Franca Afegbua (20 October 1943 – 12 March 2023) was a Nigerian

beautician Cosmetology (from Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''-logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such as ...

and politician who represented Bendel North in the

Nigerian Senate The Senate is the upper chamber of Nigeria's bicameral legislature, the National Assembly of Nigeria. The National Assembly (popularly referred to as NASS) is the nation's highest legislature, whose power is to make laws, is summarized in chapt ...

in 1983. Elected as a

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

(NPN) senator, she was the first elected woman senator in Nigeria. Afegbua was born in

Okpella Okpella is a clan situated along Benin-Abuja federal high way. Going by the last National Census figures, it has the population of 500,000, and is one of the three main towns that make up Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. Okpella i ...

Edo State Edo, commonly known as Edo State, is a state located in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. As of 2006 National population census, the state was ranked as the 24th populated state (3,233,366) in Nigeria, However there was controversy ...

in 1943 and completed her post-secondary education in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Prior to the beginning of the second republic, she worked as a hairdresser in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

serving high-income clients. Afegbua had a close relationship with

Joseph Tarka Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka (1932–1980) was a Nigerian politician from Benue State and a former minister for Transport and then Communications under General Yakubu Gowon. He was one of the founding members of the United Middle Belt Congress, a ...

, who introduced her to his party, NPN. In 1983, when she announced her intention to make a challenge for a senatorial seat in Bendel, few felt that she could win. Her party was in opposition and the incumbent governor and senator were respected men in the community. But Afegbua, who had won an international hairstyling competition in 1977, strategized that wooing more women to vote could give her a victory. Her victory in the hairstyling competition had made her name popular within her

Etsako The Anglican Diocese of Etsako was created and inaugurated on the 14th March, 2007 and is one of 13 Dioceses within the Anglican Province of Bendel, itself one of 14 provinces within the Church of Nigeria The Church of Nigeria is the Anglican ch ...

community; she targeted women voters, and, as her campaign gained steam, it was too late to curb. She won a slim victory in the August election, defeating John Umolu. Afegbua died on 12 March 2023, at age 79.

References

1943 births 2023 deaths Nigerian women in politics Members of the Senate (Nigeria) Beauticians National Party of Nigeria politicians People from Edo State {{Nigeria-politician-stub