By Sarah NEGEDU
Since her emergence into the political arena over two decades ago, Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu has remained a strong political player and dogged fighter who has selflessly sold her party and its candidates at every election.
From her days as Special Adviser on Women affairs, Youth and Social Development to the chairman of Gwagwalada area council, through her time as the National Woman Leader of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, and later the All Progressives Congress, Aliyu has remained consistent in her quest for women’s involvement and inclusion in politics and governance.
Her strides and gains as the National Woman Leader of the APC endeared the trained Town Planner to the hearts of party faithful.
In the 2015 presidential polls, she threw her weight behind former president Muhammadu Buhari, massively mobilising women from all nooks and crannies of the country, culminating in the party’s victory that year.
Again, in the build up to the 2019 general elections, Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, publicly accused the opposition candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, of having nothing to offer Nigerians beyond return to the dark alleys of corruption and insecurity.
Aliyu was very optimistic that Nigerians, and indeed the people of Kogi state, would assess President Buhari based on his merits and performance and not on the propaganda of the opposition.
True to her predictions, the party again coasted to victory with the president reelected for a second term in a grand sweep.
The tireless amazon ramped up the tempo during the 2023 electioneering campaigns, touring the six area councils of the FCT to solicit support for her party.
As the FCT Coordinator for Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Council, the former Minister of State for FCT and her famous Team Ramatu toured the 62 wards of the territory soliciting support for the then presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Unlike most party members, the Zinariyan Abuja and Onyize of Ebira Land had the daunting task of ensuring the party’s success in the FCT and in Kogi State where she hails from.
Being one not to back down from a challenge, the astute politician and rugged mobilizer organised a presidential campaigns in Abuja that was second to none, with road shows and rallies like never before seen in the territory.
Although the ruling party did not win the presidential election in the FCT owing to extreanous factors, many ascribed the impressive showing of the APC in Abuja to her doggedness and push.
For instance, all through the electioneering campaigns, digital billboards in the city beamed with faces of Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima. Also, signposts on all major roads and entry points into the territory screamed the Renwed Hope mantra, powered by the RTA effect.
The founder and director general of “Nigerians Unite for Tinubu/Shettima Mandate” also set up an Integrated Medical Outreach, in Karshi, Abuja, to conduct free medical checks for the vulnerable in hard to reach communities of the FCT.
The medical checks covered immunization, consultation by medical personnel and laboratory screening for diabetes and malaria. Other services include pharmaceutical services (drugs), eye screening with free glasses for those that need them, blood pressure screening, weight and temperature check.
Aliyu and her team culminated the FCT campaign with a mega rally at the popular Eagle Square, to galvanize voters across the six Area Councils of the FCT.
Speaking on the qualities and achievements of Tinubu at the rally, Aliyu appealed to FCT residents to ensure they come out en mass to vote candidates of the APC from top to bottom.
She said: “Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a visionary leader who has a proven track record of delivering results for the people. He has transformed Lagos State into a thriving hub of economic activities and has always put the needs of the people first.”
She also assured of intensifying efforts to reach every nook and craine of the communities and wards to ensure the voters understand who Tinubu is and what he has to change the narrative when elected president.
The FCT mega rally, which held on February 11, 2023, had in attendance top APC party chieftains, including former governors, ministers and members of the National Assembly, youths and women.
Back in her home state of Kogi, the former minister held series of consultations with party members across the length and breadth of the state to assess and push for the victory of the APC presidential candidate.
The political amazon, who donated a huge edifice to the state party structure to support the APC’s victory in Kogi state, also inaugurated a campaign council ahead of the general elections.
The structure known as the Tinubu Campaign Office was commissioned on November 8, 2022 with the state APC chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello, other party stalwarts, candidates, and women groups, in attendance.
Aliyu, stressed that the task before the campaign council was to deliver the APC presidential candidate and all the candidates under the platform of the party in Kogi state.
