By J. Archibong
In her tenure as Nigeria’s First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan was a crusader for peace. She had urged Nigerians to intensify prayers for the unity, peace, and progress of the nation. Because without peace, there could be no development. The nation and indeed the administration needed prayers as it marched forward in the mission to build a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.
In striving for peace in Nigeria, everyone, especially women, has a crucial role to play in educating their children and wards to shun violence. The other virtues of love, tolerance, and good neighbourliness must be cultivated as the panacea for strife, violence, and crime, she advocated.
Campaigner for world peace
Most parts of the world have been experiencing war, insurgency, terrorism, and the absence of peace. Very few countries are spared this calamity. Patience Jonathan, therefore, campaigned for peace in the world. The Nigerian First Lady stood out remarkably in the effort to bring peace to troubled parts of the world.
She urged troubled regions across the world to embrace a ceasefire in celebration of World Peace Day. She appealed in Abuja at an event organized by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) to mark the 2013 World Peace Day. The highlights of her speech were: an appeal to Nigerians to shun violence and embrace the peace; that peace remained the best way to break the vicious circle of violence; the need to inculcate good moral and ethical values in young people; decried cult practices in primary and post primary in schools, describing the development as unacceptable in the nation’s guest for peace; that young people had become tools for perpetrating heinous crimes and political violence; and that education should be given priority to ensure economic growth, peace and stability in the country.
Mama Peace
The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, inaugurated the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme Maternal and Child Health (SURE-P MCH), otherwise known as MAMA PROJECT, with a declaration that henceforth she should no longer be called Patience but “Mama Peace”.
According to her, the peace evangelism is what she would be preaching to bring an end to insurgency and terrorism, including the menace of the Boko Haram Islamic sect in the country. Speaking at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, venue of the event, Dame Patience Jonathan also stated that her non-governmental organization, Women for Change Initiative, had signed a Memo of Understanding with some international health agencies and hospitals to build, equip, and manage the best hospital for women and children in Africa.
The SURE-P MCH was a direct intervention by the Federal Government using the savings from the fuel subsidy removal to reduce the incidence of maternal and child mortality.
The First Lady said, “My name is no longer Patience but now Mama Peace. I believe that without peace, the international community will be afraid to come and invest in our country. Peace is from the heart and not from the tongue or lips; not what you say but what is in you. We pray for genuine peace because peace is the key to our arriving at our desired destination as a nation”.
Dame Patience Jonathan stated further that “We are approaching the New Year, which is a year of peace, progress, and so many good things to come. 2014 is going to be a year of no militancy and no Boko Haram because God will shower peace and make us take a U-turn from disaster”.
She also stated that her primary constituency is women and children, adding that it was her concern and interest in their well-being that made her go in search of help from international partners and agencies to establish the best women and children’s hospital in Africa.
“That was why I went in search of help; that is why soon I’m going to sign an MOU with some international hospitals to build one of the best hospitals here in Nigeria that will be the best in Africa. The hospital is almost completed and will soon be equipped, and then our international partners will run it to provide the best healthcare to our women and children”, the President’s wife stated. On MAMA PROJECT, the First Lady said the initiative was targeting 500 primary health care facilities and 125 General Hospitals in the country, describing it as an important milestone in the nation’s efforts to ensure maternal, newborn, and child survival.
The First Lady added that “As you are aware, complications related to pregnancy and childbirth are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in women of reproductive age in developing countries – Nigeria is no exception… Available statistics show that every minute, a woman dies of complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. In Nigeria, experts say one in 15 women who give birth will die of pregnancy-related causes.”
“The country has two percent of the world’s population but accounts for 10 percent of global maternal and under-five deaths. However, the good news is that current figures from the National Bureau of Statistics indicate an appreciable reduction in maternal mortality ratio from 545 per 100,000 live births to 350 per 100,000 live births.”
“I am happy to learn that the SURE-P MCH will not only increase ante-natal care attendance by 52 percent, but will also increase skilled birth attendance by 63 percent and post-natal care by 63 percent”.
“I believe most of these deaths are preventable if women have access to adequate health care services and skilled care at the time of delivery”.
“The launch of the SURE-P MCH project today provides access, with the provision of quality maternal, newborn, and child care healthcare.
“The benefits are enormous: better infrastructure to encourage greater use of health care services, upgrade of community dispensaries to Primary Health Care centres, and greater involvement of more local health workers.
“Direct beneficiaries will be pregnant women and newborns, and additional cash transfers of N5,000 to mothers who make four antenatal care visits, are delivered by skilled birth attendants, and make immediate post-natal care visits.
“I do not doubt that effective implementation of this project will accelerate the country’s progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals, especially targets 4, to reduce child mortality, and 5, to improve maternal health.
“I will use this opportunity to call on our women, particularly the pregnant ones, to take advantage of this project and utilize the antenatal care, as well as the delivery and post-natal care services being provided at the primary health centre nearest to them. These services are for your good and for the good of your children”.
African First Ladies Peace Mission
Dame Patience Jonathan stood out tall as a peacemaker and advocate in Nigeria and Africa. It was in recognition of the inherent qualities of peace in her that she was vested with the responsibility of leading the African First Ladies Peace Mission.
Africa has been in dire need of peace and development. In some regions, the people and their government are perpetually at war. The 1995 Beijing Conference on Women, held in China, recognized the role of women in peacebuilding, because it is only in a peaceful environment that women can achieve empowerment and actualize their potential. The African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) is a fallout of the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action. Nigeria was well represented at the Beijing Conference and also made significant contributions. It is not, therefore, surprising that Nigeria took the lead in the establishment of the AFLPM.
