Franca Afegbua, the first female senator in Nigeria, is
dead.
The Afegbua family announced her passing in a statement
issued on Sunday.
Afegbua, 79, was a native of Okpella, a town in Etsako-east
LGA of old Bendel state (now split into Edo and Delta states).
“The Afegbua family of Edo state has confirmed the demise of
the first woman senator in Nigeria, Senator Franca Afegbua, whose sad event
occurred this morning, Sunday, March 12, 2023. She combined beauty and brain
during her service to Nigeria. Funeral details will be announced by the family
soon,” the family said.
She was elected the senator representing Bendel-north in
October 1983 under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Nigeria’s second
republic.
Her political journey was, however, cut short as the
military coup of December 1983 toppled the civilian government less than three
months after she assumed office.
Speaking on how she was able to clinch her senatorial seat
at a time the Nigerian political space was largely dominated by men, Afegbua
told PLAC in a 2022 interview that women are known to keep their promises.
“People know that
women keep to their promises. That was a major factor, a major one. I intended
to keep my promises to my people, and I made them understand that,” Afegbua
said.
“I think there has been some improvement since my time.
There was no woman in the senate before me then but there are women now. Then,
I was the only woman but now, there is more than one. I believe the number will
increase gradually.
“I remember the day I was sworn in. I felt fulfilled but
that did not stop me from continuing to engage with the women and youths in my
community. Agitations for affirmative action to enable more women get into the
legislature to address the low representation of women is good for women. I am
happy we started something, and it is good others have built on our effort.
“My advice is that they should be determined and not lose
focus. If they remain serious about their ambition to help their people, they
should go ahead and run, and they can be successful.”
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