MARYAM MAIRO AMINU TAMBUWAL WIFE OF SO KO TO STATE GOVERNOR
Maryam Mairo Aminu Tambuwal is the daughter of the late Alhaji Mustapha Balarabe. She is the last of five children. A well-educated, unassuming, kind and accomplished woman, Mairo worked in Fossil Resources, which later became Seven Energy. From there she founded Oracle Integrated services, a consulting firm in IT, Telecoms, strategy, business and product development and also portfolio management. Since her marriage to the Sokoto State Governor, His Excellency, Aminu Tambuwal, Mairo has made strident steps in her role as wife of the Governor. She has touched so many lives positively with her various ventures, most of which are fresh ideas of hers brought to reality. Mairo’s ultimate aim is to create more awareness on these various projects, garner support from both here and abroad and bring some level of comfort and joy to the recipients of her care and compassion.
how well have you adapted to your new role as the wife of the governor?
The New transition has been seamless Alhamdulillah.
how do strike a balance between playing your role as the wife of the no 1 citizen of your state and also as his wife at home?
Communication is the lifeline of every relationship. More importantly, both parties are kept aware of what’s happening logistically and emotionally, which is the first step in making it work. Also by acknowledging the complexity of such relationship gives a foundation for success in all arenas.
you have been involved with several projects. can you tell us about your ngo mmawt?
Maryam Mustapha Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (MMAWT) Legacy Initiative was coined with the intent of leaving lasting legacies in our collective humanitarian ventures. The initiative so far has ongoing projects in Environment, Healthcare Assistance, Education, Prison Interventions, Social Wellbeing, Advocacies and Reform, Orphanages, Juvenile Delinquents and much more.
Though the initiative is less than a year old, we have made a remarkable impact in the following areas:
In Healthcare Assistance, we have in the last year, been rendering assistance to less privileged individuals with major and minor medical cases through facilitation of their treatments and welfare. The initiative has so far facilitated the diagnosis, treatment and after care of over 100 patients in 2016. The initiative is also engaged in sickle cell prevention campaign, which it took to secondary schools and conducted counseling and genotype testing on a large number of students.
We also have dabbled in collaboration with many civil groups, are involved in, cancer awareness campaign, HIV prevention, Noma disease, Malaria Campaigns etc. In Education, our interventions have been in facilitation of school enrollment for street children, provision of uniforms, school bags, writing and reading materials to the children of the less privileged and orphans, provision of essentials to female students in boarding schools, and payment of registration fees for some students of higher institutions, who are not capable of doing so themselves. These interventions have so far prevented a large number of our youth from dropping out of school.
In Youth/Women Empowerment we also have been involved with a significant number of youth and women trade groups and associations in Sokoto State. The initiative has so far facilitated several grants and loans for the groups that have helped in enhancing the commercial and Vocational activities of many of them in the state.
Care for people living with Disabilities: In order to curtail the menace of street begging and self endangerment amongst people living with disabilities, MMAWT legacy initiative has provided vocational training and grants to a significant number of them, facilitated the rehabilitation and relocation of some of them to their home towns and facilitated the treatment of those with treatable diseases. The initiative is also involved in the prevention of abuse and molestation of women and children.
We have so far intervened in a number of rape and abuse cases involving children and women, with a considerable measure of success.
you have also been involved in the prison reforms. what steps have you taken to make their transition back to society easier for them?
This is one area we have remained deeply involved in! The initiative has so far secured the release of over 200 inmates through payments of court imposed fines, compensations and debt settlement and in a few instances worked on steps to judicial expediency for some cases. On humanitarian and general wellbeing aspects of the inmates, we donate food items, drugs, beddings, toiletries, and medicine to the prisons in Sokoto State. We also embark on frequent visits to the prisons to interact with the inmates. We strongly advocate and support reintegration of prisoners into society by providing them with adequate counseling, stipends and major incentives for resettlement.
there is also the noma disease, which is close to your heart. what steps have been taken to eradicate this aliment and create more awareness?
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 140,000 new cases of Noma every year, mostly in subSahara Africa.
Sokoto state is the only state with one Noma Hospital in the whole West Africa. So one can imagine the workload on the hospital and the need for interventions from organizations such as ours. We have had free surgeries scheduled for two weeks,
Communication is the lifeline of every relationship. More importantly, both parties are kept aware of what’s happening logistically and emotionally, which is the first step in making it work. Also by acknowledging the complexity of such relationship gives a foundation for success in all arenas.
where surgeons from the Netherlands, u.S.A, Sri Lanka etc. formed a multi dynamic team to operate on a minimum of 35 patients. We anticipate this shall be done consistently and quarterly in the span of two years.
