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Toyin Ojora Saraki; A Life Devoted to Service

Toyin Ojora Saraki

A woman of excellence and great repute, Toyin Ojora Saraki has a heart as lovely as her face; she is a lawyer and the founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBF Africa), a pan-African maternal health and wellbeing charity, dedicated to advocacy and the formation of best practices in health, education, women’s empowerment and social welfare . She is one of the resounding voices for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in Nigeria, which seek significant reduction in the rate of maternal and infant mortalities before 2015.

Toyin Saraki is the elegant wife of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki; the former Governor of Kwara State, Nigeria and also a former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). Her Excellency has devoted more than 20 years of her life to a course very dear to her heart; child and maternal health. Her main goal is to see that women no longer die from childbirth and that every child in Africa has access to all the basic needs of life.

Mrs.Saraki was born on September 6, 1964 to the family of Otunba Adekunle and Erelu Ojora. She had her elementary education in Lagos, Nigeria after which she proceeded to the United Kingdom where she attended Roedean School, Brighton Sussex. Mrs.Saraki bagged her L.L.B and L.L.M degrees at the London School of Oriental and African Studies and Kings College both of the University of London and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988.

Toyin Ojora Saraki

While in England, she devoted most of her time to taking care of the aged and sick. She also made efforts to be a part of the routine welfare scheme of the schools she attended. This great woman has dedicated her life to selfless service to humanity; she is always on the move to save lives and give hope to hopeless. Mrs Saraki is a global advocate of the UN’s Every Woman Every Child effort, acts as board chair of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, is also the Chairperson of the FIDA International Committee on Laws Protecting the Rights of Children and the Goodwill Ambassador of the Olave Baden-Powell Society (OB-PS), an organization that supports the efforts of the World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). She also sits on the boards of the Global Foundation for the Elimination of Domestic Violence and The Africa Justice Foundation.

A writer once said “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”ToyinOjoraSaraki has not only lost herself, but has given herself away in the service to humanity which to another writer is the highest religion. She has gone the extra mile to do the “not so convenient”, touching the lives of many, especially those of the less privileged women and children. Hundreds of women have benefited from the enterprise scheme of her organization. She has also paid particular attention to improving the lives of people with special needs among several other lifesaving initiatives and interventions.

In a TEDx speech she recounts, “We have done a lot for legislation to raise the expectations of what your government owes you. We also work very closely on the front-line with women, we have a fund that will pay money if you need a caesarean section and you can’t pay for it, to save lives. But at the same time we believe that a health- seeking woman is necessarily an empowered woman so we try to get the woman before the emergency occurs to train them about what should be the best –case scenario…as Africans we are not there yet in what we need for our people”.

Toyin Ojora Saraki

This great woman is reckoned as a leading advocate for the actualization of the rights of children. In November 2008, she delivered the keynote address at the 33rd biennial convention of the International Federation of Women Lawyers in Milan, Italy on the topic “Children are the Future; What Rights, What Laws?” She has also received several awards of recognition for her contribution to the emancipation of women and children in Nigeria and beyond, including the Award for Advocate of Excellence for Maternal and Child Health from the Association of Resident Doctors, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Chapter among many others.

Toyin Saraki is also engaged in numerous philanthropic gestures one of which is the establishment of The Lifestream Charity in 1993. The Lifestream, pioneered by Mrs.Saraki, is a group comprising of like- minded and socially responsible friends who desire to help the society. The organisation seeks children with heart deformities and has sponsored corrective surgeries in Israel, United Kingdom and South Africa. The charity also offers scholarships to indigent students, sends relief to disaster victims and builds schools for communities.

This great lady continues to make her mark in Africa, saving lives and enriching our dear Continent. You too can make a difference; brighten the corner where you are.

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Lovelyn Okafor
Lovelyn Okafor
Lovelyn Okafor is a Journalist/Writer, Poet, Lawyer and God-Lover. She enjoys a good read and sees everyday as an opportunity to live and enjoy her calling whilst working towards perfecting it. She believes that someday soon, Africa will reach her full potential as the light-bearer of the world. You can find her on Twitter: @lovelyn_o

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2 COMMENTS

  1. When Tambuwal emerged as speaker then ACN, now APC said it was democracy. It is still democracy now. They should swallow their pride and move on.

    Fellow Nigerians, let me draw the attention of all of us as follows:
    1. Honourable Lasun was duly and properly elected as was seen in the live TV broadcast.
    2. If he is made to resign as it is being suggested and he accepts the proposition just for the personal interests of Senator Tinubu and Hon Gbajabiamila, then we should kiss this Republic bye bye.
    3. My suggestion to say bye to this Republic is because a situation where one man would determine the conduct of the lives of over 170 millions Nigerians does not portend progress.
    4. I can confidently predict that if no. 2 above is carried out to the advantage of Tinubu, he would then determine who gets appointed as ministers, ambassadors, members of boards and MDGs etc
    5. He has been widely credited to have been responsible for the selection of APC party candidates for the position of President and vice-president.
    6. I also wish to observe that APC is for all its members and by extension Nigeria is for all of us and not just for one man.
    7. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
    8. Please before some commentators throw insults on me, I wish to state categorically that I am not a politician but an ordinary Nigerian who rightly believes you and I are also stakeholders in the Nigerian project. This is just my believe and opinion.
    9. I do not demean the age and political sagacity of Senator Tinubu, but it is just that he seems not remember the proverb that elders do not dance naked in the sun. As an elder statesman, he is just dancing his political dance in the full glee of all us the little Nigerian Children.
    10. May God bless and give Tinubu wisdom to act selflessly for the good of Nigerians; may God also bless and save Nigeria and Nigerians.

    So this is the change: pressurizing a validly elected deputy speaker to resign for a lackey ? This is outright dictatorship . I pray the house to stoutly reject this shame.

    Deputy Speaker pressured to resign to show royalty to the “national leader” of the party, Tinubu? Talk of one man’s ambition being projected as the wish of a party. Now, we know the true meaning of party supremacy. My prayer is that the Deputy Speaker resigns as directed and bury APC for good
    .

    Best Regards,
    NRC…..
    National Re-union Congress….God Bless Nigeria….!!!
    Tel.08170555528

  2. I love the write up. Pls I want to ask a question? What has sarakis done to tinubu that makes him tinubu an antagonist to the family. Why, what has bukola done to him…. In Yoruba, an adage says Taye banyeni kamasora… If you are making success everyday, becareful…… Pls tinubu forgive all wrong doings your brother might have wrong you

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