The recommendation by the Summit on Emerging Trends in the Role of the First Lady in National Development, that the office of the wife of the president and her counterparts at state levels be institutionalized, ostensibly because of their achievements, is an extra-constitutional and ego-massaging aberration and insult to the Nigerian people. At a time the nation is suffocating for breath under bureaucratic overweight, corruption, Covid-19 and the worst economic recession in decades, this obnoxious proposal constitutes another drainpipe on the public treasury. It will be a needless and wasteful deployment of public funds by the wives of the president and state governors, whose jumbo perks in office is already asphyxiating the nation. This is another clear example of the insensitivity and profligacy of government that has bloated the cost of governance and rendered Nigerian democracy unproductive. It is mind-boggling that the so-called first ladies, operating under a ceremonial platform unknown to the constitution, could even contemplate such a project with no redeeming value to the Nigerian people. It is absurd, offensive, totally immoral and embarrassing to the country!
Organized by the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari in collaboration with Women and National Development (WAND), the communique issued at the end of the summit and made available to the media last Saturday, was signed by Dr. Betsy Obaseki, first lady, Edo State (summit chair) and Dr. Hajo Sani, senior special assistant to the president on administration and women affairs, in the office of the first lady. According to the communique, the “summit affirmed the tremendous achievements made by Her Excellency Dr. Aisha Buhari, her predecessors, and wives of the State Governors in Nigeria and resolved that policy and administrative measures are required at national and state levels to formally accommodate the existence of this indispensable office as a complement to inclusive governance. This will also foster more accountability and transparency in governance.” The summit also encouraged every first lady to champion an issue or a cause; and admonished that projects should be structured as sustainable legacy projects that will not fold after the initiator leaves office.
Fair enough! But with all due respect, public funds should not be used for that purpose. Mrs. Obaseki, who has now assumed the unflattering title of “Her Excellency”, must be cautioned so her actions don’t interface with her extra-constitutional role as wife of the Edo state governor. By even involving the office of the first lady, the summit magnified the impropriety of the wives of serving state governors, being so elevated in a manner that leaves much to be desired. The decision by Aisha Buhari to be part of this jamboree, even as Nigerians are scavenging for survival under her husband’s watch is invidious imperviousness at its worst. The galling effrontery to waste taxpayers’ money for an event that adds no value to the country, negates all that public morality stands for and is outright provocation and contempt for the Nigerian people. It typifies an official endorsement of public officials abusing their offices and the trust reposed on them by ordinary citizens.
Although the “summit discussed the dismal numbers of women in leadership and decision-making in Nigeria and challenged First Ladies to serve as mentors and champions in order to open doors for more women in public life,” urging them to be more visible as role models for women and youth in order to highlight their contributions and showcase their leadership importance at the national and sub-national level, the entire episode diminishes the first lady, the presidency and the state governors and throws up unsavory issues of power, abusive privilege and greed, as the summit constitutes a moral burden on the image of the presidency. Embarrassing as it is to the Nigerian people, the proposal is hardly unique and offers just another window into the tragic kleptocratic narrative by the spouses and family members of public officials that has become synonymous with governance at all levels in Nigeria.
This proposed profligacy speaks directly to the grotesque sense of priorities among Nigeria’s political elite who squander the spoils of office on trinkets and other trivialities that tickle their fancy, while the majority of the people go hungry. Institutionalizing the office of first lady will set a wrong precedence that would reverberate across the 774 LGAs in the country. Such outrageous extravagance is greed, avarice, and plain wickedness that points to a flamboyant imaginary self-concept, deeply rooted in moral degeneracy and selfishness. Democracy has become an unbearable burden to the people of this country. Since 1999 the political class as a whole has shown impetuous and irresponsible behavior at the expense of the people. Public officials and their family members are squandering the resources of the nation. The looting and waste going on in the name of governance has no parallel anywhere else and is responsible for the breeding of an angry and alienated citizenry who see no dividend in this democracy. Long-suffering Nigerians have been waiting for the sanitization of the system but it has gotten worse.
Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has had 14 first ladies: Flora Azikiwe (1963-66); Victoria Aguiyi-Ironsi (Jan-July 1966); Victoria Gowon (Aug 1966-July 1975); Ajoke Muhammed (July 1975-Feb 1976); Esther Obasanjo, first wife of Gen Olusegun Obasanjo, was the 5th first lady (Feb 1976-Oct 1979). Safinatu Buhari, first wife of Gen Muhammadu Buhari, was 6th (Dec 1983-Aug 1985); Maryam Babangida was the 7th (Aug 1985 – August 1993) followed by Margaret Shonekan (Aug-Nov 1993); Maryam Abacha (Nov 1993 – July 1998); Justice Fati Abubakar (June 1998 – May 1999); Stella Obasanjo, OBJ’s second wife became the 11th first lady from May 29, 1999 and passed on while in office on October 23, 2005. Turai Yar’Adua was the 12th (May 2007-Feb 2010); Patience Jonathan, aka “Mama Peace” was the 13th (May 2010 – May 2015). Aisha Buhari, second wife of incumbent President Buhari, became the 14th First Lady of Nigeria on May 29, 2015 till date. From Flora Azikiwe to Aisha Buhari, these women have become much more formidable and powerful as they have grown to become pillars through various empowerment schemes and outreaches to women, youths and children.
But it bears repeating: the office of the first lady is not known in law. It is a ceremonial position from which the lucky spouse is expected to use her personal comportment to enhance her husband’s image. To the extent that it serves some public good – charity, humanitarian causes, it is tolerated and supported with state resources. But even in America, where the idea evolved in the late 1800s, first ladies observe rules and never dare attempt to usurp the powers of their husbands, let alone drag them to the dangerous grounds of infringement of the constitution. The First Lady’s status is a moral pulpit from which the highest of values cherished by a nation are expected to be espoused, especially by example. It is no podium for unconstitutional actions, substantive or symbolic.
Despite the power first ladies wield at both the federal and state levels, despite their ability to navigate the corridors of power for access, their penchant for official recognition, to the extent that they seek institutional accommodation for their status, points to a lack of restraint and a weak governance culture. Politicians, whether in government or opposition, appear not to have guidelines on acceptable conduct and discipline. From the President right down to local council chairmen, elected officials and their family members enjoy luxury lifestyles, and clearly do not see themselves facing the vicissitudes of ordinary life in Nigeria. The first lady and the spouses of state governors should ask themselves if and when they ever heard that the office of the first lady and wives of governors in any country outside Africa have such institutional recognition.
It must however be admitted though, that more than anybody else in Nigeria, the first lady and wives of state governors; have the ears of their spouses – the president and governors. At night, alone with their husbands, they would do well to whisper into those ears. They should tell their husbands that Nigerians deserve better from their leaders. Nigerians can only hope these women don’t trifle with this duty to have a heart-to-heart with their husbands as advocates for millions of suffering Nigerian. They must cajole and nudge their husbands to roll up their sleeves and go to work for all Nigerians, not the special, privileged interests whose company they keep. That’s the best way to repay those they inadvertently insulted by their effrontery and ill-advised quest for institutional recognition. Nigerians deserve nothing less from their first ladies!
