Borno state born women mobiliser and philanthropist Hajiya Farida Debora Ibrahim is one of the unsung heroines who deserves to be mentioned as her story is an inspiration for all and the can do spirit of the African woman.
I do not know where to start this felicitation given that on May 2, I was cut off from my inner recesses and my memories suddenly enlightened by a joyful reality that God has been good to her all these years that she traversed the terrain of this world.
She has been a personal joy to many. When I think of the immense joy and opportunities of discourse with this enigma of a woman who complements the awesome networks and deep vision of the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in both politics and her personal business, the DIms Stitches, I cannot but thank God who has given Hajiya Farida Deborah Ibrahim to us in Nigeria.
Surely, there is only one Deborah Farida Ibrahim and will be only her on this putrid planet. With the birthday surprise package by her staff of Dims Stitches and the outpouring of felicitations and kind words and praises that have been poured and showered on her as she celebrates her birthday, this woman of grace will surely find life more worth living as she does everything possible to assist in making our society a better place to live in.
Let me from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of the Emilokan faithful offer our deep appreciation to all Nigerians far and near, who stood by this Amazon of a woman in her time of joy and those who through personal visitation, telephone calls and birthday cards shared in the joy of the family. They have made her proud by their endorsements of her deeds so far on earth as having positively impacted the lives of men and women.
The Farida family in its usual humility is overwhelmed by the shower of love, encomiums and joy at this celebration time.
The life of Deborah Farida is a great story that inspires passion, love and compassion for humanity. It is a story that is neatly woven with quintessence and class. It is a story with its own peculiarities that ran through three scores in life more meaningful for humanity than the ordinary mundane things of mankind.
All through her life journey to this day, she defined her engagements with nature and carved a route less travelled by indulging in experiments that took her from the sublime personality to a celebrity status. The experiments were always described by all as having originality worked magic. With the benefit of hindsight, Deborah Farida truly deserves a national honour for her passion for humanity.
The story of Nigerian women liberation is a tortuous one, first as a consequence of men’s rule and domination and second as a factor of internal domination and exclusion. While the thematic focus of those years was centred around liberation of women and freedom, post independence Nigeria offered a new dimension and thought process for women struggle. Farida through her activities and achievements is trying to redefine the struggle. And for anyone who is genuinely concerned about development, tales such as the ones in Nigeria should tellingly be in structure in trying to make a difference. That difference is the Farida Deborah Ibrahim story.
As she sets out to achieve her life long ambition, she wasn’t trying to create an utopian society that will be free from the vicissitudes and frailties of the society. Rather, she reasoned that given the abundant resources in the country, she could create a platform to address some of these vicissitudes and make life wholesome for the ordinary woman in the society. She has at the back of her mind a society that caters for the people and women development.
She has at various times charged women to rise to the challenge of nation building by breaking the shackles of male domination and exploiting their potentials as women and as integral part of the Nigerian society. Countries in Africa are replete with tales of how women were at the receiving end during crisis, wars and violence because of their vulnerability.
For Farida Deborah Ibrahim, who is genuinely concerned about development issues, tales such as the ones in Nigeria should tellingly be instructive in trying to make a difference. She had made a difference and that is her story. Looking back into her life and history like a series of snapshots contained in an album presents to me different perspectives about her humanity.
Farida to me appears apparently more as a fighter for women rights and awareness. She appears also as an iconoclastic role model with distinct characteristics of a serious minded feisty lady than just a product of glamour. Glamour, she acknowledges, is just a spice of life. What brings glamour is the inner grace of an individual. She is glamour personified.
Happy Birthday my leader and sister in the Emilokan movement