a project targeted at encouraging young girls to take up STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines and considering careers in technology.
As she turns 60, Chioma Ekeh deserves rarefied mention and unmitigated encomiums. An amazon, this unusual female tech icon who has shattered several glass ceilings, knows no fatigue and has continued to innovate, effortlessly leading from the front.
National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), has proposed N350,000 as the new minimum wage for Technologists in the tertiary institutions.
Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, national pesident of NAAT, stated this at 5th National Delegate Conference in University of Abuja.
Nwokoma, said the proposal was based on the present economic situation in the country occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy, high inflationary rate and the attendant hardship.
Nwokoma maintained that technology rule the world and advanced development and shaping the landscape of education in developed countries.
Prof. Tahir Mamman, minister of Education, said the federal government will soon introduce the policy that will make skill acquisition compulsory for primary and secondary schools.
The minister said global space is driven by technology which the advanced world is using to solve problems and gaining grounds.
The Union protect, defend, and promote the rights and well being and interests of all members and to advance the cause of members, employed in Nigerian Tertiary Institutions Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education.
The theme of the conference is, “Technology, a recipe for national development and socioeconomic growth in the 21st century: the Nigeria quest for a better tomorrow.”
9mobile, telecommunications company, recently partnered with tech giant, Microsoft to host a capacity-building session for journalists aimed at empowering them with innovative tools to improve their skills for maximum performance in their field.
The learning session held at Microsoft Africa Development Center had in attendance media partners from print and online platforms and publications.
The training session provided a platform to introduce journalists to the benefits of Microsoft Copilot and its potential to revolutionize the profession.
Microsoft Copilot is an advanced AI-powered tool which offers a wide array of functionalities designed to streamline workflow, enhance productivity, and elevate the quality of their output.
Through this partnership, 9mobile and Microsoft sought to equip journalists with the skills and knowledge necessary to leverage Copilot effectively in their day-to-day work.
Speaking at the training session, Chineze Amanfo, PR Lead, 9mobile, expressed her enthusiasm and satisfaction with the session, emphasizing the company’s commitment to fostering innovation and empowerment within the media industry.
She stated, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Microsoft in providing this invaluable training opportunity for journalists. At 9mobile, we recognize the pivotal role that the media plays in shaping public discourse and driving societal change.
Therefore, equipping them with the requisite knowledge and tools such as the Microsoft Copilot, will enhance their capability to deliver on their respective assignments efficiently by disseminating accurate and impactful information to the public.”
“We prioritize our relationship with the media hence, the need for the periodic capacity building session for journalists. With this training, we have clearly demonstrated our unwavering commitment to sustaining the initiative.
“We will continue to explore new avenues for collaboration and innovation, ensuring that our partners in the media industry have access to the tools and resources they need to thrive, Amanfo added.”
Yemi Orimolade, The Senior Business Programme Manager, Marketing Communications, Microsoft Africa Development Center, appreciated the participants for their contributions in making the session an engaging experience and enjoined them to champion the message of AI responsibility.
He said, “Microsoft’s Copilot is poised to be a game-changer for journalists. It is a reliable tool for generating and optimising content, staying informed, and enhancing productivity. Our commitment is to harness the transformative potential of AI for societal betterment. Welcome to the future of journalism, working smarter with Microsoft Copilot.”
The capacity-building session received an overwhelmingly positive response from participants, who lauded the practical insights and demos provided.
Attendees expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a tool as powerful and versatile as Microsoft Copilot, acknowledging its potential to revolutionize their workflow and enhance their journalistic endeavors.
With the successful hosting of the capacity-building session, 9mobile and Microsoft look forward to more areas of sustained collaboration to drive positive change and innovation within media ecosystem in Nigeria.
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