It has remained the privilege of conquerors to write history. What’s more, the history of the planet has pretty much been written by men. This probably explains why women have often been relegated to the footnotes of this history – rightly or wrongly. In traditional Africa, a woman is expected to wear a lipstick, carry her handbag and speak softly. Any deportment outside this quirky construct is severely frowned on. Some theorists point to this scenario as the reason the gentler gender has had to evolve and hone subtle skills in their kings’ courts to access power and relevance. Call it soft power.
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Willy-nilly, this has led to the unwitting creation of goddesses behind the powerful thrones of their masters. Powerful, alluring, shadowy figures who surprisingly pretty much dictate the rhythms of how power is used in the public domain. But a defiant Max Dashu passionately debunks this line of thinking and submits that, “Women have determined the course of events and the forms of human culture. We originated, founded, governed, prophesied, created great art, fought for our rights, and for our peoples. These are the women edited out of history, their stories omitted, distorted, and replaced with an endless litany of men (and the occasional queen or meddling concubine).
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“Our ignorance of these women is greatly compounded by the omission of information on societies which accorded females power in public life, diplomacy, religion, medicine, the arts as well as family structure and inheritance. Both racism and sexism are implicated in these silences and gaps. So we need a remedial history that reconstructs the female dimensions of human experience and achievement, and recovers the distorted and obliterated past of Africa, the Americas, and all other regions neglected by the standard textbooks and mass media.”
How much help, Dashu’s legitimate, if strident submission will offer in revising the basic outlines of eons of male domination remains a subject for future historians and sociologists to sort out. But her position clearly finds a sympathetic soul-mate in the essence of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, approved in September 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women and which fundamentally recognizes the forlorn lot of women. The declaration is a global commitment to achieving equality, development and peace for women worldwide. As defined in the Mission Statement of the 123-page document: the Platform for Action is an agenda for women empowerment which targets removal of all the obstacles to women’s active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making at home, in the workplace and in the wider national and international communities. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was approved unanimously by representatives from 189 countries attending the Forth World Conference on Women, held during the 50th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations.
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But beyond Dashu, Beijing Declaration and the old arguments, back on the home turf women have undoubtedly played key roles in influencing the deployment of power in political and business circles. Leading the charge in these arenas are the First Ladies. First ladyship, a position which lacks constitutional anchorage has become important in Nigeria and governance circles. From the presidency, state chief executives to Local Government chairs, first ladyship has become something of a movement verging on the theatric but to be waved aside at the peril of the waver.
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Currently, many will point at Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan’s economic team and also Minister of Finance as a very powerful person in this administration. They may have their point, but the question is – is she more powerful than First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan? Big question! It could easily be recalled the sheer panache and verve Victoria Gowon, Maryam Babangida, Maryam Abacha and Stella Obasanjo brought to the office of the first ladyship. But perhaps none could hold a candle to General Babangida’s late wife, Maryam, in the compelling grounds she covered in redefining that ‘office’.
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In effect, Oga’s wife wields considerable power that actually could determine the trajectory of the state. This has been demonstrated again and again. Wives of state governors are no less powerful. From conjuring pet projects to shore up their presences to acting as graceful hostesses on state functions, it simply cannot be taken from these goddesses behind the thrones that they wield a force deployable at their whims and caprice.
Although no official funding is budgeted for their numerous vanity fairs, they get along quite nicely. By the time a government contractor who doesn’t play ball by donating generously to the first ladies’ pet projects finds himself suddenly delisted he would have wizened up to what good table manners mean.
While these goddesses may differ in their styles, their objectives are pretty much the same – to subtly control power and influence and have the ears of their masters. In this cover story, we look at some of these goddesses. Read on…
Driven By Passion…Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan
She is also a child of providence – like her husband. In sharp contrast to her spouse, President Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria’s First Lady Dame Patience Goodluck Jonathan by her actions since ascending the elevated perch has demonstrated that passion is indeed a force. Her speeches are defined by passionate energy that makes them memorable and vests them with weight.? What’s more, she has become a powerful political voice and a grassroots mobiliser.? As goddesses go, she is clearly a First Lady who has the ears of her spouse. Many who tested this fact have tales of woe to tell.
