Gender Politics.. The First Lady in Retrospect(Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan).

Notwithstanding the debate that there is no constitutional role for the wife of Mr. President or a state governor, these first ladies have managed to attract attention and reckoning by making maximum use of their privileged positions and by embarking on projects that have reportedly brought to them, enormous resources and power.

It is on record that besides her elevated sense of fashion, which other First Ladies, after her, have tried to keep up, Babangida's late wife, Mariam, set other precedents which have, in a way, helped to define the role of First Ladies. Other First Ladies, including wives of state governors with character, have so passionately tried to do their brands of Better Life for Rural Women's project. Also, they have deliberately promoted their individualized sense of fashion, and this, during their tenure, has come to be accepted by other women as a kind a model.

So, each time a new President or a new state governor emerges, Nigerians, especially the women carefully study the wife's sensibilities for a new fashion craze and for a new better life campaign strategy.

This, in a way, explained the interest in the current First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, since her husband, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, first emerged the Acting President of Nigeria after the death of his former principal, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.

Before then, not many Nigerians have seriously assessed the interests of this First Lady to correctly predict what she would likely do or the legacy she would try to leave behind. In fact, news actually spread round that the new First Lady is not politically conscious enough to attempt to rival or exceed the political tenacity exhibited by her immediate predecessor, at the twilight of "her tenure."

Although such claims could be considered scandalous, we have seen so much of it in Nigeria that it no longer means anything to us. In the case of what to expect from Mrs. Jonathan, it only confirmed the worst scenario, which, incidentally tallied with the shook-proof expectations of most Nigerians. That is, that the First Lady would normally not contribute any meaningful thing to the political and administrative development of Nigeria but would, at best, look for some nebulous projects, involving mega parties and dances, through which the nation's resources, made possible by her husband, would be channeled and wasted.

But as events unfolds and as the Jonathans consolidate their stay at the federal seat of power, they, more especially, Mrs. Jonathan, have considerably surprised their critics. Dame has particularly disproved the claim that she is and has remained a political neophyte.
In fact, before Jonathan first expressed interest to contest this year's general election, the First Lady had literally taken over the campaigns. She was everywhere, serving as the unofficial middle-person for her husband

t is in this context that I consider Dame Patience Jonathan's passionate campaign for increased women participation in politics as a timely contribution.
Although one would rightly say that she is not the first Nigerian to call for political empowerment of women, there is hardly any doubt that she has arguably pursued this cause more than any First Lady before her. For a vivacious woman some pessimists alleged could be a disaster as a First lady, if not closely managed by her aids, Mrs. Jonathan has probably proved to be very good in political grassroots mobilization.
You would be shocked by the way she closely relates with wives of all the state governors, including the ones whose husbands are in opposition. Let us not talk about the political worth of her now historic ride in a bus with the wives of the PDP state governors to the venue of the party's presidential primaries in Abuja.
Let us reserve for another day the power she had garnered through her Women for Change and Development Initiative, which is being launched in all the states and local government areas.

If I am not mistaken, it appears Dame Patience Jonathan has actually struck the right chord to unleash the hitherto hidden political consciousness of Nigerian women. If this is true, how did she do it, can it be sustained beyond her and is it only meant to enhance her husband's chances in this year's presidential election?