Metamorphosis has always been the greatest symbol of change in stature and status. One moment a caterpillar, the next a butterfly. To break out of a cocoon, to shrug off the stultifying walls of narrow boundaries and take to the air with joy, that is metamorphosis.
And those who attended the recent book launch of former president Goodluck Jonathan will tell you that this is the kind of transformation Erelu Aisha Babangida has undergone. The tentative woman of yesteryears has vanished like the vapours of a dewy morning. In her place has risen a confident and powerful lady from whom charisma and leadership qualities ooze out like aromatic perfume. She used to stand on the shoulders of giants; now she walks and talks with them as an equal.
Erelu Aisha was at the Events Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja venue of the book launch as a representative of her father, the former head of state Ibrahim Babangida. Quite a few eyebrows were raised at her appearance as many thought the former president would send one of his former lieutenants instead. By the end of the star-studded event, not only had Aisha stolen the show, she also earned the admiration and respect of the nation’s Titans.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the national chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, were on ground at the public presentation of the book titled “My Transition Hours”. But they, and the rest including the former presidents of Nigeria’s west African neighbours Ghana, The Republic of Benin and Sierra Leone, were simultaneously being captivated by another kind of transition playing out before their eyes.
For a while now, rumours have been swirling about that IBB, now getting on in years, is looking to hand over the reins of his formidable political structure to an heir apparent. Understandably, there were whispers in some quarters that his choice of Aisha as his representative to such an important occasion was a possible sign of things to come.
If the book presentation was a litmus test of her credentials as presumptive leader-in-waiting of the IBB Dynasty, then she passed her audition with flying colours! Surrounded by political royalty, she rose up to the occasion and navigated the tricky assignment with the poise and grace of an accomplished stateswoman.
While she soared like a majestic Eagle for whom the sky is a natural habitat, all eyes were on her as the atmosphere turned pregnant with promise. It was as if the dignitaries present were witnessing the culmination of a slow Metamorphosis. The transformation from activist to something broader, more fluid, blending her mother’s feminist gospel with her father’s political heritage.
As she presided over the cake cutting ceremony and asked the audience to spell “Unity”, it was hard to miss the ease with which she interacted with her father’s peers and commanded their attention. She was even pictured bantering and laughing with APC chairman, Oshiomole and senate president Bukola Sàràkí while presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar looked on. Her body language, and theirs, spoke of a woman born for the big stage revelling in routine fellowship with kindred.
Coming out of the event, what was just a few drops of opinion has turned into a steady trickle of support that the woman who has revitalized female advocacy through the revamped Better Life for Rural Women programme has what it takes to steer the IBB political ship throughout the next generation. In the meantime, all eyes remain on Erelu Aisha Babangida as she continues her public evolution.