By: AbdurRaheem Sa’ad Dembo
The First Lady of Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Mrs Oluremi Tinubu is undoubtedly expected by many conscious Nigerians to run office of the first lady like never before in our entire history as a Nation.
But before I dwell on that, it is unequivocally appropriate to reminiscing about the performances of former first ladies based on my age
Let me begin with Maryam Babangida’s era. She was the First lady of Federal Republic of Nigeria under General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida’s regime. Her Better Life Programmes for rural women was the talk of the town, because she actually impacted on the lives of Nigerians particularly the rural women . The better life for rural women launched in September,1987 was designed to give relief to women, most especially those living in the rural areas
Recently ,the decision to name National Centre for women Development after late Maryam Babangida. was the profound impact of her iniative on women, particularly those residing in rural areas.
Addressing journalists in Abuja Tuesday June 20, 2023, Monilola Udoh, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of women Affairs, revealed that the senate passed the bill for the name change on March 29, 2023, followed by the House of Representatives on April 5, 2023.
Mrs Margaret Shonekan was the first lady during the interim government led by late Ernest Shonekan .The government lasted for three months between August 26,1993 and November 17 same year.
Maryam Abacha was a great First lady as she also touched lives of many positively.
She was the first lady between 1993-1998.
Love or hate her, Maryam Abacha, wife of late Nigeria’s Head of State, General Sani Abacha, successfully carved a niche for herself as First Lady, with several indelible footprints via her interventions that are continue to touch millions of lives.
Many years after she left office, she still possesses the aura of a First Lady. Though many are just appreciating her strides in healthcare, women empowerment, peace and stability but she is unfazed As the First Lady of Nigeria from 1993-1998, Maryam invested her time in health care programmes as she called for massive funding for the health sector to reduce medical tourism and enable the masses to have access to free health care. She also founded the National Hospital Abuja (formerly known as National Hospital for Women And Children).
In her quest for peace on African soil, she galvanised other African First Ladies, promoting peace She also promoted some programmes including but not limited to Poverty Alleviation, National Programme on Immunisation, the Family Support Programme, Family Support Basic Education Programme and Family Economic Advancement Programme.
In appreciation of the unsung heroine who gave her all in the development of the health sector in Nigeria, she was recently honoured with an award of excellence from the Association of General Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria at an award gala, where other prominent Nigerians who had made marks in different endeavours were also awarded”(culled from ThisDay,21 August,2021)
Justice Fatima Lami
Abubakar became first lady during the regime of General Abdulsalam Abubakar.She is a jurist.Her profession did not allow her to wear the usual garment of first lady.Another reason is that, General Abdulsalam main motive was to handover to democratically elected president, which he did.All of these happened less than a year, that is between June 1998 to May 1999.
But despite that she also did something within her capacity.This was how ThisDay captured it:” ..her pet project was women’s Rights Advancement and protection (WRAPA).This non-govermental organisation provided her with an advocacy opportunity to articulate and propagate women’s concerns relating to the advancement and protection of their rights.”
Many have described her as a very quiet first lady.She became the Chief Judge of Niger state between 2013 and 2016.
On 29th May,1999 late Stella Obasanjo came on board as the First Lady of Federal Republic of Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration She also made her impact through Child Care Trust Foundation from 1999-2005.
This was how encyclopedia.com described Stella Obasanjo in 2019 ” Stella has become famous not only for being the first Lady of Nigeria married to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, but also for being a political Activist in her own right supporting such causes as women’s liberation, youths as leaders of tomorrow…She has become a trailblazer in her role as first lady and has shown Nigerian women the way to becoming more involved in the rebuilding of the country. Stella Obasanjo has become the kind of first lady that countries desire to have as a figurehead of their nation.”
She was known for always championing the developmental cause of Nigerian youth.Another cause she backed is luring expatriate Nigerians back home.
In summary, she played her part in the building of our dear nation
Hajiya Turai Yar’adua became Nigeria First Lady as soon as her husband, President Umaru Musa Yar’adua was sworn -in as the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria on May 29, 2007. She tried her best too to impact on women and children as 12th First Lady in the history of Nigeria Her pet project Women and Youth Empowerment Foundation (WAYEF) sought health sector interventions as well as interventions in the area of poverty reduction, drug abuse and lifelong education.(ThisDay)
Madam Patience Jonathan became the first Lady of Nigeria from May 6th 2010 to May 29, 2015. She equally tried her best for women and children as she started her pet project in Bayelsa as wife of the state Governor.She is fondly called “Mama Peace”
According to Chiemelie Ezeobi and Rebecca Ejifoma of ThisDay newspaper “Patience Jonathan pet project started while she was in Bayelsa as wife of Governor of the state Her NGO then was known as A. Areuera Reachout Foundation, established in 2006 with emphasis towards providing training for women, medical support and assistance to people with heart conditions, empowering the youths and women to overcome challenges through skills acquisition Development, productivity and wealth creation as rehabilitation of female ex-convict especially in the Niger Delta.
Mrs Aisha Buhari was the 14th first lady between May 29, 2015 to May 29,2023.One may rightly say she was the immediate past first lady.
Her pet project FUTURE ASSURED was an intiative of the Aisha Buhari Foundation, a non-governmental Organization set up with the objective of advocating for the wellbeing of women, children and adolescents in Nigeria.
Her activities were conspicuous and effective prior COVID-19 as she shared food ,drugs and other items to IDPs in their camps in the North East and other parts of the country.She did her best too to providing succour for the less privileged
More importantly, Senator Oluremi Tinubu is currently the First Lady and all eyes on her, because of where she is coming from.She was the first lady of Lagos State between May 29,1999 till May 29, 2007.Senator Oluremi was also a Senator of Federal Republic of Nigeria and also the oldest to have come on board as First Lady at 63 .
One can say boldly that governance is never a new terrain to her going by her wealth of experience. Nigerians expect a lot from her office, which would be basically run as Non Governmental organization. In fact, there wouldn’t be any room for excuses from her.
I personally expect her to surpass the performances of her predecessors .Therefore, I will want to passionately suggest the followings:
Senator Tinubu and her team of workers should study the models and performances of her predecessors with a view of improving upon them.
She should embark on an extensive research about the challenges of women, children and youth in Nigeria.Her team should identify areas with utmost importance and priority .Her Excellency should endeavour to reach out to former senators with whom she served together for her to know the peculiar challenges women, children and youth in their senatorial districts are facing. I’m happy she personally said something close to this to fellow senators during the valedictory session of 9th Senate.
Senator Oluremi should ensure that every data and information gathered should be matched with required action.
The new mother of our nation should do all she can to lobby her husband so that the health of women and children are giving worthy attention in subsequent budgets especially to reduce the high rate of maternal mortality in our country.
