First Lady Oluremi Tinubu has called on state governors and lawmakers to prescribe capital punishment for kidnapping.
She also described it as heart-rending, the act of kidnapping innocent children, who she also described as the future of the nation.
The First Lady said this on Friday, March 8, during a meeting with the National Women Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja.
In a statement issued by her spokesperson, Busola Kukoyi, the First Lady described the kidnappers as cowards for majorly taking hold of women and children saying they were inhumane and should be treated as such.
She said: “They are cowards. Our hearts bleed. I call on the state governments that once we take hold of them, they deserve capital punishment. Why can’t they take men of their size, why are they touching women and children?
“What they are doing is that they are trying to kill our future, we all know that when parents are old, we rely on our children, we see them as our investments that have not gone to 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.
“I believe 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.”
First Lady 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.”
She also celebrated International Women’s Day with the women and all other Nigerian women for their courage, resilience and doggedness.
“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’.
“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 as 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 pulling a sister up, one at a time. You will all be amazed at what we can achieve collectively”, she said.
Earlier, the group, led by its national women leader, 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 (RHI).
They also requested Senator Tinubu to help them by pressing 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; the RHI has brought about transformative change through various programmes which include the Elderly Support Scheme, National Scholarship Programme, Women in Agric Support Programme, and many others”, she said.
The group was made up of the APC National woman leader, her deputy, the 6 zonal leaders, and the women leaders of the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT.
