‘Aisha Alhassan is like a mother to all her sisters’

Daily Trust: What was it like growing up with your sister, Aisha Jummai Alhassan?
Zainab Ibrahim: It was wonderful and beautiful because she played a motherly role in our lives. She is the second child of our father and the first female to be born into the family, so she assumed a motherly role early in our lives. It is wonderful, we had an understanding and loving mother even when our mother was alive.
DT: What is it you miss most doing with her when you were children?
Ibrahim: There was this local game we did then which we called ‘ten-ten’. When we come back from school, after siesta she gathers all of us in the middle of our house and we play it. We also used to play hide and seek and other games.
DT: While growing up did your sister exhibit any traits that suggested she would be a lawyer as she is today?
Ibrahim: Not at all. She had always loved cooking, we felt she was going to be a caterer. Moreover in her secondary school days she read science, it was at the university level that she switched to law. We all thought she was either going to be a medical doctor because of her caring nature or a caterer because of her passion for cooking.
DT: Did she  show an interest in politics?
Ibrahim: Yes, she was the first female Students’ Union Government (SUG) president in ABU and has been an ‘Aluta Continua’ person right from her childhood. If we had any problem confronting our father for anything, she sits down and plans for us and then be at the fore-front of lobbying, so she has always been a politician and has built that sense of responsibility right from her secondary school days.
DT: As kids, children tend to develop rivalry amongst themselves. Can you recall any incident growing up when she was angry with you?
Ibrahim: There is no rivalry in my family because up till date, as I speak with you, I can not tell my father’s favourite. He treats you based on your attitude and character and we clearly know why he treats everyone differently. The one thing my sister gets angry about is when you lie.
DT: Talking about siblings, how many are you?
Ibrahim: My father had 34 children from four wives. We all grew up under the custody of the first wife, that is why you can never know who belongs to who in my house. When you are up to two years, you leave your mother’s home and go to our first mother’s house. So all of us grew up under one woman, so there is a bond. She wasn’t even close to her children as she is to some of us. Unfortunately, we are not close to our biological mother as we are to our first mother.
DT: What was your sister’s favourite pastimes as a child?
Ibrahim: She loved cooking and house chores.
DT: Her likes and dislikes?
Ibrahim: She hates lies and loves honesty, she always says even if the truth will kill you, always say it. That has been our father’s legacy.
DT: What trait or behaviour of hers do you admire most?
Ibrahim: Her wisdom.
DT: How did the family react to her ambition of becoming a politician?
Ibrahim: As I said earlier, she has been into politics right from her childhood. After independence, our father was a member of the House of Representatives in Lagos. He has been an active politician all through his life – he was the chairman MTN Gongola State (now Adamawa and Taraba states), chairman NRT Taraba and was the PDP convener in Taraba. Our first brother whom Aisha follows age-wise was a two-time senator from 2003-2011. She played a very active role in his political life and was more active than he was. Because of this everyone wanted her to contest. In fact, when we went to campaign for our brother, people would ask why she didn’t contest and she kept telling them the time would come. It was a family decision when my brother attempted the governorship election and lost that Aisha should be given the chance to try because she is more popular and grassroot-oriented than our first brother, so it was a family decision for her to contest due to pressure from our people in Taraba State.
DT: What kinds of books does she read?
Ibrahim: She reads law books. She doesn’t read other books because she doesn’t have the time and is always busy with people’s problems. She reads religious books too.
DT: What was her favourite television series or programme?
Ibrahim: When we were growing up, it was ‘Cock crow at Dawn.’
DT: What is her favourite food?
Ibrahim: As she grows older she minds what she eats – she loves chicken mashed potatoes with gravy.
DT: Was she ever a sports person?
Ibrahim: She was a sports person while growing up and also played golf. She was a member of the Abuja Golf Club, but she is no longer active because she doesn’t have time.
DT: How does she handle critics?
Ibrahim: She doesn’t bother. She tries to see if it is objective, if it is something good, then she tries to change, otherwise she just ignores them and says those giving it are jobless.
DT: What misconception about her would you want to put right?
Ibrahim: In Taraba, people say she is a religious fanatic. I seriously want to condemn that because she has never been. She attended a missionary school in her secondary school days. She went to St Anne’s and in all her business establishments, up to 90 percent are from other religions. If you go to her house, more than 90 percent of her staff are not Muslim, but when politicians want to do propaganda, they say you are this or that. Her ADC, Blessing, is from Edo, not even from the north and has never been a Muslim. So I want to correct that about her, she is a Muslim but does not bother about where you come from or what religion you belong to.
DT: What is her philosophy about life?
Ibrahim: Her philosophy is to always be there for people and family. Also, she is always truthful. My sister does not lie, even if she is at fault.
DT: How does she relax?
Ibrahim: She relaxes so much on her armchair in her room. In fact, she sleeps over-night in it more than she does in her bed.
DT: How would you have felt if she had won the Taraba State governorship election, thereby becoming the first democratically elected female governor in Nigeria?
Ibrahim: It would have been fulfilling and beyond words. My joy would have known no bounds because I always prayed to God, not to make her governor because she is my sister but because I know her capability and what our people need. I know the situation my state is in now, how backward it is. Looking at my sister, I would be the best person to tell you if she can deliver or not. If you look at her antecedents, it would have been heaven for Taraba. But all hope is not lost, we are in court.
DT: How is she handling her defeat?
Ibrahim: Surprisingly, she is the person consoling everybody because her slogan from her campaign is that only God gives power. So she always tells us that only God gives power. Right from the time the result was up turned, she told me we would go to court, fight it there and allow the court to decide.