Maryam Babangida
| Maryam Babangida | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Nigeria | |
|
In role 17 August 1985 – 27 August 1993. |
|
| President | Ibrahim Babangida |
| Preceded by | Safinatu Buhari |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Shonekan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Maryam Okogwu 1 November 1948 Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria |
| Died | 27 December 2009 (aged 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Spouse(s) | Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (m. 6 September 1969 – 27 December 2009; her death) |
| Children | Mohammed, Aminu, Aisha, Halima |
| Alma mater |
La Salle Extension University (Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) (Diploma) NCR Institute in Lagos (Certificate in Computer Science) |
| Profession | Activist |
Maryam Babangida (1 November 1948 – 27 December 2009) was the wife of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who was Nigeria's head of state from 1985 to 1993. Her husband was the target of criticism for rampant corruption during his regime. She was credited with creating the position of First Lady of Nigeria and making it her own.
As first lady, she launched many programmes to improve the life of women. The "Maryam Phenomenon" became a celebrity and "an icon of beauty, fashion and style", a position she retained after her husband's fall from power.
Maryam King was born in 1948 in Asaba (present-day Delta State), where she attended her primary education. Her parents were Hajiya Asabe Halima Mohammed from the present Niger State, a Hausa, and Leonard Nwanonye Okogwu from Asaba, an Igbo. She later moved north to Kaduna where she attended Queen Amina's College Kaduna for her Secondary education. She graduated as a secretary at the Federal Training Centre, Kaduna. Later she obtained a diploma in secretaryship from La Salle Extension University (Chicago, Illinois) and a Certificate in Computer Science from the NCR Institute in Lagos.
On 6 September 1969, shortly before her 21st birthday, she married Major Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. They had four children, boys Mohammed and Aminu, and two girls, Aisha and Halima. After her husband became Chief of Army Staff in 1983, Maryam Babangida became President of the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA). She was active in this role, launching schools, clinics, women's training centres and child day care centers.
Her hobbies were gardening, interior decoration, music, squash, badmington, collecting birds, philantropic activities and reading.
When her husband became head of state in 1985, Maryam Babangida moved with her children into Dodan Barracks in Lagos. She had to arrange for considerable renovations to make the rooms more suitable for formal receptions. Dodan barracks was one of the key locations seized in the April 1990 coup attempt by Gideon Orkar against Ibrahim Babangida, who was present in the barracks when the attack occurred, but managed to escape via a back route.
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Wikipedia