Who is maryam babangida

The former military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida rtd , asked the interviewer, Ngozi Alaegbu, again, with his head bent as if to search through the penetralia of his mind. His answer would suggest that for the close to eight years he ruled Nigeria as a military leader; thus the man whose policies still influence the politics of Nigeria has little or no regret.

But he did have one wish: that his parents were alive to see him become not only a military officer but a prominent personality in the affairs of the nation.

Babangida lost both parents, Mohammad and Aisha, when he was only Mohammad and Aisha Babangida. It is one incident that he still would wish could be reversed.

This yearning stemmed from their prayers for him as a little child. He recollected eavesdropping in their conversations and learning of their prayers and confidence that he will grow to become an influential personality in his community. Babangida proceeded to Nigerian Military Training College in and received his commission as a second lieutenant as a regular combatant officer in the Royal Nigerian Army almost a year later.

He received further military training from different institutions including the Royal Armoured Centre in the United Kingdom, where he received instruction in gunnery and the Saladin armoured car. Bravery- a necessary trait for soldiers- spurned Babangida on during the Nigerian Civil War in the late s. As the commander of the 44 Infantry Battalion which was involved in heavy fighting within the Biafran territory, Babangida suffered a gunshot on the right side of his chest during a reconnaissance operation from Enugu to Umuahia in His battalion had come under heavy enemy fire in Uzuakoli in Abia.

He was immediately flown to Lagos, a gesture he still finds unusual. Doctors offered to remove the shrapnel but Babangida, as valiant as ever, refused. As he laid on the hospital bed, his life flashed before his eyes and the elder statesman, for a moment, knew that he wanted more from life. The Commander-in-Chief at the time was General Yakubu Gowon who according to the former Head of State had gotten married during that period.

I was very impressed with the way their marriage was going. And God was kind. I was very frequent at their house and her brothers, cousins and the whole family were with me. So when I asked, there was no opposition whatsoever. Few months later we got married. Babangida and Maryam tied the nuptials on September 6, , shortly before her 21st birthday, while he, Babangida, had just turned They were blessed with four children. Until her death in , Maryam was renowned for her fashion and penchant for women development.

Following the launch of the programme, other wives of military governors were tasked to understand the plight of rural women in their specific states and create projects that will benefit rural women and linking such projects to the appropriate state ministry.

However, the programme was criticized for its use of public funds by a first lady. Analysts and critics questioned whether it was constitutional or not and viewed the project as a means to increase the personality of the first lady.

In this way, she inherited the aura of privileged nobility that is native to the Hausa people of Nigeria, the diligence and industriousness known to be Igbo in origin, and the sharp, no-nonsense attitude of the Deltan community. These traits served her well, as the wife of the military boss, a first lady, and a woman come into her own.

The marriage, a matrimonial union of bliss and harmony was blessed with four children — Mohammed, Aminu, Aisha, and Halima. It is common knowledge that it was she who animated the office of the First Lady, bringing music and colour to the political jungle at the time.

It was she who founded the Better Life programme to empower rural women and liberate them from poverty, a feat that was as radical in scope then as it would be now. Her death in at age 61 reminded many that if there were world enough and time, such folks as Maryam Babangida would never stop changing lives. Ten years later, that woman of great beauty, elegance, and style is still inspiring ladies to speak up, take control and do stuff. Like this: Like Loading