The African First Ladies Peace Mission, an organization for African First Ladies, was set up to promote peace and harmony on the continent. The First Ladies of Nigeria, Gambia, Benin, Uganda, Lesotho, and Burundi embarked on a mission of peace to different parts of Africa. Following this successful outing, the AFLPM was formally declared in Harare, Zimbabwe, at the Organization of African Unity (now AU) Summit in 1996. The AFLPM has several objectives, but the main objective is to address the peace situation on the African continent with regard to the role of women, and mobilize both government and non-government resources to help reduce violent conflict and its effects in Africa. The AFLPM helps to build and strengthen the culture of peace and development in Africa, while offering support and service to victims in conflict-affected countries, especially among women and children.” Nigeria hosted the first summit of the AFLPM and was elected the pioneer president. Since its formation, Nigeria has been the arrowhead of the AFLPM.
Dame Patience Jonathan’s dynamic and rare leadership qualities had also been recognized and acknowledged among the comity of nations. It was in the light of this that she was entrusted with the leadership of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, an organization she had steered with vision and dynamism.
She took over and completed the tenure of Hajia Turai Yar’Adua as President of the AFLPM when she became the First Lady of Nigeria in 2010. In view of her dynamic leadership and pragmatism, Dame Patience Jonathan was elected unopposed as President of AFLPM at the 7th Summit of the Organization in Abuja, in July 2012.
Donation to Mali
Since she assumed the presidency of AFLPM, there had been no dull moment. The AFLPM brought relief to victims of conflicts in some parts of Africa. The beneficiaries, particularly women and children, are in Congo, Mali, and Kenya. She had overseen the donation of relief materials to Mali, which recently emerged from a brutal armed conflict. The 16 plane loads of relief materials included food items, clothing, drugs, beddings, and other essential items. According to Dame Patience Jonathan, the materials were donated to the victims of the Malian armed conflict, “in fulfillment of the resolve of First Ladies of Africa to contribute their quota to checking the wind of violence spreading across Africa, the Mission has taken its peace advocacy to Mali, where several insurgent groups have been fighting the Malian government for independence or greater autonomy.”
The First Lady of Nigeria and President of the AFLPM said further: “We reiterate our appeal for all countries to embrace a peaceful means of resolving differences in our various societies and work more to prevent violence and war.” With regard to the role of AFLPM, the organization will always do its best to assist the victims of such conflicts. This position was aptly stated by Dame Patience Jonathan: “I express the commitment of African First Ladies to contributing to peace efforts in the areas of advocacy, capacity building, negotiation, reconciliation, provision of relief materials, and involvement in the rehabilitation of victims of conflicts.”
Donation to Kenya
The AFLPM has also donated foodstuffs to refugees and victims of conflict in Kenya. The donation was made by Dame Patience Jonathan on behalf of AFLPM to the Kenyan First Lady, Margaret Kenyatta, at the National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi. Kenya has provided sanctuary to refugees from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and South Sudan, of which more than 500,000 are women and children. The foodstuffs, according to Dame Patience Jonathan, will go a long way in feeding hungry mothers, children, and families in the camps who are there out of no fault of theirs.
Advocacy for Peace
Apart from the donation of materials, Dame Patience Jonathan was involved in serious advocacy in her capacity as president of the AFLPM. At a ceremony to mark the International Day of Peace in Abuja, she emphasized the need for peace and stability in Africa, without which the continent cannot achieve its development goals. She condemned the use of children in hostilities, “Reports have shown significant involvement of children and youths in the various conflicts across the continent. This has greatly influenced their psycho-social orientation, resulting in a heightened culture of violent behaviour and attitude exhibited by this group.” Dame Patience Jonathan enjoined African countries to mull over how the vicious cycle of violence inflicted on the continent can be broken.
Reduction in Teenage Pregnancies
In her capacity as the President of AFLPM, Dame Patience Jonathan campaigned for the reduction of teenage pregnancies across Africa and the protection of African children. She had also asserted that African women have a stabilizing influence and must use their strength to contribute to the advancement of the continent.
Promoting and sustaining peace in Africa
The work of the AFLPM was very important and crucial in promoting and sustaining peace in Africa, a continent riddled with crises. It was cheaper to prevent conflicts than to contain them. Nigeria has, over the years, shouldered the responsibility – human, material, and financial – of bringing peace to war-torn African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, DR Congo, Darfur, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, and Mali. Historically, Nigeria was at the forefront of the liberation struggle in Southern Africa. Usually, most peacekeeping and enforcement missions in Africa are Nigerian-led missions before they are taken over by ECOWAS, AU, or the UN.
Promoting peace and stability in peacetime is much better and cheaper than committing men, materials, and money to other people’s wars. It was in this context that the initiatives of Dame Patience Jonathan and the AFLPM, which she leads, should be appreciated and supported by all peace lovers. In recognition of its leadership role in Africa and its leadership of the AFLPM, a major partner in peacebuilding in Africa, Nigeria was given the right to host the permanent secretariat of the AFLPM. This has, however, not materialized due to some bickering over the project. It should be noted that building a permanent secretariat for the AFLPM in Nigeria is not a misplaced priority as some may think. It is an aspect of the leadership role Nigeria has assumed in Africa. Nigeria must begin to invest more in peacebuilding in Africa than in containing conflicts when they break out.
Dame Patience Jonathan was scheduled to participate in the High-Level Forum for First Ladies at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
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