Abuja Lockdown: Residents Slam Patience Jonathan

Outraged Abuja residents are still reeling from disruptions to their socio-economic activities from the “peace and women empowerment” jamboree led by wife of Nigeria President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan and the Nigerian Council of Women Societies (NCWS) on Thursday. They lambasted Patience and the women for locking down Abuja for several hours, with many recounting their losses to the so-called peace rally which was turned into a political campaign for the re-election bid of President Goodluck Jonathan. The rally, tagged: “Celebration of Nigerian Women for Peace and Empowerment,” made movement difficult and paralyzed all activities in the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday as security agencies blocked all roads from Berger Junction, Central Business Area and the Federal Secretariat complex. The rally started as early as 7a.m. at the Old Parade Ground, Area 10, Garki, from where participants marched to Eagle Square, venue of the event. There was also massive deployment of armed soldiers and policemen across the city to prevent security breach during the event while federal civil servants at the Federal Secretariat which also host the Eagle Square abandoned their offices. Vice President Namadi Sambo was the Special Guest of Honour at the event which was also attended by Bala Mohammed, the Minister of FCT, Edem Duke, the Minister of Culture and nearly all the female ministers in the cabinet of President Jonathan. But most residents of the capital city who spoke to P.M.NEWS this morning lamented that the traffic gridlock resulted in disruptions to their economic activities even as they also condemned the jamboree at a time the children of the women involved are at home as a result of inability of government to meet the demands of university lecturers. A taxi driver who simply identified himself as Ade lamented that he was holed up in the traffic gridlock for the better of yesterday and thus, he could not meet his daily revenue target. The taxi driver who said he was not aware of the planned rally until he began work said government should have announced that major roads in the city will be closed for the rally. “It’s just not fair. How do they expect people like us to make ends meet? You lose your time, you burn fuel and still you cannot meet your target. Maybe government thinks everybody is a politician or civil servant,” said the taxi driver. Traders and food vendors who plied their business at a special row of kiosks constructed by a soft drink company also complained that they were barred from moving near their places of businesses for the whole of yesterday by security agencies. One of the food vendors who spoke to our correspondent lamented that scores of their service personnel who earned daily wages after working for the day went unpaid yesterday. She lamented that it has become the tradition of the First Lady to shut the town down anytime she is organizing an event to the detriment of people involved in private business like her. Mr. Olufemi Jayeola, a property manager and politician lamented that at a time the Federal Government said it has no money to meet the demands of university lecturers, the First Lady is buoyant enough to assemble wives of governors of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led states, delegations of women from the 36 states of the country and Abuja and even wives of Presidents of other countries from Africa for what he described as a 2015 political jamboree in Abuja. “When you see women displaying placards in support of Jonathan and campaign posters of the president pasted on the trucks used by the women and even some of the men for the campaign, then you need nobody to convince you that it is about 2015. Yet, the President is saying that he has not declared whether he will seek re-election or not. So, who is fooling who?” asked Jayeola. Others who spoke to P.M.NEWS lamented that the top female staff of government agencies, ministries and parastatals were forced to attend the rally. Indeed, it was gathered that the six yard cloth with the imprint of the portrait of President Jonathan on it, was distributed to civil servants at the federal and FCT secretariat a day before the event. “Why should the civil servants not go to work because of a jamboree that at the end of the day will no impact at all on the lives of the ordinary masses? Why will the Vice President and the Minister of FCT leave their offices to be part of a mere jamboree during working hours? Why can’t they hold the event on Saturday when the disruptions to soci-economic activities could have been minimized?” queried Abubakar Momoh, a businessman who said he was late for most of his appointments yesterday because of the traffic gridlock. The participation of the Nigerian armed forces, with the march past by female officers of the services in the elaborate event was also condemned by those who spoke to P.M.NEWS. According to them, the Service Chiefs should have anticipated that the event is a political rally disguised as women event and they should have stopped their officers from participating in the march past. “What we witnessed yesterday is not just absurd and painful, but it puts the Nigeria Military in a bad light. In my view, I think Service Chiefs know better and that allowing their women officers to appear at such political gathering,” Uche Okechukwu, a student said. He lamented that the President has allowed his wife to turn women who are vulnerable because of their poor economic status into a political tool. The university student added that it is unfortunate that the First Lady will assemble musicians for a “peace” jamboree in Abuja when university students have been at home for more than a month and massive killing by Boko Haram is going on in the North.