This paper is a study of the status and operations of Nigerian First Ladies. The rise and boom dates back to 1987, during the tenure of Maryam Babangida-wife of the then president. Subsequent national First Ladies cued into the structure and legacy of the office and extended the phenomenon to state First Ladies. Like Amazons, they have continued to rise in fame, with exotic paraphernalia of office and pet-projects, making Nigeria a bee-hive of First Ladies operation. Through ethnographic and phenomenological method of knowledge inquiry and presentation in qualitative analysis the report is replete with reasons for the boom-the major being the people's cosmology of woman and motherhood and, the onerous desire of women to adequately cue into the global project of gender balance in advancement. In spite of the marginal status of the office in the body polity of the nation, First Ladies have contributed significantly to human development index of the target group and, provided strategic platform for women mobilization and consciousness in public affairs.
The paper identified the Boko Haram Islamic sect's ideology and onslaught on the Nigerian state and Christians in particular as set back on the fragile relationship between Muslims and Christians. The sect regenerate clogs of fundamental division, intolerance and fanaticism. Consequently, the Nigerian religious space is engulfed in precarious and apprehensive aura. Rallying on phenomenological approach and data, the essay argues that a war between modernity and tradition on the one hand, and pristine religious practice is better fought through intellectual negotiation, against the backdrop of existential world realities. As Nigerian Muslims and Christians embrace this principle, government should complement it with good service delivery and improved security apparatus to guarantee the rule of law and social order.
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