NIGERIAN WOMEN MOURN

 

"Who sat and watched my infant head when sleeping on my cradle bed and tears of sweet affection shed ... My mother, when pains and sickness made me cry, who gazed upon my heavy eyes and prayed that I shouldn't die.... My mother. How can I ever cease to be affectionate and kind to thee who was so very  kind to me.... Ah.. no, the thoughts I cannot bear, and if God please my life to spare, I hope I shall reward thy care.....when thou art feeble, old and gray, my healthy arms shall be thy stay... and I will sooth thy pains away........ My mother........ this  is the expectation of every parent from the children they have birthed and nurtured believing that one day the child would come of age and just like the rhyme says, "when the parent is old and feeble, he/she will be his stay".  

But what happens when this hope of a parent is averted due to sudden death by sickness or otherwise by kidnapping or other painful means as we saw in the recent Yobe killings and kidnapping of young school children who were hacked in their sleep in the middle of the night, or in the recent rape and murder of a 300L student of one of the private universities in Benin last week; Can such parent hope of a feeble old age in the save arms of the heroes they raised for their old age?

what happens when the day suddenly turns dark and one is just begging his journey of life? these were the many questions and pains in the heart of Nigerian mothers today whose tears knew no shame and hearts could not be comforted as they marched through the various cities Nigeria and the diaspora.  

The expression on the faces were clear, Nigerian women are tired of cries of innocent children sent to their early grave for no just course, Nigerian women are tired of burring children who ought to bury them; they are tired of living in fears in a country they ought to call home; they are tired of sending children to school knowing they may never return.  

 It was to express this weary they turned out amass to " WALK THE TALK" as this was the theme of the protest that held today 6th of March 2014. The placards bore several inscriptions such as STOP THE KILLING OF INNOCENT CHILDREN, SAVE OUR FUTURE, TERRORISM IS EVIL, LIFE NOT DEATH, LET OUR CHILDREN LIVE, STOP THE RAPE OF OUR GIRLS, RELEASE THE ABDUCTED GIRLS among many others. 

The message here is clear, the government needs to rise up to the responsibility of protecting it citizen which is the primary responsibility in the social contract of any nation, if the citizenry do not feel safe, then the sole purpose of belonging to a country is defeated. Mrs Ronke the coordinator for the Benin Zone stated in her interview with GETITRIGHTNIGERIANS that women and children are often the most affect in cases of wars and other social vices, and for these reasons all hands need be on deck to safeguard the lives of women and children in Nigeria.  in her interview, she said Nigerian Women Mourn was a non-political, non-tribal, non-religious group calling on all well-meaning individuals to mourn the gruesome slaughter and abduction of the children in the north with the all in black dress code. 

Also present to support the group was the MALEKE SAVE A SOUL FOUNDATION, THE EDO WIDOWS ASSOCIATION, SOTHAWACA, and others. the peaceful protest kicked off at Oroputa hall, ring road in Benin City; made a stop at the Edo State House of Assembly before moving to the NUJ Press Centre and finally the Ministry of women affairs in 

Edo State. 

 Indeed for Nigerian women their sun has set at dawn. 

MAY THE SOULS OF THESE YOUNG ANGELS REST IN PEACE. 

more pics of the peaceful protest below.