To unravel the seeming confusion on whether the reported abduction of over 200 secondary schoolgirls of Government Secondary School Chibok, Borno State was real or part of political antics in the state, the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan joined in the investigation a fortnight ago.
To carry out the investigation, she invited key actors in the Chibok saga to the Presidential Villa, Abuja. And to assist her in the investigation were wives of state governors, women opinion leaders, leaders of key women organisation and relevant women stakeholders.
Before the key actors present at the meeting started answering questions that the gathering was not a law court, she said: “We are not asking you questions to kill you, or to harm you or to send you to court; we are not judges. But it is just to help to unravel the truth and to stop the killing in Borno State because our hearts are heavy. We want to help you and we want you to sincerely answer our questions. If you don’t know the answer, say so and we will end it there. Nothing we can do.”
The First Lady, who also prefers to be called “Mama Peace” broke down and wept twice during the over eight hours meeting that started at 6:02 p.m. on Sunday, May 4 and ended at 2:13 a.m. on May 5, 2014.
She broke down the first time when she realised that some major actors in the saga from the state did not turn up for the meeting.
While there have been divided opinions on whether she actually wept out of emotion or premeditated to weep in front of the cameras to attract sympathy for her husband, as someone who sat throughout the meeting, it was a struggle between the Channels TV cameraman, Elder George Edemevughe and other cameramen filming that aspect of the meeting as some staff of the First Lady attempted to shut down the cameras.
Her weeping was also infectious as some women seated round the table in the First Lady’s Conference Room could not hold back their tears.
The intent of this write-up is not to ascertain whether the tears were real or fake. It is also not to justify the probe or otherwise. And it is also no longer in doubt whether the abduction of over 200 secondary school girls was real or mere politics as Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau on Monday last week, released video clip showing the girls in his custody.
Besides the weeping during the First Lady’s investigation, the probe also showed some humorous part of Mama Peace, even though she expressed bitterness in some instances. Some of those in the meeting couldn’t help laughing at her remarks most times. She may not really mind how the message is conveyed, but what matters to her is getting the message across.
When she realised that the Principal of the school, Asabe Kwaburah, did not come with any teacher, matron or the school’s gateman to help in the investigation, the First Lady asked: Na only u waka come? (Meaning “You came alone?”).
During the question-and-answer session when the principal insisted that the school was a standard school and as she was having difficulty responding to questions, Mrs. Jonathan said: “Madam, see tissue, if you are sweating, take tissue and clean your sweat. Clean your sweat well so that you can answer our questions.” This attracted laughter from the gathering.
Faulting non-relocation of the entire students in line with the advice of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) before the girls’ abduction and the following relocation of the remaining students after the attack, she said: “It is now that you relocated the children after the kidnap. That is medicine after death. Why did you not relocate them to that place at the first instance if that place is safer?”
When there were conflicting figures of students who registered and sat for some subjects in the school from the WAEC official and the Principal, the First Lady, with her calculator in hand, told the Principal: “Madam, what you are telling us here now is not Mathematics. Is it that we have gone out of Algebra and Mathematics? We are in another world because what you are telling us is not feasible again. Do you register differently from WAEC? Do you have your own marking scheme?”
Turning to journalists at the meeting, she said: “Members of the press are you people with us in this Mathematics lecture?”
Tired with the irreconcilable figures from the Principal, she told other women at the gathering: “I beg make una ask una questions and leave the woman. Let us not continue to waste our time on one woman matter.”
At a point when the meeting was becoming rowdy and several persons speaking at the same time, the First Lady said: “If we didn’t permit you to talk, we will send you out. We are in the Villa. We are not here for demonstration, we are peaceful people.
We are begging you operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), anyone that makes unwarranted noise, please help us take her out.”
These were very few instances when the gathering couldn’t help but laugh during the meeting.
