Aisha Buhari’s succour for Katsina IDPs

A “Bumper Harvest” was the phrase used by a foreign television commentator recently in his attempt to describe the value of the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari, to Nigerians, during a one-to-one discourse. When in the early take off days of the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015 indications were given to the effect that the idea or the institution of “The First Lady” would henceforth only play a minimal role in the affairs of governance in the country both of National and at state levels, many Nigerians felt that would marginalise women, children and generally the underprivileged of the Nigerian society. Such an impression emanated from Nigerians who, from the word “go”, began to view the president’s wife as a potential succour for the vulnerable, judging from her maiden public pronouncements and reactions to the take-off actions and non-actions of the new government of her husband.

Such actions or inactions related to the circumstances of the selection of those to assist the president in running the government and the apparent slow speed at which the declared war against corruption was being waged. Such people saw a genuine zeal, determination, compassion and patriotism hidden in her-and ready to be unleashed, in the “old mode of the lever” – “give me a place to stand, and I’ll move the world!” some of such admirers built by Aisha Buhari over the relatively short period the government enjoyed then. Her sincere angst for the plight of the under-privileged portrayed her as a likely conqueror over the negative forces of inertia, and over the forces of insensitive, unfeeling scepticism. They thought that the office of “First Lady” would be back with Nigerians with much more of a “human face, human eyes and ears, human hands and feet – and above all, and most importantly a humane and clean heart!”

Some even viewed her as a potential Nigerian latter-day “Margaret Thatcher – ‘The Iron Lady’! As Aisha is now “The First Lady” fully in situ, her admirers expect lots of goodies and a stronger show of genuine societal angst, “taqwa” (fear of God) and genuine show of compassion for the needy. Such optimists (and apparently, “hero worshippers”) of Aisha Buhari might be right as clearly demonstrated by the way and manner she handled the burden of a benevolent visit she paid on June 1, this year to distribute succour and assistance in the form of food and clothing items to those in the refugee camps and other forms of shelter at Batsari, Katsina state. These camps have given shelter to hundreds of persons displaced by the bandits of the dreaded Rugu forest, few kilometres away from Batsari town, the local government headquarters, neighbouring and sharing space with the Rugu forest along a common border with Zamfara state.

Katsina state, due to its proximity and as owner of a sizeable portion of the Rugu Forest, has become regular hot target for bandits, who for over two years had constituted serious threat to the security of the state, killing, maiming and burning villagers in their local homesteads. They also render those who manage to escape the onslaughts homeless

destitute, and eventually internally displaced persons (IDPs). Most of them in hundreds had to be sheltered in improvised camps and other temporary structures in the hope that they will one day return to their ancestral homes. Their sustenance is usually charity from NEMA, NGOs and compassionate individuals and groups that might decide to assist.

Thus on June 1, 2019, Aisha Buhari decided to risk the journey all the way from Abuja to Katsina, and eventually to Batsari, to offer goodwill, and deliver succour to the internally displaced at their camps. The First Lady could not resist the pull of her concern and of

her determination and commitment to help and comfort the unfortunate victims of callous bandits who had no pity or value for human life and dignity. While at the IDP camp, Aisha Buhari addressed the mammoth crowd that turned up to warmly welcome her before. Majority of them had only heard about her, but had never seen her. She assured the refugees of a renewed hope for defeating the bandits, and an eventual rehabilitation back home, and re-union with their

families. She said her mission was to come personally to meet them and offer much-needed relief in the form of food and clothing, etc.

Apart from her well-chosen words of psychological and emotional succour and encouragement to the displaced refugees, the First Lady seized the opportunity and the courage to take the “bulls by the horns”. She urged security chiefs to rise up to their constitutional responsibilities of protecting the lives and properties of all Nigerians and restore normalcy to troubled areas. She also advised the security chiefs to enhance intelligence gathering and sharing in order to make operational movements of the bandits in the forests and of the Boko Haram difficult, to quicken their impending defeat.

The First Lady made a passionate appeal for concerted and sustained attention of the nation’s Social Intervention fund under Mrs. Mariam Uwais to come to the rescue in bringing about timely assistance to the internally displaced citizens in Katsina state, to complement the effort of the NGOs and other involved stakeholders so that life of the unfortunate refugees could become less harsh, more humane and tolerable. The First Lady implored upon all the officials and other personnel running the affairs of the camp to exercise maximum compassion, integrity, honesty, and patriotism in the discharge of their duties – to the level of behaving like parents to those unfortunate (most of them bereaved) victims of banditry and unwarranted large scale sadism meted out on innocent, simple citizens by misguided bands of bandits and insurgents who burn, kill and maim under the guise of religion. They kill their fellow-Moslems and shout “Allahu Akbar”!

Before bidding farewell to the camp dwellers, First Lady Aisha Buhari personally and liberally distributed gifts and goodies to the children of the camp as a symbol of her love and her concern over the condition in which they have found themselves – to no fault of theirs, or of their parents. A special closing prayer was said for the First Lady’s good health and well-being, and for the peace, prosperity and unity of the nation.

Sadiya Habibu Mourad writes from Abuja.

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