By Deji Elumoye
For the first time in a very long time, the First Lady, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, on Monday broke her silence and canvassed for an end to incessant cases of kidnap of women and children in some parts of the country.
In a message to mark the 2021 International Women’s Day, Aisha Buhari, expressed concern that women and girls were daily being abducted with a telling effect on girl-child education and called for urgent stop to such abductions.
She said: “Women and girls in Nigeria have continued to suffer abductions both in the hands of insurgents and bandits. As a mother, I share the sorrow and agony of the victims and their families. I am also not unaware of the impact that these abductions could have in reverting many successes we have hitherto achieved, especially in terms of girl-child education and early marriages.
“I call on all stakeholders to continue to exert their different levels of influence and bring these abductions to an end and to assure us that girls are safe anywhere they may find themselves.”
According to her, the 2021 edition of International Women’s Day offers yet another opportunity for humanity to review and reflect progress made on issues of women and girls.
“This year’s theme: Women In Leadership: Achieving on Equal Future in a COVID-19 World”, is a strong call to appreciate the efforts of women and girls in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic”, she stated.
The First Lady also stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic had adverse effect on women as it
disrupted education and careers, job loss, descent into poverty, and proliferation of domestic violence.
She further said: “Many have also died or suffered due to lack of access to basic information on the pandemic, It is therefore important, not just to continue spreading the message of the COVID-19 protocol, but to remember and support those who have been affected negatively by the pandemic in one way or another.”
Aisha Buhari submitted that despite all the challenges facing women globally, “I extend my best wishes to women all over the world for their resilience, hard work, and commitment to the progress of humanity, happy International Women’s Day”.
