Meet Joi John:The Lady Who Broke Gov Chime Sullivan's Silence.

What a Man cannot do.......

For Four months, officials of the Enugu state government were silent on the whereabouts of their governor, Sullivan Chime. Efforts from the press to reach the Governor were futile and the public was left in suspense.

On January 27 2013, political analyst, Joi John posted on her facebook page that she had spoken with Governor Chime.

In her interview with the Enugu governor, he confirmed speculations that he was receiving treatment for Cancer but said he had been declared cancer free.

Days before Governor Chime's return to Nigeria on Thursday, she dropped the hint on her website and reassured the Enugu people that their Governor would be back in a matter of days. 

So how was she able to know so much about a governor that had been elusive for months?

 

 

Joi You actually went out of your way to call Gov.Sullivan Chime. How did you get his London number and convince him to open up on his health?

.... Stella, are you not a journalist? How do you get your own numbers?

Honestly, I wasn't sure of what to expect. Not many of our leaders are receptive to press inquiries let alone when it bothers on their health.
As I placed the call across to him on that Sunday, I was uncertain about how the call would play out but it turned out well. Governor Chime was warm and receptive. It was more of a no-holds barred interview and for each question, he gave a straight forward answer.

 He told you on quote that he had never been to India where he was rumoured to have run to for treatment.Can you run his response by me once more?

At some point,it was reported that the Governor's health took a turn for the worse and he was flown to India for medical treatment. When I asked about the said visit to India, he dismissed the story as false. He told me that he had never been to India neither did he have a Visa to India on his passport. As a matter of fact, he had never applied for a visa to India.

You mentioned on your Facebook page on the day you spoke with him that he actually had a good laugh as you questioned him. Why exactly was he laughing? Are you a comedienne?

.....I had asked on his immediate reaction when the rumour of his death got to him.
 This was a very hard thing for me to bring up considering the fact that the Southeastnigeria.com platform which I run contributed in spreading the story. In the first hour after we published, there were over 1,000 people who had lifted the story from our website. Even though we were not the only website to carry the story, most blogs duplicated our article and it went viral.

When I posed the question, I had mentally prepared myself for the worst response but to my surprise, Governor Chime was gracious in his response. The outburst of laughter was piercing and I found myself struggling with guilt.

Now that you have interacted with the Governor and you seem to have a cordial relationship with him.What impression has the interaction left on you? People say that he is arrogant. 

.....I am actually hearing that for the first time. Stella, one thing you should know is that Politics goes hand in hand with propaganda and a lot of smear campaigns. In my conversation with Gov.Chime, there was no air of arrogance. His voice was firm but also cloaked in humility. He came across as being down to earth; certainly not one who was arrogant.

As a Political analyst, what is your view on Governor Chime's administration?

...... In a nutshell, Governor Sullivan Chime has done remarkably well. You know he is currently serving his second term. He is not one who believes in showcasing his work in the media but he is a working Governor.
Over the years,the Chime administration has made giant strides in rural electrification, road construction, education and agriculture to list a few.
The present government has also combated insecurity and today, Enugu is listed as one of the safest states in Nigeria.

 

Gov Chime Sullivan has since returned to Nigeria and resumed work in Enugu State and we sincerely pray good health remains his portion.

 

 

*Joi John is the online Publisher of www.southeastnigeria.com  www.facebook.com/thenigeriangazette