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Tag: widows

  • Ikpeazu’s wife builds houses for widows

    Ikpeazu’s wife builds houses for widows

    The wife of Abia State Governor, Mrs. Nkechi Ikpeazu, in collaboration with the Vicar Hope Foundation, has inaugurated two bungalows for two indigent widows in Bende and Ohafia concils of the state.

    Speaking during the Commissioning, Mrs. Ikpeazu stated that the houses were built in fulfilment of her covenant with God to provide succour to this class of people who have no one to help them.

    She also said the gesture was equally to thank God for her husband’s victory at the Supreme Court.

    Mrs Ikpeazu urged well-meaning Abians to assist the government in ameliorating the plight of the widows and other vulnerable persons.

    She said that with the dwindling economic fortunes of the state, it was becoming very difficult for government alone to take care of the indigent and vulnerable people in the state.

    The beneficiaries included Mrs. Egbichi Okorie from Ezeukwu Community in Bende Local Government Area and Mrs. Aria Ugba from Nkporo in Ohafia Local Government Area.

    The beneficiaries, Mrs. Egbichi Okorie and and Mrs. Aria Ugba thanked Mrs. Ikpeazu and prayed for God’s protection and divine health for the gesture.

    Some of the dignitaries witnessed the inauguration were the Deputy Governor of the state, Sir Ude Oko Chukwu, the Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Hagler Okorie, and the Commissioner for Women Affairs Lady Chinedu Brown.

  • A vote for the widows

    A vote for the widows

    It was a diligent service to womanhood penultimate Saturday when the International Women’s Society (IWS)  hosted a Widows New Year party at its Lekki-Epe Expressway Secretariat, reports NNEKA NWANERI.           

    They beamed with smiles and looked their best in the uniformed Ankara material chosen for the occasion. Though beraaved, the widows were asked to leave their children at home, attend the event so that they could have some fun. An approximate of a hundred of them in attendance went home happy with lots of goodies and gifts.

    Leading the team of IWS was Hajiya Zainab Saleh,  the key sponsor of the programmer and Lagos State Governor’s wife, Omobolanle Ambode, whose arrival at the venue ignited the faces of the women, who erupted in jubilation and dancing.

    Though the society has been in existence for 58 years, the annual feast of the widows has held consistently since 1998, said the President of IWS, Hajiya Zainab Saleh, while giving her welcome address. Lauding the support of wives of Lagos governor over the years in the project, The Nation learnt that Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Dame Abimbola Fashola, both former wives of the Lagos State governors are honorary members of the society.

    She urged the widows to enjoy their day to the fullest, hoping that the little they are able to do for them will go a long way in putting smiles on their faces, admonishing that the older widows support the new ones in terms of good counseling and guardianship.

    The high point of the day was a special endowment for 16 of state’s First Lady also specially endowed 10 other women.  It was noted that last week, IWS visited the IDP camp in Bornu State to distribute relief materials  to the women.

    Chairperson of the widows Trust Fund, Mrs Gbemi Sasore, noted that the 100 widows present at the event were just a small percentage of those residing in Lagos, and effort is still being made to mobilise more of them into skill acquisition and mentoring.

    It was noted that many of the widows, despite grieving on the loss of their loved ones, are bread winners of their homes.

    “Stay the course because you are the mothers of our leaders tomorrow and despite what life thrust on you,you are still custodians of our homes and that is why we have been mindful of your plights and caring for you since 1998.”

    Mrs Ambode, listed characteristics associated with widowhood such as mood swings; feeling of isolation, rejection, home upkeep, single parenting, in-law headaches, depression and other sundry challenges capable of slowing them down in life; adding that their strength is derived from their resolve and determination never to succumb to the threatening circumstances, but rather, see God as their rock and fortress in their trying times. She added that the get-together will assure them that they can still live long and fulfilled lives despite the demise of their loved ones.

    Urging the widows to have a means of livelihood and regular source of income, they were called to learn and master the art of being self sufficient instead of relying on the male folk who most times have conditions attached to their assistance.

    “This is a practical way to help you navigate the storm and be gainfully engaged in a regular job, business or vocations. These monies you have been endowed with must be used solely for investment in your businesses and not to solve other domestic issues.”

    The widow who wore the prettiest dress style won a sewing machine, while others, through a raffle dip, went home with prizes such as portable gasoline generators, laces and georges and other items.

    Also, each woman went home with a 5kg gas cooker, carton of noodles, Honeywell products and other undisclosed items.

  • Igbo community where widows live like queens

    Igbo community where widows live like queens

    The usual tale about widows in the south eastern part of Nigeria is that they are subjected to all manner of inhuman treatments. The general belief is that women who lose their husbands, particularly when the men in question are considered too young to die, are responsible for their husbands’ ill fate. The relations of the man would then make the poor woman to go through rituals that are simply dehumanising.

