Ovation Magazine Issue 154

SINCE 1996

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ALBUM PHOTOS EXCLUSIF DE LA CELEBRATION DU 50EME ANNIVERSAIRE DE

HAJIYA FATIMA BAMANGA TUKUR’ S

ET LANCEMENT DE LA FONDATION CRYING CHILD INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE

ALHAJI BAMANGA TUKUR

ARLE AVEC JOIE DE SA FEMME, DE SA VIE SOCIALE ET POLITIQUE

© OVATION 2014

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ISSN-1362-7309 Issue 154 CREW PUBLISHER/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dele Momodu momodudele@yahoo.co.uk ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Mobolaji Momodu EDITOR Michael Effiong mikeffiong2009@yahoo.com MANAGING EDITOR Segun Adebowale PHOTO EDITOR Adekoya Adegbite

PRODUCTION MANAGER/ART DIRECTOR Isaac Edoh-Philip ASSISTANT DESIGNER KwakuYeboah Darteh CORRESPONDENT Mo Salami PHOTO JOURNALISTS

ALHAJI BAMANGA TUKUR AN AFRICAN ICON

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here are not many African politicians who have managed to blend business, politics and advocacy the way Alhaji Bamanga Tukur has done. He is one of those who have remained relevant in every sphere of human endeavour.

The story of Baba, as most people fondly

was not successful. He was appointed Minister of Industry from 1993 -95.

Baba has served on so many boards of international bodies including: UNIDO International Business Advisory, NEPAD Business Group, African Investment Advisory, the Ghana Investors Advisory Council, African Business Roundtable, OECD Africa Investment Advisory Board and so on. He is honorary Life President of the West and Central Africa Ports Management Association. He has received several doctorate degrees for his tireless pursuit of the common good of mankind.

Born on September 15, 1935, The Tafidan Adamawa continues to confound everyone with his boundless energy and mental alertness. The crew of OVATION International was privileged to catch up with him in Abuja, Nigeria. Led by our Editor, Michalel Effiong, Baba found time out

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Bashorun Dele Momodu greeting Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

call him, is that of a man who is stubbornly principled. Like many men of his generation, discipline is his watch word. I have followed his life trajectory from the time I was virtually a teenager and his robust lifestyle has continued to amaze and inspire me. He came unto the national stage when he became Governor of the old Gongola State (which combined Adamawa and Taraba States at that time) in 1983 before the coup of General Muhammadu Buhari terminated Nigeria’s Second Republic. Earlier on, from 1975-82, Baba was the General Manager and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Ports Authority. He distinguished himself as a competent civil servant and his reputation grew in leaps and bounds.

He left power to go into full-scale business that included Agriculture and maritime. He founded BHI Holdings, the parent body of DADDO Group of companies. He returned to politics again as a Presidential aspirant in 1992, under the National Republican Convention, but

of his very tight schedules to talk to us. He was already facing some rebellion from some members of the political party he chaired. A very strong-willed and defiant man, he spoke confidently about his life, his travails and triumphs.

His beautiful wife and confidante, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga-Tukur, was always by his side offering succour and immeasurable support throughout the turbulent times. So were Baba’s wonderful children, led by my dear friend, Awwal, who I had wanted to be my running mate during my Presidential mission.

Hajiya Fatima’s 50th birthday celebrations provided us a rare glimpse into the world of the Tukurs. What you are holding is a product of many months of painstaking effort at providing a rare insight into this influential family.

OVATION International was permitted to produce the exclusive souvenir album for Hajia Fatima’s super celebrations and charity works.

It is a collector’s item. Please, enjoy.

Visit us @www.ovationinternational.com

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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH BUSINESSMAN AND POLITICIAN,

ALHAJI (DR.) BAMANGA TUKUR ON HIS LIFE, WIFE, HAJIYA

FATIMA’S 50TH BIRTHDAY AND PDP CHAIRMANSHIP

Interview: Michael Effiong Photo: Adekoya Adegbite & Tope Brown

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I am in Politics to give back to my nation and her people because the nation has given me everything. I have to be grateful to God and thankful to the nation I belong to. So, it is my time to give back. As a politician, I am part of the founders of the PDP. PDP is a grassroots party and it is not owned by anybody. I have got just one vote and the President has got one vote too. I will always do my best to elevate the party. r. Bamanga Tukur was born in 1935 in Jada, Adamawa State.

He attended Bauchi Secondary School and Ahmadu Bello University and much later studied Transport and Economics at the London School of Economics. In 1965, he received a Masters Degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, USA and upon his return he was appointed as Ports Manager, Lagos Port Complex.

He rose to become General Manger/CEO of Nigerian Ports Authority from 1975-1982 when he left to contest to serve his people as Governor of Gonogola.

He is a wonderful husband and devoted father, a businessman, politician, elder statesman and Ambassador. As Governor of Gongola State which now encompasses Adamawa and Taraba States he transformed the state.

Dr Tukur was also a Minister Of Industries. He is presently, Chairman, NEPAD Business Group, Chairman,

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BHI Holdings Limited, Chairman, Afripractice Group and Executive President, African Business Roundtable. On March 21, 2012, he was unanimously elected National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and stepped aside in February 2014.

In this interview on the occasion of his wife, Hajiya Fatima’s 50th birthday, we saw first hand the humility of the Tukur family and Alhaji Tukur spoke about life, his wife, politics and more Congratulations on your wife’s birthday, tell us about her

She is a very caring wife and indeed, a dependable ally. When you have a wife, there are certain things you expect from her. At a stage, she plays the role of a wife, at another stage, she is a friend and on another stage, she proves a dependable ally.

All these roles are very important. She also plays a key role in keeping the family together. She takes care of a lot of issues for us. Many people do not

ENTRETIEN AVEC

ALHAJI BAMANGA TUKUR (MARI DE L’HEUREUSE DU JOUR ET PRESIDENT DU PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY, PDP)

Félicitations pour l'anniversaire de votre épouse, pouvez-vous dire quelques mots au sujet de votre femme

Elle est une femme très attentionnée et en effet, une alliée fiable. Lorsque vous avez une femme, il ya certaines choses que vous attendez d'elle. A un moment donné, elle joue le rôle d'une femme, à un autre, elle est une amie et en d’autres circonstances, elle se révèle une alliée fiable. Tous ces rôles sont très importants. Elle joue également un rôle clé dans le maintien de l’unité de la famille. Elle nous aide sur beaucoup de problèmes. Beaucoup de gens ne comprennent pas que, même dans la famille, nous avons besoin de quelqu'un qui peut toujours se démarquer au nom de nous tous, et à cet égard, elle a été vraiment utile.

Qu'est-ce qui vous a attiré à elle. Je sais

qu'on dit que vous vous êtes rencontrés il y a très longtemps

Oui, nous nous sommes rencontrés il y a longtemps, mais j'ai remarqué que c'était dans son caractère d'être directe. Elle est également très modeste. Elle ne parle pas beaucoup, mais quelque soit ce que vous lui donnez à faire, dans un court laps de temps, elle vous rapporte les résultats.

Elle trouve toujours des solutions à tous les problèmes.

L’une des plus grandes découvertes que nous avons faites, c'est qu’il s’agit de l'amour à travers le Niger, comment a été l'expérience pour quelqu'un qui a connu l'amitié à travers le Niger

Peut-être que c'était l'une des plus grandes attractions. Elle est une personne complètement amicale et tout le monde l'aime. Donc, quand vous avez des gens comme ça, il est fort

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I will stand firm for ideas that I believe in.

And that is equity, fairplay and discipline. I have always contributed to the party even when I was not Chairman, and will continue to do so.

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur & son, Awwal Tukur

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understand that even in the family, we need someone who can always stands up on behalf of all of us and in that regard, she has been really helpful.

What attracted you to her. I know you met a long time ago

Yes, we met a long time ago, but I saw that it was in her character to be straightforward. She is also quite unassuming. She does not talk much but when you give her anything to do, within a short period of time, she will deliver. She always finds solutions to all problems.

We have observed that this is love across the Niger, how has the experience been

Maybe, that was one of the greater attractions. She is a completely friendly person and everybody likes her. So, when you have people like that, you most likely will get attracted to them. I am a full blooded African and I believe that black people are all brothers and sisters. We are all nationals of our country where we all live and belong to. So, that is the kind of feeling I always cherish. I am not someone to take decisions based on tribal or religious reasons. Others discriminate against people based on tribes and religion but she and I are not like that.

Very interesting, in Nigeria today, people think ethnicity and religion are barriers that should define us

Those barriers should not define us because they are weaknesses and any one of those could and would reduce our strength as a people. After all, it does not matter whether you are white, brown, yellow or black, the only thing we all know is that, we are all human beings. If you were to cut all our skin, you would find that everybody’s blood turns red.

So, why should anybody feel that this lack of fundamental equality will now lead to development? Our skin colours are just the different packages that we all appear in, just as the basic difference between Omo and Ariel is the packaging-they are both detergents (general laughter).

I will like to take you back to your title, Tafida Adamawa, what does it mean

It means the general in charge of logistics. Tafida during the war meant you were in charge of logistics and responsible for making sure that things went as planned. It was a honour bestowed on me in appreciation of how I have carried my people along all these years. And don’t forget that the state I governed then Gongola has become three states now, so you can imagine the amount of work. But we did our best. We served our people to best our abilities.

Sometimes, when they mention someone like you, they would say you are a real Governor

You know, to govern, you must have been ready to serve. You must have the intention to do something for your people. You just do not govern for governing sake. As a Governor, you are responsible for bringing and keeping people together and providing welfare and protection for them, setting aims and objectives and so on. So, if you do not have all these qualities, you will not be able to govern well.

Is that one of the reasons you are still in Politics

Yes, I am in Politics to give back to my nation and her people

because the nation has given me everything. I have to be grateful to God and thankful to the nation. I belong to. So, it is my turn to give back I am a politician and today, I am part of the founders of the PDP. PDP is a grassroots party and it is not owned by anybody. I have got just one vote and the President has got one vote too. I will always do my best to elevate the party. The good thing about our party is that, it is open to everybody to express their wishes and opinions. And that is the only way we will be able to build a strong party and a strong democratic society.

Do you think that through the strength of the PDP, we can have the change that we desire in Nigeria. And we were your goals when you became chairman

Yes, we can. I joined the PDP with a very clear agenda, which I called the Triple R: Reconciliation, Reformation and Rebuilding the nation, based on equal justice. Another reason is Triple D: Defend, Dialogue and Diplomacy. Then, there is the Triple E, which entails Environment of stability, Education Empowerment and Energy Security.

I am quite fascinated by your alertness and your ability to express these ideas, that means these are points you prepared yourself, not that it was written

Not at all. When I came in, I came with my own programme.

How far have you gone towards achieving all of these

We have tried in our own way to achieve them but we must know that America or Britain took so many years of rebuilding to get to where they are now.

Some of us are not PDP members but we are worried, because given the size of the PDP , anytime you shake, the country shakes. Are you assuring us now that, there is no shaking

(General Laughter) I can assure you that there is no shaking. What I want in effect is for us to stand firm like a gravel. You know, when you get cement and put on the gravel, it will become as strong as a pillar. PDP is as strong as a pillar and nothing will shake us.

In the last few months, there have been crises in your party, what is responsible and can it be solved

I have told you earlier that we are a big party and that I was a founding member of the party. one thing that we agreed on is that we must be disciplined.

Yes, we are a democratic party, we can express our opinions but there must be discipline, there must be decorum and respect for laid down rules and regulations. I am a stickler for discipline.

Some people may not like it but that has always been my philosophy of life. So what we have in our party has been a case of indiscipline, as simple as that. We can not thrive or make progress in an atmosphere of rancour and lawlessness.

On the solution, I think we should all remember that we came to the party not for selfishness but selfless reasons. That we came to serve. This crisis I am sure will blow over. Our umbrella is enough to cover everybody if we all work towards achieving the same goals.

