From Ismail Omipidan, Abuja
Historically, there are several examples around the world of what ignoble or positive difference women around power can make. In Nigeria, public perceptions of women around power often influence the political trajectories of their husbands.
For Senator Oluremi Tinubu, she appears intentional in her efforts to support the Renewed Hope Agenda of her husband, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. For instance, her decision to donate two billion naira through her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) towards the eradication of Tuberculosis (TB) in Nigeria has further positioned her as a First Lady using her power and influence for positive impact. She made the donation in her capacity as both the Global and National Stop TB Champion.
Reports show that Nigeria ranks first in Africa and sixth globally among countries most affected by tuberculosis. As an airborne disease, TB poses a threat to everyone and is currently the second deadliest infectious killer after COVID-19. It is also among the top 10 causes of death worldwide. This makes the First Lady’s intervention both deliberate and timely, as it aims to safeguard the lives of vulnerable Nigerians.
In addition, she is championing the campaign to end the stigmatisation of people living with HIV/AIDS across the six geopolitical zones of the country. At the South-South campaign launch, she emphasised the need for Nigeria to seize the moment and join other countries in Africa who have achieved the UNAIDS 95-95-95 target, by 2030.
“The Free to Shine campaign seeks to significantly reduce new HIV infections among women of reproductive age, prevent mother-to-child transmission (vertical transmission), and ensure that every child born with HIV receives the necessary treatment and support to thrive. According to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, in 2024, there were over 100,000 children and nearly Two (2) Million adults living with HIV. Also, it is reported that most infants born to HIV-positive mothers, are not tested within the first two months of birth, largely due to the fact that the mothers are not aware or they are ignorant of the consequences of their inaction,” the first lady remarked.
She further said that by raising awareness and renewing commitments to take action, the campaign aligns with the shared vision of a healthier Nigeria where every individual, particularly women, youth, and children, can thrive, adding that the vision was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises health as a key pillar of national development.
Desirous of catching them young, Senator Oluremi Tinubu is also executing the “Flow with Confidence,” programme, through her Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI). Under the programme, each state, including the FCT, will receive 10,000 cartons of disposable sanitary pads, just as she emphasised environmental sustainability, which she noted, is necessitating the establishment of climate change clubs in secondary schools and tertiary institutions of learning.
According to her, the goal is to get the students more involved in climate change and waste management as well as ultimately having a recycling plant in each state, promoting waste management and reducing plastic pollution.
“We don’t have to be intimidated by the quantity of waste we see around us but we must get going and do something about it. We are starting now,” she declared.
She further revealed that RHI, will be supporting 250 persons with disabilities in each state with a N200,000 grant to recapitalise their already existing businesses.
For every event that happens in Nigeria, the First Lady ensures her office is recorded on the positive side of history. For instance, when the unfortunate tanker explosion occurred in Karu, on the Abuja-Keffi Highway, which led to the loss of many lives and property, she joined in commiserating with the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, the families of the deceased and injured, residents, affected business and property owners and the people of Abuja, just as she urged owners and drivers of vehicles, especially articulated ones, to ensure the road worthiness and good condition of their vehicles before putting them on the road to avert the recurrence of such sad incidents. “I pray Almighty God grants the souls of the departed eternal rest and their family and friends the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss. To the injured, I wish them speedy recovery,” she added.
At a recent event where she inaugurated State -of -the -Art Orphanage and Children’s Home in Nasarawa State, she noted that the well-being of all children, regardless of their background, is an essential pillar of development, as captured under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Inaugurating a 336-bed space home for Nana Berry Orphanage and Children’s Home at New Nyanya in Nasarawa State, she said the initiative underscored her commitment to improving the lives of vulnerable children across the country.
“I first learned about the plight of the children of Nana Berry Orphanage and Children’s Home while watching an interview of the Founder on NTA early in 2023. As a mother, I knew I had to act,” she noted
The First Lady encouraged the caregivers at the Home to continue providing love and guidance, urging the children to embrace opportunities and dream big.
She remarked: “You are special, you are loved, and you have a bright future ahead of you. This home is a stepping stone towards your dreams. I encourage you to learn, grow, and become the best version of yourselves. Also, learn to cultivate the habit of compassion. You are all contributors to what this Nation can become. The sky is your limit—so dream big!”.
