Anthonia Egbujiobi – Soldier, lawyer, wife, mother, author
By Lillian Okenwa
“The beauty of life is not only how happy you are, but how happy others can be because of you. Your little can make a big difference. Start now.” – Anthonia Egbujiobi
As the aircraft touched down at the International Airport in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), she was excited. Thrilled about the new experiences that were unfolding before her, the privilege to serve as a United Nations (UN) Military Observer, the great opportunity to meet and work with people from different parts of the world, and the honour of being one of other women from Nigeria and other countries to represent her country in this very momentous task. But it was also with mixed feelings. Anthonia Egbujiobi’s second baby was just a year and two months old. Momentarily, she mused about the little one who had just stopped breastfeeding. She thought about his elder brother who was barely four years old, but duty called and the job must be done.
Officer of the Nigeria Air Force, lawyer, motivational speaker, professional negotiator and mediator, member of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Internationally Certified Civil-Military expert, Anthonia is also author of two books; Building Castles With Pebbles and Bridging Civil-Military Gap as well as co-founder, Antodec Foundation, an NGO that helps illegally detained persons in prison. This Squadron Leader, an equivalent to a Major in the Army is mother of three active boys.
Typical military, she has an impressive daily routine.
Her day begins from 4.30am with prayers and 45 minutes exercise which involve regular sit-ups, press-ups, running, amongst others. From Monday to Saturday, she is disciplined to engage in her daily aerobics and other vigorous exercises.
A stickler for wellness and healthy living, Anthonia maintains a very strict diet with the healthy nourishment of fruits, vegetables and water.
Explaining her wellness regimen, Egbuijobi says, “It takes Determination, Discipline and Dedication (3Ds) to stay fit.”
Prior to her military training, she wasn’t familiar with push-ups and all the rigorous drills but had to learn it. It was a daily routine at the military training camp.
Beginnings
A 2007 law graduate of Delta State University, she completed her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) at the National Human Rights Commission in 2008, where she served as a Human Right Desk Officer. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 2009, she was later employed at the law firm of Samuel Zibiri, SAN. It was while working there that she saw an advert requesting for lawyers and other professionals to join the Nigeria Air Force.
Although she was a bit of a tomboy growing up, joining the military never crossed her mind. Actually, she wanted to be a Judge like her father who died at 46years of age, when she was in 300 level at the university. But knowing that judicial appointment requires 10 years of legal practice, and being the first child, with four siblings still in school, the quest for a better job spurred her to join the military.
An advocate for women empowerment, it is her belief that: “An empowered woman will never be at the mercy of anyone.” Reminiscing over dad’s death, she revealed that when he passed, her mum remained strong for them. Her mother who recently turned 60 on July 10th retired from the Ministry of Education, was into different kinds of businesses, to ensure they got the life they were used to. Anthonia’s siblings went to Private Universities (Igbinedion and Madonna). Her mum made it happen. “I have a sister who is a medical doctor. She was in year one when our dad died. People were not there for us. My mum was the only one. I saw it. I have first-hand information, so I can talk about it,” she recalled.
And that was because Anthonia’s mum insisted she’d work. When they married, she had only a secondary school certificate. She was 19 when they married. Anthonia’s dad trained her in the university but when she finished, he tried to stop her from working. He was already a Judge and felt he could take care of his home. “But my mum said: ‘If I went to the university, I should work.’ So she got a job at the Ministry of Education in Delta State. That was what helped us when my dad passed on. That is why each time I talk to women, I tell them it’s important to work. Nobody knows tomorrow. Your husband can tell you I will pay you monthly but, if he dies tomorrow, and you don’t even know where his properties are, what are you going to do?
“My mum sacrificed a lot for my younger ones and I so, when I see people in need, I want to help. If you empower a woman, you have empowered the whole community. An empowered woman will take care of her home, not minding if the man is working or not,” she said.
Military Training
Anthonia joined other cadets for a 6 months training at Kaduna when she was enlisted. It was rigorous, notwithstanding that before joining the Air Force, she asked some questions. “Nobody really explained how tedious the training was going to be until I saw for myself,” she recalled. “I had to cut my hair. Skin cut. No hair was left. We had lectures too, but after lectures, we did some drills. It was really, really hectic. At a point, some people wanted to run away but, I stayed back because I knew how I entered. It was my second attempt. The first time I applied, I got to the final stage before selection, and was put on reserve. Two people from my state, Delta were chosen. Two persons were actually taken from every state in 2010. They told me if someone leaves the training, they will call me, but never did. The next year I applied and started the process all over again, and the second time I was taken and went for training. I went through the rigorous training, but never gave up. “My focus was to be a commissioned officer after 6 months. I was looking at what was ahead of me.”
