She is Dr. Dame Chief (Mrs). Patience Fakabelema
Jonathan (nee Oba). Her middle name is
FAKABELEMA, often shortened to Faka, meaning
‘Unending Blessings’. She is the President of the
African First Ladies Peace Mission.
SHE IS OLDER THAN THE PRESIDENT
Okay, calm down, not what you are thinking. Dame
Patience Jonathan was born in Port Harcourt on the
25th October 1957 while the don himself was born on
20th November, 1957. Ok, just like a month.
WHY IS SHE CALLED A DAME?
Patience Jonathan bears the title ‘Dame’ because she
was honoured with the Knighthood of the Anglican
Church.
HER HOBBIES
Her hobbies? You bet! Reading, writing, travelling and
oh yeah, swimming!
HER EDUCATION
She holds a National Certificate of Education (NCE) in
Mathematics & Biology from the Rivers State College of
Education and later bagged a degree from University
of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Biology & Psychology.
She passed WASSCE in 1980.
HER CHILDREN
Patience Jonathan’s marriage with the President is
blessed with two children: a cheeky boy, Ariwera
Adolphus Jonathan and a beautiful girl, Aruabi
Jonathan.
YES, SHE STILL COOKS FOR MR. PRESIDENT
She says she still cooks for her husband and even goes
to Utako Market (Abuja people, wey una dey?) to buy
ingredients for soup. O ga ju! With all that hectic
schedule (especially considering the fact that she is
also a Permanent Secretary in Bayelsa State. Patience
Jonathan was appointed a Perm Sec after 13 years of
leave at the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education)!
WHEN THE PRESIDENT MET HER, IT WAS LOVE AT
FIRST SIGHT
Miss Oba later met her lecturer while she was a
student at the Rivers State College of Education (now
Rivers State University of Education, Rumuolumeni).
Her lecturer then was with the Department of
Biological Sciences, and one thing led to the other,
they both fell in love. Today, the rest is history and
that Mr. Lecturer of yesterday now rules the most
populous black nation on earth. Hear her:
”We first met at the Rivers State College of Education,
Port Harcourt where I was a student. He was my
Biology lecturer.Later; he left for university of Port
Harcourt to pursue his PhD.
We met again at the University of Port Harcourt when
I went for undergraduate degree. That was where our
relationship began. He took interest in me because I
was a brilliant and smart student.
It was love at first sight on his part. But it never
crossed my mind that it would lead to a serious
relationship. My first impression of him was ‘this tall,
dark, handsome young man”.
Further interaction with him also revealed that he
came from a good Christian home just like I did. His
humble and gentle disposition caught my attention and
most importantly, his intelligence.”
SHE HOLDS COUNTLESS HONORARY DEGREES AND
TITLES
She holds many traditional titles, some of which are:
-Odadigba of Otuoke Kingdom, meaning the Ladder of
Success.
-Unume Wheshi Ekpeye 1 of Ekpeye Kingdom in Rivers
State.
-Yeye Obateru of Owu Kingdom, Ogun State, means the
Wife of He Who Shares the King’s Burden.
-Yeye Ohun Orun of the Source of Ife Kingdom, Osun
State, meaning the Wife of the Voice of the Heavens.
-Staff of Office, Okpahgwe Amawbia, Anambra State.
-Ada Di Oha Mma of Ukpo Kingdom (Daughter of the
People of Ukpo).
-Honorary doctorate degree in Social Welfare
Administration, Hansei University, South Korea:
According to the organizers of the event, Dame
Jonathan was given the award because she had worked
‘hard for many good causes. ‘Professor Sung-Hae Kim,
the President and Chancellor of the university also
went on to say:
“She’s a humanitarian who has dedicated her life to
working for the less privileged in Nigeria and Africa
especially for women and children. Her vision as the
defender of the poor in Nigeria fits into Hansei
University’s motto of a practising Christian. Now she’s
part of our community. ”
HER MAIDEN NAME IS OBA
Yes, she was once Miss Patience Oba. She was born
into the family of Chief Lazarus Iwari-Oba but she lost
her own mother at a tender age. She was later raised
by her step-mother, Charity Oba also known as Mama
Sisi, who died in July 2013 in a road accident along the
East-West road between Bayelsa and Rivers State.
