I Love Dancing Even Though I’m Big –Ibim Semenitari , Commissioner For Information , Rivers State

She was an Ibim before being appointed commissioner for information was an active journal­ist and Editor as well as a teacher as she has a contract with BBC World Trust on training journalists across Nigeria.

She is a daughter of a former Deputy Governor

She will always tell you how she misses the news­room. No wonder she is able to bring to fruition the Nigeria Union of Journalists press cen­tre in Port Harcourt. She spoke at the just-concluded Native & Vogue Fashion Week in Port Harcourt, an event which has fished out hidden talents in fashion de­signing and modeling in Port Harcourt. she talked about life as a journalist, the event, her job and the rest.

What is your perception of this second edition of Native & Vogue?

Native and Vogue show is a good idea. All of you guys are in Port Harcourt because this event is happening and because you felt it’s worth it. Look at the number of designers, models and make-up artiste we have here. The food they are eating, has it not brought money to the hotel? Talking of direct impact, the designers lives have been turned around. You saw this designer, ‘ Revamp’ last year and she’s on the runway again this year, her design is a far cry from last year. It means that just her participating last year with designers all across the world impacted on her skill. She’s an already established designer whom other people’s work challenged her and she stressed herself further. This year, I have seen the young designers competition blossom. It was very impressive, very creative and they are all Port Harcourt designers. The faces of Native and Vogue last year will tell you their story themselves, so that you know how this event has changed their lives. Some of my colleagues in the cabinet are already booking stuffs from designers which is really what a fashion show is all about. This year, our partners upped their game; they all did great. We have Rob Evans, Millen and other models from African countries on the runway.

How much did this cost you and do you see continuity after the  exist of this government?

When you look at the benefits, it’s not as much as people think. I have heard people say it cost the Rivers State Government in the region of 300 to 500M to do the show. It didn’t cost us that much. We didn’t spend up to 300M . I don’t even think we spent 250M. It’s a destination brand thing. It will be up to whoever comes in to make that decision. I hope they will continue when they see the benefits. And that is why we will leave a proper report that shows what is invested and what comes out, so that whoever comes on board will make up his mind. When you talk about the London Fashion Week and everybody is rushing there, Paris Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week, then people should be saying September is Port- Harcourt Fashion Week too, because nothing is happening anywhere else globally and that is why we picked September. The event is beginning to take momentum. This year, people are begging to be on this show but we can’t everybody. By the time we do it five years, then Port Harcourt is a place to be for in September .

How would you compare your days in the newsroom to your present office?

I miss the newsroom, I wont lie. Newsroom is family. It doesn’t matter any newsroom you go into anywhere in the world, the newsroom is family. Just get into newsroom and you just blend. Journalism is one profession whether someone is in Russia, Thailand, England, just enter the place and you just find out that media people just blend with each other. In the newsroom there is no fear of Ebola. There’s a kind of family bond that exist in the newsroom. As an editor, you just talk to someone anyhow and by the time you finish, two of you are eating together. You are shouting at him or her because you want the job done and once the job is done you move on. You don’t give a query in the newsroom as an editor and somebody carried it in his mind for the next twenty years. He answers the query and it’s over and it’s really, really truly over and you guys have moved on. I think the only place I see that happens is in the newsroom. I haven’t seen it anywhere else. In government it is opposite. You must be careful and watch the innocent statement you make, by the time it has been interpreted and dissected, you will no longer recognize it was what you said.

After this office, what next?

That is in God’s hands. But I miss the newsroom, I miss writing, I miss reporting. Sometimes, I see a story angle and I screamed why isn’t anybody doing this story? I read an interview and screamed “what is wrong with them”?

Many people have different opinions of governor Rotimi Amaechi but as your boss, how would you describe him?

With everything they say, no one has accused him of corruption. And you know that if they could find one bit of evidence they would have taken him to the docks by now. I think that should work in his favour. A Nigerian politician, I think it’s something that gives me deep respect for him. Second, nobody will say Governor Amaechi will tell you this in the morning and a different thing in the afternoon. His yes is yes, his no is no. He is principled. Again, people think he should be a bit more malleable. They call it diplomacy, to say different things depending on who is sitting in front of you. He is not like that, he will tell you the way it is. He’s not going to say one thing to you in your presence and say another thing at your back. He is always willing to engage and bow to superior argument. He is ideas and he always bows to superior ideas. Most people don’t know that. If you look closely, you will see that he has a teddy bear heart, beneath the seemingly hard exterior. He is a very soft, sensitive and compassionate man. Everybody who has met him knows that, including those fighting him. That’s why they know there are certain confidences he will never breach even with a gun on his head.

PH has been in the news in relation to Ebola, how’s it now?

We don’t have any case of Ebola as we speak. There’s one person under observation. I give kudos to the governor of Rivers State and the Commissioner for Health for the way they managed the Ebola situation. If you set politics aside, you will commend the Rivers State Governor the way he managed it. The reason being that the way Ebola came into the state, it could have been very disastrous because the guy sneaked in and it has the propensity to spread much faster. In Lagos, you could follow Sawyer from the airport. He feel ill and straight to First Consultant. It was easy to do contact tracing and contain it. In the case of Rivers State, this guy sneaked into hotel, not any of the well known hotel and he called his doctor friend who sneaked in to take care of him. It could easily have got out of hand. There was a lot of very prompt action by the governor and the commissioner for health. They quickly contained that with the partnership of Federal Ministry of Health. The collaborative efforts of everyone helped to make sure that we are able to address that matter. My colleague has done extremely good job. After containing it, he’s on the road, in the community doing enlightenment campaign on Ebola.

What is your style?

My style is simple but also bohemian. I could be eclectic sometimes. I like simple but classy wears. I am very afro centric and I will gladly wear an African designer over above other designers out there. In terms of colour, I choose colours that work with my skin. I like the fact that we make to fit in this part of the world and, therefore, it takes care of different curves. I like a bit of African touch in what I wear.

How do you relax?

I love reading a good book and I love dancing even though I’m big. I like going to the gym just re-invigorate me but I never find enough time to do that. I love playing with children. I really love dancing, I’m a typical South-South woman. I like Highlife and Calypso. Even for my gospel music, I like heavy percussion.

Christy Anyanwu conducted this interview for the Sun