The wife of the American President, Michelle Obama, has expressed grief over the 200 schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram.
She spoke on Saturday in the weekly address she presented on behalf of President Barack Obama.
She said, “Like millions of people across the globe, my husband and I are outraged and heartbroken over the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian girls from their school dormitory in the middle of the night.”
The US First Lady began the address, which was broadcast on radio and uploaded to YouTube, by wishing Americans a happy Mother’s Day, before expressing her outrage and heart-break over the violent abduction of over 200 Nigerian girls from their school hostel.
“Hello everyone, I’m Michelle Obama, and on this Mother’s Day weekend, I want to take a moment to honour all the mothers out there and wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. I also want to speak to you about an issue of great significance to me as a First Lady, and more importantly, as the mother of two young daughters,” she said at the start of her address.
She described the attack on the Chibok school and the kidnap of the schoolgirls as unreasonable and excessive, vowing that America would do everything possible to help rescue the girls.
“This unconscionable act was committed by a terrorist group determined to keep these girls from getting an education – grown men attempting to snuff out the aspirations of young girls. And I want you to know that Barack has directed our government to do everything possible to support the Nigerian government’s efforts to find these girls and bring them home,” she said.
Considering the agony of the parents of the pupils, Obama said, “In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters. We see their hopes, their dreams – and we can only imagine the anguish their parents are feeling right now. Many of them may have been hesitant to send their daughters off to school, fearing that harm might come their way. But they took that risk because they believed in their daughters’ promise and wanted to give them every opportunity to succeed.”
She also expressed admiration for the students’ courage and desire to have education in spite of the prevailing violence in their environment, saying, “The girls themselves also knew the dangers they might encounter. Their school had recently been closed due to terrorist threats…but these girls still insisted on returning to take their exams. They were so determined to move to the next level of their education, so determined to one day build careers of their own and make their families and communities proud.”
She compared the kidnapped Chibok girls with Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head for attending school by a Taliban gunman while on a school bus with her classmates.
Obama said, “It’s the story of girls like Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan. Malala spoke out for girls’ education in her community. But fortunately, Malala survived and when I met her last year, I could feel her passion and determination as she told me that girls’ education is still her life’s mission.”
Concluding her speech, the US First Lady urged everyone to pray for the safe return of the kidnapped girls.
“So today, let us all pray for their safe return. Let us hold their families in our hearts during this very difficult time and let us show just a fraction of their courage in fighting to give every girl on this planet the education that is her birthright,” she urged.
