Living in Aso Rock Can Be Lonely — First Lady Oluremi Tinubu

Therefore, she got busy with her philanthropic outreach to young women.

She made this known in her 52-page memoir, The Journey of Grace: Giving Thanks in All Things, released to mark her 65th birthday and made available to The PUNCH.

The book, divided into five chapters spanning 2021 to 2025, chronicles her spiritual journey alongside her husband’s rise to the presidency.

The foreword was written by Dr Folashade Olukoya of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.

Mrs Tinubu wrote, “Life at the (Resident) Presidential Villa can be quite secluded.

“So getting busy when I do not have much to do, Daughters of Zelophehad Ministries came quite handy.”

During the period, the First Lady said she recorded her first podcast for DOZ Ministries, which evolved into a monthly message to young ladies and married women.

“Sometimes, I record episodes ahead, and some friends of like minds join some of our recordings,” she added.

She explained that the initiative fulfilled a pledge she made to God that if her husband became President, she would not stop speaking to young women.

“Scriptural things are not political, there should always be a straight line differentiating both sides,” Mrs Tinubu said, recalling how she had visited universities before 2023 to speak with female students “at the crossroads of life trying to understand the true meaning of their purpose.”

The podcast, tagged The Conversation, was designed to be short and simple because, in her words, “our young people get distracted easily.”

Following his inauguration on May 29, 2023, it took the First Family more than a month to move into the Villa, The PUNCH reported.

Initially, President Tinubu operated from Defence House, the usual residence for Presidents-Elect.

He then moved into Glass House in the Villa due to renovation works on the main residence.

Beyond ministry, Mrs Tinubu also recounted her role in shaping the Renewed Hope Initiative, a social intervention platform she chairs.

She said she selected its Board of Trustees and Governing Council ahead of its inaugural meeting on July 7, 2023, using leftover campaign funds and donations to open its first account.

The initiative, she wrote, chose to reach Nigerians at the grassroots through state First Ladies, who in turn worked with spouses of local government chairmen, traditional rulers and community leaders.

By mid-July, she convened a meeting with state First Ladies to map programmes ranging from elderly support and scholarships to women’s empowerment and assistance for persons with disabilities.

According to her, RHI also worked with wives of service chiefs and families of fallen soldiers, providing recapitalisation grants and seasonal aid.

As Grand Patron of the National Council of Women’s Societies, she said the organisation was carried along in every programme.

She also took the initiative to the continental stage, joining the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development during the UN General Assembly in September 2023, where she met counterparts, including U.S. First Lady Jill Biden.

These activities, she said, were a way to escape the quiet of the Villa.

“It was a great platform because I saw the hunger in these young women,” she wrote of her podcast ministry. (Punch)