Dame Patience was born into a respectable Christian family of Chief Lazarus Iwari-Oba at Port-Harcourt in Rivers State Nigeria. She obtained the National Certificate of Education (NCE) in Mathematics/ Biology in 1989 from Rivers State College of Education and a Bachelor of Education in Psychology & Biology from the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria.
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Her work experience traverses teaching, banking, sports administration and civil-service before she won the heart of then Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State. This position was to morph into Bayelsa State Governor’s wife, wife of the Vice President and finally wife of the President.
Since assuming the position of the First Lady after her husband was sworn-in as President on the 29th of May 2011 in Abuja, she has been associated with the socio-economic leveraging? of the Youths and women of Nigeria. She is endeared to many for her philanthropic and charitable contributions. Founder of the A. Aruera Reachout Foundation is a pet foundation of hers that has over almost a decade trained over 4000 women in different skills and made it possible for them to care for themselves and their families. There are more.
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Clearly her most important initiative is the ‘Women for Change Initiative.’ The Women for change Initiative is a project aimed at promoting women’s participation in every area of human endeavour especially in the socio-economic and political sphere. With the launching of this programme, most qualified women who were denied or intimidated from vying for political offices are now gearing up to give the men a fight for their money and macho.
In attestation to her charitable, political and humane contribution to society, she’s got more international and national accolades such as recipient of the
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International award for Excellence by the Yitzhak Rabin Centre, Tel Aviv, Israel 2008. This is the first of such recognition by this famous centre since its inception. She also won The “Beyond the Tears” International Humanitarian Award New York, USA, 2008 for her role in the global fight against HIVAIDS.
Some other awards of recognition that came her way include:? Pro-Chancellor and Fellow, African Business School (October, 2008)4) African Goodwill Ambassador Award(Los Angeles, USA, April, 2009); The Conferment of traditional Stool of Iyom“Ada di oha mma of Ukpo” by H.R.H Igwe Robert Eze.6) The conferment of the traditional title ofUnume Wheshi Ekpeye 1 of Ekpeye Kingdom in Rivers State by the Eze Robinson O. Robinson the Ekpeyelogbo;? A traditional Staff of office bestowed on her by the Okpahgwe Amawbia in Anambra Stat; recipient of the Award for Excellence from the Christian Women Fellowship for upholding dignity and positive projection of womanhood in our generation and Recipient of the Wind of Positive Change Award from the SouthSouth Women Organization.
A peace lover and a mother to her two lovely children, Dame Jonathan spends her leisure time swimming, reading, writing as well as traveling.
Dame Abimbola Fashola Quintessential First Lady:
The story of Dame Abimbola Fashola, the First Lady of Lagos State reminds one very clearly of the saying that,” The water one will drink never passes by”. At many turning points in life she stood by her husband Mr. Babatunde Fashola, a brilliant lawyer that later attained the exalted position in his chosen career to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
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As a secretary in the British Council Lagos, the unassuming, humble and disciplined wife of Lagos State governor was a beacon of hope, manifesting her Christianity? background as ‘Mother Theresa’ to many Nigerians that had anything to do with the British embassy. Unlike so many first ladies in the country she rarely dabbles into state affairs or comment on issues that has to do with the state government. She prefers to support her husband from behind.
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If really behind every successful man is a good woman, Dame Abimbola Fashola could be seen to have played her role perfectly, having groomed a man widely adjudged to be one of the governors in the country. She is the initiator of the Lagos Empowerment And Resource Network (LEARN). pet project that brought together over? 4,200 secondary school participants across the state recently for a summer programme.
In addition to academic activities at the seven centres where the summer school took place across the six education districts of the state, the pupils learnt vocational skills (such as catering, barbing, hairdressing, gele tying and make up), sexuality education, leadership skills and ethics, and got the chance to go on field trips.
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Her comportment was also showcased when Governor Fashola stepped forward to take the oath of office for a second time on May 29, with his family. Her composure, open solidarity, support, conspicuously demonstrated, that she is the one behind the big masquerade. Governor Fashola clad in blue outfit was in company of his amiable wife, Dame Abimbola and his two sons, Ademola and Olayinka who also turned out in their gorgeous blue attire to the admiration of the teaming audience that cheered them to the podium .
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The Fasholas’ live in the state official residential quarters at Marina, unlike what is obtained in most home of first families across the country, where their children school abroad leaving the governors and their wives alone in government house to carry out their official responsibility. This decision to allow the children study in the country is not only connected with her concern for resuscitation of the nation’s educational sector, but also her commitment to his parental responsibility.
