Mrs Fayemi has done a lot to change the life of women and children in Ekiti State
In my article: BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE, of 19 June 2011, I wrote: ‘I make bold to say that with respect to passion for Ekiti’s socio-economic development, the only difference between Dr Kayode Fayemi and his wife, the Ekiti First Lady, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, is that the latter was not elected by the popular votes of the good people of Ekiti.’ Her most recent initiative resulted in the passing into law by the Ekiti State House of Assembly of the Equal Opportunities Bill to protect the economic and social rights of the physically-challenged, as well as those with learning disabilities in the state concerning which, V.A Adewusi, a Diasporan member of Ekiti Panupo not only gave her kudos, but added that the bill cold also technically be regarded as a bill sponsored by the executive branch, because, in his words, omi eko, eko ni (they ‘re both the same) giving the example of when in 1996, U.S President, William Jefferson Clinton, had Hillary Rodham Clinton lead his attempted Healthcare Reform.
Today, I yield the column to Ado-Ekiti-based Akeem Bello, who has observed Erelu’s multi-faceted peregrinations on behalf of the needy in Ekiti for quite some time. Happy reading.
Wife: “Help me ooo! Help me ooo!!”
Husband: “I will kill you today, you this useless woman.”
Wife: “Please Baba Kehinde, don’t kill me.”
Husband: “I will kill you, ‘sebi’ you said you will not hear.”
Wife: “My eyes! My head!!”
That was the violent interaction between Baba and Mama Kehinde in the early 80s in Bauchi. Mr and Mrs Afolabi Akinwumi, (aka) Baba and Mama Kehinde were members of a happy family. I was about twelve years old then. Our families came in contact in 1982 when we both rented apartments in the same compound along the Kofar Gombe, Unguwar Dawaki area of the town. Theirs was a family of six. Kehinde was the first child and there were Taiye, Tunrayo, followed by Tunde and Sunkanmi who was the last child. Kehinde and I were in the same class. Suddenly, the happiness in this family turned sour as a result of regular beatings of the wife by Mr Akinwumi. Initially, neighbours intervened to stop these incessant beatings but, after some time, it became so constant that no one cared again.
That was the story till my own family moved to somewhere on Wunti Road in 1983 though Kehinde and I remained in the same school. Kehinde would tell me a year later that his father had sent his mother packing for no obvious reasons, forcing her to leave the young children behind
In 1985, my family left Bauchi for Ado-Ekiti in Ekiti State and I did not go back to Bauchi until in 2008 when, Sani, a mutual friend of Kehinde and I was my host. And, quite naturally, I asked Sani about our friend and his siblings. His response was heartbreaking. Sani told me Kehinde was shot dead by the police while robbing a bank; Tunrayo, his sister, he said, died of some mysterious ailment, Tunde became a drug addict and he knew practically nothing of their youngest sibling. Baba and Mama Kehinde’s whereabouts, too, were unknown.
This is the sad story of a promising Akinwumi family and the extent to which domestic violence could destroy a family and ruin the lives of innocent children. Today, I am a graduate teacher; my younger brother, who was very close to the late Tunrayo, is a Correction Officer in the USA state of Texas. My other siblings are graduates from reputable universities. We were all friends to the Akinwumi’s except my youngest brother who was not part of our Bauchi history. The most painful thing, for me personally, is remembering that Kehinde was such a brilliant student. Without a doubt, had there been an Erelu Fayemi type there in Bauchi at that point in time, not only would the Akinwumi family be intact today, the children would have fulfilled their God -ordained destinies.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi, like Betty Ford, 1918- 2011, wife of the 38th President of the United States of America, Gerald R. Ford, had a passion for womens’ rights and that became her calling. She never hid her feelings about this even if it was against the spirit of the Republican Party, her party.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi is not by any means a sterile women’s rights advocate. She pursues her exertions to the very end, seeing them become law. For instance, the bill she inspired on prohibition of violence against women was passed into law by the Ekiti State House of Assembly on 25 November, 2011 just as the one on Equal Opportunities, that is, against discrimination of any kind, was passed this November.
Hers too, is not a one -sided advocacy. Therefore, as an educated woman versed in our culture, Erelu, where ever she goes, advises women to respect their husbands. She tells them that the laws are made to protect them, but that they too, must not abuse the laws.
Erelu Bisi Fayemi has given philanthropy a new perspective in Ekiti State. At the launch of her Ekiti Development Foundation, all the Dangotes, the Elemelu’s, well known names in philanthropy in the country, were present to lend their support to a worthy cause. Since then, there had been no looking back for her. She has in place, a provision of N200,000 for any family that gives birth to twins or other multiple births just as she recently facilitated the construction of Adunni Olayinka Wellness and Cancer Diagnostic Centre at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, to facilitate early detection of breast cancer. There is also her Feeding Project for the elderly and the hungry who are given both cooked meals or raw ration. A few weeks ago, she visited all the markets in the state to assist market women in their various trades. The programme was called ‘Erelu be oja wo- Erelu Visiting the Markets -’ during which women traders were given buses and millions of naira to upgrade their trade;a completely unprecedented happening in the history of the state.
Erelu’s efforts are not borne out of gender sentiment or political exhibitionism. Rather, they are deeply held passions borne out of the words of God. For instance, in the Quran chapter 65 V 6, Allah says;
“Lodge them where you dwell, according to your means, and do not treat them in such a harmful way that they be obliged to leave. And if they are pregnant, then spend on them till they deliver. Then if they suck to the children for you, give them their due payment, and let each of you accept the advice of the other in a just way…..”
This is similar in the Bible to Ephesians 5 vs 28 which says:
“So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loveth his wife loveth himself”
Some ‘Ifa’ verses in Yoruba cosmogony also attest to this. These verses are why Erelu will insist on respect for women dignity by their husbands. Women are the navel of any home.
Erelu, just like Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a formidable pillar behind her husband. She is giving Dr. Kayode Fayemi the necessary support he needs to continue to move Ekiti forward. Her school of politics is with a difference; carrying out her activities, as she does, with civility and an unrivalled panache.
Mrs Fayemi has done a lot to change the life of women and children in Ekiti that all we can do is commend, and thank her, for the many ways in which she has, and continues to touch lives, especially of our women, children, the hungry, the sick and the needy, in general.
I therefore urge the entire Ekiti citizenry to support her husband, our dear governor, Dr John Kayode Fayemi, who has, in three years, taken Ekiti to socio-economic heights never seen in the entire history of the state.
Akeem Bello writes from Ado Ekiti.
