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  • Women in the Nigerian socialist and revolutionary movement: for Bene Madunagu @ 70

    Women in the Nigerian socialist and revolutionary movement: for Bene Madunagu @ 70

    I cannot believe that it is already ten years since I wrote a tribute in celebration of the attainment of the age of 60 by my friend, sister and comrade, Professor Bene Madunagu. But since I myself have almost “forgotten” now that I am already over the age of 70, it is not hard for me to accept the fact that on March 21 this week, comrade Bene did in fact join the club, the rare order of Septuagenarians of the Left (SOL).But how could I not remember and then celebrate this fact when there are so very few of us in the SOL! Yes, there are few of us in SOL primarily because most Nigerians don’t live past the age of 60. But there is also the fact that many members of SOL are keeping the criteria of membership very strict! For instance,next month, on April 13 to be precise, my bosom friend, Dr. Yemi Ogunbiyi, will turn 70. But I can tell readers of this piece that when that happens,there will be a spirited debate whether or not he should be admitted to the SOL. Yemi will of course have my vote, but as I am anticipating strong resistance to his nomination to membership of the order, I am thinking that perhaps we should create a wing of the SOL into which I am sure there will be a strong vote in favour of Yemi’s membership. That wing of the SOL will have the the acronym, SODL, which stands for “Septuagenarians of the Democratic Left”!

    I have chosen to start this tribute on these half playful, half serious musings on exclusivityof membership within a special unregistered and indeed unconstituted group or community of elderly Nigerians in order to underscore an aspect of comrade Bene’s life, career and achievements that I left out when I wrote a long tribute in celebration of her 60thanniversary ten years ago. What is this aspect? It is something that could be calledrarity raised to the power of two: women are not visible, not prominent in the Nigerian socialist movement; exceptionally strong women who can and do match men on virtually all indices of capability and achievement are rare in the Nigerian Left. Why are the sources and portents of this problem – this is the issue that I seek to briefly address in this tribute. But before I delve into it as the focus of all that I wish to say in this tribute that uses the exploration of a general idea to celebrate the life and work of one person, let me first write in demonstration of my claim that comrade Bene is indeed exceptional – among men and women in general; and in particular, among Nigerian Leftists,the country’s human rights activists and humanistsandprofessional academics and scientists.

    I should perhaps state here that comrade Bene is only the fourth person about whom I have written more than one tribute in celebration of their birthday anniversaries in my newspaper columns, the other three being Professors Wole Soyinka, Abiola Irele and Femi Osofisan. I do not need to draw the attention of the reader to the fact that Bene is the only woman in this group. But what does one make of the fact that she has stood out among many other categories of very accomplished and highly respected people among the ranks of the national intelligentsia?

    In the six years between 1980 and 1986 when I was, first, National President of ASUU and, then, Immediate Past President (IPP), Bene was quite easily the most conscientious and highly respected chairperson among all the chairpersons of the local branches of the Union. As we did not organize any competition among thesechairpersons of ASUUlocal branches to honour the best, or the most dependable among them, the reader will have to take my word on this claim. Fortunately for us, there are tens of colleagues from that period of the early, formative stages of ASUU’s evolution that are still alive, still around to lend their testimonies to my claim here that Bene was the chairperson that all other chairpersons in ASUU without exception looked up to. But then, why did it never occur to us that she should have gone to be ASUU National President? Why, in fact, has there never been a female ASUU National President? [Parenthetically, I do not wish in any way to imply that not having been ASUU National President in any way diminishes comrade the totality of Bene’s achievements, an observation that would be utterly ridiculous. Needless to say, I raise the question only as a general commentary on women in the Nigerian Left]

    Here, I cannot avoid recourse to the hidden but not exactly unknown secret lives of Nigerian Leftists. Socialists, activists and radicals of the Left everywhere in the world all belong to a very rare breed of humanity in the sheer number of hours they expend in meetings going meticulously over obscure or even arcane matters of ideology, strategy, tactics or principle. Nigerian socialists often took this to extremes of time, energy and resources expended in these marathon sessions that sometimes lasted all day and all night and my friend, Femi Osofisan, used to tease and berate me about this phenomenon. I mean, where other Nigerians hold all-night vigils either for fortifications against Satan and his hosts or to endure emotional abuse from ritualists promising them great wealth, Nigerian socialists and activists have their “vigils” on how Lenin and his comrades would have, in the Nigerian context, responded to that classic query: What is to be done? I testify here that we in the Nigerian Left have spent a large part of our lives, our waking hours on this classic Leninist question: What is to be done?Sadly, only rarely have we ever come up with answers that rise to the challenge implied in the question.

