Gracia Machel:Only first lady of two different nations

Now married to Nelson Mandela, she was previously first lady of Mozambique.

Gracia Machel, 63, is known to be the only Woman to have been first lady of two different nations. First married to late president Somara Machel of Mozambique, who in a plane crash over South Africa on 19 October 1986, with whom she had two children, Gracia later tied the nuptial knot with Nelson Mandela, then president of South Africa.

“He (Nelson Mandela) is doing fine, he's healthy, but you know he's ageing too...” It should be noted that Mandela, turned 90, last month.

Gracia Machel is a rare gem. As a first lady, no woman can compare with her – two husband presidents in two great nations. As a developer, she has achieved great things.

The graduate from the University of Lisbon in Portugal served Mozambique as a minister of education from 1975 to 1986 when she resigned and started working to reduce the country's illiteracy rate that stood at 93 percent at the time. Before long, she moved to the Foundation for Community Development in 1990, UNICEF study in 1996, chairperson of Mozambique's National Organisation of Children and then president of the country's UNESCO Commission. Among other humanitarian commitments, she served as a human rights activist for women and children.

She took upon herself the onerous task to produce UN reports on the impact of armed conflicts on children. And in 1995, she received the National Medal from the UN in recognition of her longstanding humanitarian works.

Currently, Gracia Machel is a panel member of the Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), a component of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) that preaches respect for human rights and for the rule law, the fight against corruption, the need for smooth electoral processes, need for enabling business environment, among many others.

On a working visit to Yaounde, Cameroon, in her capacity as member of the peer review mechanism, she urged Younde authorities to create a national governance council to tailor the implementation of the ideals and principles of the review project here. She said so probably unaware of the ineffectiveness of commissions in the country.

Cameroon already has many lame duck commissions created by government to deceive the international community on what is actually happing in the country. They include among others; The Good Governance Programme, National Anti – corruption Commission, the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedom, Election Cameroon (ELECAM).

Yet the country is notorious for flawed elections, sluggish democratisation, poor human rights, corruption and governance records, and a hostile business climate, among others. Gracia Machel, notwithstanding, praised Cameroon for its readiness to engaged the peer review process, especially as it is one of the first members of the review mechanism. But analysts were quick to point out that she was not sure how soon Yaounde would catch up with the implementation phase of the project.