Ex-Minister Aisha Al-Hassan ‘Mama Taraba’ Dies At 61

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A former minister of Women Affairs and Social Development,
Aisha-Jummai Alhassan, has died at the age of 61.

Suleiman Dantsoho, her former media aide, confirmed the death to
our correspondent, saying she died at a Cairo hospital on Friday
afternoon.

Late Senator Alhassan was born on September 16, 1959 in Jalingo,
the Taraba State capital.

She was a lawyer by training and the first female
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Taraba State.

She was also the first woman to be appointed as Secretary of the
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Judicial Council.

She later became the Chief Registrar of the FCT High Court on 17
December 2003.

She went into full time business and politics after her
retirement from the FCT judiciary.

Fondly called ‘Mama Taraba”, she was a member of the 7th Senate
between 2011 to 2015 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP).

She later decamped to the APC and was the governorship candidate
of the party in the 2015 general elections in Taraba State but lost
to the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor
Darius Ishaku.

She was appointed Minister of Women Affairs in 2015 by President
Muhammadu Buhari, a post she resigned on July 27, 2018.

Brief about Aisha-Jummai Alhassan

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan popularly known as “Mama Taraba” is a
distinguished Abusite and prominent Nigerian politician who is a
former minister of women affairs and former Senator of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria from Taraba North Senatorial District.

She was also APC’s Gubernatorial Candidate for Taraba State in
the 2015 general elections. She contested for the same seat on the
platform of the UDP in the 2019 general elections.

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan was born on the 16th of September, 1959
in Jalingo, Taraba State, to Alhaji Abubakar Ibrahim OON, Sarkin
Ayukan Muri.

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan attended Muhammed Nya Primary School,
Jalingo and LEA Primary School, Tudun Wada, Kaduna before
proceeding to Saint Faith College (now GGSS) Kawo Kaduna where she
studied between Jan. 1973 – June 1977.

She was among the first set to do 4½ years in Secondary School
because of the change of commencement of the school year from
January to September.
She proceeded to the School of Basic Studies (SBS) Ahmadu Bello
University (ABU) Zaria from July 1977 to July 1979 for her
preliminary studies.

Hajia Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan Joined student politics at ABU Main
Campus in 1977 when she was a little over 18 years. She Contested
for the post of Vice President of the SUG in 1978. The first time
by a non-undergraduate. Based on the informal political arrangement
at this time, the position of Vice President was always reserved
for women and winners always emerged un-opposed.

But it was different this time, 1978. For the first time, three
female students contested for the position. A female student
Elizabeth (Lizzy) Wambebe then an undergraduate studying Fine Arts
and Lead Vocalist of ABU JAZZ Club was a strong contender. Also,
for the first time too, a male undergraduate contested for the
position.

Despite the fact that she was a prelim student and perceived by
some to be an underdog, she won the election and became the Vice
President and only female in the SUG Exco of that year (1978 –
1979) headed by Mal. Abdulhameed Imam, who was the president.

The Secretary-General was Comrade Isa Bala Lawal while Assistant
Secretary-General was Comrade AbdulRahman Black of blessed
memory.

All members of SUGExco of that year except Aisha were
undergraduates and males. During their tenure, there was a student
crisis as a result of which some of the Exco members including the
President were indicted and expelled from the University. As a
result, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan became the Acting President and
completed the Tenure of Mal. Abdulhameed Imam.

During her days as an SBS ABU Student and Vice President/Acting
President SUG Main Campus, she met her first husband and father of
her three children, Professor Ango Abdullahi who was then the
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. He always
represented the then Vice-Chancellor Prof. O. O. Akinkugbe at
meetings with the SUG Exco.

She married Prof. Ango Abdullahi in September 1979 after
completing her SBS when her husband was still the Deputy
Vice-Chancellor. He became Vice-Chancellor three months after their
marriage, in December 1979. Due to her new status as a wife and
mother, she switched over from being a Science Student to Arts
after her first baby (girl) in 1980.