    I raise this particular matter because there was/is a subtle gender inflection in it, at least in the Nigerian experience and culture of the Left. This is the fact that men were/are far more obsessed than women bythese obscure points of ideology, strategy or principle. In American movies of the genre of Westerns, the closing issue at the end of every film is – who is the last man standing? Who is the last man standing? Well, in many instances of our day-long or night-long sessions on tactics, strategy or principle, comrade Bene was not the last man standing; she was the last person standing, even though she was/is not particularly fond of the excessive, self-absorbed quarrels of the men over ideology and principle.

    In concrete terms, what I am intimating here is the fact that comrade Bene has always sought to move us from ideology to action, from theory to praxis, from the abstract programme to actual effects in the world, especially on the lives of the deprived and excluded majority of our peoples. One of the most memorable and moving of my experiences in the Nigerian Left is having conversations with young, teenage girls that had gone through the education and training provided in Girls’ Power Initiative (GPI), the NGO that Bene cofounded and ran for a long time in Calabar. In my travels around many parts of the world, I had never met – and still have not met – any young women from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds with more knowledge and insight about their place in the world than the products of GPI. To think that comrade Bene achieved this remarkable feat while at the same time rising to eminence among Nigerian botanists and scientists and in the meantime working indefatigably as a human rights activist, this is humbling for all of us in the Nigerian Left. This observation leads me directly to the central idea of this tribute: the dominant visibility of men in the Nigerian socialist movement in juxtaposition with the rarity of exceptional women in leadership positions and roles in the movement.

    About three years ago, something deeply portentous happened at a big ASSU national event that throws some light on the focus that I am placing in this discussion on the place of women in the Nigerian socialist movement.This was a so-called National Educational Summit (NES) organized and sponsored by all the unions in our tertiary educational institutions. I had the honour of being the Chairman at this summit. Well, dear reader and compatriot, consider the implications of the following fact: the session on the place of women and the special problems that they face in our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education was reserved to the very last session of the last day of the summit when people were visibly exhausted after more than three full, all-day meetings. Consider this also, compatriot: with very few exceptions, most of the men present at this special session on women laughed at and about every issue raised concerning the problems and challenges that women face as women in our tertiary educational institutions. I was so taken aback and deeply offended by this open display of extreme backwardness about women’s issues at an ASUU-sponsored event that I drew pointed attention to it in my commentary on that summit in this column.

    I do not wish to oversimplify the ramifications of this happening but still, I cannot but ask: would the majority of the male delegates at that NES have been laughing if a woman was ASUU’s National President? Would it have made any difference if ASUU had had several women National Presidents in the last three decades? There were many female delegates at the summit and quite a good number of them were senior professors and academic administrators: why did their presence not make the sexist yahoos among the male delegates self-aware about their sexism? Do we need exceptional women like comrade Bene to turn things around? Isn’t the very notion of exceptionalism problematicin being subtly and insidiously sexist?

    I leave these questions unanswered here, though I must confess that I certainly hope that the careful reader would have an intimation of what my answer to everyone of these questions would be. Sexism, especially in the form of the type of open, anti-feministreduction of issues pertaining to the place of women in our society to matters fit only for laughter and levity, is rampant in the Nigerian Left. It is necessary to celebrate the lives and achievements of exceptional women in the movement like comrade Bene, but not on the basis of the reification of exceptionalism. In the final analysis, exceptionalism is gender-neutral. But it is everywhere surrounded and pervaded by deep but casual sexism. As we honour and celebrate the life and achievements of Bene, let us not for one moment forget this pervasive but often ignored aspect of the Nigerian socialist movement.

     

    • Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • Gynaecologist cautions women against multiple sexual partners

    An Abuja-based gynaecologist, Dr Nnamdi Ezenwa, has warned that multiple sexual partners can expose women to Cervicitis, an Inflammation of the cervix.

    Ezenwa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday that the Inflammation could be as a result of irritation, infection or injury to cells that line the cervix.

    According to him, the irritated or infected tissues might become red, swollen, ooze mucus and pus, and might also bleed easily when touched.

