Rev. Jolly Nyame, former Taraba governor, on Tuesday joined his excited
colleagues to celebrate stylish Christmas haircuts offered to 300
inmates of Kuje Prison, FCT.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN),
reports that the free haircut was offered by the National Association of
Barbers and Salon Employers of Nigeria (NABSEN), during a Christmas
visit to the Prison.
The outreach was undertaken in collaboration
with Fades and Bangs Global, an Abuja-based international barbing
outfit, and Maria Luna, the Deputy Ambassador of Venezuela.
A NAN correspondent, who covered the outreach, reports that the inmates also received blankets, beverages, among other items.
Nyame,
who did not require a haircut at the time, watched with excitement as
his colleagues danced to the deafening music after the haircuts and
carvings that saw some spotting hairstyles like “punk’’, “Afro’’, “Steve
Wonder’’ and “curls’’.
The former Taraba governor, who is serving a 14-year jail term, lauded NABSEN for the kindness, describing it as “touching’’.
“They (prison inmates), are very happy; they are looking so beautiful and radiant on Christmas day,’’ Nyame told NAN.
He
said that the NABSEN initiative was “very excellent’’, adding that his
colleagues would “always remember this show of concern’’.
“There
is a rush for the service. Everyone wants to come out for the haircut.
It is difficult to control them. There is a rumble inside the yard. I
have never seen the inmates this happy since I came here,’’ he said.
Earlier,
Mr Musa Mantu, Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), of NABSEN, had told
Mr Innocent Onoja, Controller of the prison, that the gesture was to
“make the inmates look and feel good on Christmas day’’.
“We want the inmates to know that we remember them and care for them.
“We
also want to encourage them and let them understand that being in
prison is not the end of life; we want them to feel positive and be
inspired by the prison experience to succeed in life after serving out
their terms,’’ he said.
Mantu, son of former Deputy Senate
President Nasir Mantu, promised that NABSEN would make the visit an
annual event and strive to get more items toward a better life for the
prison inmates.
Onoja, in a response, thanked NABSEN for the gesture which he described as “very encouraging and good for the season’’.
“I
am particularly appreciative of the blankets because of the cold
weather; we need to keep the inmates warm and in good condition and
spirit,’’ he said.
Onoja said that the facility sometimes face
difficulties in providing enough mattresses, mats, toiletries,
disinfectants and blankets, and shall be happy if there was some support
from outside.
Speaking to NAN, Mr Chibueze Awuzie, National
Deputy President of NABSEN, said that the outreach was to give a sense
of belonging to the inmates, adding that the free hair cut was to “make
them look beautiful at Christmas’’.
“In the prison, there is no
opportunity for a good haircut with after-shave and special hair
treatment. We are here to offer these services to them,’’ he said
Awuzie
advised the inmates not to feel abandoned by the outside society, and
promised to make the outreach more regular so as to reach the inmates
through the barbing profession.
He challenged Nigerians to show
love to those in prison, saying that such affection would give them hope
and encourage them to understand that their current situation was just a
passing phase.
The barber said that the association had 10
million members and was the leading Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise
(MSME), with the highest number of employees and branches in the
country.
Luna, the Venezuelan envoy, who also spoke with NAN,
said that the Embassy offered to procure blankets for the prison inmates
as part of efforts to assist the vulnerable members of the society.
She
commended the prison authorities for keeping the facility “very neat
and habitable’’, and expressed the readiness to work with organisations
committed to help the poor.
Luna said that she had equally
visited many rural communities in Osun, Ondo, Owerri, Ibadan, Lagos and
Ekiti and donated food, toiletries, school kits and medicines for
malaria and typhoid.
The “Provost-General’’ of the prison
inmates, who gave his name as “Bekke’’, said that the barbers had “made
our Christmas’’ by the visit.
“This is the first time we are
getting this quality haircut here. It is a good innovation. For a
corporate organisation to offer this service free is very laudable. It
is fun and very encouraging.
“Some corporate organisations come
with food and other materials, but this is a different and wonderful
dimension. We want other organisations to emulate such kindness,’’ he
said.
The “Deputy Provost-General’’ of the prison inmates,
Abdullahi Mohammed, also thanked the visitors for the gesture, saying
that his colleagues were “very excited’’ to have the free hair cut.
“There
are people that have been here for more than 15 years and cannot
remember when last they had a smooth haircut. There is no doubt that
this experience will be in their memories for a very long time,’’ he
said.
Mohammed, from Nasarawa State, thanked NABSEN for the
kindness and “for remembering prisoners’’, saying that he had never had
such a smooth hair cut “in several years’’.
Another prison
inmate, Mohammed Murtala, who had been in the prison for 14 years,
described the barbing experience as “very smooth’’, and prayed God to
bless NABSEN for the gesture.
NAN reports that the excited
prisoners danced gleefully to the music blaring from the haircut venue,
with some of them happy to “listen to sweet music after a long while’’.
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