Julius Alabi observes that not even the death of a dearly loved mother has slowed down Ondo State’s get up and go First Lady…
Nigerians are understandably very wary about this first lady business. They will be less than human if they felt otherwise. The spouse of the helmsman business (here the word is used advisedly) has been so abused that a clear amount of cynicism if not opprobrium is now attached to the very concept.
The sheer force of cynicism has however not deterred Olukemi Mimiko. In the past five years she has, with determination, swam against the tide. No whiff of disapproval has come the way of the Lagos born diva who had her elementary education at the Army Primary school, Mokola, Ibadan where her mother was a teacher after which she proceeded to St. Louis Grammar School, Ikere-Ekiti in September, 1977.
Perhaps, it is because the 47 years old is very cosmopolitan. This might have been a disadvantage in an insular state, but she has shown a knack to turn it into an advantage. An expansive tutelage saw her obtaining her first work experience at the Federal University of Technology as a library assistant and later at St. Joseph’s College, Ondo also as a library assistant. Following the trend of this intellectual curiosity, she read French at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife and did her National Youth Service (NYSC) in the Imo State capital, Owerri.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, she started her career as a classroom teacher in Jubilee Community Grammar School in 1987. She crossed over to the civil service, first as an education officer in 2000 and later, as an administrative officer.
Along the line, cupid’s arrow had struck. She met a dashing, debonair medical practitioner, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko. He was managing his own clinic, Mona Med clinic, Ondo. It was heads over heels and they got married in August 1990. A promising brood has since arrived out of the union.
Mimiko’s immersion into politics has had a profound effect on her. Given her background, it would have been such a waste to just sit back and be a trophy wife to a politician in ascendancy. She is not in the conventional interpretation of the term a feminist. But she has a defined sense of obligation bothering on Noblese oblige.
This trait exhibiting a high sense of social responsibility manifested itself early at school. Olukemi had a natural can-do disposition at St. Louis which was endearing. Translated to first lady this trait manifests itself in immersion in a host of causes. She is very far from being just a pretty face or demeaningly someone else’s handbag.
The cause she has championed often unobtrusively speaks volumes about her disposition. A deep seated Christian conviction is propelling her. She does not wear her devotion on her sleeves, nevertheless it seeps through. A fan who would prefer not to be identified says that she depicts King Solomon’s description of a virtuous woman.
A good example is the support she gave to a spinal cord injury victim at the Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure in the Ondo State capital. It was not just that she was touched by the individual’s plight those who have known her from childhood say that in view of her Christian disposition she would have done the same thing anyway even if she was not the governor’s spouse.
There is a whole litany of such interventions such as receiving 60 Ondo children adopted by foreigners. She once introduced a different dimension into birthday celebrations marking her 45th birthday with over 100 sets of triplets. Her foundation ‘Maternal Pulse Foundation’ had decided to identify with the triplets and quadruplets that had been delivered in the state since her husband’s administration was inaugurated. Refreshingly this is a departure from the usual merry-making with a posse of supplicants and sycophants.
Kemi Mimiko has not shied away from social advocacy or putting her foot down in spite of the political risks involved. Like the American first lady, Michelle Obama, she is not very amused about some of the ongoings in the film industry. As a mother, like Michelle Obama, and representing the perspective of a preponderance of mothers, she is rather bitter in view of the way and manner Nigerian film makers (and in the case of Michelle Obama film makers elsewhere) are throwing caution to the wind, with the indiscriminate scenes in movies which do not promote morality on the big screen.
Any sensible mother will be disturbed. Kemi Mimiko is profoundly so. For example, at the fourth edition of the festival of indigenous African language films held in Akure, she observed that in recent times, Nollywood films are tending towards ‘soft porn.’ This she sensibly pointed out is alien to our culture. In addition, the linguist in her openly frowned at the poor grammatical construction that runs through the script of our movies.
The emphasis here is that she is very disturbed about the prospect of pushing children into promiscuity. ‘Our films are gradually becoming pornographic in nature and this is not part of our culture.’ It could not have been put with more feeling.
Kemi Mimiko having swarm against the tide must prepare for life outside of government house. What happens after she is not revealing. Whichever way it turns out , be rest assured that the lady who intervened so sensibly is not going to disappear into obscurity.
