The Roll Of First Lady In Nigeria Politics As Written By Gesiye Obireke
The Roll Of First Lady In Nigeria Politics As Written By Gesiye Obireke
My mother once told me a story about an incident during the Nigerian civil war. According to her, the then Head of State Gen. Gowon, a bachellor then, was accompanied by a young lady to a social function and as the MC was introducing the dignitaries, he had nothing appropriate with which to address the lady and so he merely joked by saying something like 'His Excellency is here with someone and I don't know who she is but I believe something is in the offing' and everybody roared with laughter. Within a few months, Gen. Gowon got married in 1969! Her name is Victoria, a nurse, now retired of course. She was only seen near her husband but never heard. That was Nigeria from the time of Azikiwe, Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa down to Buhari in 1984 until IBB brought 'first ladyship' into the Nigerian polity! Maryam Babangida came with Better Life for the Rural Woman, Maryam Abacha continued with Family Support Programme (FSP) and by the time of the transition to democracy in 1999, first ladies became godmothers in their own right in the persons of Mrs. Yar' Adua and Mrs. Jonathan! Over the decades these wives of our leaders came up with fantastic ideas that could'v
What started like a minor bruise over the decades festered into a malignant tumor in our polity! The only thing that caught my attention when Gen. Buhari was campaigning was when he said he'll do away with 'first ladyship'! This has been a conduit for looting at federal and state levels for decades and Nigerians have grown numb to this as it has snuck past our moral guard and has destabilized our spiritual central nervous system, christians and muslims alike! Our women who used to be honest and simple have over time become ostentatious and virtue less even among clerics! Since this kind of change does not require funds to implement only moral courage, the President Elect must make good on his promise as soon as he is sworn in and work with the agency required by law to champion the cause of women which is the Ministry of Women Affairs! This gesture I believe will engender the moral re-armament needed by Nigerians together with the new govt to fight corruption! By our constitution, the first lady is a private citizen, a glorified tag-along, what we call 'oga wife' in our local parlance! Nigerians are eagerly waiting for the new govt to act when the euphoria dies down and the chief indicator will be the body language of Mr. President Elect! Every other campaign promise will take time that Nigerians don't have. We can no longer stand the vulgar display of wealth in the midst of poverty while you keep telling us to be calm and law abiding! The bar must be raised for quality leadership as well as quality followership! The 'IT IS OUR TURN' mentality must be done away with or else this new govt will fail (God forbid)! Congratulations Gen. Buhari! God bless Nigeria!
Credit: Gesiye Obireke
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