    “Severe cases of inflammation are usually caused by infections that are passed during sexual activity and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) that may cause cervicitis include “gonorrhea, chlamydia, genital herpes, trichomoniasis, mycoplasma and ureaplasma.

    “But many women with cervicitis don’t test positive for any type of infection; other causes of the inflammation may include allergies to chemicals in spermicides, douches or the latex rubber in condoms.

    “Another cause can be hormonal imbalance such as having relatively low estrogen or high progesterone which may interfere with the body’s ability to maintain healthy cervical tissue.

    “Rarely, radiation therapy or cancer may cause changes to the cervix consistent with cervicitis.”

    Furthermore, Ezenwa said that many women with cervicitis do not have any symptoms, adding that the condition might be discovered only after a routine examination or test.

    He identified symptoms of cervicitis as grayish or pale yellow vaginal discharge, abnormal vaginal bleeding, such as bleeding after sex or between periods or pain during sex.

    According to him, extreme symptoms of cervicitis include difficult, painful or frequent urination, pelvic or abdominal pain or fever, in rare cases.

    “Those who are at a higher risk of contracting cervicitis are women who recently had sexual intercourse without a condom and women with multiple sexual partners.

    “Studies show that cervicitis will recur in eight per cent to 25 per cent of women.

    The expert explained that if an infection was suspected, the main goal of treatment was to eliminate the infection and prevent it from spreading to the uterus and fallopian tubes, or to the baby, in the case of a pregnant woman.

    “Depending on what organism is causing the infection, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics, anti-fungal medications or anti-viral medications.

    “Your doctor may also recommend that your partner be treated to make sure you don’t get infected again. You should not have sex until you and your partner have finished treatment.

    “Treatment is especially important if you are HIV positive because cervicitis increases the amount of virus that is shed from the cervix and it may increase your chances of infecting a partner.”

    Ezenwa, therefore, urged women to limit their sex partners and always use condoms during sex.

    He also advised women to desist from using feminine hygiene products as they might cause irritation in the vagina and cervix.

    He added that diabetic patients should try to maintain good control of blood sugar.

  • Women breaking barriers in agriculture

    Women breaking barriers in agriculture

    Amidst challenges, women are making successes in agriculture and food production,  DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    A Women are breakimg barriers in agriculture despite the challenges they are facing. Amon them is Madam Yemisi Iranloye  who lives in Alayide Village, Ado-Awaye, Iseyin Local Government, Oyo State. But it doesn’t take too long to discover that she has a remarkable story to tell.

    A cassava farmer,  she started cultivating  on about 10,000 hectares of land and expanded to cassava processing and established a starch factory at Alayide Village.

    The factory has a capacity to process over 50 tonnes of cassava daily.

    For starters, as well as small farmers, Madam Iranloye, the chief executive, Psaltry International, is one of the women playing in the cassava big league.

    She has on her company’s payroll over 200 workers, contract staff and labourers engaged in tending the cassava farms as well as many farmers engaged in her out-grower scheme. Madam Iranloye is making wealthy, farmers that had  been consigned to the backwaters of poverty because they planted cassava.

    From the beginning, her business was established with farmers’ welfare at heart. She produces high quality cassava and runs an efficient business. She earns a decent guaranteed income for her produce, and participates in the way the produce is brought to the market and in educating others.

    She is involved in administering the money flowing back into the cassava communities from farming –money that pays for clean water well, and new farming equipment. There is an infectious confidence about her today. Her story showed the difference farming can make to communities.

    She is focused on improving agriculture with modern innovations and involvement of women. Her goal is to educate and empower women. She also empowers women to make decisions in agricultural activities and educate them about the various government programmes and schemes that are beneficial to them. If given financial support, she believes that small-scale growers could transform into major farmers with high incomes.

    Women face many challenges that preclude them from owning or managing land and other assets. But she overcame such challenges as erratic weather, poor seeds, expensive fertiliser and a lack of advice  and others.

    Cynthia Mosunmola Umoru is another trailblazer. Currently, Technical Adviser, Youth & Gender, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), a lot of  corporate women farmers look up to her.  She has spent the last 10 years building her entrepreneurial career in agriculture. She started Honeysuckles PTL Ventures straight out of college, and today the business is engaged in farming, food processing and distribution. The company runs its flagship retail outlet Farmshoppe in Ikeja, Lagos offering a wide range of farm produce, including poultry products, eggs, snails, cat fish and vegetables.