We were at hand on the first phase of the operations at the Noma children’s hospital facilitated by Doctors Without Borders ‘ Médecins sans frontières’ MSF international.
Interestingly, I was taken into the theatre where a constructive surgery was being carried out on a patient and subsequently my team interacted and socialized with patients in various wards. It was a very humbling and sober experience it was for me.
On awareness creation and support, the wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Muhammadu Buhari has signed a pact with my initiative through her Future Assured Programme to sustainably support the victims of Noma in many facets…ranging from corrective surgeries, cosmetic surgeries, empowerment, education and rehabilitations.
So please join hands to support victims and say no to Noma stigmatization of children and adults!!
are there also environmental causes that have been addressed in your state?
Sokoto state being among the states affected by desert encroachment, prompted us to advocate and participate in tree planting campaigns, environmental sanitation and other environmental friendly activities. We also have been able to sign agreements with the Global Shea Alliance, which will facilitate the empowerment of our rural women and youth.
most states are filled with juveniles in remand homes who seem to have no positive direction in creating the right path for their future. what steps are being taken to enhance their education, which they need for future success in their lives?
MMAWT legacy initiative is also fully involved in the affairs of the Sokoto State Remand Home. Since its inception, the initiative has been monitoring the children being detained at the home, whom are mostly there on charges of rape, drug abuse and truancy. The initiative provides new set of beddings, clothing and books, to each detained child, engage them on sanitation exercises and constructive dialogues. Apart from my frequent visits to the facility, our initiative in collaboration with the ministry of women and children affairs, have facilitated the reform, release and reintegration with families of a considerable number of these children or inmates.
what steps are being taken to remove the stigmatization of their experience when these juveniles are eventually released?
To prevent exposure and stigmatization Youth Corp members serving with the Ministry for Women and children affairs contribute immensely in the juvenile delinquents reorientation projects. The staff of the Remand home in Sokoto are also up and doing as regards to the welfare and protection of the inmates.
some wives of your husband’s predecessors have been known to begin projects but which, for some reason or the other, ends with their exit. what steps are you taking to ensure there is continuity in your various causes even long after you have left office?
MMAWT legacy initiative came into being in an Era of Change. All our projects are synonymous to the causes I have been involved in for so many years! So what we are doing now is just a continuation of what I have been doing before now but on a bigger platform. We will, God-willing, carry on with all the projects beyond our days in the helm of affairs in the State and hopefully carve its niche for a lifetime.
your husband comes across as a very reserved man. what is his most endearing trait to you?
Indeed he is a very private and in subtle ways an introvert. His honesty, God-fearing nature, loyalty and strength is in no measure a major attraction for me that has drawn me really close to him!!
having been a private citizen before you married, how have you adapted to living in the public eye? what are the things you could do before but cannot do now that you miss?
It’s been a journey of a kind. I miss work life in the private sector as it were and even on the social front. Enjoying public places like going to the cinema with friends and family, which I can no longer do! But when I do manage to find some time to myself, I try and sty in touch through my phone so I am not totally cut off from everyone. Besides my close friends and loved ones understand what comes with this role so they do not complain and that, I truly appreciate.
how do you manage to stay in touch with the friends you had before you married?
One does not change friends because he or she has attained a certain position in life! Naturally things change a bit but as I stated earlier, technology has made life so much easier in sustaining friendships. Social media, Face time, Whatsapp and other video calls etc.
what lessons have you learnt so far since you resumed you role as wife of the governor?
Leadership is indeed a great task! And one tends to do a lot of listening and accommodation of people from all walks of life.
what key incidents in your various projects have touched you deeply enough to convince you of your positive impact on the citizens of your state?
MMAWT legacy initiative is involved with the grassroots where much help is needed. So whenever we visit or receive people whom we have assisted, you see genuine gratitude on their faces and a change in their personalities. That alone motivates me to do more for our people.
For other women behind you who might find themselves having to attain a public role through marriage, what is the best advice you will give them to better prepare them for their new role?
They should be true to themselves and try as much as possible to make some impact in the lives of the people. Most importantly, they must be humble and understand like everything else,‘ Positions are transient‘ too!