By Gabriel Olawale

The late Matriarch of the Ibrahim Babangida family and founder of Better Life Programme for African Rural Women, Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs. Maryam Babangida has been presented with a posthumous award by the Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen on Saturday in Abuja.

The posthumous award was received by Her Excellency, Hajia Aisha Babangida, the Chairperson of Better Life Programme for African Rural Women during the events commemorating the year 2022 United Nations International Day of Rural Women.

The Minister said the award became necessary because of late Maryam’s role as a critical stakeholder in the promotion and advancement of rural women’s rights.

She said, “it gives me great joy to assemble all of you here today for the commemoration of the 2022 international day of the rural women with the theme: Rural Women Cultivating Good Food for All.

“Oftentimes, rural women are on the frontlines of many challenges of the global agenda – poverty, illiteracy and diseases, maternal and child birth all confronts rural women disappropriately. If we protect their interest and cultivate their talents, we can enable them make meaningful contributions to our world. And that’s why we must remember late Maryam Babangida for organising programs that really touched the lives of rural women.

“I remember during the first national trade fair in 1988, she directed that all of us the contact persons in the local government areas must come with 10 typical rural women who have never visited the city. So, how can we forget such a woman. If I am to keep narrating what transpired during the better life program for rural women, we will not leave here today and that’s why I said we must give her a posthumous award today because she lives on. It will be foolish and unrealistic for us to celebrate this day without acknowledging her.

“All of us here today are rural women – we all come from the village. I’m a rural woman. I happen to be a councillor by the grace of our late Mother in 1986. If I am to give my success story, the background and the foundation, it’s our late Mother. I’m one of those she groomed and mentored from councillor, and today am a Minister. Why should we not remember this great woman.

“Your Excellency, Aisha Babangida, the Chairperson of Better Life For African Rural Women, we appreciate your presence because, when I was reflecting back to all what our great mother did, we cannot celebrate this year’s international rural women without appreciating her efforts. I believe she’s at the corner in this room, watching us, praying for us and smiling.

“These are some of the rural background that I remember through the foundation of the better life program. May the soul of our great mother, Her Excellency, Dr. Maryam Babangida rest in peace. Can we stand up to observe one minute silence in her honour?”, the minister said.

In her speech, Aisha Babangida said her late mother fought to bring solace to the African women and ensured that their voices are heard. She said her organisation had direct impact on the lives of the African women who are not just vulnerable but greatly marginalised. She strived to reduce child mortality, ensured food security, and improved maternal health and integrate rural women into national development.

Continuing, she said her late mother had two important things that was very dear to her and that’s women and rural development. In reminiscence, she said “on the 14th of September 1987, my dear mother had a workshop for the first time together with policymakers, planners and executors of rural development programs. The purpose of the meeting was to generate important ideas and inputs, creating a well articulated rural development strategy.

“So, it was concluded in the meeting to uplift the standard of living and development of our rural sisters and their community. As Her Excellency, said at the workshop,“ We must remember that our efforts to build a self reliant society must begin with the enlightenment and awakening the rural woman. There is a need to mobilise them so that they can be better prepared to contribute to the improvement of their environment and the development of the Nation. There is also a need for us to understand that the process of development involves a unity of purpose on a nationwide scale by all our rural womenfolk, partners and all stakeholders”.

“This particular quote of my dear mother led us to enhance the mode of operation of the Better Life Program for the African Rural Woman by introducing strong partnership and collaboration to support our vision of a project based NGO with great emphasis on agriculture, enhanced adult literacy programs to include, digital skills, entrepreneurship skills, access to micro loans as well as financial literacy skills, this will provide to our rural sisters whilst making sure they form a strong cooperative system.

“Through our Multi-Crop Initiative, we have built the capacity of over 10,000 rural women to grow Agricultural crops that are not just scalable, marketable but exportable. This project helped to foster a sustainable, scalable market system that increased rural prosperity and food security in Nigeria through market-driven approaches. Our ongoing Cassava project in Gaku community in the FCT in partnership with SEEDs Services Limited further shows our commitment towards food security and economic prosperity.

