THE piece you are about to read is an attempt to celebrate some of the most remarkable women in Northern Nigeria’s social media space. These are the women who have made the deliberate choice of utilizing their platforms to help others.
These remarkable ladies are busy touching lives through positive use of digital platforms for securing help for individuals and families in distress. These amazons with hearts of gold do not just post for engagement; they run an ad hoc welfare system that saves lives in real time. They solve many problems. They touch lives.
Fauziyya D. Sulaiman:
While the piece is by no means an attempt to rank them in terms of the size and impact of their contributions, Mrs. D Suleiman was among the first to delve into this territory and carved a special niche for herself.
With her background as a film scriptwriter and author of many Hausa novels, Mrs D. Suleiman masters the art of moving hearts with skilful narratives. Already an established household name as a novelist and prominent television scriptwriter, Fauziyya would not let her influence stop at entertainment. Her handiwork through Creative Helping Needy Foundation has not only redirected her massive digital audience into a highly responsive humanitarian workforce but also attracted the political class to her with an appointment as a special adviser to the Kano State Governor, Egr. Abba Kabiru Yusuf. She has demonstrated to all and sundry that she has mastered the art of multitasking these responsibilities effortlessly.
Nana Asmau Gwadabe:
Sometimes, if not most of the time, we reflect our upbringing even on social media, where pretence to being good has become a norm. Nana Gwadabe, as she is fondly called, was raised by her maternal grandmother, Hajiya Baraátu Dantata. She has witnessed a lot of what she applies now. This is why this lady with a golden heart is perhaps concentrating on indigent people with medical conditions, especially women and children.
Nana acts as a digital medical Almoner. When a family is stranded in a hospital ward, unable to pay for a life-saving surgery or oxygen for a newborn, Nana steps in. She uploads verified clinical invoices, laboratory records, and official hospital bills.
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Murjanatu Ringim:
A Kaduna State-based lady once contacted me through Facebook Messenger. She shared her medical ordeal with me. She had an issue with her spine; one of the bones was tormenting her, depriving her of peaceful night sleep. And she had been from one hospital to another. There wasn’t much success due to the lack of the required funds to help him seek the most appropriate medical treatment.
The next thing I did was to contact Mrujatun Ringim since she operates from Kaduna. And within a short period of time, she was able to raise the funds for the lady’s treatment. And she did without making any video on her or throwing her case to the public. The lady has since been enjoying peaceful sleep after successful treatment.
Known across the digital space as the Voice of Bazawara, Ms. Ringim has been fighting poverty at the grassroots level through a direct and transparent approach.
Equipped with a smartphone, she walks into the markets and forgotten corners of our communities, bringing to the fore the exact living conditions of the vulnerable, including widows (zawarawa) and orphaned children. If you watch her videos, you will find yourself crying alongside the victims she assists.
Ummul Salama Nasir:
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A Facebooker once confessed about his frustration on my page. His spine was deteriorating as he didn’t have the money for surgery. He was already condemned to a wheelchair. I tagged Ummul Salama. Within the first 24 hours, she set out on a journey to his hometown. I insisted on sending money to her for the trip expenses. She declined. And through her efforts, the surgery has been carried out at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala. This is what Nasir does on a daily basis, through her USN Cares Foundation. Ummul Salama is also an advocate of healthy eating, another niche she is carving for herself.
To be continued…
- Musa, a former Presidential Media Aide, writes from Kano.