Which Wife is First Lady?

by jordan | September 21, 2007 at 09:04 am | 271 views | add comment

When I first read this, I thought, does it matter how many First Ladies there are? If polygamy is recognized in Nigeria, shouldn't that also apply to the titles of officials' wives? There's more to it than that, though, as titles also translate to access to public funds in a nation rife with government corruption.

Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako has four wives, all rivals for the title - and the accompanying perks.

The row has spilled into the public domain, with newspapers across Nigeria seizing on the issue as an example of profligacy the president needs to curb.

Ten polygamous governors in the mainly Muslim north have the same problem.

First ladies in the past have drawn criticism - but no sanction - for squandering money on their personal offices, assistants, bodyguards, cars and foreign trips.

At one point under former President Olusegun Obasanjo there were 800 first ladies across Nigeria.

President Umaru Yar'Adua's wife has adopted a number of good causes including immunisation and HIV-Aids, and many other political wives take their lead from her.

At a news confernce, Governor Nyako said that as a Muslim "all my wives have equal status".

"So far, I have not declared any one of them to be first lady," Mr Nyako is quoted as saying in several national newspapers.

But he denied allegations that he had used state funds to buy cars for his wives or renovate their houses.

This was previously posted by our very own egoigwe:

Now, I have not been to the Yar'Adua family compound in Katsina state but i do know that 105,000,000 Naira is about $700,000 at the going black market rate and almost $800,000 government rate. Likewise the sum of 120,000,000 is almost $1 million government rate and about $900,000 black market rate. So now, are we to believe that a duplex, once a 3-bedroom bungalow, now goes for a million dollars in Kaduna state?!! And a seven bed-room duplex for close to $650,000? Haba, Oga President!!! One would probably think that Katsina state is our own version of Palm Springs or Beverly Hills but it isn't. Katsina state is one of Nigeria's poorest states, with just about two or three artery roads that are tarred! And I do know that nowhere in Kaduna state do duplexes sell for a million dollars! That's for sure!