But some people see you as the problem of

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Yes, we are democratic party, we can express our opinions but there must be discipline, there must be decorum and respect for laid down rules and regulations. I am a stickler for discipline. Some people may not like it but that has always been my philosophy of life. So what we have in our party has been a case of indiscipline

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probable que vous soyez attiré par eux. Je suis un africain pur sang et je crois que les noirs sont tous frères et sœurs. Nous sommes tous des ressortissants de notre pays où nous vivons et auquel nous appartenons. Donc, c'est le genre de sentiment que je chéris toujours. Je ne suis pas du genre à me réfugier dans des cloisons tribales ou religieuses. Certains font preuve de discrimination contre d’autres personnes sur la base de leur tribu et de leur religion, mais elle n'est pas comme ça.

J'ai trouvé ça très intéressant, vous savez, parce que généralement, comme nous le voyons au Nigeria aujourd'hui, les gens pensent que l’ethnie et la religion sont des barrières qui devraient nous définir.

Ces barrières ne devraient pas nous définir parce qu'elles constituent des faiblesses et aucune d’entre elles ne pourraient et devraient réduire notre force en tant que peuple. Après tout, cela n’a vraiment pas d’importance, que vous soyez blanc, marron, jaune ou noir, la seule chose que nous savons tous, c'est que nous sommes tous des êtres humains. Si vous devriez couper la peau de tout un chacun de nous, vous constaterez que le sang de tout le monde est rouge. Alors, pourquoi quelqu'un devrait avoir le sentiment que ce manque d'égalité fondamentale conduirait au développement? Nos couleurs de peau ne sont que les différents emballages sous lesquels nous apparaissons, tout comme la différence fondamentale entre Omo et Ariel n’est rien d’autre que l’emballage - ils sont tous deux détergents (rires d’ensemble).

Je ne peux pas partir sans vous poser quelques questions, je vais vous ramener à votre titre, Tafidana Dama, qu'est-ce que cela signifie

Cela signifie logistique. Tafida pendant la guerre signifiait que vous étiez en charge de la logistique et vous avez la responsabilité de faire en sorte que les choses se déroulent comme prévues.

Parfois, lorsqu’on mentionne le nom de quelqu'un comme vous, les gens disent que vous êtes un vrai gouverneur

Vous savez, pour gouverner, il faut avoir eu envie de le faire pour votre peuple. On ne gouverne pas pour le plaisir de gouverner.

En tant que gouverneur, c’est votre responsabilité d’amener et de maintenir les gens ensemble et leur procurer le bien-être et la protection, définir les buts et les objectifs et ainsi de suite. Donc, si vous ne venez pas avec toutes ces qualités, vous ne serez pas en mesure de bien gouverner.

Est-ce l'une des raisons pour lesquelles vous êtes encore en politique

Oui, je suis en politique pour donner en retour à ma nation et à son peuple parce que la nation m'a tout donné. Je dois être reconnaissant à Dieu et reconnaissant à la nation à laquelle j'appartiens. C’est donc mon tour de donner en retour et je fais partie des fondateurs du PDP. Le PDP est un parti populaire, et il n'appartient à personne. Je n’ai qu’une seule voix en matière de vote et le président aussi dispose d'une seule voix.

C’est pour dire que l'occasion est donnée à tout le monde d'exprimer leurs souhaits et ainsi, nous serons en mesure de construire une société forte.

Pensez-vous que grâce à la force du PDP, nous pouvons avoir le changement que nous désirons au Nigeria

Oui, nous le pouvons. J'ai rejoint le PDP avec un programme très clair que je désigne

par le Triple R: la Réconciliation, la Réforme et la Reconstruction du parti, fondée sur une justice équitable. Un autre point est le triple D: Défendre, Dialoguer et Diplomatie. Ensuite, il y a le Triple-E, qui concerne la stabilité de l'Environnement, l'autonomisation de l'Education et la sécurité Energétique.

Je suis assez fasciné par votre vigilance et votre capacité à dire tout cela, cela signifie que ce sont des points que vous avez préparé vous-mêmes, cela n’a pas été rédigé

Pas du tout. Quand je suis arrivé, je suis venu avec mon propre programme.

A quel niveau êtes-vous en termes de réalisation de tous ces objectifs

Nous avons essayé, à notre propre façon de les atteindre, mais il faut savoir que les Etats Unis d’Amérique ou la GrandeBretagne ont mis tant d'années de reconstruction pour arriver là où ils sont aujourd’hui.

Certains d'entre nous ne sont pas membres du PDP mais nous sommes inquiets, car compte tenu de la taille du PDP, quand vous tremblez, le pays tremble. Etes-vous en train de nous rassurer qu’il n'y a plus de secousse

(Rires d’ensemble) Je peux vous assurer qu'il n'y a pas de secousses. Ce que je veux en effet pour nous est de rester ferme comme du gravier. Vous savez, quand vous mélangez le ciment au gravier, il deviendra aussi fort qu’un pilier.

Revenons maintenant à Madame, quels ont été les ingrédients qui ont préservé votre union

Je pense à la sincérité et à l'honnêteté vis-à-vis de l'autre. Nous croyons qu’il ne s’agit pas de courtiser simplement. Les gens ne comprennent pas et ils l'appellent amour. Non, c'est de l'émotion, c'est la confiance. Vous devez faire confiance et vous devez vous assurer que vous êtes à la fois digne de confiance. Être fiable dépend de ce que vous produisez comme résultats et c'est ça qui assurera la croissance de toute relation.

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She is a very caring wife and indeed, a dependable ally. When you have a wife, she also plays a key role in keeping the family together. She takes care of a lot of issues for us.

She does not talk much but when you give her anything to do, within a short period of time, she will deliver. She always finds solutions to problems.

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President Goodluck Jonathan with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

the PDP

I am rather the solution. I will stand firm for ideas that I believe in. And that is equity, fairplay and discipline. I have always contributed to the party even when I was not Chairman, and will continue to do so. I am here to give my years of experience to the party and I am sure the majority of the members appreciate our work as you cannot please everybody.

I want to quickly take us back to Madam now, what have been the ingredients that have kept the union together

I think sincerity and being honest to each other. We believe that it is not courtship. People do not understand and they call it love. No, it is emotion, it is the trust. You have to trust and you have to make sure you are both trustworthy. Being dependable is depending on what you deliver and that is the thing that will keep any relationship growing.

What has kept you going, you look so young, strong and mentally alert

My prayer is that the young ones should do better than me, because that is my profit. If they do not do better than me, then I have failed. We should always make sure that those we are mentoring do better than us.

A lot of young people are so eager to get to the top without learning the ropes and they need elders like you to drum some of these ideas into them

It is important because knowledge comes by learning, but experience comes through practice and you need time to gather experience. So, my I advise to them is to be patient, because when I was struggling yesterday, you were not there. Today, we are seeing each other and learning from each other. So, what I have learnt yesterday

and today-I put together and handover to you so that it will be better for you tomorrow.

Qu’est-ce qui vous maintient en forme, vous paraissez si jeune, fort et mentalement alerte

Are you still involved with the African Business Roundtable

Ma prière est que les jeunes fassent mieux que moi, car c’est là ma récompense. S’ils ne font pas mieux que moi, alors j’aurais échoué. Nous devons toujours faire en sorte que ceux que nous parrainons fassent mieux que nous.

Yes, I am the President of the African Business Roundtable, because it is so important that we work together. It is an organization that requires monitoring and offering experiences.

What is your opinion about the African Union (AU) at 51, having travelled to a lot of African countries

We have a lot to do and we are learning. For example, Nigeria is at an advantage because we are more in population. Because of that, we have more educated people, more resources and much more younger people succeeding. With that, the world is really looking up to Africa. So, what we need to do is put all the good work and experience together from the West, East, North, Central and the South.

Africa has potential but we have to harness that potential and turn them into meaningful progress.

AWWAL TUKUR This is like a family function, how do you feel about Hajiya’s 50th birthday

Beaucoup de jeunes gens sont si pressés de se hisser à de telles postes sans en apprendre les rudiments du métier et ils ont besoin des aînés comme vous pour leur inculquer certaines de ces idées

C’est important parce que la connaissance vient de l’apprentissage, mais l'expérience vient par la pratique et il faut du temps pour acquérir de l'expérience. Donc, ce que je vais leur conseiller c’est d'être patient, parce que quand je me débattais hier, vous n'étiez pas là. Aujourd'hui, nous nous voyons et apprenons l’un de l’autre. Ainsi, ce que j'ai appris hier et d'aujourd'hui – je vous le transmets. Cela améliorera votre lendemain. Êtes-vous toujours impliqué dans le Business Round Table

I thank God for her life. We thank God for His mercy and we will continue to pray that the family gets more united every day. We also pray that God will grant her long life.

Oui, je suis le président du Business Round Table, car il est si important que nous travaillions ensemble. C'est une organisation qui nécessite un suivi et un partage d’expériences.

When I had an interview with your Dad, he mentioned the word “Unity.” I saw your siblings and everybody; it is quite commendable

Après avoir voyagé dans beaucoup de pays africains, quelle est votre opinion à propos de l'Union africaine (UA) qui a 51ans

We are one big family. That was why I said we would continue to pray for unity. I will not lie to you, we have a very large family and we thank God

Nous avons beaucoup à faire et nous apprenons. Par exemple, le Nigeria est un avantage parce que nous

sommes plus nombreux en termes de population. A cause de cela, nous avons beaucoup plus de personnes instruites, beaucoup plus de ressources et surtout beaucoup plus de jeunes qui réussissent. Avec cela, le monde espère vraiment en l'Afrique. Alors, ce que nous devons faire, c’est de mettre tout le travail bien fait et l'expérience ensemble que ce soit de l'Ouest, de l'Est, du Nord, du Centre ou du Sud.

AWWAL TUKUR Ceci ressemble à une réception familiale, quel est votre sentiment sur le 50e anniversaire de Hadjia

Je remercie Dieu pour sa vie. Nous remercions Dieu pour sa miséricorde et nous continuerons à prier pour que chaque jour qui passe, la famille s’unifie davantage. Nous prions aussi pour que Dieu lui accorde aussi une longue vie.

Quand j'ai eu un entretien avec votre papa, il a mentionné le mot «unité». J'ai vu vos frères et sœurs et tout le monde, il est tout à fait louable

Nous sommes une grande famille.

C'est pourquoi j'ai dit que nous allions continuer à prier pour l'unité. Je ne vais pas vous mentir, nous avons une très grande famille et nous remercions Dieu que nous soyons unis.

Comment la décririez-vous en quelques mots

Elle est une personne très forte d'esprit, très dynamique. Elle prend bien soin du vieil homme et nous apprécions tous cela.

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with son, Awwal

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Awwal Tukur

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Ovation Editor, Michael Effiong interviewing Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with Michael Effiong

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with Photo Editor, Adekoya Adegbite

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with Senior Photo journalist, Tope Brown

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THE SUPERLATIVE

50TH BIRTHDAY OF

HAJIYA FATIMA BAMANGA TUKUR AND LAUNCH OF THE CRYING CHILD FOUNDATION

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When I woke up in the morning the day I turned 50, I prayed to Almighty Allah and told Him that I was not looking forward to building a house or to be rich. But the only thing I want to do right now is to give back to the society especially take care of the poor children in our society.

“I am here to tell you all that Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur is a woman with a beautiful heart. She is a hardworking philanthropist and someone who genuinely cares for others and that is why I am fully in support of her Crying Child Foundation. She did not just gather us here to dine and dance but to support her wonderful cause, which shows her commitment. I pray that God will give her the wisdom and blessing to do more for society” This were the words of Dame Patience Jonathan, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur’s 50th birthday celebration and the launch of her charity, The Crying Child Foundation.

The First Lady was not alone at this glitzy and colourful ceremony, the celebrant’s husband, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, some governors, top politicians and captains of industry were all there to honour the celebrant and also endorse her life-long project of bringing succour to lessprivileged children in society Held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, this birthday ceremony and launch was not the only event that the ever cheerful Hajiya Fatima had initiated to celebrate the outstanding landmark in her life.

However, in terms of the sheer quality and quantity of guests, it was the one that really stood out!

Her Organizing Committee: Yeye Bolanle Dare (Chairperson), Ms Joke Sogunro (Vice Chairperson), Chief Olisa Metuh, Mr. Emmanuel Tawo, Alhaji Tajudeen Abdulkareem, Mrs. Josephine Sey, Mrs. Love Ezema, Hajia Mariam Attah-Moneke, Prince Igwe Uche and Sadiku Jafaru developed a 3-

day programme that was classy but not outlandish. The ceremonies were indeed impactful and enjoyable.

