Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has urged State governors and lawmakers to prescribe capital punishment for kidnapping, describing the act as heart-wrenching.
While condemning the act of abducting women and innocent children whom she said were the nation’s future leaders, the First Lady said kidnappers are inhumane and deserved such treatment.
Senator Tinubu stated this on Friday, March 8, when she met with the National Women Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja.
“They are cowards. Our hearts bleed. I call on the State governments that once we take hold of them, they deserve capital punishment. What they are doing is that they are trying to kill our future and we all know that when parents are old, we rely on our children; we see them as our investments that have not gone to a waste especially when they are successful.
“Why will you now take them from their schools? Right now, I think enough is enough. As a former lawmaker, I believe that any one of them captured deserves capital punishment”, the First Lady emphasized, while expressing belief that most mothers will support me on this because we carry our children for nine months, and we cannot watch what we love to wither away”.
Senator Oluremi Tinubu told the women that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, places a strong emphasis on creating opportunities for women to thrive economically, socially, and politically.
She said, “As women, we constitute a significant portion of our society, and it is vital that our voices are heard and our contributions acknowledged. As women leaders, your role is very crucial to our nation’s development. You are the eyes and ears of the Government at the grassroots. I therefore encourage you to set a robust agenda for empowerment, inclusion and welfare of women within our party and across the nation”.
The First Lady also celebrated the International Women’s Day with Nigerian women for their courage, resilience and doggedness, saying, “On my part, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) was established to focus on championing women’s causes and implementing various programmes and initiatives nationwide with our motto, which states, “Towards a better life for families”.
According to her, accelerating progress in any endeavour requires that women have to be more involved, “that is why I see investing in women, not as charity, but a crucial strategy to build the future of our dear nation, Nigeria.
“Empowering women with education, resources and opportunities to unlock their full potential, such as, supporting women’s businesses, investing in women’s health, agricultural programmes for women, and creating pathways for women in science and technology will help in dismantling economic and social barriers that women face.
“Therefore, my charge to you all is to be each other’s keeper, let us all come together, bond and love one another. Each of you should commit to pull a sister up, one at a time. You will all be amazed at what we can achieve collectively.’’
Earlier, the group, led by its National Women Leader, Dr Mary Idele Alile, her Deputy, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim and members of the Executive, thanked the First Lady for her impacts on the lives of Nigerians through her various interventions on the platform of the Renewed Hope Initiative.
The women requested Senator Tinubu to help them press for more inclusion in the activities of the current government. “We highlight the remarkable achievement of the RHI spearheaded by our first lady across the country which has brought about transformative change through various programme which include the Elderly Support Scheme, National Scholarship Programme, Women in Agric Support Programme and many others”.
