Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke – Engineering Water Justice Through Leadership and Care

 

When conversations about water security and sanitation in Nigeria arise, one name that deserves recognition is Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke. A trailblazing civil engineer, accomplished public servant, and advocate for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Okeke has spent decades shaping policies and systems that have improved access to safe water and strengthened public institutions across Nigeria.

Viewed through an ecofeminist lens, her career demonstrates that environmental stewardship is inseparable from human well-being. Ecofeminism recognizes that access to clean water, sanitation, and healthy ecosystems is deeply connected to social justice, gender equity, and the often-overlooked labour of sustaining communities. Throughout her career, Okeke championed policies that reflected these interconnected realities.

Born in Nnewi, Anambra State, Ebele Okeke pursued civil engineering at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, graduating in 1971. She later earned postgraduate qualifications in groundwater, hydrology, and hydrogeology before obtaining an MBA from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her academic journey equipped her with the technical expertise to address one of humanity's most pressing challenges: ensuring equitable access to safe and reliable water.

Her professional career began as a public health engineer in London before she returned to Nigeria, where she worked with consulting engineering firms and eventually joined the Federal Civil Service. There, she steadily rose through the ranks, combining engineering excellence with strategic public leadership.

Okeke's appointment as Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Water Resources marked a defining moment in her career. She oversaw national initiatives in water supply, rural water development, sanitation, irrigation, and sustainable water resource management. Her engineering background enabled her to bridge the gap between technical planning and public policy, ensuring that water infrastructure served the everyday realities of Nigerian communities.

Her work reflected a principle central to ecofeminist thought: infrastructure is not simply about pipes, dams, and engineering systems, it is about people, care, and the conditions that allow communities and ecosystems to thrive together.

Following her retirement from the civil service, Okeke continued her service as Nigeria's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Ambassador, appointed by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC).

As WASH Ambassador, she consistently emphasized that water and sanitation are not merely engineering challenges but matters of public health, dignity, gender equality, and sustainable development. She promoted hygiene education, advocated for handwashing as a life-saving public health practice, and worked to reduce the burden of waterborne diseases across Nigeria.

Perhaps most striking was her recognition of women's role in building resilient sanitation systems. Speaking on sanitation, she observed:

"Sanitation is very vital to the health of Nigerians... In our market places, parks and schools, we don't have toilets; women can be encouraged to take up this venture of sanitation facilities, manage them and charge money for them. There is a lot of business in this sector; people may ignore sanitary business but it is a need, a necessity."

- (The Water Network, 2014)

Rather than viewing women solely as beneficiaries of development, Okeke envisioned them as leaders, entrepreneurs, and custodians of community well-being. Her call for women to manage sanitation enterprises anticipated today's conversations around the care economy, green entrepreneurship, and women's leadership in environmental governance. It also challenged the tendency to overlook sanitation work despite its indispensable role in protecting both people and the environment.

Beyond her contributions to water and sanitation, Okeke broke barriers as one of Nigeria's pioneering female civil engineers and later became the first woman to serve as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation. Her achievements demonstrated that women belong not only in engineering but also at the highest levels of public administration and national decision-making.

Throughout her career, she has inspired generations of women to pursue engineering, leadership, and public service, proving that technical expertise and compassionate governance are not opposing forces but complementary ones.

Ebele Okeke's legacy extends beyond engineering projects and policy reforms. It is a legacy of understanding that sustainable development requires investing in both infrastructure and people. Her work reminds us that clean water, safe sanitation, and healthy environments are not isolated development goals but interconnected foundations for justice, dignity, and resilient communities.

As Nigeria continues its pursuit of universal access to clean water and sanitation, Ebele Okeke's leadership offers a powerful reminder that the most enduring environmental solutions are those that centre both ecological sustainability and human flourishing. Her career stands as an example of how engineering, public service, and an ethic of care can converge to create lasting social and environmental change.