Women in History: Franca Afegbua, first female Senator in Nigeria

By DADA AYOKHAI

Several decades after she left the political scene, the name Senator Franca Afegbua still rings a bell in Edo North political circle. 

Though there is no statue or any landmark public building named in her honour, either in Okpella, her birth place, in particular, or Edo North in general, her place in the political history of Nigeria as the first elected female senator is, however, assured.

Those who were old enough in the second republic would recall how the young, dazzling and delectable lady held everyone spellbound with her rare combination of beauty and brain (BB). She did not just take the political stage by its scruples, she became the cynosure of all eyes. 

Young, flamboyant, beautiful, delectable, trailblazer, fiery,  Amazon  and so on and so forth. She, indeed, was everything rolled up in one piece of elegant creation.

 Even her male counterparts did not only tremble at her beauty but also got captivated by her brain - her sharp intellect.

She was just in the infancy of her political career between 1979 and 1983. 

Her election into the then senate brought glamour and glitz to the chambers.

 Assuming the military had not struck in 1983 to truncate that republic, Sen Afegbua was well on her to be inducted into Nigeria's political hall of fame, where she would have shared the spotlights with the likes of super female parliamentarians like the late Margaret Ekpo and Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, mother of legendary afro beat musician, Fela Anikolakpo Kuti.   

 Indeed, that was the good old days of political activism and robust debates featuring political heavyweights and juggernauts like Dr Olusola Saraki, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Joseph Wayas and the rest.

 Against all odds and not given the slightest of chances at all, Sen Afegbua pulled the rug off the feet of her opponent in the Edo North senatorial election. 

The month of August, sure is special to this affable lady who is now in her late 70s. 

It was in August 1983 that she emerged as the then candidate of the National Party of Nigeria, NPN.

 She went into the senatorial race as a dark horse but by the time the results were announced, she had dusted her more popular opponent, Sen. John Oshiomole Umolu, of the then Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN. The UPN was the ruling party in the then Bendel State. 

That singular victory opened the floodgates for other aspiring female politicians who dreamt of sharing the podium with their male counterparts. 

That floodgate, opened by an adorable Sen Franca Afegbua, has since been latched upon by more and more women who have used it as springboard to make political forays. 

At 78, it is obvious how she has craftily managed ageing and nature. Whilst her enchanting beauty  and brain is still substantially intact and bewildering, the most visible signs of ageing in Sen Afegbua  is probably her diminished energy and appetite for certain things.

Now living a quiet life, devoid of noise and vain pursuits and away from the public glare, Sen Afegbua is still adored and remembered for her heroics in her hey days. 

For instance, when she clocked 78 last December, Edo State First Lady, Mrs Betty Obaseki spoke glowingly about her, reminiscing how she paved the way for active women participation in politics

 According to her, Sen Afegbua is a source of pride to Edo people for shattering the glass ceiling and doing the impossible at a time when the inclusion of women in the political process was a mere slogan. 

For the professionally trained beautician turned politician, the political tides have changed dramatically. 

This pride of women folk think the politics of her era is miles apart from what obtains today. 

In her usual blunt manner, she describes the way politicians play politics today as "bizarre", stating that present day politicians act with so much impunity as a result of their easy access to vast wealth, adding that the welfare of the people and the promotion of justice and equity have been sacrificed on the altar of greed. 

The then Bendel North which Sen Afegbua represented comprised Edo North district and some parts of the northern axis in present day Delta State. 

Sen Afegbua is said to have studied in Sofia, Bulgaria, then under the communist regime, before returning to the country. 

She tactically chose to reside in Lagos where she could easily ply her trade as a beautician servicing the top echelon of the society, prior to the beginning of the second republic. 

The late Joseph Tarka, a notable NPN politician from the old Benue- Plateau State, with whom she enjoyed a cosy relationship, was said to have introduced her to party politics.

Going by the election results announced by the then electoral body, FEDECO, Sen Afegbua defeated her rival, Sen John  Oshiomole Umolu, a fellow Etsako from Agenebode, by a slim margin to become the senator representing Bendel North district.

 Unfortunately, the military struck on December 31st and that unpatriotic act by a few ambitious elements truncated a beautiful dream and ushered in the Buhari/Idiagbon junta.

Prior to the senatorial election, however, Sen Afegbua had six years earlier, precisely in 1977, won an international hairstyling competition. 

This particular victory shot her into political reckoning. 

 Within her immediate Etsako community and, even  beyond, her popularity soared and she cashed in on it to specifically target the women voters and as her campaign gained steam, it was too late to halt a horse that had already bolted away from the stable.