She was caught between two divergent view points. First was her instinct to enroll in the competition. The other was the realisation that she will face tough drilling from her parents, especially her father, and that she must convince him it is not a scam. She braved the odds and decided to take the bull by the horns. RALPH CHRISTOPHER captures the thrills, the low moments of the pioneer winner of The Face of Twinklets Enterprise, Chidiogo Dorismary Chidozie.
She devised her methods to be clinch the crest, which camw with torents of perspiration. She first convinced the mother that being in the contest would not drag the family name to the mud. Also, that the contest has no immoral content or capable of being so in the future. She also had to prove there was no underhand dealings or a shodow person somewhere who might pull any surprise, or intorduce twists as the game trudges on.
Satisfied, she approached her father, Chief Malachy Chidozie-Uzendu, editor of The AUTHORITY Newspapers, to seek his approval and blessings. In a family where reputation is uptimal, there are things the children, no matter their age, would never contemplate. The approval came, but it wasn’t easy at all. “I totally and completely objected to her enrolling for any such contest.
First is that we have a rule which makes it rare for our family members to post their pictures on Facebook or other social media platforms, as several people erroneously do. It exposed families to grave danger. Some people have exposed family lifestyles and programmes and paid dearly for it.
Therefore, it is a taboo for any of my family members to post his or her photograph on Facebook, no matter what one might say about freedom or choice. That is part of the security safeguards of the family. Therefore, when Chidi informed me about the Face of Twinklets-Enterprise contest, I didin’t want to hear about that at all. It was a no go area and I told her so in no unmistacable terms.
“She pesisted; pertered me; did all she could to convince me, but I did not budge. She went to her mother. In no time, Her Excellency came in with the ususal women/mother “tricks”. There was nothing she didn’t say to convince me, but I remained adamant. After a while, deeply having juxtaposed the consequemces and options, I gave my blessings and it was clear I had let off bottled steam,” said Chief Uzendu.
Chidiogo Dorismary Chidozie, the second child of the family is a sophomore at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC). With the age-long desire to study Forensic Sciences, which unfortunately is not being taught in any Nigerian university, she settled for MBG, having discovered upon being offered the choice through the JAMB-CAPS processes in 2018, that it offers opportunity to be trained through a new medical procedure that utilises studies of a patient’s genetics and related variables to cure ailment, rater than through the formal Western or Orthodox medical procedures, she accepted the offer of admission. She is looking forward to when she will be on the honours roll among the best and enterprising medical professionals in the world.
But, the instinct to participate in the Twinklets-Enterprise show, opened another vista of oppoetunity for her.
She felt, having desired all along to set up a private concern upon concluding all her professional training, she had no dounbt the comoetition, though a wide fulf from medical sciences, was an opportunity to test her entrepreneurial capabilities. And she was not mistaken.
“I felt on top of the wold immediately my father gave his blessings for me to participate in the contest. Though I am training as a scientist, I know one has to combine opportunities and experiences in both the science and social sciences and even business administration to succeed.
“The Face of Twinklets-Enterprise gave me one such opportunity. It was not for the token price that propelled it. It was my desire to dig it out with adolescents of other background that pushed me into it, more than anything else. We have this innate uobringing to concentrate more in prayer, making sacrifices, hardwork and promoting societal good.
“My father, being one of the top journalists in the country, is also a notable human rights activist. He speaks truth to power, writes with passion on issues he believes in and does not compromise hardwork and excellence. He is a trade unionist and so fully understands the intricate murcky waters of Nigeria’s poluted political terrain. That is why he has refused to contest any election under any party platform as he would neither kill, cheat, conspire against anyone, embezzle public fund, or participate in any act that will inflict pain on the society.
“I love my father so much for his forthrightness and insistence on doing good to the other person, and that is our signature at home or elsewhere: at school, in the society, at the church, wherever. We do not believe in inflicting pain on anyone and that is why in my family, fighting is a taboo.
Neither me or my siblings engage in serious altercations, not to talkbof fighthing. None of us has ever fought. When we see other people fight, either physically or in a movie, we see them as barbaric people with inhuman or animal instincts. What pains me most is seeing our legislators (LGA, State or National) engage in fistificuffs. I wonder what those tell their children. It is a shame!
“When the Twinklet-Enterprises contest began, I took it in my strides. Three of us were leading neck-to-neck for five days until the secind to the last day, when one of us, shicked us by taking the lead with more than 100 points above me, coming as First Runner-up. I had to buckle up and brought the never-say-die spirit in me. My elder sister, Ebube, the second mother in our home, told me not to worry as she has the joker for the contest. All along, she was my manager, being that she is comouter wizkid and knows how to make contact with applications. Fiam, she poked all her friends, our family friends and everybody she could think of. Ikechukwu Ozonnaeme, the Young Engineer, my cousin was not left out in the mobilisation. He spared no momemt, pulling his strings.
“My mother too, although inhibited by her job, did her best. Being our Prayer Warrior, with dad as the Chief Priest of the house, she went full blast, mobilising all her CWO and othwr contact.
With 16 hours to the end of the contest, there was no mistaking that I was again thrust above the other contestants. My votes swelled like garri soaked in water as they used to say. I was head and tail far ahead of the rest of the contestants, but there was never a dull moment for the entire family until I was declared overall winner at exactly 11pm on Saturday, August 22nd”.
Prof. Chidi, as she is fondly referred to in the family, said she immediately dedicated her victory to the oppressed, especially to the families of those killed by bandits, kidnappers and herdsmen all over the country, asking God Almighty to grant them peaceful eternal repose. She is still looking forward to the next line of instructions from the organisers of the contest, who she described as wonderful, teuthful, honest and kind. She prefers to keep them anonymous as they pleaded to remain so.
Whatever be the next events or programme for her would deoend on what is mapped out by the organisers of the contest. “If they end it this way, I will thank them for the opportunity given to me. If they give me tasks or ask me to make proposals to them, I shall gladly do so. I am available for anything that will promote the good of humanity and change the attitide of our politicians from grdde to sacrifice and progress for the nation. I am saddened that all our politicians think about is how to steal money. What they gain by such stupendous greed, I can’t fathom.
“All I know is that majority of our political leaders are shameless, have no charcter and it’s time the youths do deep and critical thinking and refuse to offer themselves to be political thugs or social misfits. Our future is being damaged by these greedy and ungodly politicians and sin,e the youth are the future of our country, we must all sit up and reject violence both in the political and our social contact. If we don’t we can only but continue to destroy opportunities and our economy will continue to slide, which I am sure will never pave way for us to develop,” she advised.
