Patience Jonathan

First Lady

Date of Birth: 20/11/1957
Place of Birth: Port Harcourt

Born in Port Harcourt, First Lady Patience Jonathan took a Psychology and Biology degree at the University of Port Harcourt and then started a career as a civil servant. She later married Goodluck Jonathan who made his political debut as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa state, became Governor, then Vice-President and now President of Nigeria.

Well known for her active participation in her husband’s political campaigns, the First Lady is involved with many charities in Nigeria that work mainly with women and children. She is also the founder of several non-governmental organisations such as the A.Aruera Reachout Foundation, which focuses on educating middle-aged women.

Patience Jonathan has won several accolades, in particular the 2008 Beyond Tears International Humanitarian Award New York for her work with charities. Despite her reputation for philanthropy, Jonathan has been subject to several investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission related to the money-laundering of several millions of dollars, although she firmly denies all allegations and says she was framed.
 
In Nigeria, Jonathan is also known for her entertaining public speeches which, although her first language is Igbo, she makes in English. Her distinctive grammatical errors in her elaborate speeches are sometimes mocked by political commentators. One of her most famous lines is, ‘My fellow widows...my heart feels sorry for these children who have become widows by losing their parents for one reason or another.’ Some more famous gaffes can be found here.