    In some cases, the woman is told to drink the water that had been used in bathing her deceased husband’s body. She is also denied access to her husband’s belongings in the belief that the poor woman must have had a hand in the death of her husband because she had her eyes on his property.

    But in former Nkerehi community in Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra State, there is a clear departure from this ugly practice, so much so that the community decided to change its name from Nkerehi to Umuchukwu during the administration of former Governor Peter Obi. The change of name was intended to reflect the transformation it had gone through during the period.

    The same spirit had moved Obi to construct two roads in the area to connect neighbouring communities of Imo and Abia states. Before now, poverty was like another name for the community. There were no schools the children could attend while the only known occupation in the community was stone quarry.

    It was impossible to find a single zinc house, and the people depended on water fetched from a nearby stream for drinking and other domestic use. The entire community was in pains and agony, and its number of widows rose by the day without help from anywhere.

    The community virtually became a haven of criminals before the referendum that led to the change of its name by the Obi-led administration in 2008. It was in that condition that kidnappers abducted its traditional ruler, Igwe Michael Ukaegbu.

    Today, however, the sleepy community has become a kind of heaven on earth with the help of a foundation launched by one of its sons, Dr. Godwin Maduka.

    Known as the Godwin Maduka Foundation, it was established about 15 years ago by the spine surgeon and professor of surgery and pain management from Uhu part of the community.

    It was a fierce war between a select few and other members of the community when its name was changed. The ensuing confrontation claimed a few lives while buildings were burnt or destroyed.

    The foundation, in response, has built more than 70 three or four-bedroom bungalows for the poor and suffering widows who now live like queens in the community with food readily available in their homes.

    In Umuchukwu community today, there is no single thatched or mud house. A modern market, a maternity and a one-storey community hall have also been built.

    More than 100 buildings have been erected in the area for indigent residents while another edifice was erected for the community’s monarch.

    Other structures erected by the foundation include houses built for clerics, two churches for the Catholic and Anglican, a magistrate court, a police station, two monasteries, a post office, and mighty edifices for primary and secondary schools, among others.

    What distinguishes the buildings that house the widows from others is their green roofs made of aluminium zincs.

    The foundation has also built a two-storey police station complemented with a bungalow as officers’ mess and another structure to serve as operational base for the men of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

    The foundation also built headquarters in the area for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), a state High Court, while transformers were provided for electricity.

    Surprisingly a borehole is sunk in each of the houses built for widows and other poor inhabitants. The only thing the community could be said to lack at the moment is a tertiary institution.

    Some of the widows, who spoke with The Nation said that such a gesture had not previously been witnessed anywhere in the country.

    One of them, Mrs. Ndidi Onyekaegbu, said: “Any widow you see in this community now dresses and walks around like a queen. The widows in Umuchukwu are not like the widows in other places. We lack nothing here. Our children are well taken care of in schools and the sufferings we were going through have vanished.”

    Another widow, Theresa Okeke, wondered how one individual could so dramatically changed the fortune of a people that were once ravaged by poverty.

    She observed that the then Nkerehi was the poorest and most backward community in the entire Anambra State, adding that other communities now envy it.

    Praying for the foundation and its founder, Mrs. Josephine Obiefuna, said: “God will protect them for us. There will never be any obstacle in Maduka’s way.

    “If he has any enemy, God will protect him against them. But I know he has none because anybody that fights him will not remain alive to narrate what the God of the widows will do to him or her.”

  • Senator empowers 370 widows

    THE Senator representing Niger South Senatorial District (zone A) in the National Assembly; Senator Mustapha Sani Mohammed has disbursed some cash to over 370 widows as part of his empowerment programmes.

    Disbursing the cash to the widows at Wadata Palace in Bida, the Senator said empowering widows was part of his campaign promises and part of his contributions to improve the economic development in the zone.

    “Women empowerment, especially widows, is a major area of interest to me in our Senatorial District. Economic development hinged on industrialisation, employment, infrastructural provision and youth development constitute my priority,” he said.

    The beneficiaries were drawn from across the 88 wards in the district; three persons from each ward.

    The Chairman, Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers and Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar who praised the Senator’s initiative described it as worthy. He urged the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money for the benefit of their families.

     

  • Philanthropist builds homes for widows in Rivers, Abia

    A philanthropist and founder of a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Nice-Esther For All Foundation (NEFAF), Nice Alamieyiseigha, has donated two units of one-bedroom apartment to two aged widows from Rivers and Abia states.

    The beneficiaries are: Madams Mercy Amadi and Paulina Paulinus.

    The building was completed in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), under NEFAF Home and Housing Scheme for poor widows and destitute in the region.