SHE WAS ONCE AWARDED A UNIVERSITY
HONORARY DEGREE EVEN WHILE AWAY IN
GERMANY ON HOSPITAL BED
In September 2012, she was awarded a honorary
degree by the Delta State University, Abraka despite
the fact that she was not in the country at that time.
She was said to have gone to Germany but she denied
going there for any treatment. Even the President
denied it only for them to own up later and throw a
splendid Thanksgiving in Aso Rock. Worefa.
SHE WAS ONCE INTO BANKING
Although she started out as a teacher at Stella Maris
College in Port Harcourt, she later veered briefly into
the banking sector, establishing Akpo Community
Bank in 1997, the first of its kind in Port Harcourt,
and later served as the Marketing Manager of Imieto
Community Bank.
HER HOMETOWN IS OKRIKA
She hails from Oba-Ama Community in Okrika, a port
town in Rivers State. It is known as a base for the sale
of second-hand clothes, and the name Okrika for those
of us very familiar with ‘Bend Down Select’ and
‘Tokunbo’ clothes is an attestation to that.
HER CHARITABLE WORKS
Like others before her, she also has a non-
governmental organization, named the A. Aruera
Reachout Foundation and is said to focus on the
needy, the poor and the destitute, with particular
emphasis on women and children. According to the
Foundation, it has trained over 2,000 women in the
last eight years. Some of the things her Foundation
also did was to foot the N1.8 million naira bill for an
operation in India for a girl with a hole in the heart
(septal defect) and Jubril Mohammed Hussein, a 9-year-
old boy who was also flown out for treatment for his
heart disease. Zainab Musa Garba, a twin, was
diagnosed with a heart condition and needed N3
million naira for treatment, the Dame also footed her
bills. Zainab’s mother teaches at the Federal
Government College, Maiduguri while the dad is a
retired civil servant. That’s a good one or what do you
think? Same goes for Tobi Peters, an 11-year-old boy,
three-month-old Peculiar Owodu and others (now over
30 kids).
HER FIGHT WITH TURAI YAR’ADUA OVER LAND
In January 2013, she was engaged in a tussle with the
former First Lady, Turai Yar’adua over a plot of land in
the Federal Capital Territory. They dragged themselves
to court and treated the nation to an exciting drama.
THE DAME-SOYINKA DEBACLE
Nigeria’s first and only Nobel Laureate, Professor
Wole Akinwande Soyinka has on several occasions
tackled the First Lady criticizing her actions especially
over how she closes entire streets while she is in town
or the Rotimi Amaechi case with the Presidency and
telling her to be a ‘lady’ first before being a ‘First
Lady’. The two don’t just see eye-to-eye.
HER WARDROBE
The Nigerian First Lady is a power dresser. She is
always attractively dressed (even when the President is
looking morose). Whatever, she is an outstanding
dresser.
HER FAMOUS WORDS
“I was just doing my own thing not knowing that in
far away Asia everything was being noted. I want to
assure you all that with God’s help I will do more. My
grandma used to say: `Whatever little you have, share;
If you have a thousand and you can’t share, you won’t
share a million if you have’. -Dame Patience Jonathan
while she was being honoured with a doctorate degree
in South Korea, October, 2013.
“I remember when Chief Obasanjo was the President
of the country, I was close to his late wife, Stella. We
worshiped together in this chapel. It was a painful
moment for me that time when she (Stella) died and
her corpse was brought here.
“That was how my corpse would have been brought
here. It was not an easy experience for me. I actually
died, I passed out for more than a week. My intestine
and tummy were opened.
“I am not Lazarus but my experience was similar to
his. My doctors said all hope was lost.
“A black doctor in London who is with us in this
service was flown in when the situation became
critical. It was God himself in His infinite mercy that
said I will return to Nigeria. God woke me up after
seven days.
