Free Nigeria's abducted girls: Ho women demand

Christian and Moslem women in the Volta regional capital, Ho, have embarked on a solidarity march in protest against the abduction of over 200 girls in Nigeria.

The event, which was organised by an inter-faith organisation in Ho, Christian Women Intercessors Fellowship, brought together people of non-denominational affiliation in support of the worldwide campaign with the slogan ‘Bring back our girls’.  

The women, together with schoolchildren numbering over a hundred, marched through the principal streets of the capital chanting ‘Bring back our girls’ and holding placards with inscriptions such as ‘Free the girls now,” “Freedom for the Chibok girls,” “Peace is not Kidnapping”; and “God will not spare you, Boko Haram.”

Rescue girls unharmed 

They are calling for security agencies and foreign troops in Nigeria to intensify the search for the children and rescue them unharmed.

In addition, they are asking the Nigerian government to fish out the financiers of the group and lay embargo on their trading activities.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who is a woman, said all should rally behind all women on the continent to condemn the activities of Boko Haram.

In a speech read on her behalf, the Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Ms Lena Alai, indicated that women in the region were concerned about happenings in Nigeria because in the event that Boko Haram militants flee from attacks being launched against them, the region seemed the immediate place they might want to come for cover.

She explained that this was because Volta Region shared a long porous boundary with its eastern neighbouring countries; Togo, Benin and Nigeria.

Tighten security at borders

The director appealed to the army, the police and immigration authorities to tighten their security operations in the region and jealously guard the borders.

Border communities in the region and Ghana as a whole, she suggested, should be educated on developments in Nigeria and its implication for the country in order for people to be security conscious.

Sharing the pain of the parents whose children have found themselves in the unfortunate situation, Ms Alai said: “as women, we want to assure them that they are not alone in this very difficult time. Our hearts go out to them”.

Ms Alai called on both Christian and Moslem councils in the region and the country as a whole to offer special prayers for the divine intervention of God in the issue that has become a world-wide problem. 

The Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Mrs Fafa Adinyira, who observed that the mental agony from the abduction had become unbearable for mothers, encouraged the group to continue with their fight against the inhumane action till they achieved positive results.