21 Facts About Koila Nailatikau

Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau is a Fijian lawyer, who has served as a diplomat and politician.

Koila Nailatikau was First Lady of Fiji from 2009 until 2015, as the wife of Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, the President of Fiji.

In 1979, during her time as student at Somerville College, Adi Koila graduated from the Oxford University Foreign Service Programme.

Democracy was restored in 2001, and Adi Koila Nailatikau was chosen by the Lau Provincial Council, on behalf of the Great Council of Chiefs, to fill one of fourteen Senate seats reserved for Fijian chiefly representatives.

Koila Nailatikau played an active role as chairperson of the Senate Privileges Committee, and as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In politics, Koila Nailatikau took a strong stand against proposals to legalise prostitution.

Koila Nailatikau called for "maximum sentences" for those facilitating such offences.

On 7 December 2005, Koila Nailatikau called for the establishment of a "national youth service," under the auspices of the Military, to help reduce unemployment.

Koila Nailatikau criticised what she sees as government efforts to foster national "reconciliation" without fundamentally addressing the wrongs that were committed.

On 25 September 2004, Adi Koila Nailatikau rejected the efforts of Speight and his accomplices Ratu Timoci Silatolu and Josefa Nata to offer an apology to the parliamentarians they had held hostage in the 2000 coup.

Adi Koila Nailatikau wondered aloud why the government had decided to organise the reconciliation ceremonies only after both of her parents had died.

Adi Koila Nailatikau said she was baffled that in the reconciliation ceremonies, the apology was offered, not to the victims of the 2000 coup, but to President Iloilo and Prime Minister Qarase, who she said were the principal beneficiaries of the coup.

Adi Koila Nailatikau repeated that there could be no genuine forgiveness until questions were answered about who was involved in organising and funding the 2000 coup.

Simione Kaitani, one of those implicated, accused Adi Koila Nailatikau of "crying over spilt milk," and insisted that there was "no truth at all" in her accusations against him.

Koila Nailatikau added only God knew why her parents died.

Koila Nailatikau asserted that if her father were alive, he would have insisted on the rule of law, adding that there could be no reconciliation outside of the courts.

Koila Nailatikau accused the government of neglecting what she saw as far more important issues, like squatters, unemployment, poverty, and road conditions, in favour of the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill.

Koila Nailatikau said that her father had championed unity, tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and the rule of law, which this legislation undermined, going against everything he had believed in.

Koila Nailatikau said that some government authorities, who she said were "hell-bent" on promoting the amnesty clauses of the legislation, were creating the impression that there was some connection between the coup perpetrators and themselves.

Koila Nailatikau said she would consult her brothers before announcing any decision.

Koila Nailatikau did not indicate which political party, if any, she intended to join.