WHY I EMBARKED ON YOUTHS AGAINST ELECTION VIOLENCE, TALENT HUNT, SENSITIZATION AND CAMPAIGN IN RIVERS STATE IN SUPPORT OF SIMI FUBARA FOR GOVERNOR IN 2023—MUMA GEE REVEALS
The songstress and Afrocentric musician Muma Gee has been a voice so much loved by her fans across Africa. Her theatrics and dance fusion with impressive traditional costume has distinguished High Chief Dr. Muma Gift Eke popularly known as Muma Gee with her Afro fusion musical Dance Band. Recently she developed interest in serving her people as a politician having contested for Abua/Odual -Ahoada East Federal House of Representatives seat under the platform of Labour Party Lp but came second to PDP in 2015.
This Nollywood actress and musician cum Politician is currently pursuing a Law degree at University of Port Harcourt as she is the Convener and Director General of Rivers ALL STARS FOR SIM FUBARA a group of top Nigerian stars in Rivers state and in Diapora who deem worthy of the emergence of Peoples Democratic Party Governorship candidate Siminialaye Fubara for Rivers state governor come 2023.
On Thursday, 22nd of September, 2022, she spoke to THE EAR WITNESS Publisher/Editor-In-Chief, Emeka Amaefula –+234(0)8111813069 as she reveals her unapologetic dedication to serving her people of Rivers state especially now that she is card carrying member of Peoples democratic Party, PDP. Read On
How Did You Come into Politics?
It all started with politicians booking my brand and band to perform during their events and programs. I remember significantly, supporting the likes of Sir, Dr. Peter Odili the then Governor of Rivers state and Governor DSP Alamieyeseigha of Bayelsa state during that era of 1999 to 2007 political dispensation.
What actually motivated you in combining your main career as a musician and now with politics?
My getting into music categorically was borne out of the passion for the promotion of cultural value and heritage of we as a people round Africa and globally. I am also trying to educate our teaming youngsters in this generation on our traditions, culture and values. Also feeding them with the norms as regards to our people in the past especially those that stand us from d rest of the world from pre-colonial, through and post-colonial times which I am able to, out of keen interest gather from research and others orally passed to me. Realizing that our generation nowadays do not pay attention to as they are losing touch with truly who we are of our ancestral background.
So, based on that passion for us as a people promoting us, I became deeper and deeper into the passion of projecting and protecting our interest.
And based on my realization that most time we got short changed by politicians in Leadership in securing the interest of me and my people, I decided instead of sitting back and complaining, to join them and see what they see and go through the rudiments of building, training myself to embrace the strength and energy into leadership and see how I can bring to my people what is truly and rightful theirs. That’s all that spurred my interest in getting into politics. Having gone into it, I answered for the first time as it was a section of me being an artist because I started getting hired by politicians to participate in their campaigns and all of that when I made my name as MUMA GEE. I became like a productive artist. You know, so I was doing all of that reasoning and thinking like a musician until I got into that leadership role around my area by my people who are look up to me as their role model. As I have been an artist and I have been there like a super star and a role model; to a whole of young persons who have started looking up to me. I became at some point limited to what I could do by myself as an individual so, I started looking at a bigger picture like Okay if constitutionally this is due for them like all of the constituency projects that are supposed to come to them that never see the day light.
I felt well, being in their shoes and wearing those shoes as a leader, I could help draw and make it happen for my people. I mean, it might sometimes look like it is going to take forever to be realized but we’ll there.
In 2015 I contested for the federal House of Representatives. If I was not disenfranchised, I would have fulfilled some of those things then, but since it did not come through it didn’t stop me from being a philanthropist as I am using the MUMA GEE FOUNDATION FOR YOUTH EMPOWERMENT to do the little that I could for my people though never enough. And I will keep pushing till the persons who have been there and wish to be there and still try to be, even when they are too old, realize themselves and give room for the youths to come into relevance in leadership of this country. We will keep pushing as for me I am not a conventional musician. I have grown up as a musician not to be a conventional musician who does only singing, I am more of influence and leadership oriented. So, on and so forth I see myself being so versatile as a multi-tasking personality. I have grown from saying that I have a dual personality in seeing me as complex recently. I have always dabbled into education one way or the other after studying Theatre Arts in Uniport, Marketing from the Rivers State Polytechnic in Bori (Now Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic) and pursuing a Law degree, this is another aspect of me that people may not take cognizance of as seeing me as scholar like forever always studying and letting nature take its course when it comes to keeping up in training myself it takes toil of me. Until I am fully blown into the person I am destined to be. I think I will keep studying.
As a Law student now, I see life from a different dimension and perspective. I see politics and things from the angle of Law as well as constitutionally. It strengthens me.
