Borno gov’s wife emerges The Sun Most Supportive First Lady 2015 Award winner

Borno gov’s wife emerges The Sun Most Supportive First Lady 2015 Award winner

By Our Reporter  on November 30, 2015
By Iheanacho Nwosu
IN continuation of its recogni­tion of outstanding Nigerians, The Sun Publishing Limited has named Hajia Nana Shet­tima, wife of Borno State gov­ernor, Kassim Shettima, as The Sun Most Supportive First Lady 2015 Award winner.
Announcing this yesterday, Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Eric Osagie, said the governor’s wife was picked for her widowhood project and compassion for Internally Dis­placed Persons (IDPs).
Osagie revealed that The Sun Board of Editors underlined the fact that Hajia Shettima has stood behind her husband, in the face of devastation of Borno State owing to terrorist activi­ties of Boko Haram.
He stated that the Borno First Lady, in her empowering proj­ect, organised women to form cooperatives societies, through which they get loans to establish themselves in business. Also, Ha­jia Shettima gingers the women to engage in farming to earn a living and feed their families.
Hajia Shettima joins the inimitable club of former first ladies of Akwa Ibom and Benue States, Mrs. Un­oma Akpabio and Barrister Dooshima Yemisi Suswam to win the coveted award. She will, together with oth­ers, formally receive the award in February 2016 at an elaborate ceremony in Lagos.
The Sun had, two weeks ago, unveiled 19 Nigerians who were nominated for 14 awards for the year 2015. They include: Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (Man of the Year); Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra State (Governor of the Year); Mrs. Chinelo Anochu-Amazu (Public Service Award of the Year); Chief Eric Odinaka Umuo­fia (Manufacturer of the Year); Omoni Oboli (Nol­lywood Personality of the Year); Dr. Uche Sampson Ogah (Investor of the Year) and Chief Vincent Obiano­do (Hospitality Man of the Year).
Others are Mr. Amaju Pinnick (Sports Personal­ity of the Year); Mr. Yemi Adeola (Banker of the Year); Harryson (Creative Personality of the Year); Oba Akinruntan (Indus­trialist of the Year); Dr. Obiora Chukwuka (Busi­ness Man of the Year); Mrs. Josephine Ugwu (Nigerian Hero of the Year); General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, Chief Kensington Adebutu, Justice Aloma Muktar and Chief Mbazulike Amechi (Lifetime Achievement Award).
From the first day, Ha­jia Shettima stepped into her office as First Lady of Borno, she knew what she wanted from the office and how she could get her hus­band to serve the people of the state.
In her maiden media out­ing, she told newsmen that she would not allow the fortunes associated with her position to weaken her conscience. Some people dismissed the pledge, but events that followed years after proved her a woman of her words.
Even in the face of dam­ming insurgency in the state, the Borno First Lady has refused to buckle. In­stead, she has remained an inspiration not only to her husband but also to the highly ravaged women and children of the state.
Born in the early 1970s, Nana Shettima holds a Di­ploma in Mass Communi­cation and a Bachelor of Art degree in English Language from the University of Mai­duguri.
Unlike many first ladies who come to office with a little or no clear-cut agenda of what they intend to use the office to achieve, Hajia Shettima had tailor-made plans of how she hopes to support her husband and deploy her pet project to al­leviate the plight of widows and vulnerable children.
According to her: “I had no experience of public service, but I engaged my­self in business and animal husbandry as well as fish farming. This is in addition to being a wife, taking care of my husband, children and other household chal­lenges.”
“I don’t believe in com­ing up with pet projects just to make a name. No, but I always ask people to come up with useful ideas on how best we can initiate programmes and projects that will benefit them as a group or community. We also encourage women to form co-operative organisa­tions to ensure I will extend my helping hand to them so that their dreams are trans­lated into reality, with the help of professionals in the field.”
It is not surprising that she has been a rallying point for thousands of women that have become widows as a result of the insurgency in the state. Apart from us­ing her office to intervene in the pitiable condition of women in the state, Hajia Shettima is popular in the state for holding out strong­ly as a farmer.
She gives her reason for not giving up farming on account of her exalted po­sition: “You see, there are many ways one can con­tribute to the development of his community or the state at large and I believe as the wife of the gover­nor of Borno State, I can contribute by providing succour to the plight of the poor and vulnerable groups in the society.”
Her farm is conspicuous­ly located along Damaturu road and another one along Biu road. “The essence is to engage rural women living around the farms to engage in meaningful endeavours,” she said, adding: “We are teaching them more than farming methods and how to use improved seedlings to multiply yields.”
The Borno First Lady may not have only shot into national limelight with her advocacy for total eradi­cation of poverty among women, she has also earned huge respect for devising ways of steering millions of Borno women out of their precarious situation. She would be remembered easily for her noble roles in calming the nerves of par­ents and relatives of the ab­ducted female students of Chibok Secondary School.