BAR TINA BANKU AGBOR : PORTRAIT OF A SILENT ACHIEVER.

BY DOMINIC KIDZU

 Not many women in Nigeria's contemporary society have weathered as many cultural impediments and biases as has Barrister Tina Banku Agbor, former Secretary to the State Government in Cross River State, who conquered the classic dilemma captured by Robert Frost, by choosing the road less traveled.

At a time when becoming a farmer, getting married and making children were the hallmark of a successful woman, she made the difficult choice to pursue the Golden Fleece to a remarkable threshold.

That choice, it would appear, was divinely informed as it has led her from one opportunity to another success, in a fruitful career that has spanned over two decades in law practice, business, public administration and impactful leadership roles.

It was not a surprise then that the former governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade picked her for the task of Secretary to the State Government throughout his eight years at the helm of affairs.

A task she delivered with resounding aplomb to the usual envy of her political competitors, especially so because Ayade didn't seem to lift a finger if Tina Agbor's input was not sought.

The politics of Cross River is on a good day, a well curated minefield. What with three senatorial zones, eighteen local government areas, and about two dozen tribes and tongues.

Only an expert diplomat could have traversed the political high ground through two tenures - back to back, without enduring an amputated limb, but Tina Agbor navigated the tough ground suavely, without breaking bones, helping the governor to put the ship of state safely to shore in 2023 with her reputation intact and unblemished. A feat that was until then unprecedented.

As a woman, occupying such a top spot in government in a patriarchal culture, there were times she came against male chauvinism, especially because there had never been a female SSG in the state before her. Exuding class and panache she always had her way in spite of these shenanigans, heading critical policy committees, coordinating the state Executive Council Secretariat and representing the state in bilateral and multilateral engagements on behalf of the governor and government of Cross River State.

In the end, even those who doubted her initially were to become her voluntary disciples. Tina Agbor undertook her A/ Levels at Oxford and University of London Board before bagging her LLB at Thames Valley University, Eailing College, in 1990.

Armed with the law degree, she arrived Nigeria in 1992 to attend Law School with the greatest hope for her country and a passion for success.

But law practice alone offered her a limited canvas for self expression of her boundless energy, so she delved into business, leasing an expansive Boki Oilpalm Estate from the Cross River State government from 1995 - 1998, an enterprise she revived and managed back to profitability.

She also took an interest in politics, ran elections for the state House of Assembly and later Federal House of Representatives. Elections she famously won, but was denied.

As a result of her record of successes, the government of Cross River State was to later appoint her Chairman of Nsadop Oilpalm Estate with the specific task to reform its processes. She achieved this assignment with excellence to the admiration of government and the people.

She found out soon enough that the work environment in Nigeria was turbocharged with male chauvinism, and was run by men who had no place for an assertive woman, no matter how good she was at her job.

Men who just felt intimidated by her sheer physical quantity and intellectual agility and sought to put her down. But she was too smart to go down or to be made to feel small.

She played the game too and in the end cultivated more male friends at the workplace who came to admire her success story and capacity for diplomatese.

The creative impulse and ability to improvise and the natural capacity to create work up teams at her duty posts have been the hallmark of her work history. It is often said that patterns are engraved on the clay pot on the day it is made, the Almighty may have chosen Tina Agbor for the task of leadership on the day she was born.

Her upbringing and training seem also to have suitably prepared her for the daunting tasks that awaited her.

And she has not disappointed even for a fleeting minute.

As the nation continues to bleed from the sour grapes of mediocre leadership and a fatal shortage of character, courage and principles, it is reassuring to note that people like Tina Agbor still exist among us, ready to go to work and cut a pathway of hardwork, resourcefulness and integrity to help steady the ship of state, now far adrift at sea.

Though many have tried to undermine her, in governance and in politics, aiming to minimize her characteristic self confidence and stordid stature, she has remained resilient, and as in the words of Jimmy Osborne, "she is still standing tall; like a hearty oak tree, refusing to fall".