“I know that some people somehow leaked the
information that I was dead. They are people that I
trust and rely on; to them, I was dead and I would
never return to the country alive. Some of them even
sold my things off.
“I won’t say everything here. It is the Lord’s doing
that I returned alive. When God says yes, nobody can
say no.
“People are always afraid of operation (surgery) but in
my own case, while my travail lasted, I was begging
for it (surgery) after the third operation because I was
going to the theatre everyday.
“It was God who saw me through. I did eight or nine
operations within one month. It was not an easy one.
“The day I came back, I said God I have nothing to
say, I offer myself to you. I will be doing things that
will touch the lives of the less privileged. -18th
February 2013, Vanguard.
THE RESURRECTION
In February 2013, at a reception/thanksgiving in her
honour, she stated that while away in Germany for
medical treatment, she was operated upon nine times
in one month and it was a miracle that she survived
and likened her case to that of Lazarus in the Bible.
SHE WAS ONCE CALLED ‘MAMA ICE CREAM’
According to Baridah Job Karabah, a former houseboy,
her nickname back in the days was ‘Mama Ice
Cream’ (and that of the President was simply ‘Oga
Joe’ ). Ice cream ke? Yes, and that was because she
used to cool ice cream in her large deep freezers. The
ice cream is then later distributed for sale. He says
business was ‘booming’ for her then. President
Jonathan was at that time, a senior lecturer at the
Rivers State College of Education. And yes, she had a
poultry too at the same time. Quite industrious I’d say.
In December 2013, at the inauguration of the Subsidy
Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Maternal
and Child Health otherwise known as MAMA Project,
she stated that henceforth that her name would no
longer be Patience but Mama Peace.
SHE HAS HER OWN SEAL OF OFFICE
Yes, she has her own seal and she uses it during
public functions (see picture).
This action itself has generated some controversy and
criticism because the office of the First Lady as it is, is
not recognized in the Nigerian Constitution. Only the
Commander-in-Chief (and others as stipulate)is
allowed to use a Presidential Seal on his lectern while
speaking in public.
HER FRIENDS
The Dame is quite a sociable woman and she is usually
seen with her retinue or battalion, of friends.
Some of her closest allies include the wife of the Vice
President, Hajia Amina Sambo (she calls her her ‘twin
sister’), wealthy businesswoman, Hajia Bola Shagaya
(who has been friends to the Aso Rock for decades
since Maryam Babangida’s time), Helen Mark, wife of
the Senate President (she once referred to her as her
‘younger friend’), Yemisi Suswan, the wife of the
Governor of Benue State, many other state First
Ladies, female ministers and wives of military service
chiefs.
SHE WAS ONCE REFERRED TO AS JESUS CHRIST
Irrespective of the opinion you hold of the Nigerian
First Lady, there are those who are absolutely in love
with her and will do anything to defend her and
proclaim their loyalty. One of such people is Evans
Bipi, member representing Ogu Bolo State
Constituency in the Rivers State House of Assembly. In
an interview, he stated:
“People are misinterpreting this Jesus Christ on earth.
Let me say this. Man is God to man; it is in the Bible.
You must not see God; you will see God through
somebody. God said, see me through Jesus Christ. That
is why we are seeing God through Jesus Christ. This
woman (Patience Jonathan) is everything in my life.
She made me what I am today.”
Politically and otherwise; I can say it anywhere. I can
say she is my Jesus Christ because she has made me
who I am today. That is the truth and I can defend that
anywhere. Babangida’s wife was from Delta State. Her
people called her mummy. Yar’Adua’s wife is from
Katsina, all the people from Katsina call her mummy.
Even Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s wife, the people call
her mummy. When a woman attains such level,
everybody calls her mummy. It is a form of respect to
her. But to me, my mummy (Patience Jonathan) is
special because she brought me up to this level.
SHE HAS A BOISTEROUS MEDIA TEAM
In a nation of over 170 million people, you will do well
to shield yourself from criticism of many as the First
Lady of the nation. Well, she has a solid team in place
and this team works under the ‘Office of the First
Lady’ and they are known for releasing statements and
counter statements on her behalf.
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