Golden Era: The Triumphs and Grace of Erelu Aisha Babangida at 50

What parts of a person get passed to progeny and posterity? Are the bits and pieces of passion and personality also inherited? That would explain the novel grace of Erelu Aisha Babangida, first daughter, and child of former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, with his maverick wife, the late Maryam Babangida. As Aisha crosses the golden 50, she continues to be accompanied by the stateliness of her father and the esoteric disposition of her mother.

May 25 is the birthday of Aisha Babangida, and in 2020, that day rang with her 50th year on earth. True to form, relatives and close friends were on the ground to commemorate the day. While goodwill messages were pouring in, Aisha Babangida—with her social media handle—thanked and celebrated everyone who observed the day with her and expressed gratitude to God for allowing her the privilege of the love of family and friends.

With such depths of humility, it is easy to forget the heights that Aisha Babangida has reached.
Most people would recall that it was Aisha Babangida that recently united eight of Nigeria’s most influential first ladies—in a bid to honour her late mother—and set off a chain reaction of warmth, friendship, and fellowship among them. That event was not unconnected to the subsequent visitation rights that were extended to former first ladies by the incumbent wife of the President.

Then again, the profile of Aisha Babangida in the corporate and social scenes is impressive enough. She single-handedly gingered up and animated the Better Life Foundation. On the Seventh Day of her work on the Foundation, it was once again fit for its intended purpose: the empowerment and endorsement of women through every means possible. These she has done by raising a lot of rural women with education, skill acquisition, and bundles of capital.

That is hardly a paragraph of the pages of the life and works of Erelu Aisha Babangida. It is, however, a close enough approximation of her grace and commitment. This is why—at 50 years of age—she is a model of success and an icon of lofty repute in Nigeria and beyond.

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