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Graça Machel: Meet woman who became First Lady of two different countries
Graça Simbine Machel is the only woman to have become the First Lady of two different countries – Mozambique and South Africa.
She is only person in history to have been the first spouse to two different democratically elected African leaders.
Machel was born on October 17, 1945, in Mozambique. Her journey is one of resilience, activism, and an unwavering commitment to education and social justice.
She excelled in school; earning a scholarship to attend the University of Lisbon in Portugal where she studied German. She developed a love of languages and today is fluent in her native Xitsonga, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, and English.
Her father died three weeks before her birth and left an instruction that she must be educated through high school — a will that was carried out by her older siblings.
After completing high school, the Methodist church granted her a scholarship to study at Lisbon University, Portugal. And she chose to major in languages.
Due to surveillance from the Portuguese secret police, she was forced to abandon her education and fled to Switzerland.
In 1973, she returned to Tanzania and joined the FRELIMO where she met her first husband, Samora Machel – the first president of Mozambique.
On June 25, 1975, Mozambique gained independence and Samora Machel was made the first president of the new country.
When he was sworn in as the president of Mozambique, Samora Machel was a widower as his wife, Josina, had died of leukaemia in 1971.
In September of 1975, Graça married Samora Machel and became the first lady of the country. She combined this position with her cabinet portfolio as Education minister till 1986.
Samora Machel died in a plane crash on October 19, 1986, and this made Graca to resign her post as minister.
Machel became acquainted with Nelson Mandela after his release from prison on Robben Island.
They developed a close relationship and were married on July 18, 1988 (Mandela’s 80th birthday). Mandela was President of South Africa and Graca became the First Lady. She assumed the position of the First Lady of South Africa at age 52.
After Mandela’s death in 2013, Graca Mandela continued to be active in national and international efforts to help children and the less fortunate.
She is a founding member of “The Elders” an independent group of former global leaders formed in 2007 by Nelson Mandela to work together for peace and human rights.
Graca Mandela is also the Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Chancellor of the African Leadership University, President of the School for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, and an active leader in numerous other educational and charitable organizations.
Nigeria’s crude oil grade prices in the international market surged amid the death of Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi.
According to market data, Brass River and Qua Iboe futures of Nigeria’s oil recorded gains on Monday.
Brass River, a sweet medium light crude, gained 0.70 per cent to trade at $86.60 per barrel, while the Qua Iboe, a light sweet crude grade, also gained 0.70 per cent to trade at $86.60 per barrel.
Meanwhile, US WTI and Brent crude stood at $79.96 and $83.81 as of the report’s filing time, respectively.
Earlier, JPMorgan analysts said on Sunday that Raisi’s death could result in volatility in the oil markets.
“From here, we expect overall market fundamentals to improve and see similar inventory draws and price action as observed last summer, with Brent oil moving $10 higher from current levels by September,” JPMorgan analysts said.
The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Monday declared Vice President Mohammad Mokhber the country’s acting president following Raisi’s death.
An Upper Shari’a Court sitting in Rijiyar Zaki Kano, on Monday, ordered the remand of a 38-year-old man, Shafi’u Abubakar, in a correctional centre for allegedly setting a mosque on fire, killing 14 people.
The defendant, who lives at Gadan Village in Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano, is charged with mischief by fire, causing grievous hurt and culpable homicide.
The Prosecution Counsel, Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Kano State, Mr Haruna Isa-Dederi, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on May 15, 2024, at Gadan village, Gezawa Local Government.
He alleged that on the same date, at about 5:15 a.m., the defendant used petrol and set a mosque at Gadan Village on fire during subhi (Dawn) prayer.
“The defendant poured the petrol on the carpet where Sani Suleiman and 24 others were praying, and closed the door.
“In the process, several people sustained various degrees of injuries and were rushed to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital Kano for treatment, while Suleiman and 13 others died while receiving treatment,” Dederi said.
The AG said the case is a capital offense and urged the court to allow the defendant get a lawyer to give him his constitutional right.
The defendant, however, pleaded guilty to all three counts.
According to him, the offence contravenes the provision of section 336, 247 and 221 of Kano State Shari’a Penal Code Law.
The presiding judge, Malam Halhalatu Zakariyya, ordered the court registry to write a letter to the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria to provide a lawyer for the defendant.
He ordered the remand of the defendant and adjourned the matter until May 31, for hearing.
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over what he described as the fiscal indiscipline of the government.
Obi said it was unimaginable that the government budgeted N6 billion and N4 billion for the National Assembly car parks and recreational facilities, respectively, when the nation’s average tertiary school enrollment is less than 15 per cent.
In a post on his X handle on Monday, the former Anambra State governor expressed displeasure that secondary school enrollment in Nigeria is at 28 per cent, while the global average remains at 80 per cent.
Obi stressed that it was time to stop financial indiscipline and embrace financial discipline by prioritising the allocation of resources to the critical areas of human and national development.
He said: “As the giant of Africa that we are, I remain concerned about our fiscal indiscipline as a nation. Imagine the situation in our education sector, where the global average of secondary school enrollment is above 80 per cent, while in Nigeria it is 28 per cent.
“The global average of tertiary school enrollment is above 55 per cent, while Nigeria is less than 15 per cent. Yet our budget for the National Assembly car parks is N6 billion. The budget for the National Assembly recreational facilities is N4 billion.
“Approved for the construction of hostels in 12 tertiary institutions is just N1 billion. It is time for us to stop this financial indiscipline and embrace financial discipline by prioritising the allocation of resources to the critical areas of human and national development.”
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