A source told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND that in spite of the first lady’s tight schedule, she places premium priority on her children’s education as she personally assesses their school work as well as visits the school personally during open days. “The same passion and discipline she brings into the running of her home and issues concerning women and children in the state are what she exhibits as a mother to her children. She does not tolerate anything that would distract their education.
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“The children possess their parents humility, and they are well bred, if you are a first time visitor to the house and you meet them they will prostrate to greet you, they play freely with other children in the house and you can never find any attitude of pride or arrogance in them, this I believe they inherited from their parents as well,” the source said. As a mark of her level headedness, commitment to her marital vow and creator Mrs. Fashola said in recently at a public forum that Governor Fashola’s insistence that “the children be taught the things of God” made her more active in Church.
“My husband even takes us to church. In fact, when he notices we had not gone to church for a Sunday or two, he complains. He insists the children be taught the things of God and should be taken to church regularly. He is the one who has encouraged me and made me more active in church,” she said.
Clara Chime (Enugu)
Indifferent To Politics:
Until recently, the office of the First Lady was not too visible in the politics of Enugu State. To worsen the situation then, a former governor of the state, Senator Chimaraoke Nnamani, governed the Coal City State for eight good years without a visible first lady. The situation was so bad in the state in the past that people were forced to ask if some of past governors were married or not. But, the administration of Governor Sullivan Chime brought life into the once moribund ‘office’ of the first lady in the state.
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Though Governor Chime did not recognize the ‘office’ of the first lady in his early days in office due to the strained relationship that existed between him and his first wife, he, however, gave his second wife, Mrs. Clara Chime all the support she needed to function as a First Lady.
Relying on her husband’s support, Mrs. Clara Chime launched her pet project called Child and Mother Empowerment (CHIME), aimed at uplifting the living standard of women and children in the state. Speaking during the launch in Enugu, Mrs. Chime told the women who were selected from the 17 local government areas of the state that she initiated the project to get them empowered and self-sufficient.
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She advised them to engage in agriculture and petty trading rather than stay at home doing nothing and waiting for men to cater for them and their children. Mrs. Chime, who personally distributed the 200 sewing machines and 200 grinding machines among other gifts to the women as well as other women groups from churches and Non- Governmental Organizations in the state, urged the beneficiaries to find a way of engaging themselves in money-yielding ventures, including farming and petty trading in order to be able to meet life challenges.
One of the facilitators, Enu Oluedo, said the project was started with a sensitization workshop at Agbani, Nkanu West Local Government Area where women were educated on health issues and family values, adding that Mrs Chime taught the women how to fend for themselves and depend less on men for their means of livelihood. She said a similar workshop was held at Nsukka to educate women on health issues, including free child and maternal healthcare of the state government, cervical cancer disease and HIV/AIDS.
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One of the resource persons, Betty Aguijiobi, said Governor Chime knew that education was very important which was why he announced free primary and secondary education in the state and enjoined women to send their children to school rather than sending them to hawk on the streets and highways. Since 1999, Mrs. Clara Chime has been using her pet project,? Child and Mother Empowerment (CHIME) to improve the lives of Enugu State residence.
Last year, Mrs. Clara Chime provided financial assistance to indigent widows from the 17 local government areas of the state. The gesture was to mark the 2010
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Women’s Day celebrations in Enugu. Also, Mrs. Chime has on several occasion sponsored the de-worming of children in the state. She has also been organizing regular prayers for the liberation of the state. Despite her pet project, close observers of Enugu politics believe that the Coal City’s State? First Lady has little or no influence on her husband especially in the area of political decision making. Many even believe that some political appointees are more powerful than the first lady. In fact, to say that she is not influential in the scheme of things in Enugu State is to state the obvious.
Ekaete Uloma Akpabio (Akwa Ibom)
First Lady As Mother Theresa:
Mrs. Ekaete Uloma Akpabio, wife of Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State is a woman of candour. It is said she is one of the youngest women to occupy the exalted position of first lady in Akwa Ibom since the state was created over 24 years ago. She can be better described as a gift to humanity especially to the people of the state. She wields immense power and influence in the governance but is always lurking in the shadows when important political decisions on the state are to be taken by her husband.
