Geoffrey Anyanwu, Awka
Wife of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Princess Asmau Ndayako Idris, on Wednesday, made a passionate appeal to Police officers and men to empower their wives to support family sustenance.
Speaking in Awka at the commencement of her two-day official visit to Anambra State for the re-commissioning of the re-branded secretariat of Police Officers Wives Association (POWA) and presentation of empowerment materials at the Command’s headquarters Amawbia, Princess Idris also charged the police wives to ensure they give their husbands peace at home by being judicious with what their husband’s provide.
The IGP’s wife said gone were the days men fell that to empower their women would make them raise shoulders above them and urged them to see the need for both to join hands to grow the family especially now things were very hard.
At the event where seven widows and 30 other wives of policemen in Anambra were empowered she said, “To our husbands, I am pleading with you people, gone were those days when you say if I empower my woman she will put her shoulder up.
“The responsibilities are so huge and with this hard time, the recession time it not easy, empower your wives, on a serious note when you do that you will become a lord again in their face.
“When you give her that room to express herself, it gives her self confidence and there will be peace in the family, so what I am praying to you people is to please empower your wives, empower her so that she can multiply what you have given her.”
Speaking to the wives she said, “I came all the way, of course by the invitation of your mummy (CP’s wife) just to empower you people.
“Gone are the days when a woman will sit down and wait for the man to do everything, we are multipliers, immediately we get something, we multiply it.”
She said with the empowerment they should be able to provide food, pay school fees of their children and clothe them.
“We are preaching peace, as police family I want us to show that discipline a barrack person should possess. Let’s inculcate moral upbringing in our children, let’s put fear of God in our children, and respect your husbands.
“We are talking about supporting our husbands. You know things are hard they can’t do it alone, lets join hands together so that in peace we will grow our family.”
In her speech, the wife of Anambra state Governor, Chief Mrs. Ebelechukwu Obiano commended the IG’s wife for the campaign against Child Molestation, Child Trafficking and Drug Abuse, describing it as timely especially now the country was experiencing dangerous trend in the youths over drug abuse.
Represented by the wife of the state Deputy Governor, Lady Oby Okeke, the Governor’s wife said the vices being forth through the campaign of the Princess Idris, hinders the child development up to adulthood and brings about high level of depression.
In her address, the wife of the state Commissioner of police and POWA chairperson in the state, Hajiya Khadija Fayek Umar, said the aim of the association was to develop the late officers wives who lost their lives for the country to become treasures and meaningful in the society irrespective of their marital status.
She said POWA was not just an association, but an association that was interested in empowerment of the women, youths and vice versa which was strong, supportive and dictated since inception.
The widows and the other women were empowered with sewing machines, bags of rice, ground nut oils, basins and other utensils for soap making among other things.