It all began with prayers. Yes! The celebrant is one of those who fervently believes that God has been responsible for her sustenance, good health and blessings all these years-and therefore, the first event was a session of prayers at her home.

The early morning session which had Muslim clerics in attendance was a close knit affair that was attended by very close family members, friends and associates.

As expected, White was the colour of the occasion, thus it was no surprise that the celebrant, her husband and many of the guests turned out in splendid white! The ceremony itself was short. There were readings and recitals from the Holy Quran and then prayers for the celebrant and her family-thereafter guests were served light refreshments.

Hajiya Fatima’s next port of call was the Mother Theresa Children’s Home: The Orphanage located in Gwarimpa Estate, was where she spent hours with the children.

To those of us who were meeting Hajiya Fati as she is fondly called for the first time, the visit to the children’s home showed her true personality. As soon as she met the first child, who had come to welcome her, her face light up.

That trademark smile and warmth was there throughout.

In fact, it was so apparent that her love for these less-endowed children was genuine. The way she cuddled them lovingly, shared jokes and banters and played with them was so touching.

Her attitude was so infectious that all

HAJIYA FATIMA TUKUR Comment vous sentez-vous maintenant que vous venez d’avoir 50 ans en pleine forme et en toute quiétude

La première chose est que, je donne au Tout-Puissant Allah, la gloire et je remercie Dieu.

Pourquoi était-il nécessaire de célébrer les 50 ans

C'est parce que certains n'ont même pas atteint l'âge de 50 avant de mourir. Mais, je donne à Dieu la gloire.

Je me sens très gaie et je me sens très heureuse.

Pendant combien de temps avez-vous planifié cela, parce qu’il semble que vous avez aligné beaucoup d'activités pour la célébration

Il nous a fallu environ un mois et trois semaines pour préparer et planifier l'ensemble des activités.

Quelles étaient les choses auxquelles vous pensiez au moment où vous coordonniez tout l’ensemble de la célébration

Je pensais à une Fondation parce que je veux donner quelque chose en retour à la société.

Parlez-nous un peu de la Crying Child Foundation, comment tout cela a évolué

Je suis née et j'ai grandi à Lagos.

Dans le Lagos où j'ai grandi, les gens étaient très gentils. Ma mère pouvait nous laisser avec le voisin et aller au marché. Mais aujourd’hui, les choses ont changé. Dans le même Lagos, les gens vendent des enfants pour l'argent, même à l'Est, ils font de même. Les parents ont très peur de laisser leurs enfants avec les voisins parce que les mêmes voisins pourraient planifier

avec les ritualistes et ensuite leur vendre vos enfants. J'ai aussi découvert que certains enfants dans notre pays ne peuvent pas aller à l'école parce que leurs parents ne peuvent pas supporter les frais de scolarité. Ils ne peuvent même pas s’offrir trois repas par jour.

Même dans le Nord, où nous l’éducation est gratuite, certains enfants ne peuvent pas aller à l'école parce qu'ils n'ont pas d'argent pour s’acheter des paires de chaussures et des uniformes scolaires. Lorsque je me suis rendu dans le village de mon mari dans la localité de Jada dans l'Etat d'Adamawa, j'ai vu beaucoup de personnes sans défense et j’ai décidé de les aider sur plusieurs plans. A un moment donné, mon mari a dû ordonner que les portails soient fermés, et disais que sa femme était fatiguée et je disais: «Non, s'il vous plaît laissezmoi les assister." Certaines personnes voulaient seulement cinq mille nairas ou même trois mille nairas pour survivre et j'étais très heureuse de le leur avoir donné, parce que je savais que je changeais des vies. Jusqu'à ce jour, il y a beaucoup de personnes dont les frais de scolarité sont à ma charge.

C'est pourquoi vous avez vu beaucoup d'enfants pendant la cérémonie. Nous les appelons les Enfants Ambassadeurs.

Ils ont généralement des concerts et quand je suis incapable d'y assister, ils annoncent mon nom. Il y a un village voisin aux environs d’Abuja ici, où ils rassemblent les enfants, entre dix et trente et leurs frais de scolarité sont à ma charge. Dans certaines écoles, ils m'ont dit qu'ils avaient un 17

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My husband is a very firm person. He is a man who means what he says and says what he means.

When he is with you, he is with you余 he does not turn back. He is very disciplined and principled.

These are very rare traits in Nigeria today.

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those who came with her instinctively wormed their way into the hearts of the children too.

Soon it was D-day. This was the day that Abuja, the capital of Nigeria literarily stood still as the crème de la crème of Nigerian society gathered to honour their compassionate friend and wonderful philanthropist, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur.

The list of guests was intimidating little wonder that the security around the venue was water-tight-and access into the ceremony was restricted.

For example the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan’s entourage included: Senator Nkechi Nworgu, Hon. Peace Nnaji, Dr (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe (PDP Women Leader), Mrs. Juliet Ikisikpo, Mrs. Lilia Abba-Okorie, Hajiya Aisha Mohammed, (wife of Minister of FCT), Mrs. Bibian Onolememem (wife of the Minister of Works), Hajiya Hauwa idris (Wife of the Minister of Works), Hajia Amina Ibrahim (Wife of the Minister of Defence), Mrs. Tope Ekpeyong (Wife of the Director, SSS), Mrs. Eunice Oladeji (Wife of Director-General, NIA), Hajia Bola Shagaya (Businesswoman and MD, Practoil Ltd.), Mrs. Ene Akawor (Wife of Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea), Mrs. Tumi Akogun, Mrs. Becky Igwe Bolingo (Former Minister of Women Affairs), Mrs. Amaka Obianjunwa, Mrs. Rose Chukwu, Hajiya Jemila Buhari, Mrs. Nkechi Mba and Mrs. Tina Odigie.

Others in attendance included: Barr.

Onwe S. Onwe (PDP, Acting Secretary), Alh. Abubakar Mustapha, (National organizing Secretary, PDP), Hon. Bala Kaoje (PDP, National Treasurer), Prince Adewale Adeyanju, PDP, (National Auditor), Alh. Walid Jubril, Secretary, PDP Board of Trustees), Sen. Stella Omu (Member, PDP Board of Trustees), Sen. Ibrahim Mantu, Member, PDP Board of Trustees), Sen. Hope Uzodinma, Dr (Mrs.) Merit Gordon Obua (Wife of the Chief Security Officer to the President and Chief Richard Lamai.

The celebrant who holds the Chieftaincy title of Gankobo Ere of Gbaramantu Kingdom in Delta State was all smiles as she stepped into the welldecorated venue. She was heralded with cheers by the PDP Women who were all decked in special attires.

Proceedings which were steered by Ali Baba, Prince Bisi Olatilo and Dayo Benjamin-Laniyi began with Islamic and Christian prayers. This was followed by speeches.

Welcome address was delivered by Senator Grace Bent who wished the celebrant well and prayed that since she has taken it upon herself to shower others with joy, happiness will follow her and her household throughout her years on earth.

Next was Senator Ibrahim Mantu. He was the one tasked to present the celebrant and speak about her foundation and in his usual crisp manner, he did a wonderful job.

According to Senator Mantu, the celebrant is very passionate about the plight of children especially the issues of child trafficking, child labour and child molestation. In his words “She believes that every child no matter the circumstances of birth deserves proper care, education and upbringing. It is because she wants to do more that she has established the Crying Child Foundation” There were also messages of goodwill from King Turner of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Prof. Amos Utuama, Deputy Governor of Delta State, Governor Theodore Orji of Anambra State and Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.

The highest point of the occasion was not the cutting of the multi-tier cake by the celebrant, or the musical performance by the King of World Beats,

King Sunny Ade, it was the launch of The Crying Child Foundation.

Mother of the Day, Dame Patience Jonathan declared herself the N0. 1 supporter of the initiative and encouraged others to give financial support-and the pledges flowed in freely.

The event was not all about speeches guests savoured a wonderful 5-star menu courtesy House of Azra, they were also served with excellent canapés by Saheeto and assorted juicy cocktails by Labash.

That was not all, in terms of entertainment, there was the wonderful display by some children whom the celebrant has been helping, energetic performance of the Commemorative song by Bassey Ebong and of course and a hilarious timeout with the comedy king, Ali Baba. This wonderful occasion reached its zenith when none other than the rave of the moment, KCee took centre stage. Then KSA closed it all by performing till well into the night.

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Hajiya Fatima’s golden jubilee celebration was rounded off the next day with a cosy soiree inside her expansive and stately home. The event held on the well-manicured garden of the Tukur family home was attended by intimate friends.

This time, Sir Shina Peters, KCee and Asu Ekiye were on hand to thrill guests-and it must be said that it was indeed a fitting finale to a very grand occasion in honour of an angel of mercy, a very humble and easy-going lady who is blessed with a kind heart.

HAJIYA FATIMA TUKUR SPEAKS You have turned 50 in good health and sound mind, how do you feel

The first thing is that, I give Almighty Allah, the glory and I thank God. Why was it necessary to celebrate 50

This is because some people did not even get to the age of 50 before they died.

But I give God the glory. I feel very excited and I feel very happy. And so I have every reason to thank God and celebrate How long have you been planning this, because there were lots of activities lined up for the celebration

It has taken us about a month and three weeks to prepare for the series of activities.

What were the things you thought about when you were putting the whole celebration together

I was thinking about a Foundation because I want to give something back to the society.

Tell us a bit about the Crying Child Foundation, how it all evolved

I was born and brought up in Lagos. In

seul enseignant et ils se rassemblent autour. Je leur ai demandé de me dire combien d’enseignants ils désirent avoir et je le leur ai fourni. J'ai aussi découvert que dans certaines écoles, les élèves sont assis à même le sol pour suivre les cours.

J'ai réalisé que cela ne me coûterait pas un demi-million ou tout au plus, un million de nairas pour leur confectionner les chaises en bois qui dureraient longtemps. D'autres écoles n'ont pas les ordinateurs portables et les ordinateurs et je me prépare à leur fournir. Même les enseignants n'ont pas les télévisions et les PC. Si nous pouvons leur fournir ces petites choses, nous serions entrain de toucher des vies. J'ai l'intention de construire le siège de la Fondation Crying Child dans ma propre localité au Royaume de Agbaramotu.

Il s’agit de quel Etat

C’est situé dans l'Etat de Delta. J'ai remarqué que les enfants qui grandissent dans cet Etat se marient tôt.

Parfois, elles divorcent. Je constate que des filles de 17 ans, ont déjà trois ou quatre enfants et sont sans emploi pour les nourrir. En raison de la pollution des hydrocarbures dans la région, elles doivent voyager jusqu'à Warri afin d’acheter des poissons congelés. Un sachet d'eau potable dans ma région, coûte environ 15 ou 20 nairas alors qu’à d'autres endroits, il ne coûte que 5 nairas. Ils n'ont pas d'eau potable.

Donc, si je construis notre siège là, ces enfants suivront des formations en couture et en pâtisserie. Au terme de la formation, je vais tout simplement acheter un ou deux équipements à chacun et leur donné un demi-million afin de leur permettre d’acheter des fils et des matériaux pour commencer à coudre aussitôt. Une fois que cela fait, la plupart des crises sur les 21

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My husband is someone that I had known for 30 years, long before we got married.

We both understand each other very well.

He is someone that I understand who also understands me very well.

I can call him a father, best friend, brother and husband.

He is someone I love and can confidently call my soul mate

Lagos I grew up with people who were very nice.

Before you go on, may be you should just tell us about growing up

Both my parents are from Delta State but I was born in Lagos. I attended Corona Nursery School;Ireti Primary School, Methodist Girls’ High School; School of Nursing, Ikoyi. I then proceeded to American College, London. I am a Professional Physiotherapist. I also attended Paris Fashion School and London College of Fashion.

So, growing up for me was fun.

My mother would leave us with a neighbour and go to the market. We would be treated well.

That was Lagos of those days. But things have changed now. In the same Lagos, people sell children for money; even in the East, they do the same. Parents are very scared these days to leave their children with neighbours because the same neighbour could plan with ritualists to sell your children. That is terrible.