“We have also provided high quality health care to underserved African Communities. Our Sauki Health Intervention which takes health care delivery to the doorstep of the African woman has helped to reduce the prevalence of tropical diseases in the focal states. This has further reduced the vulnerability of women and ensured that women strive in good health.

“We have also empowered 1000 women in the shea value chain, built storage houses to address the Shea nut challenges to ensure availability all year round, and established strong financing models for the women in the Shea producing communities.

“Last year, to commemorate the International day for the rural woman, we launched a chronicle themed “Her Majesty” to showcase the struggles of the rural woman while we continue to advocate for her rights. We addressed some of the challenges of the women through our Cottage Industry Intervention. The immense progress and success of the organisation is the result of Her Excellency Maryam Babangida’s foresight, relentlessness, uncommon determination and well known commitment for excellence.

“Our recent initiative, which is a precious initiative drafted by my late mother before she passed away but could not be implemented – ‘’The B-GIRL” introducing STEM to young gils in community schools. This year alone, we have impacted over 1,000 women through our business development training, coaching and ecosystem initiative in partnership with GIZ. Women have turned out to be seasoned entrepreneurs through this scheme.

“We have also facilitated ecosystem linkages for our female entrepreneurs and farmers to give them access to finance, market and other business development services so that they can stand productive, and contribute to the society whilst supporting their wellbeing and their community.

“Also, through the RUSASI Intervention in partnership with the Abuja Enterprise Agency, we have empowered 163 women in the Federal Capital Territory. They were taught different skills and given starter packs and capital to establish businesses and they are doing very well. Our relationship with Smedan has assured our women gain proper skills training with financial and equipment support.

“Today, The UN International day for the rural woman is a day set aside to echo the plight of the rural woman and drum support for her. This year’s celebration highlights the essential role that rural women and girls play in the food systems of the world. From the cultivation, processing and distribution of food, they constitute the majority of the agricultural labour force yet they are not rewarded like the male counterparts.

“With this in mind, I am honoured and proud to have taken the organisation to a high level to enhance the agricultural sector of Nigeria. We will continue to strive to do more for our sisters in the rural community.

“Hon Minister, my mothers, aunties, sisters, and uncles it is with great joy and gratitude that I stand before you today to receive this award. I am exceptionally honoured and proud that the efforts and achievements of Her Excellency Dr. Mrs Maryam Babangida is still being recognised after so many years, although this does not come as a surprise as a famous actor said “The wish of immortality cannot come true by living forever, but through doing great deeds and having people remember you for them”.

“I commend the Ministry of Women Affairs for putting this beautiful program together and commend the resilience of the Ministry in championing the cause of women”.

Others who spoke at the event include Hajiya Jummai Sambo, junior sister of Her Excellency, HE Dr Maryam Babangida, Aisha Shehu Ladan and Amina Muhammed Aliyu.

According to Hajiya Jummai Sambo, “Her Excellency Aisha Babangida has done quite a lot by empowering the rural women through the area of agriculture, education, healthcare. And of recently, she has established another NGO called the WENA – Women Enterprise Alliance which helps in empowering the rural women, makes their lives better and sustainable. I think she’s quite commendable and I give her kudos for doing a fantastic job”.

For Aisha Shehu Ladan, “we are here to celebrate rural women and appreciate Aisha Babangida for carrying women along. She has been doing alot to support women. May God give her the strength to carry on this good work”.

On her part, Amina Muhammed Aliyu said, “the award given to late Dr. Maryam Babangida is well deserved and for her to be remembered when she’s not alive by the rural women both international is commendable.

“You can see how she brought us up. The minister, Dame Pauline Tallen have said her own part. Myself from the rural area was motivated by her to become a member of the parliament in Nigeria from the rural area. My life has improved in so many ways and am planning to teach others to take over. May her gentle soul rest in peace, we will continue to pray for her and pray for her daughter, Her Excellency, Aisha Babangida who wears her mother’s shoe and making sure that she carries the cross of better life for rural women”.