Dr. Maryam Babangida, Nigeria’s First Lady between 1985 and 1993, has been described, and rightly too, as the President’s spouse who brought glamour and visibility to the office of the First Lady in Nigeria. Beyond glamour, she also made tangible impact in the lives of women not only in Nigeria but throughout Africa. And the instrument she used in achieving that was her highly successful pet pet project, Better Life for Rural Women.
The First Lady coinage is to a large extent an American franchise embedded in the presidential system of government being practiced in the United States, though the office has no mention in government documents. Over the centuries, the office has evolved to become an important component of the White House with the First Lady being the chief host, attending government functions with her spouse or even alone as the situation may demand. Today, the Office of First Lady enjoys a modicum of financial support for her staff and activities in the United States.
In the Nigerian presidential system which was first introduced in 1979, nothing was heard or seen about the office of the First Lady under President Shehu Shagari of blessed memory.
However, the upstage of that regime brought in General Ibrahim Babangida to power in 1985 and just as soon as the government began to settle down, the Office of the First Lady began to have space in the Nigerian lexicon.
Perhaps, the convocation of the Beijing’s Conference in 1985 and Dr. Maryam Babangida’s takeaway from that conference could be said to be an impetus for her aggressive pursuit of a better space for the Nigerian women in government or her personal intuition for a better society or a combination of both played a significant part in her efforts to better the lots of the Nigerian women, especially the rural dwellers.
If Barrack Obama had ruled in the United States before the time of Babangida in Nigeria, one would have thought that Maryam Babangida got her inspiration from Michelle Obama to do what she did. Alas, the reverse here is the case. In flare and carriage, the two women have a lot in common.
What Maryam Babangida started as a campaign for better life for the Nigerian women in terms of position in government and access to financial support to make them have a better say and contribution to the growth of the society was soon to assume an African status and perhaps a global phenomenon. The 35 percent affirmation of position in government which was one of the high points of the Beijin Conference was later adopted by many countries around the world through the rigorous campaign by Maryam Babangida and others who shared her views.
The person could be said to make the office rather than the office making the person and this succinctly suits the office of the First Lady within the Nigerian context. Since she left office with her husband some 27 years ago, we have had some seven occupants of the position and each sustaining and doing the best, but none could be said to have the clout and focus with which Maryam Babangida carried the office.
As we remember her today (December 27, 2020), we pray Allah continue to retain her among the saints and grant good health to her husband and the children.
