First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan has urged her fellow first ladies to leave their comfort zones even as she advocated for peaceful means of resolving differences in the society. She warned that if nothing was done, the future would be bleak.
She made this call in Abuja during the General Assembly of the 7th Summit of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM).
Dame Jonathan expressed regret that the period when the mission was inactive and incapable of lending their voices during periods of crisis as in Libya and Sudan both of whose first ladies were regional vice-presidents of the mission were over.
“My dear colleagues, I am convinced that these goals can be achieved because the persons involved are our husbands, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, and we can talk to them to stop for the sake of our dear continent.
“We need to remind ourselves that conflicts have neither boundaries nor friends. I appeal to you as mothers of the continent to support our spouses in their efforts to check the wind of violence spreading across Africa.”
She revealed that Africa has more than five million refugees, over 75 per cent of them women and children some of who are being recruited as child soldiers, militants and terrorists.
The Nigerian First Lady said that the meeting would enable them decide on how to help these children build a future based on hope rather than despair.