BENIN CITY – Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari has donated relief materials to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benin City, Edo State with a call on well-meaning Nigerians not to hesitate to help the less-privileged in society.
Speaking at the IDP Camp in Uhogua, Benin City, Tuesday, Mrs. Buhari who was represented by Mrs. Hailmary Aipoh, APC National Woman Leader said, “we are happy to be here, and we thank God for bringing us here today. Life is all about process and we are in that process. And that process is to affect lives of the less privileged in the society. If we can train up these children, we are making the society good better for all.
She continued, “I want to use this opportunity to call on the big people in Edo State, the rich people, men, women, of my great state to come out en mass and touch these less privileged in our society. Let’s show love to them. As we are training our own children, let’s train these ones so that Nigeria will be a better place for each and every one of us to live in. If Nigeria is great, these same children, they are our children. They are our brothers and sisters. They are our children.”
She said, “So, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the wife of the President asked us, my sisters from Edo State to come and present these items on her behalf to our wonderful children to show them that she loves them, that she feels this pain they are going through. She is not here today, but her spirit is here with us. These are women of Edo State from Abuja. Our own sisters from Edo State are all here with me. They have come to present these as a token of our love on behalf of the first lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari. We will continue to do this. We will continue to affect lives. We will continue to leave a legacy because that is the essence of life.”
She remarked, “I want to appreciate you, children. I want to appreciate our wonderful pastor. It takes spiritual maturity to be in this place. He left whatever he has to stay in this camp. God almighty will bless you, will uphold you, will protect you, will protect these children, will make these children great. There are presidents among these children. We must affect their lives. I am here with my sister, Barr. Gana and she has a personal token to give to these children.”
She noted, “I am here also to appreciate Mrs. Iara Oshiomhole, our Comrade Governor, there is none like our Governor in Edo State. He has done so well. I tell people, a leader that cannot make another leader is not a leader, and Oshiomhole is going to leave an imprint. We felt we should do it now in solidarity with Oshiomhole’s candidate, the APC candidate, Godwin Obaseki and Philip Shaibu. The wife of the President and Mrs. Iara Oshiomhole are in support of this our own. This is our own, and these are the people that are going to affect the common lives of Edo people.”
Similarly, the wife of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mrs. Godwin Obaseki, who was represented on the occasion by the wife of the running mate, Mrs. Mariam Shaibu said, “We are very grateful to be here today. We know these lovely children are here, and the state loves you. We love you. Nigeria loves you. Whatever that is happening today is very temporary. Very soon, the very man that we have who is our president today is already solving this problem, and I believe very soon, you will all come back to your homes because this is not meant for you. I don’t think I will be happy to see my children elsewhere.”
She said, “Therefore, your parents will be happy to have you back home. I believe you will be better off at home. Whatever we are doing today is just temporary. The only thing that is going to be permanent by the special grace of the Almighty God is for you to go back home.”
Finally, she noted, “The wife of Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the wife of the incoming governor of Edo State who I am also representing wants me to say good morning to you. She also says she was here before. I am here on her behalf, and we are going to be here after September 10, by the special grace of God.”
Also speaking, Coordinator of the Edo IDP Camp, Pastor Folorunsho Solomon said, “on behalf of the IDPs here and our staff, we welcome everyone of you. We use this medium to thank Her Excellency, the First Lady, Federal Republic of Nigeria, and our special mother, the First Lady, Edo State and the wife of the Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly. We appreciate every one of you. Our dear mothers, your presence here today is comforting, encouraging and inspiring. Thank you for remembering us.”
He concluded, “I must say you came at a time that was critical. In fact, the children have not eaten indomie for a long time. They have not eaten bread for a long time. And every day, when they see vehicles coming, they are always looking. So, we want to tell you that you have just stepped in to fill a big vacuum. We are very happy that people like you think about us. Thank you very much and God bless you.”
The items donated by the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari to support the internally displaced persons included bags of rice, beans, toiletries, detergent, groundnut oil, writing materials, among others.
Others who were in the First Lady’s train were Mrs Rachel Akpabio, National Officer South-South Zonal Woman Leader; Dr Mrs Janet Oyubu, Delta APC Woman Leader, Golda Osikhena, Woman Leader, Evangelist Caroline Nagho, Rivers APC Woman Leader, among others.
