Wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu has canvassed for more involvement of women in politics, just as she urged a well-structured empowerment for them to enable them to contribute to nation-building.
Mrs. Sanwo-Olu made this assertion at the inauguration of the Lagos State chapter of SHE COOPS Nigeria, an International non-governmental organisation (NGO) for women empowerment and participation in co-operatives.
Represented by the wife of the member representing Oshodi/Isolo State Constituency 11 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Lady Roseline Idimogu, Sanwo-Olu’s wife said women must be empowered for the society to move forward.
“More women should be politically active. By so doing, they can help rewrite our developmental history.
“To the widows they need to be more focused on their businesses as I call on government to make funds available to them, so that they can be self-reliant through their petty trade.
“Women are unique set of people, who, when armed with skills and abilities, can change the world. I will like to see every woman in Nigeria having a voice,” Sanwo-Olu’s wife said.
On what the government can do to help women, Mrs. Sanwo-Olu called for education of the girl child and women, saying their education would reduce poverty in the country.
She described women as pillars of the homes and society, hence the need to give attention to their empowerment.
Also speaking, Mrs. Grace Adeola, the Country Programme Manager of SHE COOPS said the inauguration was aimed at building a better world for every woman and improve on their well-being.
Adeola, who urged women “to come together as a co-operative”, called for massive empowerment of the womenfolk to bring real change to the world.
According to her, when women are developed, enlightened and trained, families, society and the world will be a better place to live in.
She said the major challenge of women empowerment remained fund for skills acquisition, but the NGO had sought fund internationally from those whose goals and ambitions were to develop women.
Speaking, Appolonia Eke, the Lagos State Coordinator of SHE COOPS said the hidden treasures in most women had not been discovered because the society had not encouraged them to exhibit their latent abilities.
“I dream of a Nigeria where the woman will be a leader, I dream of a Nigeria where 45 per cent of women will occupy the parliament, I dream of a Nigeria where we would have 35 per cent of professionals being women.
“From my dealings with women of low, middle and high classes, I got to know that women are unique species and change agents.
“If they are empowered, the whole country is empowered. There are many hindering factors debarring women access to empowerments and that gap is what SHE COOPs is out to bridge,” she said.
Eke commended the Lagos State government’s passion and investment in women empowerment programmes over the years.
Mrs. Grace Jokayemi, the Kano State SHE COOPS Coordinator urged women not to be liabilities but assets to the society for them to make impact, saying that the NGO was out to provide them with basic empowerments.
The close to 2,000 women who gathered at the venue were divided into 85 groups of 20 people to showcase skills in the production of several items which include spices, liquid soap, purses, plantain chips and bags.
Others were pando flour, plantain floor, beads, cream, bean flour, bread, custard, after shave, snacks, bleach, coconut milk hand wash, activated coconut charcoal, antiseptic soap, pop-corn, dettol, coconut oil, fruit juice, perfume and organic beauty soap, among others.
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