•Mrs Jonathan Frowns at Borno state first Lady's attitude on the missing girls.
Missing Chibok Girls: Mrs Shettimah should show concern says Mrs Jonathan…Absent and Govs wives meeting
First Lady Patience Jonathan has express worry at the attitude of the wife of the Borno State Governor. Mrs Nana Shettimah towards the missing Chibok school girls.
She spoke at the Presidential Villa in Abuja during another meeting she convened over the issue.
Present at the meeting were wives of the governors of Nasarawa, Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Gombe, Benue, Abia and Akwa Ibom States.
Others were the Borno State Commissioner of Police, Commissioner for Women Affairs, the principal of Chibok Government Secondary School, the chairman of Chibok Local Government Area, the divisional police officer in the area and the troops on duty when the girls were abducted.
Mrs Jonathan, who had summoned some officials and individuals from Borno State for questioning over the circumstances that led to the girls' abduction, yesterday expressed her frustration over the absence of the wife of Borno State governor, Hajiya Nana Kashim Shettima,
at the meeting.
Mrs Jonathan said since women of Borno State were not willing to cooperate with her on the issue, all Nigerian women should stop protesting, saying should anything happen to them during protests, they should blame themselves.
She flayed Shettima's wife for allegedly being unconcerned over the girls' abduction.
Mrs Jonathan suddenly burst into tears, saying repeatedly “God is watching o”.
She however said she could no longer weep more than the bereaved, saying that Shettima's wife should be the more concerned.
“Before all these killings, I called and told the first lady of Borno State to let us come together. She answered me yes, but when the kidnap happened, I called her, she did not answer me. I invited her, she did not turn up even up till today. No woman will fold her arms when her house is on fire. Today my house is on fire.
“Before last Friday, I called her and she promised to attend the Friday's meeting here. Bit to our greatest surprise, she sent her commissioner for women affairs. Also today, she sent her commissioner for women affairs. She is the mother of Borno State. She is the first mother of these missing girls. I am their grandmother. She is not coming out. All Nigerian women are calling her. If she is not concerned and she says she doesn't want her people to be safe, then it is left to her. If you tell us you are not crying, why should I cry more than the bereaved. If I cry more than the bereaved, the world would ask me a question.
“If after today, Borno women say we should not help them, then Nigerian women, don't demonstrate again. If you demonstrate and police do you anything, you are on your won. Borno women are playing game. Nigerian women should not go out for demonstration. Don't use school children for demonstration again. Borno women are not ready for cooperation”, she said.
Mrs Jonathan, who insisted that the whereabouts of the abducted girls must be known, said she cried yesterday during church service over the spate of killings in the country.
Challenging all those at the meeting to tell the truth about the girls' abduction, she said Nigerian women should not join men in the killings.
“People are dying. How can you play politics when you see your fellow human beings dying. Nigerian women, I beg you to support me. Why we will join our husbands to kill others. We want the killings to stop. If we don't get to know the whereabouts of our daughters, the next thing is they (Boko Haram) will get to us. I am not accusing anybody. My own is let us stop killings and kidnapping. Let us say a stop to these.
“We don't know what might happen. We don't wear bullet-proofs. I am not exempting my self or my husband. If I am found guilty, let me go instead of blood to flow. If our constitution is the problem, let them amend it. Today's meeting will not end because the abducted children are still not out. If you say I should go and sleep, I would go and sleep. But if you say we should move forward to see the end of this, we would go forward”, she said.
As of the time of filing this report, the meeting was still going on.
Daily Trust