Nigerian First Ladies of Blessed Memory

Mrs Maryam Babangida was arguably the most popular first lady this country has had in its 49 years of existence as an independent country. It is not surprising therefore that news of her death was received with so much anguish and sadness. But Mrs Babangida is not the first “First Lady” (former or incumbent) to have died in Nigeria’s chequered history. There were others before her.

Stella Obasanjo
The news of her death in the early hours of Sunday, October 23, 2005 was received with shock and disbelief. She had travelled to Spain on a private visit for what was described as a simple cosmetic surgical procedure. Unfortunately, there were unexpected complications and the First Lady literally died on the operating table. She died a month to her 60th birthday. From a privileged background, late Mrs Obasanjo was born on November 14, 1945 into the family of Chief Christopher Abebe. She married General Olusegun Obasanjo in 1978 and became Nigeria’s First Lady in 1999 following Obasanjo’s election as the country’s President. She is mostly remembered for her elegant dress sense and pet project, the Child Care Trust, which she established for the care of the underprivileged and disabled children.

Safinatu Buhari
As Nigeria’s First Lady for the 20 months or so that her husband presided over the affairs of the nation as military head of state, Safinatu Buhari remained almost entirely in the background. But the few times she made brief public appearances and attended official functions, she came across as a shy but likeable woman. Her husband, General Muhammadu Buhari, was overthrown on August 27, 1985 in a palace coup and he was detained for nearly four years. His marriage to Safinatu seemed to suffer greatly as a result and when he was eventually released, the couple divorced. After the divorce, Safinatu chose a quiet life in the family house at Inuwa Wada Road, Ungwar Rimi in Kaduna. It was in this house that she took ill and breathed her last on January 15, 2006. She was 53.

Hajia Zainab Abubakar
She was the first of late Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa’s wives and was therefore the First Lady in more than just the political sense. Between 1960 and 1966, Tafawa Balewa ruled Nigeria as the Prime Minister. And in that capacity, he was the chief executive officer of the country. This in turn, made Hajia Zainab the country’s First Lady. In those days however, prominence was not given to the role and Hajia spent what would have been her tenure completely in the background. After her husband was executed in the bloody coup of 1966, she retired to Bauchi with the rest of the family and lived an almost completely anonymous life. Very little was heard of her until Saturday, December 17, 2009 when the Tafawa Balewa family announced her passing away. She died after a protracted illness. She was 97.