ANGLICAN BISHOP’S WIFE CRIES AGAINST EXCRUCIATING HUNGER, UNEMPLOYMENT, DISRESPECT FOR WOMEN AT SUMMIT

By Odogwu Emeka Odogwu

President, Mothers Union, Women’s Guild and Girls Guild, Diocese on the Niger, Dr Mrs Elsie Nonyelum Nwokolo has frowned at the excruciating hunger, graduate unemployment and alleged disrespect for the womanhood in the society.

Speaking at the at a four-day annual conference of the Diocese on the Niger Women Conference holding in Onitsha, Anambra State, Dr Mrs Nwokolo said the women are concerned about the socio-economic phenomena.

Speaking truth to power in her 84-page Presidential address wherein the said greviances were articulated at St Mark’s Anglican Church, Omagba, venue of the conference, Dr Mrs Nwokolo described the prevailing hunger as the most catastrophic phenomenon threatening the entire population of the country.

According to her, “If nothing seriously urgent is done to arrest the situation, hunger is likely to bring Nigerians to extinction”.
The conference therefore passionately appealled to the Federal Government to articulate, without any further delay, feasible strategies to checkmate what they called the unprecedented harrowing situation.
The conference equally observed with utter dismay an increasing rate of criminality which they said existed among youths in the country.
She read further: “We also observe the geometric pattern with which youth unemployment is equally rising, the effect of which now is the mult-dimensional criminalities all over the country.
“Some of our academically intelligent but impatient children have unreasonably taken to crimes due to unemployment.
“Invariably there is now a very high rate of insecurity. People are no longer free to move about as stories of killings, kidnaps, cyber-crimes, money rituals and human trafficking remain the order of the day”, they remarked.
The document called on the Federal, State and Local Governments to find lasting solutions to the problem by reviving some of the country’s dead companies, establishing new ones as well as giving startup capitals to willing youths.
As if the conference was one for gender issues, the women protested in a touchy manner, what they observed as “an annoying disrespect to the womanhood”.
Lamenting the development, she said, ‘This Women Conference has for quite a long time observed the unacceptable ways women and the womanhood are being, not only desecrated and demeaned, but have been annoyingly treated as public objects of caricature.
“Many advertisers, film writers, music-song writers and hungery-author novelists today, openly portray women and the womanhood as sex objects.
“This is clear in the various obscene manner they annoyingly use women or their pictures in their different works as sexy dancers, call girls and models.
Handing out a near ultimatum, the address read, “As we vehemently reject this practice, we seriously appeal to governments and relevant agencies to henceforth stop any person, group or corporate body from using or portraying women or their photographs as cheap sex objects.
“Women and the womanhood ought to be treated as sacred things of beauty, dignity, honour and of great respect”, vowing that women could not take anything less than that.
The conference which theme was “Christian Stewardship”, stressed the need for faithful service to God and humanity, adding that Christian Stewardship demanded the selfless sacrifices of one’s time, talents, treasure among others.
While calling for the practical application of the theme, the document entreated christians to aspire towards getting a high fidelity level, explaining that every form of fidelity would be rewarded.
“Idleness and unprofitableness in the Lord’s service is sufficient to condemn unfaithful christians”, the address warned.