That same year (1980), Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan enrolled for a
Diploma in Law at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. She had to start
from the Diploma because of her pure science background. She was
lacking the required Arts subjects to enroll for LLB. She proceeded
to read LLB at the same ABU Zaria from October 1982 to June 1985.
She went to the Nigerian Law School Lagos 1985 – 1986, was called
to the Nigerian Bar in 1986 and did her NYSC 1986 – 1987.

AISHA JUMMAI AL-HASSAN’S CAREER
Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan Started work as a Magistrate Grade II in
April 1988 in the Kaduna State Judiciary. Went for the Technical
Aid Corps Programme of the Federal Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (on
Secondment) to the Republic of Fiji from 1990 – 1992.

She was admitted to the Fijian Bar and enrolled as a Barrister
and Solicitor of the High Court of Fiji in 1991. While she was in
Fiji, her services were transferred from Kaduna State Judiciary to
FCT Judiciary in 1991 as Magistrate Grade I.

She assumed duty at FCT Judiciary in 1992 when she returned from
Fiji. At the time she assumed duty she was the only female
Magistrate in the FCT. Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan rose through the
ranks and became the first female Chief Magistrate in the FCT in
1996. She was then moved to Judicial Administration as the first
female Deputy Chief Registrar and Director of Litigation, High
Court of the FCT Abuja in 1997.

Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan was appointed the first female Attorney
General of her State, Taraba in 1997. She Returned to FCT Judiciary
after the handing over to a Democratically elected Government in
May 1999 and continued in her office as Director Litigation. She
was appointed the first female Secretary of the FCT Judicial
Service Committee in November 2002.

She was appointed the first female Chief Registrar of the High
Court of the FCT in December 2003. She voluntarily retired from the
FCT Judiciary as Chief Registrar on the 31st of December, 2009.

Her family has always been a political family even before the
time of her birth. Her father joined politics (NCNC) when he was a
student at Barewa College Zaria. He later joined NPC in the First
Republic. He was one of the conveners of NPC in Muri Division and
was the first NPC Secretary of Muri Division.

He contested election under NPC in 1959 for the House of
Representatives in one of the 3 Muri Division Constituencies. He
was re-elected for the second term after 4 years but could not
finish the term because of the coup in 1966.

Aisha Jummai’s elder brother is former Senator Abdulazeez
Ibrahim. He represented Taraba North Senatorial District from
1999-2007.

HER POLITICAL CAREER
Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan joined the PDP as a member in the year 2005
while still working in the Judiciary but she was NOT politically
active. She started active politics in October 2010 and immediately
went to contest for the Senatorial seat of her Zone.

She won the election and was sworn in as Senator of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria on 6th June 2011, the day the 7th Senate was
inaugurated.

In the 9 April 2011 elections, Jummai won with 114,131 votes,
followed by Jolly Nyame of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
with 92,004 votes. She was one of four women elected on the PDP
ticket, the others being Nkechi Nwaogu (Abia Central), Helen Esuene
(Akwa Ibom South) and Nenadi Usman (Kaduna South). Following the
election, she was said to have been in competition for the Senate
President’s seat.

She contested for the position of governor of Taraba State under
the APC’s ticket in 2015 lost. In November 2015, she was declared
the winner of the April 2015 Taraba state gubernatorial election by
the tribunal. The judgment was appealed and she subsequently lost
the case.

She was appointed as the minister of women affairs by President
Mohammadu Buhari in November 2015. Meanwhile, in a series of events
leading up to the 2019 general elections, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan
resigned her ministerial position and membership of the ruling
APC.

In her resignation letter to the president, she states; “I write
with a lot of respect to inform Mr. President of my decision to
resign my appointment as a Minister of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria and as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC),”
Alhassan stated in her resignation letter. Barely six hours of her
resignation as a member of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet,
Aisha Alhassan joined the United Democratic Party, UDP.

She was subsequently nominated as the gubernatorial candidate of
the party and the contested the 2019 general election which she was
lost.