Tell us about your parents, how did they bring you up and what kind of things did you learn from them

My father was a Sailor and my mother was a complete housewife. My father would go to the Sea because he worked with the Nigeria National Shipping Line. He would be gone for three or six months at a time and any time he got back, we would have lots of chocolates. When I was growing up, some of my friends would eat rice every Sunday or maybe every Christmas, but in our house, we had rice almost every day. I used to give those friends and neighbours of ours chocolates and rice on many occasions. My mother was a very strict person but my father was the out-going type and very nice.

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militants vont diminuer aussi. Les hommes veulent suivre des formations en électricité, mécanique et en menuiserie, afin de pouvoir mener une vie décente avec leurs familles. J'ai aussi l'intention de construire un embarcadère de sorte que chaque année, les villageois de différents villages viennent avec leurs bateaux et nous inviterons d'autres personnes de toutes les régions du monde à regarder. Je réinvestirai les recettes obtenues de ces évènements dans la Fondation.

Une chose que j'ai remarqué dans votre développement, c’est que vous attachez d'importance à l'éducation

L'éducation, c’est la clé. Je suis allée à l’Ecole Maternelle Corona, à l’Ecole Primaire Ireti et plus tard au Lycée Méthodiste à Lagos. Je suis allée plus tard à l'École des Infirmiers se situant dans la rue Awolowo à Lagos, puis j’ai continué à l’American College en Angleterre. Professionnellement, je suis un physiothérapeute; je traite avec des os et je connais tellement de choses sur les douleurs. Alors que je faisais mes études en Angleterre, je fréquentais également une école de mode. Je suis allée à la London College of Fashion et je suis aussi allée au Paris Fashion School. Je sais coudre. Je couds les rideaux et j’aime cuisiner. Mes passe-temps tournent autour de la réception des personnes ; j'aime cuisiner pour faire manger les gens. Je déteste voir les gens affamés.

Quand les gens viennent visiter mon mari, qu’ils le trouvent à la maison ou pas, je m'occupe toujours eux.

Parfois, j’empêche certaines personnes de voir mon mari, parce que la pression pourrait être tellement forte. Il y a des moments, où par exemple, ils ont besoin des frais de transport pour retourner chez eux ou à l’hôtel où ils sont logés et tout ce que j’ai à faire, ce n’est que de payer ces frais. Plus tard, ils diront à mon mari qu’ils se sont vraiment amusés et toutes sortes de choses.

Votre vie a-t-elle changé depuis que votre mari est devenu le président du PDP surtout en raison du calendrier très chargé

Avant de devenir le président du PDP, il avait été une personne très occupée parce qu'il était le président de l'African Business Round Table. Nous voyagions souvent et nous avions été à Addis-Abeba pour des réunions de l'Union Africaine et nous avions pris part à 23

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Crisis is a part of lifeÍž what is important is how we manage the crisis. The PDPis a big party - a party of the people. In every local government you go to in Nigeria, you will find a PDP person there and I think it is the only party that has a structure and a solid foundation.

It is also a grass roots party.

So we are a victim of our success but I am sure will overcome at the end of it all So, who would you say you took most of these things you are doing from

My father and my grandmother Is it because of the way you were brought up that has made you passionate about children

Yes. From my young days I have always dreamt of the day I will become a mother, a caring and great mother like my grandmother who pampered me so much and was so wonderful in my life. Because of my grandmother I grew up loving children. So I am always sad when I see children who cannot go to school because their parents cannot afford their school fees. I am moved when I see hungry children who cannot even feed once a day. Even in the North where we have free education, some children cannot go to School because they do not have money for shoes and School uniforms. When I travell to my husband's village in Jada Local Government in Adamawa State, I see a lot of helpless people and offer to help them in different ways. It got to a stage where my husband had to order the gates closed, that his wife was tired and I would say, "No, please let me attend to them." Some people need just N5000 or even N3000 to survive and I was very happy to give them, because I knew that I was changing lives. Till today, there are a lot of people whose school fees I pay. That was why you saw a lot of children at the ceremony. We call them the Children Ambassadors.

They usually have concerts and when I am unable to attend , they would announce my name. There is a neighbouring village around Abuja here, where they bring the children together, between ten and 30 of them and I pay their School fees. In some Schools, they told me that they had only one reading book and all of them would put their heads together to read just one book. I asked them to tell me how many readers they needed and I got it all for them. I also discovered that in some Schools, pupils sit on the bare floor to receive their lectures. I realised that it would not cost me half a million or at most, one million naira to get them wooden chairs that would last for years. Some other schools do not have laptops and computers and I am planning to get them. Even the teachers do not have television sets and PC’s. If we can provide these little things for them , we would be touching lives.

Is it because of all these things that you have decided to set up a foundation

Yes. I have always wanted to make this interventions in a structured manner, like I have explained, I have been doing a lot in different ways and in different parts of the country but I I know that we would even be able to do more if we have a Foundation.

So where will this Foundation be based

I intend building the headquarters of the Crying Child Foundation in my own Local Government in Ggbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State. I noticed that the kids growing up in that area get married early. I see 17-year old girls who already have three or four kids without any job to feed them. Also because of the oil pollution in the area, they have to go all the way to Warri to get iced fish to eat. A sachet of pure water in my place is like 15 or 20 naira while in other places it costs just five naira. They do not have clean water to drink. So, if I build our Headquarters there, those teenage mothers will be taught vocations like sewing and catering. When they are through with the training, I will simply buy one or two machines for each of them and give them half a million to buy threads and materials so they can start sewing in earnest. Once that

happens, most of the crises about militancy will reduce. The men too will not be left out, we intend to train them to become Electricians, Mechanics and Carpenters, so that they can make a decent living for themselves and their families. I also plan to build a Jetty at the proposed Headquarters, so that every year, villagers from different villages will come with their boats and we have an event.. I will re-invest the proceeds made from such events in the Foundation.

One thing that I have gathered from everything you have said is that you attach importance to Education

Education is the key. I am a Physiotherapist; I deal with bones and I know so many things that have to do with pains. While I was studying in England, I was also going to a Fashion School. I went to the London

College of Fashion and I also went to Paris Fashion School. I know how to sew, make window blinds and cook. My hobbies revolve around entertaining people - I love cooking for people to eat. I hate to see people go hungry. When people come to visit my husband, whether they find him at home or not, I always entertain them. I do not allow some people see my husband sometimes, because the pressure could be so much. There are times, when maybe, they need transportation back to their places or to the hotels they are lodged and I just have to do organize it for them.

Later on, they will tell my husband that they they were well taken care of. I am one who like to see others happy.

Has your life changed since your husband became the PDP Chairman in terms of the hectic schedule

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Before he became the PDP Chairman, he had been a busy person because he was the President of African Business Round Table. We used to travel often . We will go to Addis Ababa for African Union meetings and we will go to New York for UN General Assembly.

We have been to countries like Switzerland and Germany and all the continents on the globe. The only challenge I see with him being the PDP Chairman is that he goes to bed a bit later now because of political meetings. I am used to a crowd; I like seeing people and listening to them. So, really, I do not see it as a big deal.

When I am driving out and I see women waiting for him, I would often say to the security personnel, that, ‘’It is wrong to keep women waiting outside. Let them wait in the waiting room, take their names to him. If he wants to see them, they will go and see him. If they cannot see him because he is tired, they will come to me and I will attend to them. ‘’ So, I have been very good in managing the crowd. When I wake up in the morning, I go straight to my kitchen and when I meet people, young or old; I say, "Good morning Sir or Ma." They would often wonder how me the Madam of the house" would greet them in such a manner. People who know me well would often explain to them that, that is just how I am naturally. And that is because I do not want to get carried away by my position as wife of PDP chairman. It is just for a while. After that, another person will take over. I have been very humble from birth. Besides, If you are contended, you would not have problems.

your way. You must learn to forgive – if anyone offends you, slide it off your mind and when you see the person the next morning, be the first to greet the person. A big family is a bit challenging.

I am a very humble person. I am not bragging about it. You can ask people around here - they can testify to it and that is why you see people flocking around me. Take for instance other people in my position, seeing them will take forever, but I am not like that. You saw me with ease. I am firm when there is need to be firm and friendly when needs be. I do not look down on people.

How has this experience been, I mean as

l'Assemblée générale américaine. Nous sommes allés dans des pays tels que la Suisse et l'Allemagne et sur tous les continents du globe. Le seul défi lié à son poste de président du PDP, c'est que maintenant, il va au lit un peu plus tard en raison des réunions politiques. Je suis habituée à la foule; j'aime voir les gens et les écouter. Alors, je ne vois vraiment pas cela comme une grosse affaire.

Quand je suis au volant et qu’en sortant de la maison je vois des femmes dehors en attente de rencontrer mon mari, je le dis souvent au personnel de sécurité, '' il n’est pas bienséant de laisser les femmes

Alors, de qui avez-vous hérité la plupart de ces choses que vous faites

De mon père et de ma grand-mère.

Comment avez-vous rencontré votre mari

Je le connais depuis 30 ans.

Nous avons perdu le contact mais on s’est retrouvé durant le mandat de Président Obasanjo.

L'un de nous a appelé l'autre et quand il a appelé, la première chose qu'il a demandée était: «Reconnaissez-vous la voix?"

Je lui ai répondu: «Pourquoi ne reconnaitrai-je pas votre voix?"

Je n'ai jamais pensé que nous nous marierons. C’est ainsi que nous avons commencé notre relation et depuis, nous ne nous sommes plus arrêtés.

I have known him for 30 years. We lost contact but met again during Obasanjo’s term. One day out of the blues, he picked up the phone and called and when he called, the first thing he asked was, "Do you remember the voice?" I replied, "Why will I not know your voice?" I never thought that, we would be getting married. So, we started our relationship and we have never stopped being freinds since.

Donc, il y avait certainement une romance.

(Rire d’ensemble) Oui, c'est quelqu'un que je connaissais depuis 30 ans, bien avant que nous soyons mariés et notre mariage n’est vieux que de quatre ans et six mois. Nous nous comprenons très bien tous les deux.

Il m'a même dit que vous êtes un pilier de la famille, alors comment est-ce possible, entrer dans une grande famille comme ça

So, there was certainly a romance

He actually told me that you are a pillar in the family; so how has it been, coming to a big family like this

If you are coming into a big family, the first thing that you must bear in mind, is that you must not be greedy.

You must be patient and you have to be thankful to God for anything that comes 28

Je voudrais que vous remontiez le temps avec nous dans votre enfance, parlez nous de vos parents, comment vous ont-ils éduquée et quelle genre de choses avezvous appris d'eux

Mon père était un marin et ma mère était une femme au foyer complète. Mon père allait à la mer, car il travaillait avec le National Shipping Line Nigeria.

Il partait pour trois ou six mois à la fois et à chaque fois qu’il revenait, nous recevions beaucoup de chocolats. Quand je grandissais, certains de mes amis mangeaient du riz tous les dimanches ou peut-être à chaque fête de Noël, mais dans notre maison, nous avions du riz au menu presque tous les jours.

A plusieurs reprises, j'ai dû donner à ces amis et voisins des chocolats et du riz. Ma mère était une personne très calme, mais mon père était le type extraverti et très agréable.

How did you meet your husband

(General Laughter) Yes, my husband is someone that I had known for 30 years, long before we got married.

We both understands each other very well. He is someone that I understand who also understand me very well. I can call him a father, best friend, brother and husband. He is someone I love and can confidently call my soul mate

souvent comment "Son Excellence" les saluerait de cette manière. Les gens qui me connaissent bien sauraient souvent leur expliquer que, ceci relève du naturel chez moi. Et c'est parce que je ne veux pas que ma position me monte à la tête.

C’est juste pour quatre ans après tout.

Après cela, une autre personne prendra le relais. J'ai toujours été très humble depuis la naissance.

the wife of the PDP Chairman

You know how Politics is - you could go through some crises but I know how to manage them. I know the right people to talk to; I know the right thing to say at the right time and some of them are my husband's close friends and relatives. They are shocked about the level of experience I exhibit in Politics.

