BARIYAAH Abe, wife of the senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly, has called on Nigerian women to intercede for the kidnapped female students of Government Girls Science Secondary School, Dapchi, Yobe State and their mothers.

Abe made the call while speaking at different churches to commemorate the 2018 Mothers’ Day celebration in Rivers South-East Senatorial District, where she later empowered more than 1,000 women at a brief ceremony.

Describing the kidnapping of the 110 female students in Dapchi as a sad reality, the senator’s wife said the incident reminds Nigerians of the experience of the kidnapped from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

She said: “This is a sad reality, as we are faced with a reoccurrence of the Chibok girls experience. It is unfortunate that history is repeating itself. History should only reoccur when it is positive.

“Let women in the district put themselves in the shoes of those mothers who have not heard from their daughters and may be going through trauma as a result of the kidnapping of their daughters. If not checked, the incessant kidnapping will have adverse effect on the education of the girl child in the country.

“May we as mothers pray for the peace of our country and state. We know that some weeks ago 110 girls were kidnapped again in Yobe State. As mothers imagine the agony their own mothers are going through. We are reliving what happened when the Chibok girls were kidnapped some years ago.

“So please I implore us that as we celebrate Mothering Sunday, let us remember those girls, that wherever they are, the Lord will shield them and keep them strong. And the Lord will not allow their captors to rest. They will not find peace and sleep until they return those girls to their parents.

“One of the girls whose friend was kidnapped said she’s not going back to school again, and you know we need education to survive in this country. They are discouraging our girls from going to school, but we know that the Lord will not allow the enemy to have his way. Our girls will be educated and will be the bedrock of the society.”

Abe called on mothers to take a stand in their communities by admonishing their children to maintain peace, as well as being role models to their children, especially their daughters.

She said: “I’ll like to appeal to us as women… May we continue to act in that light. May we continue to bring up our children to be people who our society would be proud of. We are beautiful, strong and resilient. God has given us strength and no matter what happens, we’re always strong.”

She further urged the women to pray against killings resulting from herdsmen attack, adding that whatever affects women in the Northern parts of the country should also affect women in the Southern region. She said the violence may seem far away from us but will gradually trickle down to the south if something is not done to bring the menace to a halt.

“We are aware of the massacre that happened on the 1st of January in Benue State, where some women and children were hacked to death by herdsmen. Let us pray against the menace of the herdsmen. We shouldn’t be comfortable thinking that it’s happening only to the Northerners.

“It is slowly coming into the South, but as Christians, we must arise and arrest the situation. We must intercede on behalf of our fellow brothers and sisters because whether you live in the North, South, East or West of Nigeria, we are all one. There is strength in our diversity and our culture and tribe should not be a barrier,” she said.

Meanwhile, more than 1000 women in Khana Local Government Area of the State have benefited from an empowerment programme organised by the wife of the senator. The beneficiaries who hail from the three kingdoms of Khana; Baabe, Nyo-Khana and Ken-Khana were visibly elated by the program, as they received bags of fertilizer and farm implements to boost their farming activities.

Addressing the beneficiaries, Abe encouraged them to see peace as a necessity for the success of their main pre-occupation, farming, and as a vehicle for sustainable development in Ogoniland.

She said: “Let us come together to pray for the peace of our community and country. Driving in here there’s so much land, but if we don’t have peace our mothers cannot go to the land to actually farm. And we know that Nyo-Khana is the fruit basket of Rivers State. So we need peace.”

The churches visited were Apostolic Army Church, Ogale, Holy Trinity Church, Nonwa, St. Barth Anglican Church and Methodists Church, Bera. On her entourage were; wife of member, representing Khana Constituency 2, at the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mrs. Nubari Nkee-ee, wife of NDDC’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Mrs. Charity Derek Mene and Progressives Women of APC.

– Mar. 13, 2018 @ 12:59 GMT |