MEDIA STATEMENT

The attention of the National Coalition of Women Empowerment Society of Nigeria has been drawn to yet another psychotic and unfortunate abuse on the person and Office of the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Dame Patience Jonathan by Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
In his latest and quite frankly repulsive and elementary diatribe, Rotimi Amaechi while speaking at the Port Harcourt rally on the 25th of October, 2014, blatantly lied against Dame Patience Jonathan, added injury to insult and demeaned her office further by referring to the First Lady of this country, our beloved mother, a prestigious political mentor and women empowerment figure, merely as "the wife of the president".

Has he reduced her to one of his concubines?

What happened to decorum? What happened to respect?

We are vaguely aware that politicians such as Amaechi would throw out their morals in a heartbeat for selfish gains. Still, we have never seen such flagrant display of desperation solely out of the bleak desire to be chosen as a running mate in the upcoming 2015 presidential elections.
Rotimi Amaechi’s continuous lies and attacks put his small mindedness on pitiful display. Nigerian young women know that they are merely disgusting strategies cooked up to downplay the magnitude of the Office of the First Lady of Nigeria and all of Dame Patience’s tremendous achievements towards the betterment of children and women in this nation and Africa.

Should we remind Rotimi Amaechi that Nigeria has the largest population of black women on this planet? The same black women who are under constant persecution from every angle of society and are always being told they are not good enough?

The fight for the empowerment of the black woman has not been easy. The black woman has been made to feel intellectually and professionally inferior by society for decades. Nevertheless, we have and continue to make progress. However, leave it to Rotimi Amaechi to destroy decades of hard work by women such as Dr. Stella Adadevoh, Ambassador Mrs. Elizabeth Ogbon-day, Chief Mrs. Margaret Ekpo, Prof. Dora Akunyili, and Oluwafunmilayo Ransome-Kuti, who fought valiantly to be recognized with several careless sentences.

Young black women around the world see the Office of the First Lady, her character and lifestyle as a model example to live by. Many aspire to accomplish all she has. Many see her as a shining source of inspiration.

What gives Amaechi the right to destroy a source of inspiration for millions of young women just to satisfy his selfish political ambitions?
Our Mother, Dame Patience Jonathan, has ceaselessly and passionately travelled all over the world, despite the odds against her, speaking on behalf of women who neither have the voice nor the opportunity to do so for themselves. Her compassionate social programs, charity deeds and women empowerment schemes, are well known and lauded both at home and abroad.

We ask, which women empowerment program has Amaechi constituted on behalf of the women of Rivers State? The dire situation of these women makes that a rhetorical question.

He should be ardently focused on repairing the havoc he has wrecked on the lives of the women of Rivers state that he so frenziedly claimed are his “responsibility to protect”. But how can he do that when he is constantly putting our mother, daughter and sister down?
We urge every woman of this great nation who believes that women should be treated with more dignity and care than the quintessential crybaby and attention grabber known as Rotimi Amaechi has treated our Dame Patience Jonathan, to speak up and condemn the pathological male chauvinist behavior that he is proudly displaying! We enjoin all men who believe they were brought into this world by a great woman to stand up for their mothers and daughters and vehemently condemn his insane and desperate outbursts!

Rotimi has proved himself to be a sexist narcissist who does not understand that to whom much is given, much is expected. There are millions of young Nigerian men watching his behavior. If an officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can constantly display such emotionally and verbally abusive behavior to our mother, what stops these young men from propagating the same debilitating culture of women abuse?

This is not a fight based on religion, tribalism or political allies, but a fight for every young woman and girl child of Nigeria.
Men such as Amaechi are the reason the Federal government and several NGO’s spend hundreds of millions of naira on the fight against the abuse of women. We are tempted to insist that Rotimi Amaechi should be forced to attend self-improvement classes so that he can be properly orientated on how to treat women. However, shouldn’t a balding past middle-age man who can boast of a handsome amount of grey hair already know this?

It is well known that two of the main contenders to be the flag bearers for the 2015 Presidential Elections for the All Progressive Congress (APC) are General Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Therefore, knowing fully well that all of Amaechi’s ranting is because he is desperate to be picked as a running mate, we as daughters respectfully beseech both prominent men not to plunge the lives of women and girl children in this country back to a time when child marriage, rape, illiteracy, genital mutilation, domestic violence and inequality in the workplace were the norm, by picking Rotimi Amaechi as their running mate.

This will be utterly demeaning to the sacrifices of great women such as Dr. Stella Adadevoah, Ambassador Mrs. Elizabeth Ogbon-day, Chief Mrs. Margaret Ekpo, Prof. Dora Akunyili, and Oluwafunmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
Surely, we are a nation full of many differing opinions, but we must all agree that undermining the sacrifices that the ladies listed above made for the empowerment of women in our great country is a sin.

God bless us all.

DR. MRS STELLA NABIRU
NATIONAL COALITION OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SOCIETY OF NIGERIA

snwokwo:

First Lady of this country, our beloved mother, a prestigious political mentor and women empowerment figure, merely as "the wife of the president".

Gov Amaechi has neva had respect for women. the same way he treats the First Lady is the same way he treats his wife n concubines. that is why yu hardly see his wife attend functions.

Gov Amaechi shame on yu.
That is wat yu get wen yu join the witchcraft(broom) party.

I don hear plenty gist about Amaechi. How he dey carry small small girls buy them jeep then dump them. No regard for his wife or women in general. Na so hin go dey use our money buy private jet for babes if hin enter presidency.

yeah! but these women would readily open their legs for him the slightest chance they get.

najoke:

U shouldn't be shocked. Evans Bipi called her his 'Jesus'. And i know that Jesus Christ is a mentor and a role model to many Christians, so also is PEJ to some politicians

stebell:
Gov Amaechi has neva had respect for women. the same way he treats the First Lady is the same way he treats his wife n concubines. that is why yu hardly see his wife attend functions.

Gov Amaechi shame on yu.
That is wat yu get wen yu join the witchcraft(broom) party.

what is your own hypocrite only God can solve the problem of pdp always disagree with public oppinion are you praising okirika born for shameless she has bring to Jonathan government and Nigeria

johnmartus:
what is your own hypocrite only God
can solve the problem of pdp always disagree with public oppinion are
you praising okirika born for shameless she has bring to Jonathan
government and Nigeria

I'll answer yu wen I see ur WAEC certificate. fooooool

johnmartus:
what is your own hypocrite only God can solve the problem of pdp always disagree with public oppinion are you praising okirika born for shameless she has bring to Jonathan government and Nigeria

hw better are u dan PEJ wit dis ur grammar.so far GEJ is nt complaining who are u to talk.

Useless people with useless stories and the useless first lady who don't even know how to express herself

Non existing group. First lady my foot.