Oluremi, Nana… Incoming ladies of Aso Villa

Behind every successful man, there is a woman. This is the case of Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Hajiya Nana Shettima who stood solidly behind their husbands in their quests to occupy Aso Villa, Nigeria’s seat of power.

While Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the 2023 presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, traversed the length and breadth of Nigeria, campaigning for votes and holding Town Hall meetings with interest groups and key members of the private sector, Oluremi and Nana didn’t just fold their arms at home; they got involved actively and played their part.

As soon as the APC flagged off its presidential campaign for 2023 presidential election in Abuja, on October 10, 2022, these two Amazons led the women wing of the APC to equally flag off their campaign in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, in support of the Tinubu-Shettima ticket.

Speaking at the event, which was held at the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin, Oluremi declared the resolve of the two women to stand solidly with their husbands.

“We as wives stand by our husbands to bring succour to the less privileged through entrepreneurship. For Tinubu/Shettima’s presidency, it means a greater Nigeria is on the horizon. Kwara was divinely chosen because it is a state of harmony,” she told the large crowd of women.

At a similar women rally held in Owerri, Imo State, for the South East region, Oluremi promised that if her husband is elected, women would have a seat at the table.

“We will deliver on all we have promised Nigerians and even more. I am a pastor and a deaconess. My husband has supported me all the way in my religion. Nigeria is beyond religion or tribe.

“We love the Igbo and we will do our best to bring prosperity to the East and give women all the support and employment they need. Women, this is your time, you will enjoy and have seats at the table,” she said amid cheers from women.

The South-South women campaign brought together women from Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo and Rivers states, at the U. J. Esuene Stadium, Calabar, the Cross River State capital. The campaign train also visited the People’s Sqaure, Kastina, for the North-West leg of the campaign, Maiduguri, Borno State capital, for North-East, as well as Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

At the Lagos rally held at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Onikan, Oluremi commended Nana, wife of Kashim Shettima, APC vice-presidential candidate, for her commitment to working for the good of the people.

“I see a kindred spirit in my sister, Hajiya Nana Shettima. When I first met her in my second term in the National Assembly, then I was chairing the Senate Committee on Women Affairs. There was a motion raised on the floor of the senate and we had to go to Borno State to observe what was going on in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. I visited Borno State while her husband was governor and I saw a woman passionate about the people. She served the women and the IDPs relentlessly.”

So, as their husbands stepped out on Wednesday, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, to receive their Certificate of Return from the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, these amazons walked with them hand in hand.

As Nigerians look forward to the official swearing in ceremony for the President-elect and Vice President-elect, Guardian Woman spotlights the incoming First Lady and Second Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Oluremi Tinubu is a politician who served as the First Lady of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and is currently a senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly. A member of the APC, she is also an ordained pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Sen. Tinubu started her educational career at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu-Ode where she obtained her West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Exam (WASSCE) in 1979, and Post-Graduate Diploma from The Redeemed Christian Bible College in 2010. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), and a National Certificate of Education in Botany and Zoology from the Adeyemi College of Education in Ondo State.

As first lady of Lagos State, she set up 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.

In 2015, she was one of over 100 senators elected in the 8th Assembly, six of which were women. At the 2019 general 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, Oluremi proposed a bill to reform the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to make it a more viable entity.

Other bills sponsored by her while in the Senate include the Criminal Code Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which aims to make three changes to the Criminal Code which are removing the statute of limitation on defilement, increasing the penalty for the crime of kidnapping, and eliminating gender restrictions in the definition of rape. This bill has been passed.

Another is the Lagos State Special Economic Assistance Programme (Establishment) Bill, 2019; Finance Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020; and Stamp Duties Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Sponsor), all in their first reading while the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshots Act (Amendment) Bill awaits committee report.

She also received the award for the most impactful female senator at The Guardian organised International Women’s Day Summit in 2021.

Nana Shettima

Born on July 22, 1975 in Kano State, to the family of Alhaji Usman Alkali, a retired Customs officer, and Hajiya Abubakar Albishir, young Nana who is the third child of her father and second child of her mother, attended the Tsangaya School, Maiduguri, and was later enrolled at the Lamisila Primary School in 1982.

On finishing from Lamisila Primary School in 1988, she proceeded to Government Girls College, Maiduguri, before heading for the University of Maiduguri, where she graduated in 2006 with a B.A (Hons) in English Language. She also obtained a Post-Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Education in 2006, after undertaking her mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

Being the wife to a commissioner who served in various ministries before becoming governor of the state, Nana has always gone the extra mile to touch the lives of the needy in her own little way.

Hence, with the emergence of Kashim Shettima as the governor of Borno State in May 2011, her philanthropic endeavours got a boost, as evident in the activities of her pet project, the SWOT Foundation. Duly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), SWOT has among its board members distinguished personalities, including Alhaji Mohammed Gwoza (Chairman); Hajiya Zainab Abdullahi (Treasurer) and Hajiya Yagana Alkali (Coordinator, Widows Affairs).

SWOT is committed to enhancing the welfare and quality of life of widows, orphans and the Almajiri, which is evident though its innovative, impactful programmes and projects. A part of its activities is supporting initiative that improves access to healthcare, credit facility and educational opportunities. All this is driven by the vision of a world with equal opportunity for all and to help alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable in its society as well as providing aid and creating the opportunity to mobilise the necessary resources in combating poverty.

In 2015, Hajiya Shettima emerged The Sun Most Supportive First Lady for her widowhood project and compassion for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).