She also highlighted the importance of keeping the orphanage focused on its core mission while ensuring the children’s needs are met. “We pray that everyone seated here, these children, they still need clothes on their backs, they need food to eat,” she said.
At the occasion, she also proposed an innovative farming approach, rather than get a farm land far away from the Home, as requested by the founder of the Home.
“I said no. This place is big enough, very big and I want this to be public, because when interest is divided, the children might suffer. I suggest you adopt smart farming techniques, using buckets to plant crops, which would be space-efficient and educational for the children.
“Nowadays we have something called smart gardening. You can grow in your bucket… You can grow yams in buckets, you can grow potatoes in buckets,” she said.
She acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to children’s development, aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She equally thanked the Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, for donating the land and ensuring the project’s success.
On his part, the governor, represented by his deputy, Emmanuel Akabe, reiterated the state government’s commitment to social welfare and emphasised the importance of the facility, emphasising its role in renewing the hope of the children who reside there.
“Today, we bring hope to those who have lost it. The dreams of these children are being revitalised, and as a state, we are committed to ensuring that this facility continues to thrive and serve its purpose.
Also speaking on the occasion, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said the Nana Berry Orphanage Home, reflects the President Tinubu administration’s commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda, ensuring no one is left behind, especially children, saying the power of collaborations and partnerships, birthed the rehabilitation and revitalisation of the Home.
Represented by Head, Conditional Grant Scheme OSSAP-SDGs, Ifeyinwa Ukaegbu, she noted that the facility provides a safe environment for learning and holistic development, supporting SDG Goal 4: Quality Education and SDG Goal 5: Gender Equality.
“It is part of our broader strategy to accelerate SDGs implementation in Nigeria, complementing initiatives like Mother and Child Hospitals and skill acquisition centres. The Facility, sits on an expanse of 4,000 Square Meters, with a 100 bed Boys Hostel, 100 bed Girls Hostel, Staff quarters, Classrooms, Sick Bays, and 2 Play Grounds and others,” she added.
While reeling out some of the achievements of the RHI in the last two years, Senator Oluremi Tinubu pointed out that the initiative has made significant impact in the areas of empowering women farmers, providing scholarships to indigent students, provision of professional kits to midwives in the North-Central and North-West geopolitical zones, provision of relief materials and funds to victims of disasters across the country, ICT training for women across the country, building of Alternative High School for Girls, supporting the Elderly and providing food items to vulnerable groups among others.
Asking what her priority would be in 2025, she said “Everything, everything, there is no priority. It depends on like the flow with confidence initiative, we still have to manufacture the sanitary towels so, and we’re trying to produce locally, which is going to create jobs and put money in our economy.”
“We want the students from tertiary institutions that are especially in the faculty of environment, and I believe that they want to see even those in biological sciences.”
She pointed out that there was a need for a “can-do spirit” among young people, urging them to work towards achieving their goals.“Hard work is one of the tenets, that you know, took us out of poverty. Faith without works is dead. Go and work, work for this country. Let this country grow,” she added.
Daily Sun’s investigations reveal that the President’s wife’s philanthropic gesture across the country, especially in the North, is what is being misconstrued in some quarters that is making the likes of Solomon Dalung, former minister in the former President Buhari’s administration to allege that the First Lady was going around to “northern minority Christians, and misinforming them or luring them with this argument that the northern Muslims have rejected Tinubu, so they should come and own the President”.
But impeccable sources dismissed Dalung’s claim. One of the sources said “it is sad how people could degenerate to become a desperado once out of office. This guy (Dalung) supported Labour (party) during the last elections and as we are chatting, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu is in Delta State with the Vice President’s wife, pursuing her Pet Programmes. I challenge him (Dalung) to name three Northern States that the First Lady visited in the past 12 months and the Vice President’s wife was not there. The Vice President’s wife, Hajia Nana Shettima has been a constant presence and must know if such meetings were ever held. It is just pure mischief. Look, there are only two Northern States with a clear Christian majority: Benue and Plateau States while Adamawa and Taraba are contentious.”
In less than two years of his husband’s administration, there’s hardly any part of the country that has not felt the impact of the First Lady. With Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s imprints so far, pundits say, Nigeria could not have asked for a better First Lady.