    She is very hard working and is determined to help change the fortunes of others as well.

    Her leadership qualities and ability to quickly grasp new knowledge encourage other farmers to seek her advice. She understands the importance of education and knowledge, and is thus very enthusiastic about learning and practising any new developments in crop cultivation. Not only does she teach them improved methods of farming but also shows them how to address their financial challenges. She is always eager to learn innovative ways of doing things. She actively participates in agriculture-related meetings, and interacts to clarify her doubts.

    But despite her own challenges, she is concerned not many women want to enter farming and agribusiness, adding that the sector holds so much potential as everyone needs to eat. However, outside  crop cultivation, there are also other opportunities women and young entrepreneurs and university graduates should look into such as distribution and food processing.

    Founder, Britts Fresh Foods Limited, Belema Alagun is a lawyer. She is one of a growing number of young women into farming and food business. She decided to establish an agro business to promote healthy lifestyle and eating.

    Founded in 2015, Britts Foods pride itself in using locally-sourced ingredients not just because it supports their communities, but because their fresh, healthy ingredients straight from the farms taste great.

    Currently, she makes salads for customers to be delivered to their offices. She  does home deliveries, helping people in Lagos to  enjoy salads from the comfort of  their  own home without having to go out to do a pick up. The majority of our customers’ orders are done via whatsapp.

    Agribusiness Specialist, Agribusiness  Supplier Development Programme (ASDP), Inclusive Growth Unit,United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr  Nelson Abila  said the efforts of  women in agriculture and food production  is a bold step amidst obstacles and in the face of the most unfavourable business environment.

    According to him, women are key agents for achieving the transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development. But limited access to credit, healthcare and education are among the many challenges they face, which are further aggravated by the economic crises and climate change.

    Abila said: “The obstacles to women involvement in agriculture value chain in Nigeria are many, and I must confess quite daunting. The reality of the overwhelming nature of these obstacles is a barrier to getting many more women involved in agriculture.

    “Finance is on top of this list. From land acquisition to putting infrastructure in place, the need for huge financial commitment cannot be overstated. Perhaps, it is now time to put to practice a more inclusive affirmative strategy that will allow our women agripreneurs to have access to finance at the lowest possible interest rate.

    “The policy must ensure that 35 percent of all the agric financing scheme go to women. In spite of the obstacles, I must tell you, opportunities abound to make profit and contribute to nation building through agriculture for women.”

    He explained that empowering them is not only to the well-being

  • Women urged on nation building

    A Catholic cleric, Rev. Fr. Patrick Osuntoyinbo of Regina Mundi Catholic Church, Mushin, Lagos, has urged women to use their God-given talents to build the country.

    Osuntoyinbo, who spoke at a special prayer for the progress and stability of Nigeria, organised by the Southwest Christian women under the auspices of Women Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria (WOWICAN), said women are nation builders.

    He said: “Women influence the lives of men. I enjoin them to utilise their God-given abilities to guide their husbands aright. They have roles to play in the development of this country.

    “Women can go extra mile to ensure their aims and objectives are realised by using their ‘soft skills’ to influence their husbands. They should help to build this country.”

    The one-day prayer, held at the Hoarse Methodist Church Cathedral, Sabo, Yaba, Lagos, was attended by WOWICAN members from Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo states.

    They prayed for President Muhammadu Buhari, governors, lawmakers and other leaders, saying God should forgive “whatever sins we might have committed that are working against the progress of our country.”

    Highlight of the programme was presentation of awards to past executives and foundation members for their steadfastness, love and support for the group since its inception.

    The recipients are Rev. Edith Iloh, Snr. Mother-in-Israel Funmilayo Ogunbiyi, Rev. Funmi Akitoye-Braimoh, Prof. Winifred Fashola and Deaconess Comfort Olaniran.

    The WOWICAN, Lagos State chapter Chairperson, Mrs. Elizabeth Ibironke Onojobi, congratulated the women for their diligence, consistency and focus.

    She hailed the foundation members for their steadfastness and dedication.

  • NGO for women’s, girls’ empowerment unveiled

    NGO for women’s, girls’ empowerment unveiled

    As a fall-out of global events commemorating the ‘International Women’s Day’, indigent women and girls in Nigeria now have a cause to smile. A new non-governmental organisation (NGO) has been established to ameliorate their sufferings.

