Late Mariam BabangidaAisha Buhari , wife of President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria’s First Lady, has acknowledged the trail blazing roles played by late Maryam Babangida, wife of the former Nigeria’s military President, retired General Ibrahim Babangida and First Lady.
Aisha commended the late First Lady for her particular efforts in the establishment and running of her Better Life Programme for Rural Women.
At an organized event in Abuja, the nation’s capital today, January 31, to mark the 10th anniversary of her death, Aisha Buhari admitted that late Maryam Babangida’s Better Life for Rural Women, served to awaken the consciousness of women.
Aisha Buhari also commended late Maryam Babangida for initiating the National Women Commission as the first institutionalized machinery for women development in the country, which led to the concept of women in development becoming a permanent feature in development planning.
She added that all first ladies that came after her initiated programmes in order to add value to the work of their husbands.
On the Future Assured programme, which she initiated, Aisha Buhari said that it focuses on the challenges of women as captured by the various development goals, including health and well-being of women and children, empowerment of women and youth, equitable quality education for women and girls, as well as protection of women’s rights.
She expressed concerns on the reoccurring challenges of gender-based violence and drug abuse in the Nigerian society and called for concerted effort to find solutions to end the menace.
