The former Nigerian minister of women’s affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has said that she did not regret her actions as a cabinet member in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
She made this known during her live interview on Channels Television on Wednesday.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, who was among the five ministers relieved of their duties by Tinubu in October, said she could not have acted better than the way she did while in office.
Her time as the minister was characterized by controversy, including threatening to sue the United Nations (UN) for allegedly mismanaging funds meant for Nigeria.
Responding to why the president relieved her as minister, Kennedy-Ohanenye said she was not a “witch” to have known the reason.
“I’m not a witch to know why I was sacked, and I have decided not to think about it,” the former minister said.
“The important thing is that I have been sacked, and I have refocused on what I was doing before.”
However, she noted that her commitment to defending vulnerable individuals in our society remains unchanged.
On why some Nigerians think she was not diplomatic as a minister in handling some issues, Kennedy-Ohanenye said she was handling sensitive cases that involved a lot of human sympathy.
Kennedy-Ohanenye argued that she was appointed as a minister to serve the people and not to act as someone bigger than the people.
“Being a minister of women’s affairs, as at that time I was handling sensitive cases,” she said.
“You can be in the office, and they will show you a girl who was raped. You will see the substance of the man in her. I wonder what you expect me to do.
“Some of them said, ‘She does not carry herself as a minister. She goes to the police station herself. Why can’t she be in her office and call the IGP?’.
“I’m sorry for some people, the way they think. As a minister, you are supposed to be a servant; you listen to the people and respond quickly before things go wrong.
“I don’t know what people think about being diplomatic when things are damaging.