    The new non-governmental organisation known as Save Our Women and Girls Foundation (SOW & G) is the brainchild of writer, entrepreneur and philanthropist, Ambassador Unyime- Ivy King, a volunteer for the United Nations.

    The unveiling of the organisation took place on March 10 at Oakwood Park Hotels, Lekki Lagos and attracted numerous people from various spheres of life.

    The event, organised by her media and communication consultancy company, HTT Communications also marked the IWD with the theme “I Am the Change”, derived from the IWD’s global theme of “e Bold for Change”.

    For many of the participants, it was an occasion when they came face-to-face with the reality of the current mass suffering in the country, especially among women and girls in impoverished communities. It was a time to be inspired for action.

    Husband of the organiser, Mr. Ubon King, a businessman/motivational speaker and chairman of Protection Plus Services Limited, was also present to give support for his wife and encourage the women folk to keep dreaming and accomplishing, and lending helping hands to one another.

    For Mrs. Unyime-Ivy, SOW & G was borne out of the need to serve as a structural support for work she has been doing informally for many years.

    According to her, it is a not-for-profit organisation, which was incorporated late last year and is focused on creating social developmental awareness on issues that concern women and girls. It will focus on training, mentoring, educating and building the capacity of women and girls in Nigeria and also raising funds to support credible NGOs that are into gender advocacy, by deploying the method of crowd-funding and strategic partnerships, with a team of respectable men and women to oversee its activities.

    Last year, over a 100 women received two-week training in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, via a project tagged Women Empowerment Skills Training (WEST). It was borne out of her belief that individuals must be the change they hope to see in our society. The Women and girls were empowered with soft skills in different areas such as catering, ankara bags/ankara accessories, soap making/house cleaning products, makeup/gele, and jewellery making.

    As a result of the success of the pilot event, a lot of women and young girls were able to set up their own cottage businesses, which are still running today. Second and third editions of Project WEST are being planned for this year.

  • Women: Abuja’s new entrepreneurs

    Women: Abuja’s new entrepreneurs

    The nation’s capital is making a transition from a civil service town to a city of entrepreneurs, thanks to women.  GRACE OBIKE reports

    Time was when all you saw in Abuja was people who worked from Monday to Friday and retired to their apartments at the weekend or travelled out of town. Not anymore. The nation’s capital is fasting shedding its civil service toga and evolving into a city of enterprise.

    But that is just one side of the story. Of greater interest is the fact that women are driving this change.

    The BBC recently reported that 40 per cent of Nigerian women are entrepreneurs, which they say is higher compared to that of the rest of world. In Abuja, women are beginning to change the norm from a city of civil servants and politicians into a city of entrepreneurs, with most of the shops owned by women. Those who cannot afford the exorbitant rates of shops, convert the boots of their cars into shops. What is important is that their business is up and running, and women are in the driving seat.

    It is the norm these days for even the tiniest offices in Abuja to have women visiting regularly to sell various items either on cash and carry basis or on credit.

    Recently, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Coordinator, African Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP) Samira Jibir, revealed that FCT female entrepreneurs are increasingly becoming a force to reckon with. She said one of the women making waves in the FCT is a bee farmer whose business has grown to the extent of her exporting her products to the US, Europe and other places.

    Another hugely popular entrepreneur in the FCT is Orya Febronia, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ugee Bakery and Confectionaries, makers of the popular Oven Pride bread.

    The owner of the multi-million naira bakery located in Karu explained that being a success-driven female entrepreneur involves more than having sufficient money to start up a business. She said that in order to ensure success in her trade, she travelled abroad for three months to study bakery.

    “After graduation from the university, I wanted to work in in the bank; I got married very early but my husband challenged me to be independent.

    “I didn’t just want to open up a bakery and bake like everyone else, I researched, began sourcing for the machines and went abroad for a three-month course on everything about baking. I was given all the recipes to produce different products; with  that I fell in love with baking.

    “If I see bread, without tasting it, I can tell you what it is made up of. When I came back, it took me three years to put things in order, the starting period was so hectic, I was in the market in Lagos for five years and when my husband moved to Abuja, I moved as well. It was difficult settling for a location but i did not want the City Centre because it is already tight, I decided on a place that will make an impact and will be noticed and appreciated, so i came here, bought the land and constructed  my bakery.

    “ I decided on a different kind of product, we have a lot of health issues these days centered around our way of life, I studied health bread, for instance I decided to put beniseed in my jumbo bread which different from the ingredients found in other breads, because beniseed is very good, so the idea for me is to bake healthy products for my consumers.

