Rochas Okorocha, Imo state governor Wednesday may have been justified as one of the world leaders, Theresa May, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, almost replicated the designation of the ministry he created last year.
Okorocha had in December 2017 appointed and swore in his biological sister, Mrs. Ogechi Ololo (nee Okorocha) as the state’s Commissioner for Happiness and Couples’ Fulfillment.
Almost bearing the same name, Britain appointed a “minister for loneliness” on Wednesday, January 17 to tackle what Prime Minister May described as “the sad reality of modern life” affecting millions of people.
While Nigerians mocked Okorcha for a creating a minister that sounded sarcastic perhaps without relevance to economic difficulties in the country, the British cheered May for creating the ministry to redress loneliness- one of the difficult problems facing human beings.
Based on the appointment, Tracey Crouch, a junior minister for sport and civil society, will take on the role as part of a broader strategy to combat loneliness in Britain.
More than nine million people say they are always or often lonely, out of a population of 65.6 million, according to the British Red Cross.
The charity describes loneliness and isolation as a “hidden epidemic” affecting people across all ages at various moments in their life, such as retirement, bereavement or separation.
The ministerial appointment follows a recommendation from a committee in memory of Jo Cox, a lawmaker for the opposition Labour party who was murdered by a far-right extremist.
“Jo experienced and witnessed loneliness throughout her life especially as a new student at Cambridge University and separated from her sister Kim for (the) first time,” the Jo Cox Foundation wrote on Twitter.
“She would be delighted by Tracey Crouch’s new job as minister for loneliness and would be saying ‘let’s get to work!’” the Foundation added.
The prime minister was to host a reception on Wednesday to celebrate the legacy left by Cox, whose killing just days ahead of the 2016 Brexit referendum shocked the nation.
Britain’s loneliness initiative will see a strategy published later this year, with input from national and local government, public services, the voluntary sector and businesses.
