CELEBRATING TOYIN SARAKI AT 50

-A Special Report By The ELITES

-The Story of Her Unbridled Passion For Advocacy, Philanthropy and Social Welfare

-Never-Seen-Before Family Pictures

Toyin with husband, Senator Bukola Saraki

One of Nigeria's most celebrated philanthropists, style icons and a leading advocate of the rights of children, Oluwatoyin Ojora Saraki, is 50 today. Toyin, the former First Lady of Kwara State, will be celebrating her 50th birthday anniversary by putting smiles

on the faces of the needy in Kwara. Although, there are a couple of other events scheduled for the landmark celebration, the main event for her is that which will be hosted by Alaafia Kwara, an initiative she established as First Lady of Kwara, and which she has

Toyin and Bukola Saraki on their wedding day

sustained over the years.

Toyin with her parents and brothers

Toyin Saraki is the elegant wife of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki; the former Governor of Kwara State, Nigeria and also a former chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). She is one lady, who believes that she must continue to make an active contribution to mankind. Toyin has devoted more than 20 years of her life to a course very dear to her heart; child and maternal health. Her main goal is to see that women no longer die from childbirth and that every child in Africa has access to all the basic needs of life. Toyin, who is a Goodwill Ambassador of the International Conference of Midwives (ICM) and has been applauded globally for her immense interventions in Maternal and Child Health. 

 A lady of sartorial style and elegance, Toyin Saraki is the daughter of boardroom guru, the Otunba Adekunle Ojora and Erelu Oodua,

Toyin with her parents and her brothers-Dapo, late Gbegi and Yinka

Ojuolape Ojora (nee Akinfe). Beyond her aristocratic pedigree, she also belongs to the class of Nigeria's most prominent women of substance. It is a reputation she has earned as well. In the last 21 years, Toyin Saraki has been actively involved in philanthropy and advocacy; and has been passionately engaged in championing child and maternal welfare and well being. Toyin had her elementary education in Lagos, Nigeria after which she proceeded to the United Kingdom where she attended Roedean School, Brighton Sussex. Saraki bagged her L.L.B and L.L.M degrees at the London School of Oriental and African Studies and Kings College both of the University of London. She was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988. As a student in England, she took active part of every volunteer opportunity to take care of the aged. She also made all

Toyin with her mother, Erelu Oodua, Ojuolape Ojora

efforts to be a part of the routine welfare scheme of the schools she attended in addition to her private endeavours.


Toyin Saraki is Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBF Africa), a pan-African maternal health and wellbeing charity. WBF Africa has become one of the most influential and active organisations in the area of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH), working across sectors to deliver innovative solutions

such as its flagship WBFA IMNCH Personal Health Record© and the MamaKit. WBF Africa goes beyond aid; it is dedicated to advocacy and the formation of best practices in health, education, women’s empowerment and social welfare.

Toyin with her father-in-law, the late Senator Olusola Saraki

A lawyer by training, Toyin Saraki built a successful private sector career before dedicating the last 21 years to philanthropy. She is a global advocate of the United Nation's Every Woman Every Child effort, acts as Board Chair of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, Chair of the FIDA International Committee on Law Protecting the Rights of Children, and is a Goodwill Ambassador of the Olave Baden-Powell Society (OB-PS), which supports the efforts of the World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). Toyin also sits on the boards of the Global Foundation for the Elimination of Domestic Violence and The Africa Justice Foundation. 


 As a private citizen, Toyin Saraki was engaged in quiet philanthropic gestures which culminated in the establishment of The Lifestream Charity in 1993. The Lifestream, pioneered by Mrs. Saraki, is a group comprising of like- minded and socially responsible friends who desire to give back to society. The Lifestream seeks children with heart deformities and has sponsored corrective surgeries in Israel, United Kingdom and South Africa. The charity also offers scholarships to indigent students, sends relief to disaster victims and builds schools for communities.
   

Toyin with her parents and the Queen of England, HM, Queen Elizabeth 11

When her husband was elected Governor of Kwara State, Nigeria in 2003, Toyin Saraki set up The Kwara WellBeing Trust to provide non- governmental support for the humanitarian activities of the state government. Within Four years, her advocacy drives have brought an astronomical rise to the level of enrolment and completion of education for children, particularly the girl- child. She has consistently encouraged women to seek medical care during pregnancy and immunize their children. Hundreds of women have benefited from the enterprise scheme of the organization. She has also paid particular attention to improving the lives of people with special needs among several other life saving initiatives and interventions.

 At the national level, she is one of the most outspoken voices for the attainment of Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 in Nigeria, which seek an appreciable reduction in the rate of maternal and infant mortalities before 2015. Toyin Saraki has consequently attended and sponsored conferences, workshops and seminars within and outside the country to address these issues. She has also established a fund where indigent pregnant women get succor. She is equally a foremost advocate for the actualization of the rights of children. In November 2008, she delivered the keynote address at the 33rd biennial convention of the International Federation of Women Lawyers in Milan, Italy on the topic Children are the Future; What Rights, What Laws?

 Toyin Saraki has received several awards of recognition for her contribution to the emancipation of women and children in Nigeria including the Award for Advocate of Excellence for Maternal and Child Health from the Association of Resident Doctors, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Chapter among others. Her main goal is to see that women no longer die from childbirth and that every child in the world has access to all the basic needs of life.

Toyin Saraki is a global advocate of the UN’s Every Woman Every Child effort, acts as board chair of the White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria, is also the Chairperson of the FIDA International Committee on Laws Protecting the Rights of Children and the Goodwill Ambassador of the Olave Baden-Powell Society (OB-PS), an organization that supports the efforts of the World Association of Girls Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS). She also sits on the boards of the Global Foundation for the Elimination of Domestic Violence and The Africa Justice Foundation.

A writer once said “the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Saraki has not only lost herself, but has given herself away in the service to humanity which to another writer is the highest religion. She has gone the extra mile to do the “not so convenient”, touching the lives of many, especially those of the less privileged women and children. Hundreds of women have benefited from the enterprise scheme of her organization. She has also paid particular attention to improving the lives of people with special needs among several other lifesaving initiatives and interventions.


Saraki is reckoned as a leading advocate for the actualization of the rights of children. In November 2008, she delivered the keynote address at the 33rd biennial convention of the International Federation of Women Lawyers in Milan, Italy on the topic “Children are the Future; What Rights, What Laws?” She has also received several awards of recognition for her contribution to the emancipation of women and children in Nigeria and beyond, including the Award for Advocate of Excellence for Maternal and Child Health from the Association of Resident Doctors, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Chapter among many others.
Her marriage to Senator Bukola Saraki is blessed with four beautiful children-Tosin, Seni and the twins- Teniola and Teniayo