A silken, dark chocolate femininity oozes from in this picture of Professor Remi Sonaiya, Professor of French Language and Linguistics and the only female Presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2015 elections, and, to the best of my knowledge, the second of two female Presidential hopefuls in Nigeria’s history.
The job she sought requires a range of skills and qualities, one of which is physical presence, a sense of charisma.
What kind of presence is projected here?
What strikes me in this picture is the look of seasoning in harmony with feminine grace.
A bold gaze crowns an exquisite and mature smoothness of skin as the double layers of her dress both conceal and subtly reveal.
The transparent net of the topmost silken network is meant to direct the gaze to the glistening glow of rich brown skin flowing across her chest and arms, visible through gaps in the network like shafts of light piercing through narrow windows in a grand space.
The entire ensemble is crowned by the two mounds unique to the female members of the mammalian species as they emerge in their sphericality from their resting place on the chest- yes- Presidential candidates may also have breasts, and rich looking ones too.
The coup de grace of her hair is revealed in the black braids sitting comfortably on her shoulder as they fall from the combination of black hair among which are markedly visible growths of white indicating the distance of the journey traveled so far that is expected to have seasoned the mind with vision and the body with power.
Prince Tonye Princewill at the height of his battle to find a place from which to contend for the gubernatorial elections for Rivers State.
Grooming unmistakable.
Dress sense impeccable.
Sense of class distinctive.
Physical form classical.
An embodiment of the determined and successful campaign to rebrand Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari, in relation to his party the APC, as a modern Nigerian icon in tune with positive aspirations of all generations of Nigerians, particularly youth who did not experience his last outing as dictatorial military head of state after coming to power through a coup.
The campaign avoided any reference to Buhari’s Islamic culture since the Northern Muslim vote was already secure through Buhari’s long identification as a Northern Muslim, which, along with his earlier empathic responses to Boko Haram Islamic terrorism meant decoupling him from any association with Islamic extremism was a practically desperate necessity.
This image is the quintessence of the effort to sex up Buhari and his party the APC, as it were.
The sexification of the APC emblem projected here is part of the sweeping away of the janjaweed/pro-Boko Haram/Islamic terrorism image APC struggled with.
The picture is a masterstroke of conception, using light in enhancing colour of skin and radiance of clothing, as the eye glasses magnify the political message by reflecting the APC broom emblem and party name underlined by the dominant color of red in the emblem, a red resonating with the patterning of the clothes and the bright red gele- Nigerian female headdress-of the woman, an evocative crimson further amplified through the potent red of the woman’s lips.
A full bodied form of bulging breasts, broad hips and bottom completes the sweet attack on the senses and mind by this image- a classic sexification of politics.
One of the richest pictures of Nigeria’s President Goodkuck Ebele Jonathan from the 2014-2015 campaign and election season, the most reliant on images in Nigerian history on account of the ubiquity of the Internet, complementing other visual media such as television and newspapers.
The President’s relatively youthful image in comparison with his challenger Muhammadu Buhari is projected here, against a framework of greenery illuminated by natural light complementing his smiling face, suggesting both tenderness and power as the solar illumination of the luxuriant but disciplined vegetation evokes his national transformation agenda in which the agricultural program, and according to one view, his anti-desertification program, were among those particularity successful.
The magnificent Diezani K. Alison-Madueke, one of those creatures whose presence testifies that the earth without women would have been an act of cruelty at the hands of God.
“Luscious”, as one commentator referred to her in celebrating her elevation as the first female OPEC President during her tenure as Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources.
Highly accomplished academically and professionally, scoring various firsts in her career from her time in Shell to her work in the Nigerian government, she is perhaps the most gossiped about, the most speculated on figure in the cabinet of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after the President himself.
Her grooming and dress sense are mouth watering.
Thoroughly Nigerian, yet projecting a globally powerful sense of beauty in her coutorial combination of colour and design.
The irrepressible Femi Fani-Kayode, FFK as he is iconically known, uncompromising missile of attack, either against President Jonathan and the PDP when was in the APC or against the APC when he crossed over to Jonathan and the PDP as the Presidential campaign entered a decisive phase.
In the ownership of Lagos controversy, the controversy over relationships with Igbo women as a demonstration of inter-ethnic identification, the branding of APC as a pro-Islamic terrorist party, the Buhari lack of secondary school certificate saga, among other fierce social and political struggles within and beyond the 2014-2015 election cycle, FFK has been in the thick of them all, his uncompromising voice unmistakable for that of anyone else.
