Every woman adores a good man. Every woman desires to find an incredible man with tremendous potential to become great in life. But when you are fortunate to be married to a man that’s not just great but a phenomenon by all dimensions, then you must be warned it won’t be all sweet and rosy. It can come with humongous responsibilities and sacrifice. That is the lot of Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the APC presidential candidate and national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Indeed, it is true that behind every successful man there is a woman, so the old saying goes. Very true. But in Asiwaju’s case, his own woman has had to be the most steadfast and mentally strong woman ever. Senator Oluremi has had to be fiercely loyal to her husband, even in the face of persecution and unfounded allegations. They were driven into exile together during the horrendous days of the Abacha military junta that plunged the country into its darkest days in history. She stood by her man all through those gruelling days and not once did she make a whimper, persuading him to jettison what he was fighting for so they could go back home to live their normal lives again. She believed in the late MKO Abiola’s June 12 mandate just as much as he believed in it and was not ready to balk, even if it meant putting her life and that of her entire family on the line longer than she would’ve hoped for.
It couldn’t have been anything near easy. Staying underground with the children, in a foreign land, watching your back every minute and not knowing for how long things would stay that way can be quite heart-wrenching. It would have to take a woman built with the mental steel of a man to go through all that and come out unscathed psychologically and emotionally. But Oluremi not only came out unscathed, she soon found herself saddled with the responsibility of steering the affairs of Lagos state alongside her husband, as the first lady. And she held her own pretty well. She dignified the office and elevated it far beyond the expectations of many. If truth be told, in her time, not very many first ladies could hold a candle close to the absolutely gorgeous and dedicated Oluremi. And it must be said that this is where her individual brilliance, slowly but steadily, started to shine through. From her intelligent speeches, her often engaging interaction with the press and the public, many began to see she wasn’t just a pretty face fortunate to be married to the governor, she had something upstairs as well. She had class. She had charisma. She had panache. And she had intelligence. Tonnes of it! And soon, she began to come into her own, careful not to be seen competing with her husband for attention. But all of her incredibly brilliant mind soon came out to the fore in all its glory when she became a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria, representing Lagos Central senatorial district. This was the moment everyone, including those who despised her and her husband for no particularly sensible reason, began to see the power, the brilliance and the confidence of the woman called Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
Inside the National Assembly dominated predominantly by men, Senator Oluremi held her own pretty well. She would stand up before the men and push her cause, sometimes staring eye ball to eye ball with the men when tempers rose. During those moments, she let anyone who cared to listen know that, if you want to take her on, do so without pulling back your punches and forget she is Asiwaju’s wife because she could damn well defend herself. Many of the men soon found out, sometimes in very unpleasant circumstances, that not only could she defend herself even without Asiwaju anywhere near the Assembly, but she could also throw a few good intellectual punches herself if you push her to the wall. She did well as a senator. She would be remembered by many as one of the most articulate and outstanding female senators to ever strut her stuff on the political landscape.
For those of us who have watched her closely over the years, we know she is a lot more than that. She is possibly, in my book, the most underrated female politician to come out from this part of the planet. She is imbued with an extremely sound mind and a brain that simply stuns you when you go toe-to- toe on an intellectual exchange with her. Senator Remi is unbelievably knowledgeable about the dynamics of playing politics at the highest level. This has helped her navigate her way around the murky waters of politics. She served her people with all her might and gave them truly quality representation in all the 12 years she represented them. Little wonder why she is loved and adored to bits by her constituent. I was privileged to have attended one of her Town hall meetings and I saw first hand the profound affection her people showed her. Her accomplishments are huge, just as she has put together some of the most eye popping empowerment programmes ever witnessed in that part of the state.
Without a doubt in my mind, all of her accomplishments ordinarily should’ve given her bigger recognition and place her on a pedestal high up there with the very best. But, in this part of the world, all of that could count for nothing, especially if you’re the wife of one of the most revered and dreaded political juggernauts in the land. The thinking is that, everything she has achieved came about because she got some help from her husband. Not many give her credit for how well she’s done in politics, neither do they recognise the fact that she has proven to be an amazing woman and a seasoned politician with outstanding qualities. Take it or leave it, if this remarkable woman of immense substance was not Asiwaju’s wife, she would’ve been given her place of pride when the story of Nigerian women who held their own in politics is being told. This is why I say, and insist, she is possibly the most underrated female politician in the land today. But I can bet though that she would never wish to trade her place beside Asiwaju for anywhere else. That is where she wants to be. That is where she wants to spend the rest of her days. Nowhere else is good enough.
Her love story with her darling husband, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one that I hope to write about sometime soon. Perhaps a befitting moment will be when they both become the first family of Nigeria come next year when Asiwaju is sworn in as the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Jagaban Borgu is the man of the moment right now, the same one many can take a bullet for and who, in same breath, many love to denigrate. But in all, he is perhaps, after the late MKO Abiola, the biggest and most influential politician to grace our political landscape.
But, before the entire country and indeed the African continent came to know him as Asiwaju, Jagaban, Senator, His excellency the former governor, before all of these accolades and accomplishments came, to Remi, he was simply her ‘Bola,’ the dark, handsome, brilliant young man who swept her off her feet with his big, enchanting eye balls.
This week, this amazing woman, the silent Amazon behind Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Oluremi Tinubu celebrates her 62nd birthday. I join millions of Nigerians the world over to celebrate this incredible woman. I salute her courage. I salute her tenacity. And I salute her for all the sacrifices she has made both for her family and the nation. It is my hope and expectation, and hopefully I speak for the generality of Nigerians when I say that I look forward to seeing the very best of her starting from next year when she assumes office as the first lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Hopefully, if this comes to pass, then she will finally take her rightful place in our political and national history. The people have already spoken. They will do so with their votes next year. And you know what they say, that the voice of the people is the voice of God. So it is written, so it shall be done.
Have a blissful and happy birthday, ma!
WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
