The catchphrase – “There is God ooo” – went trending on major social networking sites on Monday. The catchphrase was the statement the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, used repeatedly on Sunday night, while holding a stakeholders’ meeting over the circumstances surrounding the abduction of about 276 female pupils of the Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.
A video clip showing Patience charging at some attendees of the meeting before bursting into tears has since gone viral online.
See video and read more after the cut....
Decrying the handling of the case, Patience, in the video which first appeared on Channels TV YouTube channel, had faced one of those in attendance, saying, “Do you come with two teachers? You were not informed too, ehh! Continue, no problem. God will see us. There is God ooo; there is God in everything we are doing. The blood they are sharing in Borno will answer (sic).”
Querying the Principal, she added, “Na only you waka come? Okay. Now the First Lady is calling you: Come, I want to help you. Come and find your missing child. Will you keep quiet? Chei! There is God ooo; there is God ooo… The blood we are sharing…. (sic).” She then broke down in tears.
But many of those who have had cause to see the video online wondered why the First Lady resorted to shedding tears at a time she was supposed to be reassuring the family of the girls.
Tens of Nigerians, in comments dropped online, also said they were disappointed at what they described as the First Lady’s inability to express herself in simple English.
One Denzil Williams on YouTube wrote, “So the only thing this woman who holds the title ‘Her Excellency’ is excellent in, is embarrassing the nation and the high office her husband occupies. Imagine her saying, ‘Na only you waka come?’ in an official meeting and in front of international media? This is disgraceful.”
Also, Ibraheem Akin, expressing his displeasure with her said, “I am so disappointed in this woman. She cannot even express herself in simple English.”
She was asked to seek for more appropriate ways of expressing her concern over the girls’ whereabouts rather than resorting to tears — just as many faulted the timing of her intervention, coming almost three weeks after the girls had been abducted.
In a post on YouTube, a respondent, Hafsat Saleh, said Patience should stop crying “hysterically.”
Saleh wrote, “Our beloved First Lady, we know there’s God and we know you’re sad. We’re sad too. But can you please stop attacking random individuals and crying hysterically like this?
“Why not try consoling and reassuring the parents and relatives who have just found out that their daughters and sisters may have been assaulted and dehumanised by the most violent people in the country? Because if you are this upset, imagine how they feel. What you’re doing is just extremely distressing.”
Political Blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, accused the President’s wife of shedding crocodile tears. In a post on Twitter, he added, “Patience Jonathan did absolutely nothing for two weeks until fighting for the girls became a global issue. Today’s Nigerian government is so useless, helplessly hopeless and perpetually incompetent.”
Another online commentator, Ali Ibrahim, wondered why Patience is taking over investigation into the school girls’ abduction.
In a post on YouTube, Ibrahim stated,“What exactly is the First Lady’s role in all this? The security agencies should be tasked with investigating the matter. This development shows there is little hope if she has to be the one conducting investigations. I have no problem with her crying, but how does that enable us get back the girls?”
Arguing in line with Ibrahim, a popular blogger, Pa Ikhide, argued on Twitter that the scenario playing out in public shows that “Patience is now in charge.”
Ikhide tweeted, “First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan is Nigeria’s Al Haig. She is now in charge while the househusband (Jonathan) sleeps off his hangover. What a coup!”
An anonymous reader on lindaikeji.blogspot.com, said rather than cry, Patience should ask her husband to “step up his game or step down.”
“Mama Peace abeg stop embarrassing yourself on national TV. It is obvious that you guys are a bunch of jokers. You are also setting up a committee to find the missing girls when your husband has already done that.
“Who is running this government, is it Patience or Goodluck? If she and her husband had genuine feelings, shouldn’t this reaction have been their response during the bombing that occurred in their back yard (Abuja),” the anonymous reader added.
Meanwhile, a website, chibokgirls.com has been created to support efforts being made by the authorities to ensure the release of the abducted girls.
According to the information on the portal, the online platform is also expected to serve as an “information centre” and a channel for anyone with information that might lead to the rescue of the girls.
“We sincerely hope that people will come forward and assist in ways they find convenient in a bid to help us secure the freedom of these girls,” the message on the website added.
Querying the Principal, she added, “Na only you waka come? Okay. Now the First Lady is calling you: Come, I want to help you. Come and find your missing child. Will you keep quiet? Chei! There is God ooo; there is God ooo… The blood we are sharing…. (sic).” She then broke down in tears.
But many of those who have had cause to see the video online wondered why the First Lady resorted to shedding tears at a time she was supposed to be reassuring the family of the girls.
Tens of Nigerians, in comments dropped online, also said they were disappointed at what they described as the First Lady’s inability to express herself in simple English.
One Denzil Williams on YouTube wrote, “So the only thing this woman who holds the title ‘Her Excellency’ is excellent in, is embarrassing the nation and the high office her husband occupies. Imagine her saying, ‘Na only you waka come?’ in an official meeting and in front of international media? This is disgraceful.”
Also, Ibraheem Akin, expressing his displeasure with her said, “I am so disappointed in this woman. She cannot even express herself in simple English.”
She was asked to seek for more appropriate ways of expressing her concern over the girls’ whereabouts rather than resorting to tears — just as many faulted the timing of her intervention, coming almost three weeks after the girls had been abducted.
In a post on YouTube, a respondent, Hafsat Saleh, said Patience should stop crying “hysterically.”
Saleh wrote, “Our beloved First Lady, we know there’s God and we know you’re sad. We’re sad too. But can you please stop attacking random individuals and crying hysterically like this?
“Why not try consoling and reassuring the parents and relatives who have just found out that their daughters and sisters may have been assaulted and dehumanised by the most violent people in the country? Because if you are this upset, imagine how they feel. What you’re doing is just extremely distressing.”
Political Blogger, Japheth Omojuwa, accused the President’s wife of shedding crocodile tears. In a post on Twitter, he added, “Patience Jonathan did absolutely nothing for two weeks until fighting for the girls became a global issue. Today’s Nigerian government is so useless, helplessly hopeless and perpetually incompetent.”
Another online commentator, Ali Ibrahim, wondered why Patience is taking over investigation into the school girls’ abduction.
In a post on YouTube, Ibrahim stated,“What exactly is the First Lady’s role in all this? The security agencies should be tasked with investigating the matter. This development shows there is little hope if she has to be the one conducting investigations. I have no problem with her crying, but how does that enable us get back the girls?”
Arguing in line with Ibrahim, a popular blogger, Pa Ikhide, argued on Twitter that the scenario playing out in public shows that “Patience is now in charge.”
Ikhide tweeted, “First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan is Nigeria’s Al Haig. She is now in charge while the househusband (Jonathan) sleeps off his hangover. What a coup!”
An anonymous reader on lindaikeji.blogspot.com, said rather than cry, Patience should ask her husband to “step up his game or step down.”
“Mama Peace abeg stop embarrassing yourself on national TV. It is obvious that you guys are a bunch of jokers. You are also setting up a committee to find the missing girls when your husband has already done that.
“Who is running this government, is it Patience or Goodluck? If she and her husband had genuine feelings, shouldn’t this reaction have been their response during the bombing that occurred in their back yard (Abuja),” the anonymous reader added.
Meanwhile, a website, chibokgirls.com has been created to support efforts being made by the authorities to ensure the release of the abducted girls.
According to the information on the portal, the online platform is also expected to serve as an “information centre” and a channel for anyone with information that might lead to the rescue of the girls.
“We sincerely hope that people will come forward and assist in ways they find convenient in a bid to help us secure the freedom of these girls,” the message on the website added.
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