By Bolaji Aladie
Sixty years of life is a remarkable milestone. But beyond the passage of time, it is the lives touched, hopes rekindled, opportunities created and burdens lifted that give a life its enduring meaning. For the wife of the immediate past Kwara Central Senator in the 9th Senate, Hajia Maimunah Arike Oloriegbe, attaining 60 offers an opportunity to celebrate not just a remarkable woman, but a life defined by compassion, generosity, humility and an enduring commitment to humanity.
Some people measure success by what they have accumulated; others find fulfilment in what they give. Hajia Oloriegbe belongs to the latter. Her understanding of prosperity goes beyond personal comfort to the responsibility of making life more meaningful for others, particularly the less privileged, vulnerable women, young people and those often overlooked by society.
Through her charitable organisation, Matta Girls Foundation, she has translated this conviction into practical interventions that continue to transform lives across communities.
Her commitment to education stands out as one of her most enduring legacies. For more than a decade, the Foundation has sustained a scholarship programme supporting young people through different stages of their educational journey. Some beneficiaries have progressed to tertiary institutions, while others have received vocational tools to acquire practical skills alongside their education. Beyond school fees, the Foundation provides learning materials, uniforms, bags and other essentials, including sanitary products for female students. These interventions reflect her understanding that financial limitations and basic personal needs should not become barriers to a child’s educational aspirations.
Her humanitarian reach extends beyond the classroom. At different times, women and petty traders have received financial assistance and working tools, including freezers, sewing machines, welding machines and hairdressing equipment, to strengthen their businesses and promote economic independence.
Her compassion equally embraces those whose circumstances have placed them in vulnerable situations. At the Oke-Kura and Mandala Correctional Custodial Centres, she has supported inmates with food items, skill-acquisition tools and educational sponsorship, including enrolment for NABTEB examinations. Her interventions have also included support for the construction of a mosque. These gestures reflect her belief that even those undergoing correctional sentences deserve dignity, encouragement and opportunities for a better future.
In maternal and child healthcare, her contributions have been equally significant. Through the distribution of Mama Kits to expectant mothers, she has demonstrated concern for safe motherhood and newborn wellbeing. Her support for primary healthcare facilities, including the establishment of a well-equipped delivery room known as the Newborn Corner in several PHCs in Kwara Central Senatorial District, further underscores her commitment to improving maternal and neonatal care at the grassroots.
What makes these interventions particularly remarkable is their breadth. From classrooms to marketplaces, correctional facilities to primary healthcare centres, her philanthropy is not restricted to a particular social group. It is guided by a simple but profound conviction: everyone deserves dignity, opportunity and a reasonable prospect of a better tomorrow.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of her humanitarian philosophy is its connection to her personal journey. Having experienced the realities of petty trading and the humble beginnings associated with selling soft drinks many years ago, she understands the struggles of ordinary people seeking economic stability. This experience has evidently shaped her empathy towards struggling women and small-scale entrepreneurs. She does not merely recognise their needs; she sees something of her own journey in their struggles. It is compassion informed by experience and generosity strengthened by an understanding of life’s uncertainties.
At 60, therefore, Hajia Maimunat Arike Oloriegbe has much more than personal milestones to celebrate. Her greater fulfilment lies in the students who have remained in school, women who have received the means to earn a living, inmates who have found renewed encouragement, expectant mothers who have received support and families whose burdens have been eased. Each represents another chapter in a growing story of humanity.
No individual can solve every social challenge, but the willingness to consistently respond to the needs within one’s reach is itself a remarkable virtue. It is in this consistency that the true significance of her service lies.
As she celebrates this diamond jubilee, my sincere wish is that the coming years bring her greater strength, sound health, peace of mind and abundant fulfilment. May Almighty Allah continue to enlarge her capacity for good, bless her household and grant her the grace to witness the enduring fruits of the seeds of kindness she has sown in countless lives.
Happy 60th Birthday to a Distinguished Abiamọ and a wife of a Distinguished Senator.
May your years ahead be as impactful as the lives you have touched, and may the good you have done continue to speak long after the celebrations are over.
Sixty years of life. A lifetime of compassion. A legacy still unfolding.
Bolaji Aladie is a member of the Media and Publicity Wing of Matta Girls Foundation
