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Women Have Capacity To Solve Nigeria’s Challenges – Sanwo-Olu
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday acknowledged the role of women in building the home front and the nation, saying they have the capacity to solve myriad of challenges confronting the country.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke while declaring open a three-day workshop on Protocol, Ethics and Security for members of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, said women are multi-talented and naturally equipped with capability to undertake various things at the same time and get good result.
According to the Governor, “Even as we speak, this country has many challenges and because you are our mothers and you are our spouses, we believe that God has given you that capacity to be able to help us take this country to another level.
“We know that whilst we have many things to deal with, we can only do one thing at a time but women are multi-talented; you are multi-skilled; you are the ones that can breastfeed and be making pounded yam while also preparing Egusi soup and ensuring that kids go to school. Above all, you make money for the family and your businesses are still thriving.”
Sanwo-Olu said the country was at a state where everybody needs to come together and take the issue of safety and preventing disasters more seriously, especially in terms of avoiding acts that could have devastating consequences on the general public.
“Unfortunately in the period that we are, we have seen very harsh weather and when we started in December, we brought out notices and advocacy telling people in the markets to be careful because it is a season where we are going to have back to back fire incidents and so we have to be very careful.
“Don’t bring petrol to your shop; don’t bring petrol or diesel to your homes unnecessarily because it can cause combustion. The weather is very harsh, it can lead to fire outbreak. We thank God that we have a first-class response team in Lagos as each of those incidents were happening, we were able to curtail them. However there is a need for people to be more safety conscious,” he said.
The Governor commended security operatives for making the state stable security-wise despite the challenges in that regard, just as he urged women to take cleanliness of their homes and environments more seriously to tackle CoronaVirus and other diseases.
“Covid-19 (CoronaVirus) is a global health issue. We are thankful that God has also raised Lagos State up at this time again and as we speak, we have been able to curtail it and because we are also very prayerful, we believe that God will also help us because we don’t need such distraction in our country.
“More importantly, this is just a wakeup call that we should live a healthy life; we should live a life where we raise the cleanliness of our environment and our personal hygiene up. As mothers, you must teach the children to learn how to keep the environment clean and wash their hands well; don’t sneeze anyhow and clean up the environment always,” he said.
Besides, Sanwo-Olu commended the founding mothers of COWLSO and former First Ladies for the initiative of the Committee which had positively impacted the state, just as he lauded his wife, Dr. (Mrs.) Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu who is the current chairman of the Committee for raising the bar and holding the baton well to make the organization better, bigger and stronger.
He, however, urged participants at the workshop to participate fully in all the sessions, network properly and ensure that they have something positive to take back and reflect.
Also speaking, Deputy Governor, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat equally commended the leadership of COWLSO for continuing the tradition of excellence of the organization, saying it was on record that the organization initiated many good things in the state including the Spelling Bee Competition, One Day Governor, the annual National Women Conference, among others.
He also spoke on the restriction of commercial motorcycle, popularly known as Okada and tricycle (Keke Marwa), saying that the decision was informed by the need to move against the risks posed to safety of lives and property.
He said intelligence report confirmed that Okada was being used to deliver drugs to students in schools, while the quality of air in the state had since improved.
“By restricting Okada, you know CNN (Cable News Network) normally does Air Quality Update across the world and if you have noticed, Lagos was persistently on number five which is the worst and even Libya is on one but yesterday, we were on two. It is not Lagos State report, it is CNN report.
“Those machines are two-stroke engines therefore they release a lot of pollution and so the restriction will allow us to breath in good air and in the process make all of us to live longer,” Hamzat said.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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