Stella Obasanjo; First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999 till her demise in October, 2005. Stella was praised as a stablising influence in the nation’s turbulent political turf and a leash on the husband’s mercurial temper. Her visits to Yola 聽during the incarceration of her husband by the Abacha regime on charges of coup plotting took several days often[i].
Mrs. Obasanjo’s project that was named the Child Care Trust was designed to minister to the needs of the Nigerian child and it borrowed a leaf from Better Life Project (BLP) of Mrs. Maryam Babangida and the Family Support Programme of Mrs. Maryam Abacha[ii].
Born November 14, 1945, in Warri,聽Delta State, Stella attended Our Lady聽of Apostles Primary School, Yaba, Lagos,聽1955-1959. Thereafter, she went to St.聽Theresa’s College, Ibadan, Oyo State,聽and passed her West African School聽Certificate Examination in Division One.
In 1966, Stella聽passed the Higher School聽Certificate, HSC, and then proceeded to聽the then University of Ife, now Obafemi聽Awolowo University, to study English,聽1967 to 1969. Between 1970 and 1974,聽she studied Insurance in London and聽Edinburgh, Scotland. She also qualified聽as a confidential secretary at Pitman’s聽College in 1976.
Stella returned to Nigeria in 聽1976 and married Olusegun Obasanjo, then a military head of state, the same year, under traditional laws and customs.聽She was a staunch Catholic, and she formally聽got married to the President in church in聽April,2005, in a most quiet and private聽ceremony unknown to many.
Stella held many traditional titles. She also had many international awards, including the Indira Gandhi Award for Women of Substance and The Peace Award given by Liberia International in Oxford, England, both in 1996; Africa achievement Award, Los Angeles, US, 2000; Global Safe Motherhood Award, White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, 2001; and International Recognition Award on Women and AIDS, 2000, among others聽[iii].
聽
[i] Punch July 20, 1996
[ii] The News July 7, 2003
[iii] TELL November 14, 2005