Peacekeeping
When the information came that United Nations (UN) needed female soldiers for peace keeping, little did Anthonia know her life was about to be altered in the most remarkable way. The experience no doubt sounded good but what happened at the end of it all was one that marked her in the most positive way. She continues with her story.
“Twelve of us were selected and our names were sent to New York. I did my documentation here in Nigeria and was posted to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I was there from January 2018 to January 2019. That one year marked the turning point in my life. It brought out what was inside of me.
“My second son was a year and two months when I went to DRC and my husband is not based in Nigeria. Thankfully my mother took my two kids to Asaba where she lives and enrolled them in a school. My husband has been very supportive, always encouraging me to be my best.
“As a peacekeeper, you’re essentially tasked to get security related information, write reports and send to New York. You’re not obliged to do extra. But I was stuck by the level of poverty in that country each time we go on patrol. It’s unbelievable. The children are malnourished; the women have neither skills nor jobs. They looked hungry. The men too were not working. So they all relied on peacekeepers for hand-outs. I felt I could empower them instead of giving out 10 dollars here and 5 dollars there. I figured that teaching them life skills will help them more so I went on YouTube and learnt soap making, baking, making chin-chin, and more. The only thing I could make before I left Nigeria was the bean cake; our akara and moi-moi. I kept on praying, because I needed direction on what to do. I needed to change their mind set.
“The people have this sense of entitlement but, I made them understand that nobody owes them anything. I had meetings with them, to change their mind set. They needed to understand I am doing the humanitarian work, out of my own volition. When I saw the attitude change, I knew it was time to empower them.
“I served in different communities. In each community I went especially the IDP camps, I gathered women and taught them all that I learnt and knew previously. Using improvised ovens we made our bread and cake. We made moi-moi, fried akara, chin-chin and puff-puff. I was using my personal funds. That’s how I got the award. I wasn’t even expecting an award. I was just helping out. I was happy. The people were happy.
“After teaching them, I wanted to know if they actually learnt what I taught them, so I got them into groups and gave them money with which to start business. To make them committed, I told them it was a loan even though I knew it wasn’t a loan. I asked them how many weeks it will take to start the business and return the profit. Some of them said one month. So I appointed leaders and I stayed in touch with them, and I told them after one month, someone will take the profit and give the capital to another person to start doing their own business. Having taught them baking, they started selling their own bread. Do you know community stopped buying bread from the city?
“Most of them are still running their businesses till date and even the men joined. Some learnt how to make soap, while some started employing people. These were the things that won the hearts and the minds of the people. In IDP camps, I helped restructure their camp. I was renovating churches, buying chairs and other equipment for the camp. I bought books and other educational materials for students in schools. I was basically doing Quick Impact Projects (QIP). News got to the UN about a military observer using her own funds on the locals and they sent journalists from New York and Denmark to come see first-hand and interview me. That was where I got the idea for my books. Everything revolved around the peace keeping mission. It’s really mind blowing. It earned me a United Nations Award for the Best Contribution to Humanitarian Activities.
“When I came back the former Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal SB Abubakar heard about it, and also gave me an award for representing the country in general and the Nigerian Air Force in particular. The UN had written him a letter about my impact and he was impressed. That gave me recognition in the Armed Forces and other government bodies invite me to deliver lectures on civil-military relations, empowerment and about my books. I do humanitarian work here too in some orphanages and some IDP camps. I didn’t stop.”
Legal Officer
Legal officers in the military don’t get to practice, Anthonia explained. The Ministry of Defence lawyers do the actual representation on behalf of the Air Force. But they usually accompany the ministry lawyers and monitor proceedings. However, Legal Officers do appear in Courts Martial where one could be a Prosecutor, Defence Counsel, or Judge Advocate.
Essentially, what they do as legal officers is give legal advice just like their civilian colleagues in legal practice but they also hold lectures and seminars. When speaking with personnel, the Legal officer emphasizes they are first citizens of Nigeria before being military officers. “So having that at the back of your mind, it means the law is for everybody. We are a democratic country so whatever applies to the civilian applies to those in the military,” she stressed.
Fulfilment
The civil-military expert related that aside from earning recognition for her work, she won the respect and admiration of the locals. Many of their ladies related well with her and other female soldiers. “And most importantly”, she confessed, “from the experience I got, I am now more knowledgeable on how to organize meetings, mediate and negotiate on issues. It was a learning process for me.
Also serving as a Peace Keeper afforded me the opportunity to meet military personnel from different countries and we all worked together as UN officials. I have kept in touch with a lot of my colleagues I worked with in at DRC. Also, my relationship with them gives me access to any country I travel to. All I need to do before I go to any country is to call my former colleagues and notify them of my arrival. That has made me a global citizen in a way because they make me feel comfortable each time I travel to any country. My experience was indeed very fulfilling,” The beauty of life is not only how happy you are, but how happy others can be because of you. Your little can make a big difference. Start now, she concluded.
