Erelu Aisha Babangida –Shinkafi, daughter of General Ibrahim Babangida and the? wife of immediate past governor of Zamfara state, Alhaji Dalhatu Shinkafi is a lady who takes great interest in solving other people’s problems, which makes the saying, ‘a fruit does not fall too for from its tree’ so true. In this interview , Aisha Babangida- Shinkafi, Sarkin Zamfara opens up on so many interesting issues, including plans on re-focusing the Better Life for African Women, her late mother’s project. Excerpt:???
Tell us about your experience in Zamfara State, as wife of? the immediate past executive governor, Alhaji Dalhatu Shinkafi?
What took me there was basically marriage, and fortunately, I’m married but being in Zamfara and mingling with people has taught me humility. Mixing with the people? in the grassroots areas has been rewarding for me and uplifting at the same time. I got to know them and they got to know me and they appreciate me and that is why they gave me so many titles and I’m very grateful for that. The three years I spent there have been an incredible experience and it’s going?? to continue because I will continue from where I took off ; it’s all part of service to humanity. I have to help out, I have to reach out and I have the passion for it so I will gladly do it.
Amongst the chieftaincy titles you got, which one do you cherish most?
I cherish all of them but the first one they gave me is called” Sarkin Zamfara” and that is what everyone calls me, so I am quite attached to that one in particular.
So a woman is entitled to bear “Sarkin Zamfara”?
I’m not every kind of woman, [laughter]. Yes, it is the first of its kind and that is why it means a lot to me. This is a title that is mainly given to men, so they must have seen something in me to have given it to me and I sincerely appreciate it and I will try my best to live up to the expectations.
Let’s look at your projects or the programme your mother left behind from where you derived inspiration to do a few things here and there. Where do you want to take Better Life For African Women?
Well, I have to take it in a modern direction so to speak. What I’m doing now is to actually understand the system of Better Life and see how we can incorporate it to the daily life now. I don’t have to do it as noisy as any other programme because this is going to be part of our children; our children are going to inherit it as well as our grandchildren and so on. So I have to take it gradually and make sure that I get it right because it affects people’s lives. It’s a process I want to take my time with and I’m going to do that because it meant a lot to my mother. My mother was a perfectionist so I have to make sure I get it right in her memory.
You have been quiet in terms of Better life and it appears that the women, who seem to be your followers, are getting affiliated to some other organizations and programmes?
Well if they do that, it’s for their own benefit, it’s good for them. If they think that it’s the progress in their life then I’m quite happy if they do that but you see I don’t want to jump into something that is so large and don’t get it right. So I have to make sure that I have studied it and know what needs to be tackled or who needs to be there and who needs? not to be there. All these I have to weigh. So I have to come in and understand the system and perfect it. If those that are still around want to be around and they want to continue, I will be highly honored but if they have other things in mind and want to continue with their lives, then it is fine with me. I will just have to ask them to please be my guide occasionally because they started off with my mother.
It will come up; I’m sure before the end of the year something would have started. I don’t intend to do things in a loud way, I intend to do things in very meaningful ways, the people I want to impact are the rural women and so let me take it to them there and do it the way they deserve to be treated.
You got the title Erelu from the South-West. What was motivation behind that because we couldn’t reconcile Zamfara and Ogun State, could it be an influence of President Obassanjo or who?
Either way I was on it and I think it is a good thing. As you said you couldn’t reconcile the Zamfara and Ogun State thing but we have a relationship with the Ogun people in Zamfara and maybe because of our dealings with them all the time and interactions with them made them speak to the royalty there and tell them. I have no idea how it happened but either way, I am much honored and I will continue to honor them. Such cross-cultural recognition is one way to promote national integration and unity. I treasure the recognition and honour. It is not easy for people to identify you from one far end of the country and bestow honour on you. Once again, I say thank? you to the people of Ogun State.
Do you intend to run for any elective office in future because you? have so much interest in? politics and your husband is somebody? who believes that you are more than who you are?
God knows that, He knows what is best for you and you just accept what He gives you’ but as a human being, absolutely not. It’s not something I am interested in, I like to be around where my husband is and for me that will mean if I am running for office he is probably over here and I’m probably over there. I want to stay where he is and help him out a I am supposed to do as a wife.
But if it comes my way, AI-hamdullahi I will be honored but it is not something that I am thinking about.
Your name sounds larger than life so to speak. How do you cope with the people?
They accept me for who I am really, I hope.
My parents have always taught us to be respectful, humble and to live according to the dictates of our religion and the upbringing as well. So it’s nice when you hear people commenting and I hope they are good things but sometimes you require peace and tranquility. But we thank God for everything, I am quite grateful.
Quite a number of countries in Africa are going through political and economic crises and you see women at the receiving end of most of these crises.? What comes into your mind given the fact that you are an advocate of women issues?
I think the whole continent, actually the whole world has evolved; we have seen and we know what we want and we want what. we believe is ours, so things are changing to that direction. That is why we have new breed politicians so to speak. But with the women, I think we have done amazingly well compared to what we had
before, it’s not an immediate thing and we shouldn’t expect it to be immediate, it’s a gradual thing, it’s the same as democracy, it takes time and there are a lot of hiccups here and there. It’s the same as the women, if we get two here, maybe in the next five years we get five, we get eight, so I think we have made a lot of impact in the community, society, in the country and we will continue to do that, we just have to be patient and be our friends. As women we should stick together and speak with one voice and that will help a lot in creating the right environment for us to participate in politics or in governance.
