One of these women may become Nigeria’s First Lady

From the outcome of the just concluded presidential primaries, Nigerians have been presented with four top contenders from which the next president of the country would most likely emerge. The top four contenders are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Anambra governor, Peter Obi (Labour Party) and former Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).Should any of the above presidential candidates emerge as the next president, his wife automatically becomes the First Lady of the country.

Although Nigeria’s constitution does not create an office for the country’s First Lady, wives of presidents over time had wielded strong influences beyond managing the domestic affairs of the first families as they played key roles in terms of who got political appointments and other important decisions taken by their husbands.

A number of them initiated pet projects which focused mainly on the empowerment of women, girls and children. The first ladies also had aides and domestic staff attached to them.

Since Nigeria’s First Republic, the country has had 15 first ladies. They are Flora Azikiwe, Victoria Aguiyi Ironsi, Victoria Gowon, Ajoke Muhammed, Esther Oluremi Obasanjo, Hadiza Shagari, Safinatu Buhari, Maryam Babangida, Margaret Shonekan, Maryam Abacha, Fati Lami Abubakar, Stella Obasanjo, Turai Yar’adua and Aisha Buhari.

Daily Trust Saturday examines the profiles of the wives of the presidential candidates who stand the chance of becoming the next First Lady should their husbands win at the poll.

Chief (Mrs) Amina Titilayo Atiku Abubakar

Amina Titilayo is one of the wives of the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2023 elections.

She is not new in the Aso Villa politics as she had held sway as the officially recognised wife while her husband was vice president.

Amina hails from Ilesa in Osun State but was born in Lagos.

In 1971, she married Atiku Abubakar, then a young customs officer, before attending Kaduna Polytechnic.

She had her primary education in Lagos and her secondary education at St Mary’s Catholic Grammar School, Iwo in Osun State.

She obtained her HND in Catering and Hotel Management from Kaduna Polytechnic in 1983.

Because of her exceptional performance, she was offered automatic employment as a lecturer in the same institution, where she taught for 10 years.

Mrs Abubakar holds a postgraduate diploma in Business Administration and a master’s degree in Business Administration, both from the University of Abuja.

She undertook a specialist course in Hotel Management at the Scuola International de Science Turistiche Roma, Italy, under the auspices of the World Tourism Organisation and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

It was while she was in Italy that she came across women, especially Nigerian women, in their prime, abusing their bodies through prostitution.

In 1999, when her husband became Nigeria’s vice president, she started an advocacy to end forced prostitution and other forms of human trafficking.

First, she founded the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF) and sponsored a private bill for strict punishment for traffickers, and for the establishment of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), responsible for fighting trafficking of persons in Nigeria.

She used the WOTCLEF platform to sensitise Nigerians on the detrimental effects of human trafficking, not only on its victims but on the image and security of Nigeria as a country.

She also ran education courses focused on welcoming and rehabilitating girls repatriated from different countries back home to Nigeria.

Chief Mrs Abubakar is a recipient of numerous awards and titles. In 2003, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appointed her as a partner in the crusade against child illiteracy.

Other honours include Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary International, Merit Award from the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and the Woman of Excellence Award 2003 from Dublin, the Republic of Ireland.

In 2002, she was honoured with the Nigerian Woman of the Year awarded by Dame International, among others.

Amina Titi Abubakar is the author of a number of publications, including Educating the Nigerian Child, Empower Law to Fight Child Slavery. Let Us Celebrate Humanity: A Collected Speeches on Women’s Right and Human Trafficking

Senator Oluremi Tinubu 

She is the wife of the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. She was born on September 21, 1960 and hails from Ogun State. The former First Lady of Lagos State is currently a senator representing Lagos Central. She is a member of the APC.

Pastor Oluremi Tinubu started her educational career at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu-Ode, where she obtained her West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1979. She also got a postgraduate diploma from The Redeemed Christian Bible College in 2010.

She further received a Bachelor of Education from the University of Ife and a National Certificate in Education in Botany and Zoology  from Adeyemi College of Education.

She became the First Lady of Lagos State when her husband, Bola Tinubu, was elected as governor.

As First Lady, she established the New Era Foundation, dedicated to establishing centres for “all round development of young ones and promoting public awareness on environmental health and community service.”

Senator Tinubu was one of the over 100 senators elected in the 8th Assembly in 2015. Six of these were women.

At the 2019 elections, she retained her senatorial seat, representing Lagos Central, making it her third tenure in office.

She was listed alongside Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Tony Elumelu and other prominent people for the Eko Excellence Awards in 2019.

In 2020, she called for the creation of state police as a way of tackling the rising spate of insecurity in the country.

In March 2021, Senator Tinubu proposed a bill to reform the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to make it more viable.

Oluremi Tinubu has executed a lot of philanthropic acts to alleviate the plight of indigent people, especially women and girls.

She has also written a number of publications; including an autobiography – The Journey of Grace: My Faith Walk.

Mrs Tinubu received the award for the most impactful female senator at The Guardian organised International Women’s Day Summit, 2021.

She also won several awards and received several honours, among them are the National Award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON); Member, Board of Trustees of Kings’ University, Ode-Omu; Ghana Noble International Award for Leadership (2004); Gambian Diamond Award for Immense Contribution to the Emancipation of People from Poverty (2005).

She is an ordained pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Her ordination took place in 2018 at the Old Arena of the church at the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, where the church held its 66th annual convention titled, Dominion.

She is also the Grand Matron of the Committee of Wives of Lagos Sate Officials (COWLSO)

Mrs Margaret Obi (Margaret Brownson Usen) 

Margaret Obi, also known as Margaret Brownson Usen, is the wife of a former Anambra governor and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.

She hails from Calabar in Cross River State.

Obi and Margaret Brownson Usen married in 1992 and have two children.

Margaret was the driving force behind her husband’s National Gender Affirmative Action, which ensured that women received at least half of the seats in Obi’s cabinet while he was Anambra governor.

Margaret is recognised for her humility despite her intelligence, which she kept disguised while working tirelessly and invisibly to boost her husband’s administration’s popularity.

She is also noted for her unwavering commitment to women’s empowerment and child welfare.

She handled the disbursement of dry-season farming equipment grants to women cooperatives while her husband was governor of Anambra.

She also helped the state’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development (MWAPD) establish Family Courts to deal with child abuse and violation of women’s rights, including widows’ right to inheritance.

Salamatu Musa Kwankwaso

Hajiya Salamatu Musa Kwankwaso is the wife of a former Kano State governor, Musa Kwankwaso, the presidential candidate of the NNPP.

Much of her profile and pictures are not available in the public domain.

While her husband served as governor of Kano State for two terms, she kept a very low profile as there was no recognition accorded to the office of the First Lady during the Kwankwaso administration in the state.

She was more engaged in handling the affairs of the first family at the domestic level and seldom seen in official engagements and political activities while her husband was in office.

It is not clear if Hajiya Salamatu would still continue to maintain her low profile if her husband succeeds in becoming the next president, or she would exert herself as other wives of past Nigerian presidents. (Daily Trust)