Senator Oluremi Tinubu, OON: The First Lady in waiting?

BISIRIYU OLAOYE (08037148841)

alabieyoo@yahoo.com

Senator Balikis Oluremi Tinubu, OON, an ordained Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), and wife of the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Bol Ahmed Tinubu, is the Senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District in the Senate.

A three-term Senator has been in the Upper Chamber since May 2011 and by the end of her present term in 2023, she would have served for 12 years. She won the present seat after winning the re-election in the March 28, 2015 polls.

Her guiding principles as a Senator are integrity, fairness, Godliness and selflessness. She is the founder of the New Era Foundation dedicated to establishing centres for “all-round public awareness development of young ones and promote public awareness on environmental health community service”.

From First Lady to Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the educationist, administrator and philanthropist is an inspiration to many. According to her, the kindness in her husband, Bola Tinubu (Jagaban Borgu), attracted her to him.

She has been able to interact more with her constituents through her Quarterly Town Hall meetings, a feedback mechanism to ensure accountability and transparency; post-secondary scholarship scheme (PSS). The second phase of the four-year scholarship scheme commenced with 26 shortlisted zonal intervention projects.

Oluremi Tinubu has executed a lot of philanthropic acts to alleviate the plight of indigent persons and most importantly, she has touched the lives of girls and women in her constituency. She has also written a number of publications; including an auto-biography- The Journey of Grace – My FaithWalk.

She has been honoured severally locally and internationally in recognition of her achievements and contributions to uplift society. Among these are the National award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON); Fellowship of both Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo and College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti; Member, Board of Trustees of Kings’ University, Ode-Omu; Ghana Noble International Award for Leadership (2004); Gambian Diamond Award for Immense Contribution to the Emancipation of People from Poverty (2005); many citations and chieftaincy titles.

Also, in appreciation of her contributions as a role model, the AFAO/WAWA (Association Des Femmes De L’Afrique De L’Ouest/West African Women Association) named the Oluremi Tinubu Women Training Centre in Gorom, Senegal after her.

Oluremi Tinubu was born on September 21, 1960, to an Itsekiri mother and Yoruba father. She was the youngest of 12 children and was raised in Ogun State. She became the First Lady of Lagos State when her husband, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was elected governor at the return of civilian rule in 1999.

She started her educational career at Our Lady of Apostles Secondary School, Ijebu-Ode, where she obtained her West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1979.

Mrs. Tinubu received a B.Sc. in Education from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU), and a National Certificate of Education in Botany and Zoology from the Adeyemi College of Education in Ondo.  She also got a postgraduate diploma from The Redeemed Christian Bible College in 2010.

Senator Tinubu was one of the over 100 senators elected in the 8th Assembly in 2015. Six of these were women.

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, and in March 2021, Senator Tinubu proposed a bill to reform the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) to make it more viable.

Oluremi Tinubu has executed many life touching projects to alleviate the plight of indigent people, especially women and girls. No wonder, she received the award for the most impactful female senator at The Guardian organised International Women’s Day Summit, 2021.

She is an ordained pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Her ordination took place in 2018 at the Old Arena of the church at the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, where the church held its 66th annual convention titled, Dominion. She is also the Grand Matron of the Committee of Wives of Lagos Sate Officials (COWLSO).

As her third-term tenure in the Senate ends in 2023, it is certain that Senator Oluremi Tinubu is not returning to the Upper Chamber, as her husband, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has emerged the Presidential candidate of APC for next year’s general election.

If he is elected President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu will definitely be the First Lady of Nigeria from May 29, 2023 and will bring her experience to bear on the new role and position in alleviating the suffering of the people especially women and children across the country.

These roles will not be difficult to perform for Oluremi Tinubu because she has been used to them when she served as the First Lady in Lagos State (1999-2007) as well as the Senator representing Lagos Central Constituency for three consecutive terms.