Do you subscribe to the request by the women folks for thirty five percent recognition under the Jonathan’s administration?
That is what we want and honestly speaking I think we have done very well, the Nigerian women. Requesting is our right but I advise we take it slowly, put our heads together. Even if we have one person that is so strong in a woman or in a group of women and we push her to a position then that is more meaningful to me than scattering around everywhere without any strong impact but I think we are getting there. If they give us the thirty five percent then it’s good but let them give us good roles.
But you also have to ask for these roles because people say women are the problem of women.
That is why I said it is very important for us women to stick together , speak with one voice, and support? each other. Like I said ealier, we can pick two or three women that are strong , support them and place them and government we want these people in kyour system because they have made great impact in their various lives and in the lives of people.
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What about your outfits?
I just wear whatever I feel comfortable in; if it looks good then I’m happy. There are times that if I’m going for a function, my mother has to pick out my clothes and we argue over clothes sometimes because she is more fashionable and eventually I get to wear what she wants and it works out fine. But I am very subtle with fashion,? I’m not very fashionable. It’s just a matter of carriage; how you wear what fits you is what matters.
Your birthday, you don’t seem to like celebrating it, why?
I think the last time I celebrated my birthday was when I was ten. I like to think that other people should be the one doing it for you or arranging it for you not me arranging it myself, that is my own theory. But this year in particular, my sister decided she wanted to go all out and she did it and I was quite impressed, she handled it very well. It was real fun seeing people, friends, and associates appreciating you in their own little way. I felt touched and humbled by the encomiums they poured on me.
What advice do you have for young ladies out there in terms of pursuing a vocation or other things?
Well the most important thing is to remember who you are. As a woman, your priority in life is your home if you get married, your children and husband. Once you remember that, y,ou can do anything but your priority should be them so don’t ever get it wrong or confuse it with anything. You can look for jobs to suit you. Jobs that you are interested in and you will excel in but remember you are who you are; God made you a woman for reasons so appreciate it, nurture it and the sky will be the limit.
What is your discipline in terms of educational background?
Psychology, that is why I can sit down and analyze people and maybe that is why I focus a lot on people. It’s my passion, I have always been interested in people, what they think, what they do, if I can just dissect a brain, I would gladly do it. My mother wanted me to be a lawyer because she said I talk too much but I wasn’t interested in that, I wanted to do something I like and it helps me in life even though people misunderstand my prying into other people’s life but it’s just curiosity.
You studied in Switzerland, why not in USA or U.K?
I think that was the best thing our father ever gave us, educating us in Switzerland because Switzerland is totally neutral and is a State and environment for children to study if you have the means to, you get different cultures, you get aware of a lot of things around you, like history language and the security was very important at that time to him as well. He chose Switzerland and I think that was the best decision. My younger sister Halima just graduated about two years ago from a Swiss school as well.?
How do you cope with some negative and false media reports?
I receive the reports whole heartedly; we have developed thick skin in our family over the years, so these are things that don’t really bother us. We know what we did or what we didn’t do so for us it’s like amusement really, we read it like every other person, laugh about it, close the newspaper and that is it, the chapter ends.
My grandmother told us that if they don’t talk about you good or bad then you wouldn’t be who you are. So we are very strong and not upset about the reports.
Apart from the Better Life programme, do you have your own pet project?
What I did was basically charity, I didn’t have my hand on just one thing, I concentrated deeply on the cancer project but then unfortunately after my mother died it slowed down because it’s too sensitive but I helped in any way that I could with other patients but gradually it’s coming back to me so it’s something that I would like to concentrate on. I will keep on doing anything I can to help anyone that comes my way.
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The wife of the late President, Turai Yar’Adua came up with cancer center and so much money was raised but it appears not even a single block has been erected on that site. Are you thinking of perhaps seeking a collaboration or reaching out to people to support that project for the benefit of women who are suffering from cancer?
I will be highly honored if I could work with the former First Lady to ensure her project comes to light because it was such a noble and good project. I think it’s something that will outlive her and I think we should not look at the negative, we don’t know the reason, what, or when or maybe it is coming so I think we should encourage her. I would like to talk to her and find out how we can help the Centre because it is one of its kinds if it’s built in Africa. I think it started off bigger than itself really but if we can just take it stage by stage we will make appreciable impact. I would like to speak to her and encourage her and find a way of partnering, to gather support for her.
In Nigeria, there are certain cultures that don’t allow women to come out in the public domain for elective or appointive positions. Are there things you think women should be doing to eliminate some of these barriers?
These barriers according to the peculiarity of the location like in particular in Zamfara, we have a Chief Judge who is a Lady. They would rather work in an environment where there are not a lot of men so to speak and the timing is very important for you as a wife to go back and do lunch for your husband and children. So there are certain jobs that suit a lady from that area. We are just trying to lift them up because you cannot force a society to accept certain change. But with time, awareness, education, they will come to realise. Besides, we need a lot of female doctors, female teachers because most of them especially in Zamfara don’t like their wives going to see male doctors. So this is where we encourage female students in secondary schools to do sciences, girl-child education
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What is your typical day like?
Now it’s erratic because so many things are happening but normally? we get up to pray as we normally do and I find it very difficult to go back to sleep. There are a lot of house hold chores to be done, then try to entertain guests and try to make it a point of duty to go to at least one local community, just to interact with them and interacting with them, to me makes my day. And then come back and do meals, if my husband is around, I cook, entertain him and his guests and then I go in and shut out. So basically that is it, unfortunately, there is no time for exercise.
Culled from: African? Statesman Magazine
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