According to her, “You are inaugurated today with the simple task of delivering the party’s victory in the forthcoming election. Your inauguration is also to complement the existing campaign structures of the party.
“Do not see yourself as superior to other campaign structures, you should see yourselves as team players towards achieving success of the party in the February 2023 elections and beyond.”
Also in the build-up to the election, Dr. Aliyu and her team extended the Integrated Free Medical Outreach to the three senatorial districts of Kogi State as part of efforts of entrenching the APC in the grassroots.
At the flag-off of the Outreach at Lokoja, Aliyu appealed to the royal fathers, religious leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in attendance, to support and elect Asiwaju Tinubu as the next president.
In her words, “The country in general, and Kogi state in particular, has witnessed significant improvement in infrastructural upgrades and healthcare service delivery in this current dispensation, and I can assure you that a Tinubu led administration will implement, expand and improve upon the structures that have been delivered, in line with the continuity agenda of the All Progressives Congress, APC, led administration.
“Accordingly, the flag-off of this Medical Outreach Programme, which is powered by the support group, Nigerians Unite for Tinubu/Shettima is expected to, among other benefits, strengthen immunization and PHC service outputs through integration, particularly in the underserved, low performing communities of the State.
“I want to assure all of you that the Tinubu/Shettima’s Renewed Hope 2023 Action Plan for a better Nigeria will deliver on its mandate based on their promises and commitment to serve Nigeria.
“It is no longer news that they have done it before and we are sure by the grace of Allah they can do it again and again. It is common knowledge that none of the other presidential candidates can move Nigeria forward better than Bola Ahmed Tinubu when it comes to track record of service delivery,” she stressed.
Also, as part of her contributions, she provided pensionable appointment to Kogi indigenes, built and rehabilited a medical facility, empowered Women and youths, drilled boreholes across Lokoja Local Government and Koton Karfe, and provided food as palliative to the 21 Local Government Areas of Kogi State.
She also sponsored about 5,000 students who write JAMB across Kogi State, paid tuition fees for junior secondary school Students across the State, sponsored medical bills across the State, facilitated Federal Government intervention during flooding, empowered People With Disability, rehabilitated and built classrooms in the State, and provided solar lights to some communities in the State.
Beyond the Kogi and FCT campaigns, the former minister was also visible on the campaign train of the party, following the APC presidential candidate to states like Plateau, Nasarawa, among others.
From the dusty streets of Kakanda, to the tarred roads of the FCT, Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu, has has proven her worth and earned global recognition for her work in public service as well as her contributions to the growth and success of her party.
Her track record as the National Vice Chairman (North Central Zone) of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, National Women Leader for the ANPP and APC speaks for itself.
Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, emerged as the first female President of the Council of African Political Parties, CAPP, after she had served as president of the Council of African Political Parties (Women Wing) from 2015 to 2017.
Aside her Doctorate Degree in Peace and Security Studies from the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu also earned a Doctor of Public Administration honorary degree from the Commonwealth University, London, and a Certificate in Leadership Skills from Abbey College, London.
As fellow/envoy Extraordinaire of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Dr. Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, has left her foot prints in satellite towns and rural communities across the FCT, where her tenure as supervising minister undet whose purview the FCT Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, the Social Development Secretariat, Area Council Secretariat and Satellite Towns Development Department, impacted the lives of the ordinary residents of Abuja.
Only recently, the African knowledge partner of Forbes Best of Africa Award, named Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu as the FIN Outstanding Woman Of The Year, 2023.
The Foreign Investment Network, FIN, Outstanding Woman of the Year is an annual recognition from the Foreign Investment Networks, the African knowledge partner of Forbes Best of Africa Award.
The award will be conferred on Ramatu Aliyu on July 18, 2023 by Mark Furlong (President, Forbes Custom) during the FIN/Forbes Best of Africa Award Reception in London.
It is, therefore, safe to categorise Dr Ramatu Tijani Aliyu in the ranks of technocrats, as she has pushed the boundaries beyond gender to attain greatness in her professional and political career.