In this picture, we see the FFK who portrays himself as a man who knows how to live well as a man of the world and a political constant in Nigerian history, a man with much fire in him as he constellates a future most likely active with political daring and controversy.
My most memorable FFK moment was when, in response to those who attacked him for challenging an Igbo public figure who described Lagos as ‘No Man’s Land’, as a cosmopolitan space belonging exclusively to no ethnic group, FFK, in the spirit of a Yoruba patriot for whom Lagos’ Yoruba identity is sacrosanct, responded with an impassioned essay critical of the role of Ndigbo in Nigerian history.
His critics then tried to throw dirt on his family by painting them in terms of a culture of sexual abandon.
While many reacted in horror to such a breach of confidence on FFK’s part, one of the women he mentioned in his amorous history responded that she did not see herself castigating FFK beceause he had been her mentor in public life in various ways.
Can there be a greater testimony to manhood than that?
The remarkable Stella Oduah, dynamic aviation minister, celebrated by some for remarkable creative development in the nation’s airports and vilified by others for spending public funds on expensive bullet proof cars, the latter leading to her replacement as aviation minister after which she bounced back to win the Anambra North Senatorial seat.
Clearly a seasoned and canny politician.
What kind of mind seethes behind those sultry eyelashes, the carefully oiled skin and the steady gaze capped by the crown like gele?
The eloquent red of rich lips glowing in unison with the matrix of rectangular constellations in a dance with a touch of yellow on flowing red broken by black lines on the suit jacket demonstrates another example of Nigerian female politicians and government appointees as embodying both power and beauty.
The unforgettable Rotimi Amaechi shown on the phone as he perhaps engages in the endless political battles for which he became known as the central opponent of President Goodluck Jonathan in the South-East, in his role as governor of Rivers State, as a nubile woman walks beside him, an image that suggests that even in the midst of struggles for power, beauty may be present.
His casually stylish dressing is complemented by the bright colours and flowing lines of the lady’s clothes adorning buxom mid zones and lower regions terminating in the twin ambulant enablers-her elegant kegs.
The setting is serene, belying the boiling currents of political conflict Amaechi embodies, particularly from his exit from the PDP at the centre of the group of governors that are part of the nucleus of the APC in its success in the 2015 Presidential elections and dominance of the legislature, a feat achieved partly through Amaechi’s role as chairman of the APC Presidential campaign, even as he lost the Rivers state gubernatorial election.
A picture responding to the poor calculation in strategy by Aisha Buhari, wife of then Presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari, in alluding to the reputation of Benin as contributing the most prominent share of Nigerian female prostitutes in Italy.
Beyond the socio/political message, the image suggests that even when professional skill is the subject, beauty plays a role in the attractive force of a well groomed and well dressed person.
The bright sauciness of lips complements the intense set of eyes, skin, face, hands and stance, suggesting a professional who is yet sensitive to her responsibility to her own visual appeal.
The unforgettable Baba Iyabo, two time ex-head of state/President of Nigeria, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian Civil War hero, king maker, survivor of the death dealing gulag of ex-Nigerian military dictator Sani Abacha, described as contributor to the installing of the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency and later arch-enemy of his government exploring various strategies in the effort to defeat the government at the elections.
The football match where this picture was taken may be seen as part of his victory celebrations as the challenges of the anti-government struggles lifted with impending or achieved victory.
Attahiru Jega, beleaguered chief technocrat of the 2015 Presidential elections, defined by stylish white goatee, classic Northern Nigerian cap and flowing top and scholarly glasses as he seems to expound on a delicate point of social and technological engineering in his career climaxing job to date as head of the Nigerian National Electoral Commission, following on his leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities at the time of the landmark strike that began the positive transformation of the welfare of Nigerian academics in the early 1990s.
The irrepressible Patience Jonathan of “There is God” fame.
Her immortal and famous lines “there is God oooo” and “na only you waka come?” emerge from her anguish over the response from the school officials and parents in the story of the abduction of children from a school in Chibok by Boko Haram Islamic terrorists, an incident that remains mysterious in its details, marking a negative turning point in the fortunes of the Jonathan government.
She will never be forgotten largely because she has become a cultural icon both celebrated and mocked as her husband’s dedication to her and she to him elevated her in the public eye in a manner she took full advantage of.
She is shown here in an informal context depicting her generous and shapely proportions, a classic image of a particular Nigerian feminine aesthetic.
GlobalVille News 