They would say, "You are married, you are a woman and you have not been in Politics before." I would reply them, ‘’There is a simple way of managing

attendre dehors. Permet leur d’attendre dans la salle d'attente, prend leur noms et porte lui la liste. S'il veut les rencontrer, elles iront le voir. Si elles ne peuvent pas être reçues parce qu'il est fatigué, elles viendront me voir et je m’occuperai d’eux ''. J'ai donc toujours su bien gérer la foule. Quand je me réveille le matin, je vais directement à ma cuisine et quand je rencontre des gens, fussent-ils jeunes ou vieux, je leur dis: «Bonjour Monsieur, Madame». Ils se demandent

Si vous arrivez dans une grande famille, la première chose que vous devez garder à l'esprit, c'est que vous ne devez pas être gourmand. Vous devez être patient et il faut être reconnaissant à Dieu pour tout ce qui vous arrive. Vous devez apprendre à pardonner - si quelqu'un vous offense, faire glisser l’offense hors de votre esprit et quand vous voyez la personne le lendemain matin, être le premier à saluer la personne. Une grande famille est un peu difficile. Je suis une personne très humble – Je ne suis pas entrain de m'en vanter. Vous pouvez demander aux gens ici - ils peuvent en témoigner, et c'est pourquoi vous voyez les gens affluer autour de moi. Prenez l’exemple d'autres

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Nobody forced me to start the Crying Child Foundation.

I sat down and thought to myself about what I would call my Foundation. I then decided on that name because I wanted to give joy to children. I want the children to keep smiling, not crying. I want to wipe tears from the faces of the crying child and see them live in happiness that people. we isarebecause, united. in politics, everybody is fighting for This selfish interests. couldher come and agree on How would youWe describe in atogether few words something they would leave and very decide on She isand a very strong-minded person, vibrant.

imperfections and that the only perfect person is the Creator.

It seems you have gradually become a Politician

I am used to the system and I am married to a Politician. So, I will accept that. Yes I am growing into politics (laughter) You are a member of the PDP

Yes, I am a member of the PDP and I have the party’s card.

What is your opinion about what is going on in the party

Crisis is a part of life; what is important is how we manage the crisis. The PDPis a big party - a party of the people. In every local government you go to in Nigeria, you will find a PDP person there and I think it is the only party that has a structure and a solid foundation. It is also a grass roots party. So we are a victim of our success but I am sure will overcome at the end of it all Do you think that, with the PDP, Nigeria can reach its full potential, we seem to be far behind other nations

One thing you have to understand is that Rome was not built in a day. What ever financial crisis we have

for all we have achieved in sports?No. What of the stability of the economy? It is not every time and everything that we should play politics.

Who is your role model

My grandmother. She has has always been my role model and will always be, though she is late now, I have fond memories of my time with her. Most of the values I have today, are due to her training. In those days, my parents used to send us home during holidays to learn our culture. It was one of the greatest things they did for me because I leant a lot. My grandmother taught me humility and respect for elders and others. I also have an Aunt Florence who also contributed so much to my life.Another person I admire is the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, she always advises me.

She used to say “You do not fight your enemies, instead try and bring them closer so that they can see the goodness in you.Prove to them that you are someone of worthy character. These are wise words that have been useful to me in life.

What is your

philosophy of life

She is taking something Myold husband is awe very person. He good careelse. of the man and all firm like that. is a man who means what he says and says what he means. When he is with you, he is with you; he does not turn back. He is very disciplined and principled.

These are very rare traits in Nigeria today.

What have you learnt from him

A lot. He has made me see a different kind of life.

He has changed me in many ways. For example, I was not the easily forgiving type, I used to believe that it was an eye for an eye, but he has changed that completely.He made me understand that life is all about 30

today, it has been there for years.

When someone is ruling a country, you have to give him credit for the good he does or is doing. But in Nigeria today, the opposition has chosen not to see the good things that the President is doing. They always criticise the man. Why can they not praise the President for the good things he has accomplished? We have to talk about the good things and we have to praise him because he is a very patient person and he is doing the right thing. Has the opposition givin him credit for the success in Agriculture?No. Have they given him credit

I live every day of my life as if it is the last day. The only person who knows tomorrow is the Almighty Allah. Nobody else knows tomorrow. I am patient as well; I give myself peace of mind. If you do not do that, everything will be bad. If you do not give yourself peace of mind, you will look older than your age. So, you have to give yourself peace of mind and leave the rest to God Almighty.

Earlier you were talking about your favourite colour, is your favourite what you are wearing now

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When someone is ruling a country, you have to give him credit for the good he does or is doing. But in Nigeria today, the opposition has chosen not to see the good things that the President is doing. They always criticise the man. Why can they not praise the President for the good things he has accomplished?

I live every day of my life as if it is the last day. The only person who knows tomorrow is the Almighty Allah. Nobody else knows tomorrow.

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personnes dans ma position, les rencontrer prendrait une éternité, mais moi, je ne suis pas comme ça.

Comment a été cette expérience

Vous savez comment ça fonctionne en politique – il arrive qu’on passe par des crises, mais je sais comment les gérer. Je sais exactement à qui parler ; je sais avec exactitude ce qu’il faut leur dire et le meilleur moment pour le faire. Il s’agit entre autres des amis proches et parents de mon mari. Ils sont choqués par le niveau d'expérience que je démontre en politique. Ils me disent: «Vous êtes mariée, vous êtes une femme et dire que vous n'avez pas auparavant été en politique " Je leur réponds,'' Il ya une manière pour gérer les gens''. C'est parce qu’en politique, tout le monde se bat pour des intérêts égoïstes. Nous pourrions nous réunir et nous entendre sur quelque chose et dès qu’ils s’en vont, ils décident d’agir autrement. Mon mari est une personne très ferme. Il est un homme de parole. Quand il est avec vous, il est avec vous, il ne trahit pas.

Donc, cela signifie que vous progressivement une politicienne

êtes

devenue

Je suis habituée au système et je suis mariée à un politicien. Donc, je l’admets.

Etes-vous membre du PDP

Oui, je suis membre du PDP et j'en ai la carte.

Quelle est votre opinion sur ce qui se passe actuellement dans le parti

La crise fait partie de la vie; ce qui est important, c’est la façon dont nous gérons la crise. Le PDP est un grand parti - un parti du peuple. Dans chaque gouvernement local que vous visiterez au Nigeria, vous y trouverez une personne du PDP et je pense que c'est le seul parti qui ait une structure et une fondation solide. C'est aussi un parti collé à la base et dans chaque État vous trouverez le PDP. Pensez-vous qu’avec le PDP, le Nigeria pourra s’en sortir ? Parce que les Nigérians de par le monde, aspirent au meilleur

Il y a une chose que vous devez comprendre, c'est que Rome ne s'est pas construite en un jour. Quelle que soit la crise financière que nous traversons aujourd'hui, elle s’est installée depuis des années.

Lorsque quelqu’un dirige un pays, on devrait lui reconnaitre les bonnes actions qu’il fait. Mais au Nigeria aujourd'hui, l'opposition a choisi ne pas voir les bonnes choses que le président est en train de faire.

Ils ne font que critiquer l'homme. Pourquoi ne peuvent-ils pas faire l'éloge du président pour les bonnes choses qu'il a accomplies? Nous devons parler des bonnes choses et nous devons le féliciter parce qu'il est une personne très patiente et qu'il fait ce qui est juste.

Quelle est votre philosophie de la vie

Je vis chaque jour de ma vie comme si c'était le dernier jour. La seule personne qui connaisse le lendemain, c’est Allah le Tout-Puissant. Personne d'autre ne connaît de quoi le lendemain sera fait. Je suis aussi patiente, je me donne la tranquillité d'esprit.

Si vous ne le faites pas, tout ira mal. Si vous ne vous donnez pas la paix de l'esprit, vous aurez une apparence plus vielle que votre âge. Vous devez donc vous donner la tranquillité d'esprit et laisser le reste au Dieu Tout-Puissant.

Il y a un instant, vous parliez de votre couleur préférée, est-ce là votre couleur favorite que vous portez

Mes couleurs préférées sont le marron café, pourpre et noir. Je n'aime pas les couleurs jaune et rouge. La plupart de mes couleurs sont des couleurs sombres, parce que je suis de teint clair. J'ai donc besoin de quelque chose qui va faire ressortir la beauté.

Quel est votre plat préféré

J'aime le poisson, le poulet et la pintade. Je ne mange plus de viande rouge et je mange beaucoup de fruits de mer.

Comment vous détendez- vous

Je suis un peu occupée, mais je trouve toujours le temps de me détendre.

Ceux qui vous connaissent bien ont dit que vous êtes un excellent nageur

Oui, j'aime la natation, mais je voyage beaucoup avec mon mari. La plupart du temps quand nous voyageons, nous n'avons pas le temps parce que les gens l'attendent pour les réunions et tout le reste. Mais samedi soir, il vient se coucher tôt et nous nous détendons un peu alors.

Détendez- vous avec votre mari

Oui, je me détends avec mon mari.

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Quel genre d'homme est-il

Ijebu.

Mon mari est quelqu'un qui ne se soucie pas d'où vous venez. Sa première femme est peulh, sa seconde épouse est de Calabar, sa troisième femme est de Kastina et je suis une femme Ijaw de l'Etat du Delta. Ça seul suffit pour vous montrer le genre de personne qu’il est. Il disait toujours que si l’on coupait la peau de personnes de races différentes avec des lames, le même sang rouge s'écoulerait. Il est un bourreau du travail. Quand il rentre du bureau, il change ses vêtements et se dirige vers le jardin. Il dispose d'une voiture de golf qu'il roule dans le jardin. Il aime les animaux et j'aime les poissons. J'ai trois étangs à poissons à l'arrière de la maison. Il y a tellement de choses qu'il aime et que j'aime aussi.

Quelles prières aviez-vous dites à Dieu le matin de votre 50e anniversaire

Et en ce qui concerne la nourriture, mange t-il également ce que vous mangez ou a t-il son plat préféré propre à lui

Les soupes préférées de mon mari sont Ogbono et Okro. Il aime aussi les fruits. Il y a aussi une soupe locale de sa zone d’origine qu'il aime aussi - sauce Okra et tuwo, avec lesquelles il a grandi. Mais vous savez, comme toute personne ayant vécu à Lagos pendant longtemps, il aimait manger ogbono mélangé avec la soupe Okro. J'aime le poisson frit et le Garri

Quand je me suis réveillé le matin, le jour de mes 50 ans, j’ai prié le Tout-Puissant Allah et lui ai dit que ce n’est pas après la construction d'une maison ou la richesse que je cours. J'ai tellement d'enfants que je veux envoyer se faire former à l'école, mais la seule chose que je veuille faire maintenant, c'est de redonner à la société, aux personnes les plus défavorisées. Quand vous allez dans certains orphelinats, vous aurez presque les larmes aux yeux à cause de la façon dont on traite les enfants - pas de médicaments, pas de vitamines, ils ne mangent même pas de la bonne nourriture. Les propriétaires de ces orphelinats veulent bien faire plus que ce que nous attendons d'eux, mais ils n'ont pas assez d'argent pour le faire. Regardez ce qui a été rapporté dans l'Est, comment ils ont volé les enfants et ont demandé à des hommes de les violer. Ces enfants n'ont pas d'argent pour aller à l'école. Si j'avais dix millions de naira, je partagerais 30 mille nairas à chacune d'elles et j’en serais heureuse, plutôt que de voir les pauvres filles violées. Voilà en partie, ce que je veux redonner à la

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My favourite colours are Coffee Brown, Purple and Black. I do not like Yellow and Red. Most of my colours are dark colours because I am fair skinned. So, I need something that will bring out the beauty.

What will you consider your favourite food

I like Fish, Chicken and Guinea Fowl. I do not eat Red Meat anymore and I eat a lot of Sea food.

How do you relax

I am a bit busy, but I still find time to relax.

Those who know you well have said you are a good swimmer

Yes, I love swimming, but I travel a lot with my husband. Most times when we travel, we do not have time because people are waiting for him for meetings and all that. But Saturday night, he comes to bed early and we are a bit relaxed then.

You relax with your husband

Yes, I relax with my husband (general laughter) What kind of a man is he

My husband is someone who does not care where you come from. His first wife is Fulani , his second wife is from Calabar , his third wife is from Kastina and I am an Ijaw woman from Delta State. That alone has shown you the kind of person he is. He would always say that if the skin of people from different races were to be cut with blades, the same red blood would flow out. He is a workaholic. When he gets back from the office, he changes his clothes and goes to the garden. He has a Golf cart that he rides through the garden. He likes animals and I like fish. I have three fish ponds at the back of the house. There are so many things he likes that I also like.

