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• Court injunction still in place until May 24th
• To jointly empower the girls in their chosen trade
From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has disclosed that herself , Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji and Emir of Kontagora, Mohammed Bara’u Mu’azu, have reconciled, following the intervention of the monarch and the pledge not to marry off the 100 girls in the state until investigations are concluded.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, in a press briefing in Abuja, revealed that despite the fact that she will be holding onto a court injunction until May 24th as a precautionary measure, she, the Speaker, and the Emir have resolved their differences.
The Minister had taken swift action by petitioning the Inspector-General of Police and seeking legal intervention to halt the proposed marriage of the 100 girls orphaned by insurgency in Niger State.
Sarkindaji, who initially announced plans to sponsor the weddings of the girls as part of his constituency project, clarified that his intention was to support the weddings financially, not to force the girls into marriage. The outcry that followed prompted him to re-evaluated the situation, leading to a collaborative effort to ensure the girls’ welfare and empowerment.
The Minister emphasised the importance of conducting thorough investigations into the girls’ well-being, including their ages and the suitability of their prospective grooms to provide for them adequately.
According to her, the intervention of the Emir of Kontagora played a pivotal role in resolving the conflict and ensuring that the girls’ best interests were safeguarded.
She described herself as a protective mother hen who is commitment to defending the rights and safety of the vulnerable girls under her care.
She said: “I want to let you know that as I speak to you now, I’m at peace with my royal father, Emir of Kontagora, Mohammed Bara’u Mu’azu, and I am in good terms with my brother the Speaker. We have made peace.
“Fine, I had to rush to the court and I am explaining to Nigerians why I did. Immediately I heard about this, I tried to make some contacts and when I couldn’t get to certain people and time was of essence. And remember, it takes in time in court to do certain things. So I quickly wrote to the IG of police, if I had not done that, the court would have asked what did you try to do first before rushing to court.
“So, I wrote to him and I quickly filed for an injunction so that I don’t take any risk of that thing happening without carrying out the necessary investigation especially on issue of age and even on what the grooms are doing for a living. Would they be able to take care of these girls? Because marrying them off is one thing and living well with their husbands and taking care of their livelihood is another thing.
“So, that was why I rushed to court and fortunately, within 48 hours, I was able to get the injunction to stopped the marriage.
“But it shocked me, I never expected that this kind of people are still existing in this country, where there’s a fracas and the Emir of Kontagora, called me to say, he will not be alive and see me fight with my brothers and sisters, he will not allow that. He is a peaceful man and needs peace to reign.
“And then the next thing I saw was that the Emir came to my office and within few minutes he solved the whole problem. He said to me, I will be with the women, I will be with Nigeria, I will allow investigations to be carried out, I will allow everything to be properly checked and then he will put a stop to the marriage until all these things are done. That has solved my problem.
“I am just like a mother hen, when you temper with the mother hen’s chicks, even with only two legs, the mother hen will pursue you and peck you. Even when you are going to kill that mother hen, she will not stop pecking you to stop you from harming her children.
“So, I have no problem with anybody. I have no problem with any religion, all I want to say is please don’t temper with my children, don’t temper with my women.
“President Bola Tinubu, has said let them breathe, allow the poor to breathe, don’t suffocate the poor. If you try to suffocate the poor, or try to deprive them from breathing, and they call on me, I will turn to a mother hen and I will come after that person and I will go to any legal means to make sure that the right thing is done.”
Speaking on her meeting with the Speaker or Niger House of Assembly, Kennedy-Ohanenye said they had fruitful discussions and have both resolved to empower the girls in whatever they have chosen to do.
She said: “Later on, my brother the Speaker came to my office, and we have partnered (ministry of women affairs and the Speaker) to empower these women. The ones that want to go to school, we will send them to school. This ministry has taken up this village now as a job, I am promising Nigerians, I will make sure I will not fall your hands, I am going to empower them with sustainable economic empowerment. By talking to them, I will know the kind of things they like to farm and I will give them huge machines. If it is rice, beans, corn, I will put one for a whole village to manage themselves, and onboard them in the system on our portal. And whatever the Federal government is doing for every other person, all of them will get it.
“I will go to the extend to give them small phones, at least one in each family to enable them communicate and get involved in the portal, so that they will be like every other woman.
“Because the speaker told me a lot of things concerning the village, how they are always tormented by the bandits, everybody ends up there. If bandits want to hide, they end up there.
“So, we need to look into this and that is one thing I am promising Nigerians because Mr President will not fold his hands and watch any Nigerian suffer.
“So, I am going to use this as a typical example, so like I said, I have supplied machine to 15 states including Niger State. I sent a lot of things to Niger State, rice milling machine, per boiling machine, de-stoning, de-chaffing, have sent all to Niger State already.
“But I am going to send to this particular community and this children will be able to go to school, we will empower them, teach them skills and give them what to start off their skills with. I will equally help them on marketing whatever they will make out of their skills. We shall not, we will not abandon them. As I speak, is like the president of Nigeria is speaking about this because what I am telling you is what Mr President will do for this community and these girls.”
Speaking on the reconciliation, the minister said: “So, I am now on good terms with these girls, my brothers, royal fathers, my children, my girls and the women. I am in good terms with Niger State, I am in good terms with everyone.
“We are now working together to make sure we better the lives of these girls, not just the 100 girls but all the orphans, all the people that have been affected by this banditry and the insecurity we use to have before.
“Though they say it has improved since President Tinubu came on board, I’m sure it will continue improving.
“My brothers, his HRH Emir of Kontagora, I am thanking you, you have told me to step down from court. Though I have gotten an injunction, I have to secure my children in case anybody goes behind my back to do anything. But I am promising you, I can never say no to any directive you give to me. Because you are like a father to me too, I am part of you, so I have stepped down on issue of the court but I have not stepped aside on issues of the community and Nigerian women’s and children as whole.
“So I have taken your instructions, Emir of Kotangora. I thank you so much for your intelligence, doggedness in handling things.
“My brother Speaker, I saw your genuineness in what you thought was good for your people and immediately you saw where I was coming from, you quickly partnered with me to better the life of your people. I appreciate you, everyone and Nigerians for joining me in this fight to protect our children.
“It could be anybody’s child tomorrow nobody knows who will die tomorrow and your child will become an orphan. What happens to that child? Let’s look in more. Please I beg Nigerians, don’t shut your mouth please, keep on seeing and talking, don’t keep quiet because with you people, I can fight this war. Without you who am I? You are my backbone.
“I thank everyone especially Mr president who always gives someone room to do her job. It is only when you fail he will call you to order.“
