Patience Jonathan Adopts New Name.

The First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, has joined in the search for peace in the country.

She said she had turned into a peace crusader to ensure an end to militancy and terrorism in the country, stressing that without peace, it would be difficult to forge ahead as a nation.

Consequently, she said, she had jettisoned Patience and adopted Peace as her new name. Hence, she would want to be addressed as Mama Peace, she said.

Mrs Jonathan, who also said her major preoccupation is to see to the improvement in mother and child healthcare in the country, announced that her non-governmental organisation, Women for Change Initiative, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with some international hospitals who have agreed to build, equip and manage specialist hospitals for women and children.

She spoke yesterday at the formal launch of Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) of Maternal and Child Health programme (MCH) termed Mama Project, held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

She said: “My name is no more Patience but Mama Peace. Because I believe without peace, there will be no more women, no more children and no more health sector. Without peace, the international community will be afraid to come and invest in our country.

“Peace is from the heart, not from the tongue or lips. Not what you say but what is in you. We pray for genuine peace because it is the key to our arriving at our desired destination as a nation.

“We are approaching the new year, which is a year of peace, progress and so many good (things) to come. A year of no militancy or Boko Haram because God will shower peace and make us take a u-turn from disaster.”

The MAMA Project, Mrs. Jonathan said, was aimed to cover 500 primary health care facilities and 125 general hospitals.