What of food, does he also eat what you eat or has he got his own favourite food

My husband's favourite soups are Ogbono and Okro. He likes fruits too. There is a native soup of his that he likes too - with Tuo, which is what he was brought up with. But you know, as someone who has lived in Lagos for a very long time, he enjoys eating Ogbono mixed with Okra soup. I like fried Fish and Garri Ijebu.

What were those prayers you said to God the morning of your 50th Birthday

When I woke up in the morning the day I turned 50, I prayed to Almighty Allah and told him that I was not looking forward to building a house or to be rich.

I have so many children that I want to train in School, but the only thing I want to do right now is to give back to the society and help the less privileged people.

When you go to some Orphanages, you will almost be moved to tears because of the way they treat the children - no drugs, no multivitamins, they do not even eat good food. The owners of these Orphanages want to do more than what we expect from them, but they do not have enough money to give these children the best. Look at what was reported in the East, how they steal people's children and order men to rape them. These children do not have money to go to school. If I have ten million naira, I will just distribute 30 thousand naira to each of them and I would be happy, rather than having the poor girls raped. Those are some of the things that I want to do for the society.

If I do that, I would be so happy and I know I am going to do it because it is a calling. Nobody forced me to start the Crying Child Foundation. I sat down and thought to myself about what I would call my Foundation. I then decided on that name because I wanted to give joy to children. I want the children to keep smiling, not crying.I want to wipe tears from the faces of the crying child and see thme live in happiness On the day of your party, what was your impression about the turn out

I was very excited because it gave me joy to know that people like me so much. I talked to a lot of people and also sent text messages. I must thank Yeye Bola Dare for her assistance. She invited 60 Ambassadors because she was in charge of that aspect. It involved a lot of organisation cum planning and once you are a good planner and you plan well, the turnout will be impressive.

The First Lady was there as well, how did you feel that she came and even stayed till the end of the party

I was happy. She is like a mother to me and she always gives me good advice.

What is your relationship with her

We are very close and we both speak the Ijaw language. That is why the Governor of Bayelsa State always tells people about me, "My sister is from Bayelsa," because we speak Ijaw language a lot.

Apart from the main party, you also had another party a Garden party, what was the whole idea

That party was for women, but some men came. I invited Shina Peters because I had known him from way back in Lagos and I was one of the people that promoted Shina. In those days, we used to go to Stadium Hotel to dance to Shina's music with some of my brothers like Gbenga Ikuomola, Jide Cole and friends like Joke Sogunro and Biola Martins. Biola is late now and I saw her husband at my party. I told him that, ‘’If only Biola was alive, she would have been here with me.’’ I like keeping my old friends. I even promised Shina Peters that anytime PDP has an event, I would invite him to come and perform. When you

help your old friend, it shows you remember the people that grew up with you. You know, some people, when they get to a certain stage, they start to avoid the people they left behind. I am not that type of a person. I told my friend Joke who lives in Lagos that she cannot sell her stuffs only in Lagos. I told her to get a shop in Abuja because she sells the best shoes in town.When she brings the shoes to Abuja, people were now saying, ‘’They have not seen those types of shoes before. ‘’ If you leave your old friends behind, God will leave you too behind. If you carry them along, God will keep lifting you up.

Do you still have some links in Lagos

Since I got married, anytime I go to Lagos, I go straight to my husband’s house. Lagos has changed and there is so much traffic from the Airport to Victoria Island. I get tired as soon as I get home.

Abuja is quieter and there is no traffic. Abuja is also peaceful. So, Lagos is not a place that really interests me.

Do you miss anything about Lagos

Yes, I miss the parties (General Laughter). In 35

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Lagos, one of my friends can call me and we will go and dance to Wasiu, Shina Peters or King Sunny Ade. There is always Aso Ebi for parties and when you get there, you meet up with old friends and go back home and sleep, because you have already poured out your problems. But Abuja is very quiet. I used to go to a lot of Shopping Malls to buy fruits. I like to cook for my husband because I like him eating the best food. I would not like him complaining about his food. Now, I cannot do that anymore because people will easily recognize me as the PDP Chairman's wife.

Do you actually cook for your husband or the house-helps do the cooking

I have a cook and even at that, I still cook for my husband. My husband knows how my food tastes.

You look so young, what is the secret

Thank you. It is because I love smiling. I am contented and happy. And most importantly, I put God first in all I do. If you do not have peace of mind, stress will be showing all over your face and you will always be frowning. I am not that kind of person and thank God for the way I am living my life because I am happy and I always try to spread happiness too.

What is your vision for the next five years

I do not want to say this. I want it to come as a surprise to people and when the time comes, I am going to invite OVATION. I know that from now till December, I am going to commission some Schools in places where my Foundation will be situated. I just signed the agreement and we are supposed to commission it in September, but I am going to do it in November, because we always travel to America every September.

I have already registered my Foundation in Houston, Texas and when we go to England, I will register it there as well. I want people to partner with me to help these crying children.

How would you want to be remembered

I want to be remembered as a kind person. As someone who who reached out to the needy and touched their lives in appositive way.There is nothing I have, gold, diamond anything that I cannot give out to help others. In my opinion all we have in this world is vanity, so why hold unto them.

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société. Si j’y arrive, je serais si heureuse et je sais que je vais le faire parce que c'est une vocation. Personne ne m'a forcée à démarrer le Crying Child Foundation. Je me suis assise et je réfléchissais sur le nom par lequel j'appellerais ma Fondation. J'ai alors décidé de prendre ce nom parce que je voulais donner de la joie aux enfants. J'avais besoin et je veux toujours voir les enfants sourire, et non pleurer.

Le jour de votre fête, quelle a été votre impression sur la tournure qu’a prise la célébration

J'étais très excitée et pleine de joie de savoir que les gens m’apprécient autant. J’ai parlé avec beaucoup de personnes et j’ai aussi envoyé des messages texte. Je tiens à remercier Yéyé Bola Dare pour son aide. Elle a invité 60 ambassadeurs car elle était en charge de cet aspect. Cela a demandé beaucoup d’organisation et de planification et une fois que vous êtes un bon planificateur et que vous vous y prenez bien, le résultat sera toujours impressionnant.

La Première Dame était là aussi, comment vous sentiez-vous qu'elle est venue et même resté jusqu'à la fin de la partie

J'étais heureuse. Elle est comme une mère pour moi et elle me prodigue toujours des conseils.

Quelle est type de relation entretenez-vous avec elle

Nous sommes très proches et nous parlons toutes les deux la langue Ijaw. C'est pourquoi le gouverneur de l'État de Bayelsa dit toujours, «Ma sœur est de Bayelsa," parce que nous parlons beaucoup la langue Ijaw.

En dehors de la fête principale, vous aviez aussi organisé une Garden Party (Cocktail)

Cette soirée était pour les femmes, mais certains hommes sont venus. J'ai invité Shina Peters parce que je le connaissais il y a longtemps à Lagos et j'étais l'une des personnes ayant fait la promotion de Shina. En ces jours, nous avions l'habitude d'aller au Stadium Hôtel pour danser la musique de Shina avec certains de mes frères comme Gbenga Ikuomola, Jide Cole et des amis tels Joke Shogunro et Biola Martins. Biola ne vit plus maintenant et j'ai vu son mari, je lui ai dit '' Si seulement Biola était vivante, elle aurait été là avec moi.'' J'aime garder mes vieux amis. J'ai même promis à Shina Peters que chaque fois que le PDP a un événement, je l'inviterai à venir jouer. Lorsque vous aidez votre vieil ami, c’est la preuve que vous vous souvenez des gens avec qui vous avez grandi. Vous savez, certaines personnes, quand ils arrivent à un certain stade, ils commencent à éviter les gens qu'ils ont laissés derrière. Je ne suis pas ce genre de personne. J'ai dit à mon ami Joke qui vit à Lagos qu'elle ne peut pas vendre ses marchandises qu’à Lagos. Je lui ai dit de faire une boutique à Abuja parce qu'elle vend les meilleures chaussures. Lorsqu’elle apporte les chaussures à Abuja, les gens sont toujours comme,'' Ils n'ont jamais vu ces types de chaussures auparavant. '' Si vous laissez vos vieux amis derrière, Dieu vous laissera aussi derrière. Si vous évoluez avec eux, Dieu vous élèvera.

Avez-vous encore des liens à Lagos

Depuis que je me suis mariée, chaque fois que je vais à Lagos, je vais directement à la maison de mon mari. Lagos a changé et il y a tellement d’embouteillage de l'aéroport au Victoria Island. Je suis fatiguée dès que je rentre à la maison.

Abuja est plus calme et il n'y a pas trop d’embouteillage.

Abuja est aussi paisible. Donc, Lagos n'est pas un endroit qui m'intéresse vraiment.

Y a-t-il quelque chose de Lagos qui vous manque

Oui, les fêtes me manquent (Rires d’ensemble). A Lagos, une de mes amies peut m'appeler et nous irons danser à Wasiu, Shina Peters ou King Sunny Ade. Il y a toujours Aso ebi dans les fêtes et quand vous y allez, vous rencontrez de vieux amis et vous rentrez à la maison pour dormir, parce que vous avez déjà déversé vos soucis. Mais Abuja est très calme. J'avais l'habitude d'aller à beaucoup de centres commerciaux pour acheter des fruits. J'aime cuisiner pour mon mari parce que j’aime qu’il mange la meilleure nourriture. Je ne voudrais pas qu’il se plaigne de sa nourriture. Maintenant, je ne peux plus faire cela parce que les gens pourront facilement me reconnaître comme l'épouse du président du PDP. Cuisinez-vous les repas de votre mari ou laissez-vous cela à la charge de ceux qui vous aident à la maison

J'ai un cuisinier et malgré cela, je cuisine toujours pour mon mari. Mon mari connaît le goût des plats que je cuisine.

Quelle est votre vision pour les cinq prochaines années

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Je ne veux pas la dévoiler. Je voudrais qu'elle fasse l’effet d’une surprise pour les gens et le moment venu, je vais inviter Ovation. Je sais que d’ici Décembre, je vais inaugurer quelques écoles dans les endroits où ma Fondation sera située. Je viens de signer l'accord et nous sommes censés le lancer en Septembre, mais je vais le faire en Novembre, parce que nous voyageons toujours en Amérique chaque Septembre. J'ai déjà enregistré ma Fondation à Houston, Texas et quand nous irons en Angleterre, je vais l’enregistrer aussi. Je veux que les gens entrent en partenariat avec moi.

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My husband's favourite soups are Ogbono and Okro. He likes fruits too.

There is a native soup of his that he likes too with Tuo, which is what he was brought up with. But you know, as someone who has lived in Lagos for a very long time, he enjoys eating Ogbono mixed with Okra soup. I like fried Fish and Garri Ijebu.

