Patience Faka Jonathan (born 25 October 1957) is the current First Lady of Nigeria and a permanent secretary in her native Bayelsa state. She is married to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan.
Born in Port Harcourt, she earned her school certificate in 1976, and passed the West African Senior School Certificate Examination(WASSCE) in 1980. In 1989, she obtained the National Certificate of Education (NCE) in Mathematics and Biology from the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, Port Harcourt. She then proceeded to the University of Port Harcourt and studied for a B.Ed in Biology and Psychology.
Jonathan started her career as a teacher at the Stella Maris College, Port Harcourt and Sports Institute Isake. She then moved to the banking sector in 1997, where she established the first community bank in Port Harcourt called the Akpo Community Bank. She served as Marketing Manager of Imiete Community Bank. She returned to the classroom briefly again as a teacher. Eventually she was transferred to the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education, where she served until 29 May 1999 when her husband became the Deputy Governor of the state. On 12 July 2012, she was appointed as permanent secretary in Bayelsa state by a Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, who was helped to his governorship position by her husband (who was then the incumbent President). The appointment caused national outrage and ridicule considering she had been on leave from the civil service for over 13 years, since her husband became deputy governor in 1999,and some critics argued it was a national embarrassment highlighting there was no merit or evidence of any recent performance to warrant a promotion to the peak of the civil service.
She and her husband have two children. There are some general speculation that the two children are not biological children of one of the parents (usually with the rumour that Mrs Jonathan has fertility issues), the Jonathan's have not yet confirmed or denied these speculations.
Philanthropic work
Jonathan has been recognized locally, nationally and internationally for her philanthropic work and political pragmatism. She received the “Beyond The Tears” International Humanitarian Award New York, USA, in 2008, for her role in the global fight against HIV/AIDS; the African Goodwill Ambassador Award (Los Angeles, USA, 2008) and the recipient of the "Wind of Change" Award from the South/South Women’s Organization.
When Goodluck Jonathan served as Governor between 2005 and 2007, Patience Jonathan served the state in the capacity of the first Lady of Bayelsa State. During this period, she founded many philanthropic and women empowerment programs, among them are the A-Aruere Reachout Foundation (AARF), which she set up to improve the status and earning capacity of Nigerian women and youths. The foundation already has its focus on supporting and assisting children with heart-related problems.
Jonathan in 2012.
It was announced 4 September 2012, that she was hospitalized in Germany following a severe bout of food poisoning that lasted for days. Jonathan fell sick about 10 days earlier, following her hosting of a summit of first ladies from across Africa. Jonathan was discharged from the Horst Schmidt Klinik in Wiesbaden on 2 October 2012.When the national media noticed her unusual disappearance from public view, the approach of her office was to initially lie to the taxpayers by denying she was in Germany to utilize the high quality healthcare provision of the country. Her spokesman, Ayo Osinlu, released a statement lying that she had only gone to Germany “to take time off to rest” and not for medical purposes. This was to avoid highlighting the presidential family were avoiding using the low quality healthcare system provided for the Nigerian citizens and prefer higher quality foreign provisions for themselves at taxpayers expense when needed.
Patience Jonathan worked in the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education before her husband became Deputy Governor and she was appointed to the very high senior civil service position of permanent secretary in her native Bayelsa state.
Patience Jonathan was involved in controversy during the crisis over 230 girls abducted by Boko Haram. After a meeting she convened in May 2014 with representatives of the Chibok community, whose children had been abducted, there were reports that one of the leaders - Naomi Mutah - had been detained by police. It was alleged that Mrs Jonathan had reportedly felt slighted that the mothers of the abducted girls had sent Ms Mutah to the meeting. Immediately after the meeting, Ms Mutah was taken to a police station and held. Pogo Bitrus, another Chibok community leader, described the detention as 'unfortunate' and 'insensitive', and said he hoped Mrs Jonathan would soon 'realize her mistake'. Mrs Jonathan has no constitutional power to order arrests. BBC News reported another community leader, Saratu Angus Ndirpaya, as saying that Mrs Jonathan accused the activists of fabricating the abductions to give the government a bad name. It reported that she also said the First Lady accused them of supporting Boko Haram.
- "Lady of a Nation", Nigeria Stepping Ahead, Toronto, June 2010
- ^ a b "Profile: Patience Jonathan". Africa Confidential. 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
- ^ http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/07/dame-patience-jonathan-the-perm-sec/
- ^ http://saharareporters.com/news-page/jonathans-handpicked-candidate-seriake-dickson-declared-winner-bayelsa-gubernatorial-poll
- ^ http://www.punchng.com/news/bayelsa-outrage-over-patience-jonathans-appointment-as-permanent-secretary/
- ^ http://dailyindependentnig.com/2012/07/knocks-trail-patience-jonathans-appointment-as-perm-sec/
- ^ http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/44530-dickson-patience-jonathan-and-a-controversial-appointment-
- ^ http://www.blurtit.com/q8370060.html
No comments :
Post a Comment