    The presentation ceremony at Isiokpo, the headquarters of Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, where one of the houses is located, was attended by members of Isiokpo Council of Chiefs and traditional rulers, led by HRM King Blessing Wagor, Wagidi the 40th, Nye-Nwe–Ali Isiokpo, leader of Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives’ Association (NAOWA), officials of the local government and NDDC, among others.

    One of beneficiaries, a blind centenarian, expressed gratitude to Alamieyiseigha for the gesture with prayers.

    The standard one-bedroom apartment has borehole and water system.

    The event was part of the NGO’s activities to uplift the poor, orphans and physically challenged during Christmas.

    Started in 2010, the NGO has been funded solely by its founder and her husband Godknows Alamieyiseigha, an engineer. The NGO has impacted lives of several indigents of the society.

    Speaking on her passion for helping the helpless, said “doing charity and affecting lives positively are my passion and life,” stressing that her vision is to extend the gesture to other states of the region.

  • Boost for widows, students, artisans

    In honour of the memory of his late parents, Chief Leemon Ikpea, Executive Chairman of Lee Engineering and Construction Company Limited has given out cash awards to 25 widows at Ewatto in Esan South East Local Government.

    Also, 62 secondary school students and 15 students in tertiary institutions were offered scholarship ranging from N50,000 and N100,000.

    The empowerment cash scheme was part of activities to mark the third anniversary of the Agbonjagwe Leemon Ikpea Foundation (ALIF) a body through which scholarships have been offered to 384 students and many lives touched.

    Founder of ALIF, Chief Leemon who lost his parents in 1973 (mother) and 1952 (father) said he decided to share part of his blessings because life was difficult and tough for him and his siblings.

    Leemon who recalled how he was sent home from school over inability to pay school fees said his desire was to stop seeing students sent home because of school fees.

    He noted that the purpose of setting up the foundation was to assist widows and artisans to set up small businesses, provide access to primary health care for people living in rural areas, offer a lifeline to helpless and brilliant students and ameliorate hardship in the rural areas through provision of water boreholes.

    Chief Leemon explained that the foundation was dedicated to the memory of his parents because they bequeathed to him and his sibling virtues that made them become who they are today.

    His words, “Though my parents have no material things to give us, they loved and taught us the virtues of hard work, integrity and honesty which has sustained us till date. ALIF is our little way of saying thank you to their memories by identifying with the less privileged, the sick and the aged.”

    Executive Director of ALIF, Visible Difference Irabor, listed bursary awards to law students, payment of monthly stipend to 140 old people, organising mentoring programmes for youth development as other achievements of the foundation.

    Former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Odein Henry Ajumogobia, said empowering the less privileged was a magnificent way to celebrate one’s parents.

    Ajumogobia noted that Leemon had become a father to many orphans because of the support given to them.

     

  • Ex-NDIC director assists 600 widows

    The widow of the late ex-Managing Director of Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Dame Chinelo Nzelu, has lifted over 600 widows of Aboji, Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

    The retired Director with Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) told reporters said she was moved to embark on widow empowerment programme as a testimony of God’s goodness in her life since her husband died some years back.

    She said being a widow should not be seen as a taboo or that women in that class should be seen as pitiable. She said widows should be helped to overcome their challenges instead of living in self-pity.

    Mrs. Nzelu maintained that life without somebody’s husband by her side was taxing, even as she said people should encourage women to live a dignified lifestyle by putting their trust in God who will shower them with His unmerited favours.

    Before the empowerment ceremony began, Mrs. Nzelu had visited three motherless babies’ homes in Obosi, Oba and Ojoto with lots of food items, including beverages, detergents and soaps, among others.

    Some of the items distributed to the over 600 widows in the community included wrappers and cash worth over N5 million.

    She said she had embarked on charity work many years ago having seen much of God’s divine blessings in her life. These include good health and gainful employment for her children.

    “Having seen all these, I noticed that it was God’s intervention and I decided to go into making sure that widows and other less-privileged persons in my area do not suffer again,” she said.

     

  • Naval chief’s wife decries rise in number of widows, orphans

    Naval chief’s wife decries rise in number of widows, orphans

    The wife of the Chief of Naval Staff, Mrs. Theresa Ibas yesterday decried the rise in number of widows in the society.

    Mrs Ibas, who’s the President, Naval Officers Wives Association (NOWA) also noted with displeasure, the sufferings of children rendered homeless.

    She spoke in Lagos at a function organised as part of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the association.

    Tagged: “A day with the widows and orphans,” the NOWA President said it decided to empower 200 widows of dead naval personnel to make them realise that they are not forgotten.

    “The increasing rate of women who are made widows untimely and the suffering of children rendered homeless is becoming alarming and worrisome and deserve our prompt attention.

    “While we strive to do our part as an association, we also trust God to help curb activities that lead to untimely deaths,” she said.

    Aside the items given the widows and orphans, Mrs. Ibas stated that arrangement has been made for them to acquire skills at the Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) Training centre in Abuja.