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Endowed with passion for helping and giving hope to the hopeless through her family life Enhancement Initiatives pet project, Uloma is always referred to as the Mother Theresa of Akwa Ibom. Since she became the First Lady of Akwa Ibom State Mrs. Ekaete Akpabio has devoted her energy and resources almost exclusively to the service of the local people and poorest group in the state, particularly women and children.
Through her non governmental Family life Enhancement project predicated on promoting the wellbeing of the downtrodden people living in the remote areas of the state, Uloma has demonstrated her altruistic and generous dispositions.
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The NGO seeks to re-engineer the family in the light of current societal and socio-political dislocations. Re-engineering the family also necessarily involves giving a helping hand to the less privileged and rehabilitating neglected citizens of the state. Her work cuts across social, academic, professional and financial barriers.
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One of the earliest strides of FLEI was to build multi-stakeholder partnerships. To begin with, the organization held consultations with wives of former Governors, Deputy Governors and other prominent women leaders in the State to seek their inputs in understanding the issues on ground as well as Sighting interventions.
It promptly built alliances with various women groups at the grassroots and established a good working relationship with related government agencies and ministries such as the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare and the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), among others. The synergy created with the latter, for example, has been especially useful to our work on reducing the incidence of child labor and trafficking in Akwa Ibom.
This participatory approach has paid off handsomely, with FLEI becoming not only a household name, but also a most sought after partner by corporate bodies, public sector agencies, and independent NGOs when it comes to women and children’s’ issues in the state.
Efforts are ongoing to build working linkages with a number of international development agencies and socially responsible corporate bodies for the implementation of the organization’s Action Plan. On the whole, alliance building has been and will continue to be central to the work of the Initiative. Aside from women, children and the elderly who constituted a large
percentage of her projects, she has also created a big?? social and positive impact on the lives of the physically challenged persons; the motherless less privileged the sick and the homeless in the state.
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She has in the last 3 years demonstrated this unique humane gesture by donating over 62 two bedroom well furnished bungalows to widows in the 31 local government areas of the state. Every year Mrs. Akpabio puts smiles on the faces of over 100 physically challenged persons by donating wheel chairs and tricycles to them. As part of her prison intervention programme, over 100 prison inmates have regained freedom while about 400 inmates of Uyo and Ikot Ekpene prison have undergone skill training in different fields. Born on June 1971 in Ezeagu Local Government Area of Enugu State.
Ekaete Uloma Akpabio graduated from Abia State University Uturu and has received numerous awards.
Hajiya Jummai Babangida Aliyu (Niger State)
Madam Chief Servant…
The First Lady of Niger state Hajiya Jummai Babangida Aliyu to many is a mother symbol, she is indeed an opposite of her spouse, Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu – in terms of been outspoken. When she came in as the first lady of the state in 2007, many were not aware of her humble and kind disposition until she started her pet project called “Liferehab” a project aimed at helping children and women as well as the vulnerable groups to achieve their life dreams.
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?The life rehabilitation programme was hinged on providing succour to even prison inmates as well as women who had suffered social problems to get a new hope to be able to fit into the society. It is also targeted at vulnerable women who had suffered rape, and widows as well as children suffering from terminal diseases. One singular achievement of the governor’s wife was her doggedness to check rampant cases of rapes in Suleja and her frequent visits to prisons in the state to offer hope to the inmates and impart a sense of belonging.
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?Hajiya Jummai Aliyu has never been caught in the web of any controversy even when the husband was used to one form of controversy or the other, apart from her pet project she stays away from state government affairs through out the first term of her husband.
?The governor has also attested to the humility of his wife when in several public functions he gave kudos to his wife for giving him the kind of peace he needed at home to be able to carry out his mandate as governor. The opinion of the governor is what is shared by many in Niger State about Hajiya Jummai Aliyu for her simplicity and mother role without interfering unnecessarily in state matters.
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?The virtue has no doubt endeared her to many women in the state. As a fall-out they therefore campaigned and supported her husband to achieve his second term bid. She has not been seen influencing her husband’s public service decisions. It was however gathered that Hajiya Jummai has a way of calming her husband down, which makes her one of the few people the husband listens to with genuineness.
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?In fact she commands a lot of respect from the husband for being cool when he is hot. She therefore, influences things with her patience tolerance and understanding without been unnecessarily over bearing to her husband and other political appointees.