My Mother, Her Life, Her Legacy, By Bola Ahmed TinubU
My mother, (Maa’mi) Hajia Abibatu Mogaji, has passed. But it is so obvious from the outpouring of emotions across Nigeria and beyond that Mama lives. God blessed her with 96 plus years on earth. But she was not great because of her longevity. For, it is not how long one lives but how well.

But Mama used every minute of her sojourn on earth wisely and well. My mother lived a long, fruitful life that benefited all who were fortunate enough to come into contact with her. Everywhere she went and everything she touched, she left better than she found them. She added and never subtracted. She made and never destroyed.

Her light consistently shone and the darkness could never comprehend nor extinguish it. God gave women a tremendous creative force and that force lived in my mother until her last day. But she is not only my mother. She is my Hero. To Africa, she is Mama Africa. Nigeria shared her with the world. I recall in 1988 when we had a delegation for the “Free Mandela” campaign in South Africa.

She was there front and centre with Sam Nujoma, the first President of Namibia. Most of you know her as the Iyaloja of Lagos or the President General of the Association of Nigerian Market Women and Men. She is more. She was Iya-Gbo-Gbo (Mother of All), Iya Oba of Lagos, Iya Oba of Ikirun and Iya Oba of many other towns too numerous to list.

he received numerous citations, awards and recognition from mosques and churches across the land. As a validation of her depth of knowledge and stewardship, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria awarded her Honorary Doctorate Degree, (Honoris Causa). She was a powerful, progressive public figure in her own right. When it was fashionable and accepted to ridicule and look down on market women and men, she was their staunch and proud advocate for they were and are an important part of our society, culture and economy.

She stood by them as they stood by her. She was instrumental in shaping policies and practices to assure more Nigerians benefited from commerce and trade which in the former days were dominated by foreign hands. She helped mould and organized the people of the markets into a potent force for justice and social progress, not just for their own interests but for the good of the weak, poor and downcast.

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