The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu has said that she was overwhelmed with fear, doubt and isolation, which questioned her readiness to take on the role of First Lady of Africa’s most populous country.
In her 52-page memoir, titled The Journey of Grace: Giving Thanks in All Things, released to mark her 65th birthday, and obtained by Saturday PUNCH, the First Lady said the pressure came after the 2023 general election.
The five-chapter memoir is arranged by year from 2021 to 2025, with a foreword by Dr. Folashade Olukoya of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.
Mrs Tinubu said she often felt unprepared to serve as First Lady of a nation of more than 240 million people.
‘As for me, I had a lot of mixed feelings, questioning my readiness and capability to function effectively and optimally as the First Lady of so great a nation as ours.
‘A nation with over 240 million people from diverse cultures, ethnicities, languages, religions, etc.
‘For days, I isolated, pondering on my ability to play the supportive and complementary role without messing up’, she recounted.
The First Lady said in the days after the presidential election and before her husband’s inauguration on 29 May 2023, she was often left weeping in private and wrestling with a sense of betrayal from political allies she had once trusted.
‘After all the elections in 2023, preceding the inaugural day of 29 May 2023, healing of the hearts began. Some Nigerians from various spheres, especially Christians, continued to refuse to accept the Presidential results.
‘Despite the victory, I felt alone, weeping behind closed doors and wondering why I was betrayed by some of those I considered friends and spiritual family, many of whom I had opened up my home and my family to.
‘While for some, God used them to comfort and reassure me of God’s purpose in all of this’, she wrote.
‘She admitted to holding what she called “pity parties” while questioning her own strength.
‘If you say, occasionally, I had a pity party, you are right, I really did. I thought about who to reach out to for support and counselling.
‘It is good to have a spiritual guide, parent, teacher, mentor, as the case may be. I had one, who is a teacher and a mentor, who constantly reminds me of God’s promises and purpose for my life.
‘Somewhere along the way, I forgot because the drowning voices of some naysayers clouded my reasoning for that moment. Until I was reminded of all God has spoken over my life, all over again’, Mrs. Tinubu narrated.
Her reflections come barely three years after the 2023 general elections, one of the country’s most divisive contests in recent history.
President Bola Tinubu, the flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress, won the February polls with 8.79 million votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party.
The result was disputed by the opposition at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and later at the Supreme Court, though both upheld Tinubu’s victory.
According to the First Lady, some of her husband’s closest allies were nowhere to be found when he decided to run for office.
In her book, she noted that her faith eventually restored her confidence and pushed her to focus on her responsibilities ahead of the swearing-in.
‘It was now time to move on and start planning what to do that would benefit our people; also, to prepare for the inauguration and mend body, soul and spirit.
‘The campaign itself took its toll on us both, fraught with challenges only God surmounted for us. We then travelled to heal and get ready for the work ahead of us’, she narrated.
She added that while her husband, the President, focused on forming his cabinet, she began preparing her own official programme.
‘On my part, I had to decide what name to choose for my pet project, as it is the popular parlance for First Ladies to initiate a programme.
‘My first line of thought was that my programme has to be in sync with the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, and I aptly settled for Renewed Hope Initiative.
‘The scope and focus were in five key areas—Agriculture, Economic Empowerment, Education, Health and Social Investment,” the First Lady revealed.
She disclosed that in the build-up to the 29 May 2023, inauguration, she also turned her focus to personal details surrounding the day.
According to her, clothing for her husband was the top priority since ‘it is his first big day before any other person’.
Nonetheless, she requested that outfits be made for her ahead of the ceremony.
Most of the ones produced initially were unsatisfactory, as she longed for a traditional fabric worn by royalty in earlier times, such as Alari or Etu.
‘Most of the ones made were not what I wanted; I wanted a traditional fabric worn by royalty in the day (Alari or Etu).
‘A good friend of ours brought me a set just barely a week before the Big Day.
‘My dressmaker swung into action, and in a few days, I had the outfit I wore. For the remaining activities, old clothing from my closet came in handy’, she stated.
The First Lady also admitted the emotional toll of her husband’s controversial Muslim-Muslim presidential bid.
This, she said, sparked outrage among Christian groups such as the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and left her isolated in her local Church.
She recounted, ‘One of such decisions was the unpopular ‘Muslim/Muslim ticket’. My being a Christian did not matter. My local Assembly, Redeemed Christian Church of God, was split’.
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) is one of Nigeria’s largest Pentecostal denominations with sprawling parishes nationwide and across the globe.
The First Lady noted that the division only revealed the diversity of political leanings in the church.
She said, ‘I later realised that we are a church like other churches with members of all political parties in attendance.
‘I experienced this during my campaign in 2011 for the Senate, when I took my campaign posters to the church, and it was rebuffed. After that, I never tried again’.
‘But my husband’s bid for the Presidential Office was different, a bitter pill for them to chew’, Mrs Tinubu added.
