NIGERIA'S FIRST LADY VISITS UNESCO IN PARIS

Nigeria's First Lady, Her Excellency: Mrs. Turai Yar'Adua [4th from left] with women
Ambassadors to UNESCO and Mr. Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO

Statement by Her Excellency:
Hajiya [Mrs.] Turai Yar'Adua
Nigeria's First Lady; during her
Meeting with Women Ambassadors
to UNESCO

UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
Thursday 12 June, 2008

Your Excellency, President of Africa Group
and Ambassador plus Permanent Delegate of
Kenya to UNESCO, Her Excellency: Dr. [Mrs]
Mary Mbiro Khimulu

Your Excellency, President of the Group of
Women Ambassadors to UNESCO for Gender
Equality: Ambassador and Permanent Delegate
of Mauritius to UNESCO, Her Excellency:
Mrs. I. S. Thacoor-Sidaya

Your Excellencies, African Ladies Ambassadors
to UNESCO

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

Dear Friends:

I bring you greetings from my husband Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua,
GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the
entire good people of Nigeria.

It gives me great pleasure to be in your midst, Your Excellencies
African Ladies Ambassadors, representative of your countries and
Africa, playing a key role in this highly reputed Organization,
UNESCO.

I am delighted that you are serving in an Organization which was
established primarily to construct peace in the minds of human
beings through international cooperation in the Key areas of
education, the Sciences, Culture, Communication and Information.

As you know, Africa faces considerable challenges in the area
of peace finding and peace making, as conflicts rage in several
areas in the region. The absence of peace hinders progress and
development of nations. That is why it is imperative that we
all strive to ensure that peace reigns in Africa so that we
can all embark on the important task of development to achieve
peaceful co-existence, mutual understanding, respect, and
harmonious living together.

As President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, I
lead a team of First Ladies who are wholly committed to the
advancement of peace in the region and who have pledged to use
their offices for the promotion of that cause. I invite you to
work with your First Ladies and give them all the cooperation,
advice and support they need to achieve the objective of
bringing peace to our people and to the entire world.


I thank you very warmly for this reception you have accorded
me at UNESCO.

God bless you.

____