First Lady inspires Nigerian counterpart

THE First Lady, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa's works have inspired some of her African counterparts to replicate her initiatives in their home countries. The latest such initiative is the National Fabric concept which is now being replicated in Nigeria. Nigerian First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu this Tuesday indicated that they drew a lot of inspiration from Zimbabwe's idea of having a national fabric, prompting her to begin a search for the winning design of #OneNigeria/Unity Fabric, giving credit to Dr Mnangagwa for initiating the concept. Dr Mnangagwa spearheaded the search for a national fabric, an inclusive initiative which left no ethnic group behind. In her remarks at the meeting to select the winning design for the #One Nigeria/Unity fabric, Senator Tinubu highlighted that she was inspired by her Zimbabwean counterpart, Dr Mnangagwa to come up with the National Fabric. Senator Tinubu, who has been in the office for one year, and once visited Zimbabwe at the invitation of Amai Mnangagwa for the launch of the #We are Equal Campaign, is on record saying she draws a lot of inspiration from Dr Mnangagwa’s hard work and hands-on approach. When Dr Mnangagwa recently visited Nigeria at the invitation of Senator Tinubu for the launch of the #We are Equal campaign, she gave plaudits to Amai, describing her as a mentor whose works are quite inspiring. Drawing inspiration from the Zimbabwean National Fabric concept, Senator Tinubu is now replicating the initiative in her country, in a bid to infuse diverse cultures and break tribal barriers for people to identify as one nation. Apart from Senator Tinubu, when Kenyan First Lady Mrs Rachel Ruto accompanied her husband President William Ruto to the official opening of this year's edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, she paid tribute to Dr Mnangagwa for her numerous empowerment programmes, after watching a documentary which chronicles some of her works. Not to be outdone is her counterpart from Botswana, Mrs Neo Jane Masisi, who after her three-day visit to Zimbabwe early this year, said she was pleased to have learnt from the best. The Zimbabwean National Fabric, which has unique Zimbabwean symbols such as the Zimbabwean bird and national flag, was launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2020, while Amai Mnangagwa spearheaded the search for the National Dress after making consultations with various stakeholders around the country, including traditional leaders, their spouses, ministries, designers, researchers and churches. The fabric has now penetrated the market, with the First Lady promoting it and ensuring it is available and affordable. Dr Mnangagwa is on record calling upon Zimbabweans to embrace the national fabric as it plays a symbolic role in the preservation of national values, culture, and identity.