    She also urged the Lagos State Government to consider widows of service men in its skills acquisition programmes, emphasising that a day of token will not take care of the problems of the victims.

    Praising a former NOWA President, Mrs. Vivian Ezeoba, who initiated the “A day with widows and orphans” project, Mrs. Ibas promised to complete the standard skills acquisition centre in Navy Town.

    “In line with this, I wish to complete the standard skills acquisition centre in Navy Town to upgrade not only the widows but women who are willing and able to improve their lives in one way or the other to assist their husbands or families in income generation,” she said.

    At the event were the wife of Lagos Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, who was represented by Mrs. Fatimah Bamgbetan; Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC) Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, who represented the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas; former NOWA presidents, Mrs. Josephine Akhigbe and Mrs. Ezeoba.

    Mrs. Ibas also hinted of plans by DEPOWA to visit Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps in Borno and Edo states to renew the hope of the people.

    “We are also trying to get ourselves under DEPOWA to visit two IDP camps in Maiduguri before the end of December as part of the 50th celebration.

    One of the motivational speakers, Mrs. Ngozi Chibuzor, who lost her husband, a Lieutenant, in 1994 after 10 years of marriage, challenged other widows to stop begging or crying.

    Mrs. Chibuzor, who explained that her eldest child was 10 and the youngest four months when her husband and bread winner died in an accident, told the crowd how she survived and ensured all her children graduated from the university.

     

  • Sapele: Traders, widows protest against Okowa

    Sapele: Traders, widows protest against Okowa

    Widows and traders in Sapele, Delta State on Friday staged a peaceful protest against the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, over the state government order revoking stalls allotted to them by the last administration in the state.

    The women condemned the governor’s decision, stating that they were allotted the stalls after they made full payment for them and completed all formalities.

    Leaders of the placard-wielding protesters, Mrs Cecelia Eregare and Mr. Happy Atsegor, said, “It is wickedness for the governor that was voted into power by the people to turn around and throw us into the cold street after paying for our stalls.”

    They lamented that they had been on the issue since 2006 when fire gutted the market and they were ordered to vacate their shops for the market to be rebuilt.

    Eregare recalled that they were re-allotted the stalls in early 2014 after they completed payment and paper works with the government.

    “We applied for the shops; we bought forms, completed and returned them as well as made the requirement payment before we were given the shop. So it is surprising that the new governor is giving us notice to quit,” Mr Atsegor added.

    Meanwhile, the widows and traders who carried several placards that denounced the government’s action, vowed to resist the quit order.

    Besides, they wondered why the government was in a hurry to qui them despite a pending legal tussle over the issue.

    Although Governor Okowa could not be reached for comment, it was learnt that the state’s Director of Information, Paul Osahor, who signed the order, urged all traders currently occupying shops and stalls in the market to evacuate their wares.

  • Lawmaker fetes widows

    Lawmaker fetes widows

    The lawmaker representing Afikpo North West Constituency at the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Ogbonnaya Ikoro has reached out to needy women especially widows, giving them cash and wrappers.

    Some of the recipients returned home for the month-long August Meeting, an opportunity for the lawmaker to help the needy among them.

    The event which took place at Central School Oziza drew people from the four villages in Amasiri, Ibi, Akpoha and Oziza which make up the Constituency.

    Ikoro, who is Deputy Leader of the House, promised to set up a fish farm and other agro-businesses to empower youths.

    He said:”I decided to use the August Meeting period to thank all the women of the constituency for supporting me, the governor and my party, the PDP [Peoples Democratic Party] during the last general elections which led to an overwhelming victory of the party.”

    “I am in the business of service delivery; politics is about service delivery to the people. To me I have not done anything yet to the people, the distribution of wrappers and cash today is a tip of the iceberg of what I have in stlck for the women and youths of the community.

    “We are looking at establishing agro-business farms for the youths to operate and in turn share the profits amongst themselves. That way the youths will be gainfully employed.”

    “We are doing this in realization that there are not many jobs out there for the youths, so we ard emphasizing on self reliance by going into agriculture.”

    “We have already set up a fish farm for some of these u employed youths to manage. We shall set up more of such agro-businesses for them as time goes on.”

    He also promised to use his office as deputy Leader to attract projects to the community from the state government.

    Speaking at the occasion, the PDP Chairman Ibi/Oziza ward, Mr Egwu Okpani in his opening remarks noted that Ogbonnaya Ikoro performed well in his first term at the house leading to the people overwhelmingly voting for him to return to the house so as to continue the good works he has started.

    The visit, he said, is to appreciate the support of the people in voting in the legislator for a second term.

    Mrs Anthonia Ndukwe, National President women’s wing of Oziza Development Union, praised the legislator for remembering the people of the constituency. He described the legislator as a gentleman with milk of kindness who is destined for greater achievements in his chosen profession of politics.