THE office of the First Lady in Nigeria, created by many governors, has become a hotly coveted title among some state governors who have more than one wife, as the rivalry between their wives spills into the public space
In a not-too-subtle competition for influence, Titilola and Ngozi, the two wives of the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, locked horns, each claiming to be the First Lady of the state.
Titilola, reputed to be the governor’s first wife, proudly bears the traditional title of Yeye Soludero of Ila Orangun in Osun State. She was honoured with the NET Ambassador award in 2023.
The governor’s other wife, Ngozi, from Dimorji Obokwe Mbieri in Imo State, was named the Face of Adire by former president Olusegun Obasanjo. She also recently received the United Nations Peace Ambassador award.
On April 22, 2024, two viral photos of the posters bearing the photos of the wives of the governor welcoming Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, to the state went viral on social media.
Senator Tinubu was billed to be in Osogbo, the state capital, the next day for the inauguration of the Alternative High School for Girls at Oke D.O, Ilesha Road.
The inscription on the poster bearing Ngozi’s photo read, “Welcome to the State of Living Spring. Experience the beauty of Osun State’s landscape,” and was signed off with her name as First Lady of the state.
In a separate poster, Titilola also welcomed Mrs Tinubu to the “Official turning of the sod ceremony of the Alternative High School for Girls at Oke D.O, Ilesha Road, Osogbo” signed off as First Lady of the state.
Checks by our correspondent showed that Ngozi and Titilola have the title “First Lady” clearly written on their X (formerly Twitter) bios, with the former conspicuously including the title in her X name.
As the two fliers by Adeleke’s wives went viral, many social media users described the situation as confusing, while others lauded the First Lady title taken by both women.
A Facebook user, Anthony Alfred, wrote, “There’s nothing like first ladies in one family. The first wife is the first lady and the second wife is the second lady like that till the 700th lady or more. Moreover, when a man marries more than one wife, the office of the First Lady should be scrapped because of limited state resources.
Another Facebook user, OgoAdulawo, wrote, “Traditionally. In Yoruba culture, it is customary for the first wife to hold a position of authority over the other wives. As a result, the first wife is recognised as the foremost lady of Osun State, unless the governor intentionally designates a different individual for the title.
Following the controversy that greeted the two fliers, Governor Ademola Adeleke, through his spokesman, Mallam Olawale Rasheed, disowned the flier which purportedly came from the office of Mrs Ngozi.
Rasheed, in a statement on Monday (April 22, 2024), explained that Titilola was the First Lady, and would be the one to receive Tinubu’s wife during the visit.
He said, “The attention of Mr Governor has been drawn to fake news in circulation about conflict over who among the governor’s two wives is to host the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on her official visit to the state tomorrow (Tuesday, April 23, 2024).
“For clarification, Chief (Mrs) Titilola Adeleke, the First Lady of Osun, is officially hosting the First Lady of the republic tomorrow in line with the directive of Mr Governor; there is no confusion on this official position.”
The governor’s aide further stated that the mastermind of the fake flier had been arrested.
But the President’s wife, while speaking at the event, recognised the governor’s wives as first ladies.
“Let me also reiterate that Osun State was chosen as the location for this school through a transparent and unbiased raffle draw process at a strategic meeting with the state first ladies. So, rest assured that the siting of this school here in Osogbo, emanated from a fair process and it is a divinely guided one,” Mrs Tinubu said.
In his remarks, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, also acknowledged the role played by the governor’s wives in being a driving force behind the government.
“We will wait for you (Tinubu) over and over again for us to give you that honour. It’s very obvious that you are a unifier in this country; we can see all our first ladies behind our powerful political leaders, they are all sitting here, very gentle and amiable, they are the driving force behind all these political leaders that we are,” the monarch stated.
Kebbi State Governor, Nasir Idris, is married to two wives, Zainab and Nafisa, who not only jointly run the office of the First Lady of the state, but also oversee two separate non-governmental agencies.
The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has two wives, Zulaihat and Fatima. Zulaihat is reputed to be the state’s First Lady while Fatima has the term, “Wife of the Executive Governor” written on her official Instagram and X profiles.
However, our correspondent sighted several pages and videos on different websites where the title of “First Lady” was used for the governor’s second wife, Fatima.
Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Yahaya, also has two wives – Asmau and Amina. Only Asmau is known as the official First Lady of the state.
Also included is the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who is married to Aishatu and Mariana. His first wife is officially recognised as the state’s First Lady.
Conversely, the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf, who has two wives – Maryam and Zainab –stated that his wives “will not be part of the governance” and has not recognised either of them as First Lady.
An X user, MS Ingawa, who claimed to have personally met Radda’s two wives, wrote, “It’s actually funny for people to waste their energy on (an) office with no constitutional mandate to the extent that we measure the governor’s competence or ability based on the selection of the First Lady.
“The office is at the discretion of the elected governor who may choose to officially recognise it or not. Recognised or not, the wife (wives) of the governor will play almost (the) same role.
Ingawa said there had been governors in Nigeria whose wives were not known to the public.
“Some have more than one and nobody cares to know about them or even fight for the office on their behalf. It’s different in Katsina because all the two wives have a media presence. People tend to discuss more about what they see every day.”