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Chief (Mrs.) Love Ezema, celebrant, Joke Sogunro & Augusta

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Celebrant, Mairo, Pastor Stella Alhassan, Joke Sogunro & others

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Hajiya Fati with Joke Sogunro

Yeye Bola Dare

Joke Sogunro, Hajiya Fati with friend

Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur with friends

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Bello, celebrant, Hon. Awal Tukur, Sheu & Joke Shogunro

Celebrant & friends

Chief (Mrs.) Love Ezema, Yeye Bola Dare, celebrant, Hon. Awwal Tukur & Joke Shogunro

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur & Babatu

Celebrant with husband & Babatu

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HAJIA FATIMA BEGINS CELEBRATION WITH SPECIAL PRAYERS

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Senator Ibrahim Mantu & Mallam Shittu

Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

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The birthday prayer session

Hon. Awwal Tukur & Sen. Abubakar Gada

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Senator Ibrahim Mantu with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Yeye Bola Dare (r) with friends of Hajiya Fati

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Josephine Sey (right)

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The joyous celebrant: Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

Joke Sogunro (l) & Yeye Bola Dare (r)

Lovely Hajiya Fati (m) with friends

Joke Sogunro (left)

Joke Sogunro & Hajiya Fati with guests

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A DAY OUT WITH MOTHERLESS CHILDREN

...A VISIT TO THE ORPHANAGE

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Celebrant with Rumasan & Enitan

Yeye Bola Dare

Hajiya Fati Bamanga Tukur & Yeye Bola Dare with the children

Josephine Sey with one of the children

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Joke Sogungro, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur with children

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HAVING FUN WITH THE CHILDREN

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Cutting cake with the children

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Children praying for the celebrant

A time with the children

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Hajiya playing with the children

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Hajiya Fatimah Bamanga Tukur

Yeye Bola Dare & others watch on as Hajiya Fatima delivers her speech

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Yeye Bola Dare & Hajia Fatima Bamanga Tukur

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THE GRAND

50TH BIRTHDAY DINNER

...AND LAUNCH OF THE CRYING CHILD FOUNDATION

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Ther lovely decor & cake

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...THE ARRIVALS

Arrival of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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The celebrant: Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

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HERE COMES THE FIRST LADY, DAME

PATIENCE JONATHAN

Celebrant & Ministers of the Fedral Republic of Nigeria awaiting the arrival of the First Lady

The celebrant & Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria stepping out to Hajiya Fatima welcoming H.E Dame Patience Jonathan

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The celebrant, Hajiya Fatima Tukur exchanging pleasantaries with the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Dame Patience Jonathan

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Her Excellency Dame Patience Jonathan with Erelu Olusola Obada & others

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H.E. Dame Patience Jonathan greeting Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

Hajia Amina Sambo greeting Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

H.E Dame Patience Jonathan, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur & Alhaji Bamanga

H.E Dame Patience Jonathan with Alhaji Bamangar Tukur & wife, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

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BRINGING SUCCOUR TO THE CRYING CHILD

Celebrant: Hajiya Fati

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Hajiya Fatima Tukur (celebrant) with members of the Diplomatic Corps

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Hajiya Fatima Tukur with Chichi

Celebrant with Bayelsa women

Hajiya Fatima Tukur with friends

Sumisola Ayoade

Salomen Jankada

Engr. & Mrs. Edubio with Ms. Tuks Edubio

Senator Andy Uba

Gina with celebrant

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THE GLAMOROUS MAIN EVENT

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur greeting Prof. Amos Agbe Utuama, SAN

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur greeting H.E. Yomi Awoniyi, Deputy Governor of Kogi State

Kemi Adewunmi, Erelu Olusola Obada & Hajiya Fatima Tukur

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur & Erelu Olusola Obada

Kemi Adewunmi & Hajiya Fatima Tukur

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Alhaji Bamanga & Hajiya Fatima Tukur

Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, Dep. Gov. Kogi State, Mrs. Olusola Obada, former Dep. Gov. Ondo State & Prof. Amos Utuama Dep. Gov. of Delta State

Ambassadors with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

Mrs. Remi Kuku, Erelu Olusola Obada, Prof. Onyebuci Chukwu & Mrs. Muriel Graham-

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Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, Deputy Gov. Kogi State & guest

Josephine Seyi, Joke Sogunro & Chief (Mrs.) Love Ezema

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with guests

Mr. Kema Ajie, CEO, VIP Protocol Ltd (m)

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Alhaji Bamanga with Saheed Kekere-Ekun (Saheeto)

From 2nd left: Kcee & Harry Songs

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Hon. Shittu, celebrant, Minister of Women Affairs, Zainab Maina, the BOT Secretary, Alhaji Wali & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

From 3rd left: Kemi Adewunmi, Erelu Obada, Mrs. Kuku, Wole Adewunmi & other guests

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with members of the Diplomatic Corps

Celebrant & husband, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with guests

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Mrs. Josephine Anenih (l) & Sen. Grace Bent (right)

Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Hon. Mercy Alumona-Isei & Hon. Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu

Chief Ferdinard Alabraba (right)

R-l: Michael Effiong, Editor, Ovation with Honourable members

Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku (right)

Mrs. Dili Onyedinma, Mrs. Agape Kramar & Ms. Ifeoma Agunwa

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Ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

The Tukur family

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Sen. Azu Agboti

Sen. Joy Emordi

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Lamai

Fatimah, Elza & Eloiba

Mr. Dotun (r) with guests

Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai

Honourable members

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Mr. Tunde Oshinowo & Senator Teslim folarin (r)

Hon. Mercy Alumona-Isei with Chief Chris Uba

Collins Chike Chikeluba (right)

The Tukurs: Dr. Maryam Shagaya (right)

Sarah Jubril, Kemi Adewunmi & guest

Chief Richard Lamai & Hon. Awwal Tukur

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Barr. Wole Oke & wife

Sarah Jubril (r) & guest

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Senator Teslim Folarin

Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Seriake Dickson

Olaide

Senator Florence Ita-Giwa

Barr. Tagbo Obidiaso & Odimegwu Ethel

Micheal Ekwueme & Chief (Mrs.) Nice Alamieyeseigha

H.E. Udovicheiko (Russian Ambassador to Nigeria), Nikolay & Irina

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Hon. Kayode Amusan, Mr. Tunde Oshinowo, Tilewa Adebayo & friends

From 2nd left: Senator & Mrs. Teslim Folarin

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The Tukurs with friend standing (r)

From 2nd left: Chief Richard Lamai & wife with Awwal Tukur

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Celebrant & guests

Lillian & Duni Olunloyo

Habiba O.A, Hauwa Sulieman & Kubura Salami

A guest making a presentation to celebrant

Ali Baba Harry Songs & Kcee

Sen. Andy Uba & Chief Joe Kyari Gadzama, SAN

Celebrant being interview by NTA

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Friends of the celebrant

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Usherettes

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R-l: Priscilla Iheanacho, Princess Ngozi Nnaedozie & Paddy

Celebrant & husband with Tukur family members

Celebrant & Mrs. Sanusi with guests

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Celebrant, Mrs. Sarah Jibril & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

Celebrant, Dr. Doyin Okupe & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

The celebrant looks on while Hon. Ndudi Elumelu exchange pleasantaries with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

From 2nd left: Gov. T.A. Orji, Senator Hope Uzodinma & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Celebrant & Prof. Ruqayatu Rufai

Celebrant, Chief Ola Kukoyi, Chief Kasamu Buruji & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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The Tukurs with Sen. Azu Agboti

Celebrant with husband & step children

Mukhtar Shagaya greets Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Celebrant with guests & husband, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

Celebrant with husband & guests at the ocassion

Celebrant & husband greeting Chief D.S.P Alamieyesigha

Bunmi Usman Akruoju & Nengi Odiete

Celebrant, Sen. Joy Emordi & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Hon. Nkiru Onyejiocha, Senator Joy Emodi & guests

Mr. & Mrs. Dave Okoh Aigbodion

Celejanduo Sariah & Ulinoun Nopeleu

Awwal Tukur & H.E Yomi Awoniyi

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Celebrant & Zainab Maina, Minister of Women Affairs

Zainab Maina, Minister of Women Affairs & Chief (Mrs.) Love Ezena

Celebrant with friends

Clebrant with friends

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Hajiya Binta & Rumasau

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Enitan

Celebrant with friends & their children

Prof. Saliba Mukoro (Representative of Dr. E.K Clark), Hon. Emmanuel Okorodudu & Hon. Joshua Panama (r)

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Celebrant & husband with Ijaw traditonal rulers

Ijaw traditonal rulers & African Magic correspondant

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur & Senator Grace Bent

King Turner giving a speech at the ocassion

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Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu greeting celebrant

The graceful celebrant, Hajiya Bamanga Tukur

Josephine, Anthony & celebrant

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Ms. Kemi Adewunmi, Senator Grace Bent with the Tukurs

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Senator Mantu with Senator Hope Uzodima & a guest

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Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur with Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Kcee & Harry Songs greet First Lady & celebrant

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Osadebe C.I & Hon. Ikechi Anya

From 2nd left: Sen. Ibrahim Mantu & Sen. Hope Uzodinma & friends

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Celebrant, Dr. Okonji Iweala & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Celebrant, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance & Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

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Hon. Hareter B. Oralusi (DG, NCDF) & Hon. Bashir T. Salaudeen

Mr. Aderemi Aderogba & Mrs. Ngozi Aguele

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The ever gorgeous celebrant: Hajiya Fati Bamanga Tukur

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CUTTING OF THE CAKE

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Dr. Kema Chikwe, Sen. Joy Emordi with celebrant & husband cutting the cake

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Celebrant with First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan

Hajia Bola Shagaya, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, celebrant, First Lady, Hajiya Amina Sambo, Governor T.A.Orji & Dr. (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe

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Senator Joy Emordi, Hajia Bola Shagaya, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, celebrant & Dr. (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe

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Sen. Joy Emordi, Hajia Bola Shagaya, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, celebrant & Dr. (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe with children Am,bassadors

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The Tukurs with First Lady & wife of the vice-President

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with dignitaries: Mr. Labaran Maku, Sen. Ibrahim Mantu, Chief Bernabas Germade, Chief Jim Nwobodo, Chief T.A. Orji, Sen. Andy Uba & Sen. Grace Bent

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Celebrant with Special guests

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Celebrant with political leaders dignitaries

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H.E Dame Patience Jonathan greets Delta Stete Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama

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Hajia Bola Shagaya in a tete a tete with First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan

Hajiya Amina Namadi Sambo & H.E. Dame Patience Jonathan

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Hajiya Bola Shagaya & Chief (Mrs.) Kema Chikwe

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Senator Joy Emordi, Hon. Lynda Chuba-Ikeazu & Hon. Mercy Alumona-Iseri

Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Senator Hope Uzodinma, Chief Jim Nwobodo & Senator Florence Ita-Giwa

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Mrs. Merit Gordon Obuah, wife of the CSO to President (m) with Ijaw women

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PDP NWC members

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Chike Amobi & Dr. (Mrs.) Riviay Amobi

Evang. Mary Aboderin (Rock of Ages) & Simisola Ayoade

Mrs. Chinue Ejike Umunnabuike & Ms. Kikelomo Popoola

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From 2nd left: Dr. Peter Obafemi (m)

Mrs. Sarah Jubril (m)

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Sen. Nkechi Nwaogu & guests

Miss Tumi Akogun & Hon. Becky Igwe

Sen. Andy Uba, Chief Chris Uba with Amb. Kema Chikwe

Guests

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Mr. Tunde Oshinowo & guests

Richard Nelson & Nkere Hanson

Hon. Joy Odike & Dr. (Mrs.) Nkiru Agbogu

Mohammed Babatu & Binta Abdallah (CBN)

Mrs. Sanusi Lamido & Umma Sanda

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Barrister Julie Donli & Barrister Bisi Idaomi

Blessing Nwaoba with Chief & Mrs. G.N. Osungwe

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Mohammed Babatu

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Otunba Olusegun Aina & Dotun Ajayi

Gordons

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Editor, Ovation International, Michael Effiong & Prince Bisi Olatilo

(Middle) Hajia Fatima Bamanga Tukur & Stella Oduah with friends

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The celebrant being presenting a birthday gift

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Prof. Amos Utuama

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Josephine Sey (m)

Joke Sogunro

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Celebrant

Baba Abbo & wife, Hadiza Abbo

Gov. T. A. Orji with wife of Vice President, Hajiya Amina Sambo

Ali Baba & celebrant

MCs: Dr. Bisi Olatilo & Dayo Bejamin Laniyan

Eniola & Bimbo Kila

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur & Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur & Gov. Theodore Orji

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Chief Bernabas Germade (r)

Rosemary Okeke, Kemi Adewunmi & Prisicilla Iheanacho

R-l: Lavonne Cele-Taiwo & Stella Bassey

CP., Niger State-Desire Nsirim & Barr. Dotun Sowemimo (standing)

Lami Danbaram, Halima Modibbo & Zainab Jaji

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...HERE COMES THE CRYING CHILD FOUNDATION

Chief T.A. Orji Ochendu Global Executive Governor of Abia State

H.E. Dame Patience Jonathan

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Sen. Ibrahim Mantu

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The Childe Ambassadors

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Gordons & Ali Baba

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Barrister Clara

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Hassan Camur Sanat

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Joseph Onyema

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Joke Sogunro & celebrant

Kcee

Senator Onyeka

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Dr. Peter Obafemi

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The owner of Labash & Saheeto

Sunny Ofili & Prince Bisi Olatilo

Duni Olunloyo (r)

