Like a phoenix, it does seem that Aisha, first daughter of General Ibrahim Babangida, has emerged from the pyre of her broken marriages even stronger, more youthful and even more beautiful than the world has always known her. She was conspicuously active at the wedding, recently, of her youngest sibling, Halima, who got married as the third wife of Sarkin Sudan Gombe, Alhaji Auwal Lawal Abdullahi, in their native Minna, Niger State.
You could not miss her glow and grace. There is no doubt that Aisha has encountered myriad of numbing defeats especially on the love front, but has refused to be defeated or allow the strife and storms of life define her otherwise enviable life. Married in her youth to Basheer Nalado Garba, a relative of the Sani Abachas, the marriage went south over accusations of intolerance and arrogance majorly on the part of Aisha. They lasted just three years. In 2008, she found succor in then Zamfara State governor, Alhaji Aliyu Shinkafi, who, at the time, already had two wives. Under the wings of Shinkafi, Aisha seemed to flourish and it seemed only death would do them part. However, constant confrontations from Shinkafi’s older wives and a failed reelection bid did the marriage in.
As at today, Aisha is single but doesn’t wear her status on her sleeves. Many are even suggesting she returned to the arms of her first love, Kola Abiola, whose harem, however, is full. Incidentally, her parents, Ibrahim and Maryam, were the epitome of an enduring marriage. They got married in 1969 and remained together till death took the ebony-hued former first lady in 2009. The former Head of State has refused to remarry despite multiple speculations to that effect.
