Likewise, the
inauguration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s new President on May
29 will throw up another set of influential women. Some of the women
were believed to have invested their energy in the March 28 pre-election
campaigns in which the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate
won.
The new women, parading what may be described as
robust
credentials, braved all odds to contest in elections like their male
counterparts to represent the people of their various political
constituencies or districts.
A few of them,
according to observers, will wield a lot of influence in the incoming
administration by the virtue of their positions as the wives of the
President or vice-president, while others will hold sway because of the
offices they occupy in the APC executive committee.
Aisha Buhari
The 44-year-old
wife of the President-elect, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, will automatically
become the country’s new First Lady on May 29 after her husband’s
inauguration.
The Adamawa
State born cosmetologist attended the famous Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public
Administration.
Though some
people have described the member of the United Kingdom Vocational
Training and Charitable Trust and the International Health and Beauty
Council as an introvert, she is said to be a consummate politician and
strong believer in the project Nigeria. The alumnus of the famous
Carlton Institute of London and the Academy Esthetique Beauty Institute
of France did tell everyone during the pre-election campaigns that her
husband, if elected, would give women opportunities to contribute to the
development of the country.
Hajiya Buhari
demonstrated her passion for the development of Nigerian women at a
campaign rally recently in Edo State, where she assured women that her
husband would initiate policies that would guarantee their improved
living standard.
She said, “I am
here to let Edo women know that when my husband is elected into office
as President, insecurity, the girl-child trafficking, the plight of the
widows in the South-East will be looked into.
“There must be a
cultural design that can accommodate the widow. A design that would
make the girl-child comfortable wherever she is in this country.
“The portion of
the girl-child is to have a high standard and moral society for her to
live in, get married, have children, train them and also mould them to
become future leaders.”
Dolapo Osinbajo
Little was known about Dolapo Osinbajo until her husband emerged as the APC vice-presidential candidate.
The grand-child
of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, is the leader of the Ladies
Fellowship of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Jesus House Paris,
Banana Island, Lagos.
Described as
humble and submissive wife by those who are close to her family, she
supported her husband in 2007 to establish “The Orderly Society Trust,” a
non- governmental organisation dedicated to the promotion of Christian
ethics and orderliness.
While others
sought political offices to touch the people’s lives, Mrs. Osinbajo
yearned for a different avenue to reach the larger society, especially
the poor. She therefore wrote and launched a book, “They Call Me Mama.”
She said the
drive to write the book came from her experiences with some “street boys
and men in Lagos State.” According to her, she aims to use the proceeds
from the book to sustain her efforts in getting the street urchins off
the roads and into homes. Mrs. Osinbajo said, “My weekly visit to the
boys in their hideout under the bridge for several years has filled me
with unforgettable stories. Reminiscences of these times are the focus
of this book. Our original meeting spot which was lovingly referred to
as ‘Under’, today; it has been transformed to the Muri Okunola Park.
“To me, they are
beloved children and they call me ‘Mama.’ They are lost, but can be
found. That was why I was compelled to write the book and I dedicate the
book to everyone who is lost.”
Remi Tinubu
The senator
representing Lagos Central is an educationist, administrator,
philanthropist and Officer of the Order of the Niger. She was described
as exemplary First Lady of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007 during
which period she founded the New Era Foundation; a non-profit
organisation, dedicated to youth development, girl-child education,
women empowerment and inspiring youths to excellence.
It was believed
that Tinubu’s re-election into the senate in the just concluded general
elections would make her become more influential in the next government
as she may head one of the sensitive committees in the upper legislative
chambers.
As a senator,
she hosts a quarterly town hall meeting with her constituents to render
accounts of her stewardship and obtain feedbacks on their developmental
needs. To date, she has sponsored three bills to provide Social Security
for Elderly Citizens; seek the Amendment of the Labour Act to enhance
employment opportunities for women and a bill to provide Special
Economic Assistance to Lagos State in view of its status as a former
capital city and the commercial capital of Nigeria.
Abike Dabiri-Erewa
The Chairman,
House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora Affairs, is also
considered as a force to reckon with in the forthcoming administration.
The dexterity
with which she coordinated the APC presidential campaign alongside a
senator-elect, Dino Melaye, had endeared her to the party.
Dabiri-Erewa was
first elected into the House of Representatives to represent Ikorodu
Constituency of Lagos State in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. She also won
re-election in 2011.
The former
Chairman, House Committee on Media and Publicity, had sponsored a number
of significant bills that were passed by the Parliament, including the
Freedom of Information Bill; a bill for an act to ensure full
integration of Nigerians with physical disabilities and eliminate all
forms of discrimination against them; the Nigerian Infant Health Welfare
Bill (ensuring every child under five receives free medical care);
Nigerian Diaspora Commission Bill; a bill to repeal Nigerian Press
Council Bill and replace it with the Nigerian Press and Journalism
Council Bill (strengthening the NPC and promote responsible journalism
and protect the welfare of journalists in Nigeria).
Dabiri-Erewa did
not contest for any elective office in the just concluded general
elections; observers are of the opinion that her performance as
Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Diaspora as well as her
activities during the APC campaign will earn her an enviable position in
the incoming cabinet.
Hajiya Ramatu Aliyu
The
President-General of the Global Women & Youth Empowerment Strategy
will no doubt command much respect in Buhari’s administration by the
virtue of her position as the APC Woman Leader.
Like her woman
colleagues, Ramatu Aliyu, sunk herself in APC’s activities to ensure
that the party wins the last presidential election.
Aliyu
demonstrated her commitment to the party by mobilising the electorate,
especially women, to collect their Permanent Voter Cards.
“The collection
of the PVCs represents a veritable instrument to ensure that the people,
to whom power resides, exercise their franchise in the legitimate
pursuit of free choice and popular sovereignty,” Aliyu had said in a
statement in Abuja.
Having
capitalised on the numerical strength of Nigerian women, the APC Woman
Leader told the women before the election that without the sacred power
to vote in a democracy, they could hardly effect the change which they
desire for the sake of their collective happiness and fulfilment.
He said,
“Nigerian women constitute over 50 per cent of active voters during
elections in the country. It is therefore, important that they avail
themselves of the historic opportunity offered by the exercise to
strengthen their electoral value and consolidate their demographic
advantage, especially as we approach the 2015 general elections.
“Accordingly, I
call on Nigerian women to rise in unison and ensure their active
participation in the exercise. They should troop out en-mass and ensure
that they collect their PVCs so that their votes will not only count but
make the difference during elections.
“I urge that in
the prevailing circumstance, our women should reaffirm their faith in
democratic change and strengthen their resolve to enthrone good
governance rooted in popular franchise, free and fair elections and
robust democratic engagement.”
Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan
Though the
Independent National Electoral Commission declared that the Peoples
Democratic Party candidate, Mr. Darius Ishaku, won the Taraba State
governorship election, the APC candidate in the poll, Senator Aisha
Alhassan, has demonstrated that she is a force to reckon with.
Alhassan’s
popularity grew after she defeated three male aspirants to clinch the
APC governorship ticket at the party’s primary held at Jolly Nyame
Stadium, Jalingo, amid heavy security.
If Al-Hassan had
won the Taraba State governorship election, she would have become the
first woman to be elected governor in the political history of the
country.
Al-Hassan, a
lawyer by training, rose to become Taraba State’s Attorney-General and
Commissioner of Justice. She was appointed the Chief Registrar of the
High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on December 17,
2003.
After she
retired from service, she won election on the PDP platform to represent
Taraba North Senatorial District in 2011, but defected to APC to seek
the latter’s governorship ticket ahead of the 2015 general elections.
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