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Yeye Bola Dare & Celebrant

Celebrant & friends

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The celebrant

Barr. Samson

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Alhaji Buruji Kashamu

Chief Akindele

Halima Mahmoud

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Hajiya Binta, Joke Shogunro, Celebrant & a guest

Alhaji Adewale Arulogun, Olatunde Etti & Theo-Solomon

Celebrant with Buruji Kasamu & guest

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Chocolate stand

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R-l: Barr. Dotun Sowemimo, Zahoda Baba Abbo, Hauwa Indimi, Hadizah Jibrilla & Adeolu Adeyanju

Joke Sogunro, Michael Effiong, celebrant & Prince Bisi Olatilo

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Hon. Nikiru Onyejeocha

Senator Abubakar Gada

Barr. Wole Oke & wife

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Mrs. Lamai

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Hajia Bola Shagaya

Dr. Maryam Shagaya

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Nkiru , Folakemi Ajayi & Gina Kay

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...TIME TO DANCE

King Sunny Ade entertaining guests

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KCee & Harry Songs performing

Dancing time

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Hajiya Fatima dancing

Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

Yeye Bola Dare dancing

Celebrant dancing with her friends

Yeye Bola Dare & Hajiya Fatima Tukur

Joke Sogunro dancing to Sunny Ade

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THE LIVELY SOIREE AT HER CLASSY HOME

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur & Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur stepping into the arena

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur dancing with women leaders

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Alhaji & Hajiya Bamanga Tukur with friends & Political leaders

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur dancing with Sir Shina Peters

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Alhaji Bamanga Tukur dancing

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur greeting guests

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Celebrant appreciating Sir Shina Peters at the event

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2nd left: Tunde Oshinowo & friends with Hajiya Fati Bamanga Tukur

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Kcee with a guest

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Celebrant with guests

Celebrant & sister, Josephine with Mr. Anthony & son

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Celebrant with friends

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The celebrant with Southwest Women

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Pastor Stella Al-Hassan, Chief (Mrs.) Bolajoko Doherty & Princess Gbite OlateruOlagbegi

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Prof. Nicholas Ezeh & Thompson John E.

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Joke Sogunro (m)

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Sir Shina Peters with celebrant, Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

Josephine (m)

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Josephine

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Celebrant with Joke Sogunro

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Mr. Dotun Ajayi (m) with guests

(Mrs.) Lanre Dixon, Dr. (Mrs.) Felicia Anih & Mrs. Nike Arewa

Princess Bola Lekan Salami, Chief (Mrs.) Olusola Olagunju, Alh. (Mrs.) Olasomi Folorunso & Mrs. Akanbi Toyin

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Yahaya B, Chief Felix Amadi & Chief (AMB) Larry Allison

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Mrs. Princess Folake Adeoye, Mrs. Ibironke Kemi, Mrs. Toyin Akinwande & Mrs. Abimbola

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SSP with Joke Sogunro & guests

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Gloria Effiong, Meg Effiong with guests

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From 2nd left, Dr. Peter Obafemi, Mr. Tunde Oshinowo, celebrant & guests

Abimbola Sanusi, Bose Oyewole & Alhaja Mukiat Omotola Gbadamosi

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Sir Shina Peters, Joke Sogunro, Hajiya Fatima Tukur & Hajiya Mariam with others

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Toyin Babajide & Mrs. Yejide Olatunbosun

Honey Bee & Anthonia Sogunro

Emmanuel Taiwo, Marjorie Ebong & Anthony Fatusin

R-l: Marjorie Ebong & Bassey Ebong

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Aladizo Adado (Fmr. PDP Zonal Women Leader), Raheela Umar, Hajia Binta S Bello & Hajia T.O. Lawal

Barr. (Mrs.) Augusta Ojomoola & Joke Sogunro

Pastor Godwin Akponi, Yusuf Kunle & Dr. Eddy Olafeso

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Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur (right)

Kcee (m)

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Jumrash Asoooke

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The celebrant with guests

Joke Sogunro & friends

Ogun State PDP Women

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Ogun State PDP Women

The celebrant & a guest

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Mrs. Umar

Mr. & Mrs. Aderemi

Ody & Elizabeth

Joke Sogunro & guests

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Mr. Dotun Ajayi (right)

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Harry Songs, the celebrant & Kcee

Guests

Guests

The celebrant with guests

Guests

Guests

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Southwest PDP Women

Guests at the occasion

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THE PERFORMANCIES

Kcee performing

Asu Ekiye performing

Sir Shina Peters performing

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DANCING TIME

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Shina Peters & guests at the birthday dinner

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THE QUINTESSENTIAL PAN AFRICANIST HOSTS FORMER SOUTH AFICAN PRESIDENT, THABO MBEKI

President, African Business Roundtable, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur (right) with former South African President, Thabo Mbeki

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AN EVENING WITH AMBASSADORS AND AFRICAN FINANCE MINISTERS

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with Finance Ministers & Ambassadors

Hajiya Fati Hiba, Yasmin, Hajiya Fati Bamanga Tukur & Mrs. Mohammed

Dr. George Adegoroye, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari & Mrs. Mohammed

Chief Felix, Dr. Vincent Okpala, Engr. Daniel Ohiomba, Chief Richard Lamai & Edmund

Mr. Ebere Young with Mr. Dotun Ajayi

A

buja, the capital of Nigeria was agog in late March, 2014 when the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa jointly hosted the 7th African Finance and Economic Planning Ministers' Annual Conference.

In the course of the 5-day conference, astute businessman and staunch Pan Africanist, Alhaji (Dr.) Bamanga Tukur hosted the delegates and some members of the diplomatic corps to a dinner inside the scenic garden of his Abuja home.

The evening began with a guided tour as the host took his guests round the massive garden. The guests which included British High Commissioner H.E. Andrew Pocock were regaled with the history of the many animals in the Tukur Family private zoo as they passed by the different pens. Alhaji Tukur also took 200

time to explain the elaborate paintings and portraits that adorn the walls.

On their return, everyone was served chilled cocktails and various drinks, while smiling hostesses then led them to a well-decorated part of the garden where a sumptuous dinner had been prepared.

The evening was one for bites, speeches, drinks and dance, and it took the professionalism of the Master of Ceremonies, Ebere Young to weave it all together seamlessly.

First to speak was the host, Dr. Bamanga Tukur who thanked all the guests and urged the Ministers present to strive for economic growth in their respective countries.

He noted that growth like someone said does not grow in the pocket but had to be felt in the pocket for

it to be relevant. He told them that policies that will bridge the poverty gap should be their priority.

He went on to highlight what he considered to be his dream for Africa. He said he would like to see an Africa without security challenges, without war or strive, an Africa where there is good infrastructure including roads, power and water, An Africa where no one wakes up hungry, and an Africa with a strong economy.

In his own remarks, Mr Carlos Lopes reiterated his statement at the opening of the Conference where he stated that "in order for Africa to grow and transform we need to have a clear understanding of our times. We are not new in the business of transformation. But Africa has, nevertheless, to innovate in the business of transformation.

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Dr. Bamanga Tukur with Finance Ministers & Ambassadors

Prof. Onyeke & Mr. Onyekachi

Left: Dr. Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)

Hajiya Fati Bamanga Tukur with Dr. Vincent Okpala

Yusufu Aliyu & Amb. M. Toluhi

Dr. Roberts, Dr. Ken Ife, & Dr. Uchechukwu Chukwuma

Dr. L. Amedee Darga, R. Chellapermal, Mr. Dotun Ajayi & Dr. Bamanga Tukur

Mohammed Babatu, Hajiya Fati Bamanga Tukur with Victoria Ikpatt

Ayowunmi, Ayotola & Ufuoma

R-L: Vitaly, Garry & Immaculate

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H. E. Erastus, J. O. Mwencha, Prof. Gambari & Dr. Bamangar Tukur

Dr. Solomon Nyagba with Rtd. (Lt. Gen.) Louis Fisher (Ambassador of Botswana)

Dr. Bamanga Tukur delivering his speech

Alhaji Bamanga Tukur with British High Commissioner. H.E Andrew Pocock

Amb. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze & Amb. Hans Rudolf Hodel

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Chidi Nwafor & Hon. Chugaby Onwuka

Reitumetse Elias Lesotho & Patience Aboessien

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Michael Effiong, Otunba Eddie Aderinokun & Chief Tony Amaechi

Dr. Bamanga Tukur with well wishers

Princess Goldba Tolafari & Hajiya Fati Bamangar Tukur

Mr. Daniel Zercher & wife, Mrs. Zercher

Queen, Hadiza & Binta

Dr. Bamanga Tukur with the Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Ebere Young Acharaike

Capt. P.M & Mrs. Thahal with Dr. George Adegoroye

Lami Danburam, Halima Modibbo & Ahmed Modibbo

Dr. Bamanga Tukur with Hajiya Umma Sauda

Mr. Remi Akejelu & Mathias Adamu

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Princess Ngozi Mbaike & Tola Ademosu

Tola Ademosu & Hajiya Fatima Bamanga Tukur

Hajiya Fati Bamangar with Aisha Adamu

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Ushang Ikwen

Princess Philomena Desmond

Victoria Ikpatt with Princess Goldba Tolafari

"Last year, we reached a unanimous decision to pursue commodity based-industrialization as a propeller of the continents transformation, in order to create much needed jobs for Africa’s youth, generate the knowledge and skills base to manage a rapid process of urbanization, and reap the benefits of a potential demographic dividend. Also recognised was the need for adding value to our natural resources; the importance of science, technology and innovation for industrial development; and the shift to modern agriculture.

“We need to dig deeper now. We need to explain how we are going to be organic and pursue an industrialization path that is specific to the needs of a plural continent. An industrialization path that is sophisticated and different.

First Africa needs to fully use its bargaining position by maximizing the demands for value addition in the commodities it has a dominant position. Africa is home to 12% of the world’s oil reserves; the largest renewable energy potential; 40% of world’s gold; 80% to 90% of its chromium and platinum; 70% of coltan; 60% of the world’s unused arable land; 17 % of the world forests; or 53 % of the world’s cocoa produced by two countries –Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana- alone!. Resources such as these should be leveraged.

Second, as a latecomer, Africa is not locked in any technology preferences; it can follow a green and clean energy pathway and leapfrog old carbonintensive industrial models. The growing awareness of environmental degradation and climate change is

giving rise to new Research & Design priorities, like clean energy technologies, that could be scaled-up rapidly. The continent is well positioned to absorb, adapt and build on the vast quantities of scientific and technical knowledge already available "Also, promoting greater regional integration across Africa is an imperative. The scope for regional integration is still largely untapped due to both tariff and non-tariff barriers to intra-African trade. Africa’s transformation will require renewed and bolder efforts.

Mr Lopes noted that though the journey seems far, we needed to take the first few steps and then we can begin the journey to a truly great continent.

Dr. Sipho Moyo, African Director, ONE.ORG was also at the event. She used the occasion to speak about the latest campaign of the organisation in the area of Agriculture. She said that top artistes on the continent including Nigeria's Femi Kuti and D'Banj have agreed to be ambassadors for Agriculture and they have all put together a lovely campaign song: Cocoa Na Chocolate which will be used to further spread the message of ending poverty across the continent.

Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the world renowned Diplomat who described himself as a friend of the host spent his time showering encomiums on Dr. Bamanga Tukur for his unwavering commitment to the economic growth, unity and peace of Africa.

While the speeches were going on guests were served assorted continental and Nigerian dishes, and later, entertained by Bobby Yinkus and his band.

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Dr. Vincent Okpala (Asst. Prof. Emergency Medicine USA & Valentine Ozigbo (CEO Transcorp Hilton)

Prince Hyginius Sheckeler (PDP Secr. USA), Dr. Obioma Agomuoh, (Governorship Candidate Imo State) & Lt. Gen. (Rtd) Lours Fisher (Botswana High Commission, Abuja)

Dr. Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, UNECA

Dr. Sipho Moyo, Africa Director, ONE. ORG

Prof. Ibrahim Gambari

Michael Effiong with Journalist & Author, Chief Eddie Aderinokun

Bobby Yinkus and band performing

Guests having fun

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BAMANGA TUKUR: A MAN WHO LOVES NATURE

A PANORAMIC TOUR OF HIS MASSIVE GARDEN IN ABUJA

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