You know as a musician, creativity is in my DNA such that it can’t be taken away from me. At one point or the other I ensure that I do what I have to do and life is what it is and it is what it is.
What are you bringing to PDP in Rivers state?
I am raising support and mobilization for SIM FUBARA via the creative industry and its fan base for Rivers state Governor come 2023, as the Convener and Director General of Rivers All Stars For SIM FUBARA Governorship Campaign
Have you participated in any electoral political office election before, if so under which political parties?
I was in the Peoples Democratic Party when I got disfranchised in 2014, as a person who like to do things and get it done properly to a conclusive end So, I got a waiver with Labour Party just like Peter Obi has done, I became the Labour Party candidate and then I began to build structures for the Labour party, had to do that to finish with my election because I needed to showcase and prove my political strength and use that medium to buttress my political prowess, which I did till the end. At the end of the day I came second to the winner which was PDP in 2015.There was lots of rigging and all of that. Well, I am back to PDP now confidently and now a card-carrying member of PDP I am yet to behold of my PDP Card membership. This is because I just defected about a week ago.
In 2015 I ran for Abua/Odual—Ahoada East Federal House of Representatives seat. Yes, I started up in PDP but I got a waiver and moved into Labour Party LP.
Muma Gee is a popular Musical artist in Nigeria and in Africa, as a social influencer, what are you bringing in to support the PDP governorship candidate Siminialaye Fubara in the 2023 Governorship election in Rivers state?
Apart from mobilizing votes for SIM Fubara through the creative industry and fan base, for Governor in 2023, through creating the Rivers All stars For Sim Fubara and people of the artistry industry, we are also running a youth against election Violence sensitization programme that we are bothered with the responsibility as Rivers All Stars For Sim Fubara to get the people re-oriented on how to comport themselves and conduct themselves during the electioneering process and not to create nuisance to enable a peaceful violence free election the 23 Local Government areas of Rivers state. We are also advising our youths to stay off drug abuse and substance intake, consumption as that will be retarding their mental health and affecting their growth in all ramifications. So, basically apart from working for SIM to ensure that he’s victorious as a governor comes in 2023, Rivers Allstars is also concerned about the welfare of the youths and people of Rivers state and cutting across not only the youth indulging in societal vices, so, we are advising and encouraging people to desist from such.
This youth against electoral violence is going to run concurrently throughout the 23 LGAs. And we are going to have a grand finale in Port Harcourt where it is going to be a massive concert where all winners of our talent hunt from each LGA will be made to compete and the winner gets a recording deal to be groomed into stardom it is going to be huge.
What traditional chieftaincy titles are you holding and what qualified you to be installed as a traditional title holder?
As a High Chief, what qualified me is that I hold two traditional both honorary Chieftaincy titles which are Onyo 1 of Ukpata Kingdom and Onyo1 of Ekpeye Logbo. Onyo simply means the mirror through which the kingdom or Ekpeye land and my tribe is seen by the global world or rather the mirror through which the people of Ekpeye see and access the world.
That is what the title means -The Onyo 1. One there signifies that I am the first of its kind and the only one now, meaning that I am an enigma from this tribe that is so unique and endowed. My contributions and without mincing words starting from when I began as an artist, as it all started when my priority and my aim and my focal point has always been to promote my people. As you earlier asked, who are my people? My people are of, where I come from. If you look at it from a more elaborate nature, it could be relative as when I say my people it could be Rivers state people or people of the Niger Delta, It could be my people as Africans too. This is because most times when I do perform abroad like some of these European concerts when I say my people, I mean Africa as a whole as in my motherland. In this case when I say my people charity they say begins at home as my people of Ekpeye kingdom in Rivers state. So, that’s first and foremost my representation cuts across the various tribes of Rivers State because we are a multi-ethnicity state and so we have various cultural backgrounds, values and heritage. In the long run of course, we have similarities. Sometimes I do songs and I do dances that have meanings that cut across and represent other tribes in Rivers State and beyond. Sometimes I inculcate songs from Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba representing Nigeria as a nation.
I do that too in my act and through my singing prowess as in costumes even in the presentation of my dance and movement on stage So far, my contribution has been to be placed in that capacity as cultural ambassador of my people.
It is a big thing as I have been here for decades and I am still here. I am still doing what I ought to do for that divine purpose that I have been designed to do for the world from Odiabidi village in Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers state
Can you give us a run-down of your academic background?
I have a first degree in Theatre Arts from University of Port Harcourt, faculty of Humanities, I did OND Marketing with Rivers state POLYTECHNIC Bori. Now, I am studying as a Law student at the Faculty of Law University of Port Harcourt.