    “Apart from the normal bread, I make products that will balance up our health as adults. I am particular about it in my products.

    “I am a believer in the woman’s ability to change her world, I do not see myself as a woman with the strength and passion that I have. I believe that women need to identify what they want and do it right, even if her dream is to be just a wife; women need to understand that men do not want to marry a woman without passion or dreams, what you have upstairs makes you more attractive and not just the beauty.

    “I always tell girls that if they are determined they can make it in whatever they choose to do, I tell them that it is not all about making hair, dressing up and shaking their body when they move, I tell them, people that will stop you on the road will sleep with  you and just walk away but when you start having something real and tangible, the ones that will come after you will not be those on the street.”

    Chief of Karu, Emmanuel Yekwi in whose domain the factory is located, said that it has actually provided a lot of job opportunities for youths in his community.

    He also said, “I like to see young people being innovative, they prove that they can create something for themselves without depending on the government. Young people should be the ones creating innovations in this country. Bakeries in the country have to start reducing the level of sugar in their products, it should be put into consideration to avoid an epidemic in the country.”

    In an interview with The Nation, Samira Jibril explained that entrepreneurs in the suburbs and area councils have better opportunities because it is easier for them to have the location and farms than those in the city.

  • 11,000 Nigerian women arrived Italy from Libya in 2016

    The United Kingdom has called for urgent international collaboration to help Nigeria tackle human trafficking challenge at source, pledging at least five million pounds to the course.

    United Kingdom’s Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Hyland, made the call at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Modern Slavery on Saturday in New York.

    Hyland said that women and girls from Nigeria, who were illegal migrants, were victims of forced labour and sexual exploitation in detention centres across Libya, in attempt to get into Europe.

    He pointed out that “for decades, transnational traffickers have operated in a particular part of Nigeria, deceiving victims with false promises of better lives in Europe”.

    “But what was a trickle has now become a flow,” he said.

    The envoy said that long-established transnational organised crime groups were also using power vacuums caused by Boko Haram conflict to increase their trafficking operations.

    “These criminals are taking advantage of conflict and instability in the Lake Chad Basin and Libya and have massively scaled up their trafficking operations by utilising these now ungoverned routes.

    “In 2016, just over 11,000 Nigerian women arrived in Italy from Libya.

    “This is an eightfold increase from the numbers that arrived in 2014.

    “The International Organization for Migration believes that 80 per cent are trafficking victims destined for brothels across Europe,” he said.

    Hyland mentioned a particular State in Nigeria that he visited, saying “it is the main region where traffickers source their victims.

    “This trafficking is especially brutal in nature.

    “Women who insist they will not work as prostitutes are tied up in a position called ‘the crocodile’ where their hands are tied to their feet and they are left for days without food or water.

    “Some are left to die as an example to others,” he stated.

    According to him, the UK Government recently announced at least five million pounds to work in partnership with Nigeria to help tackle trafficking at source.

    “All of the Nigerian survivors I met wanted to tell me about the identities, tactics and routes of traffickers.

    “Unfortunately this information is not being routinely collected, analysed or acted on.

    “Much more needs to be done to protect the vulnerable,” he appealed.

    He said that Prime Minister Theresa May had committed the UK to international leadership in combating modern slavery.

    “Unless those behind this trade in human lives are pursued and punished, vulnerable people will continue to be sourced, used, abused and replaced and treated as mere commodities.

    “So, I urge international organisations and Member States and in particular, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, to prioritise efforts to increase cross border collaboration to investigate, disrupt and dismantle human trafficking networks.

    “We need high profile convictions of the organisers, to act as a deterrent to others.

    “This can be achieved through increased use of joint investigation teams, multilateral prosecutions and data and intelligence sharing.

    “We need to get smarter at debriefing victims and sensitively sharing this information with law enforcement and victim support agencies, to inform disruption and protection efforts,” Hyland said.

    He strongly welcomed UN Resolution 2331, which called for ‘proactive responses to protect against slavery and trafficking to be systematically integrated into humanitarian responses to conflict and related emergencies’. (NAN)

  • Women put men on notice

    Women put men on notice

    Though they reeled out the odds against them, women also revelled in their achievements, and sent a message that they will soon knock men off their perch. OKODILI NDIDI reports from Owerri, the Imo State capital

    When women gather, what do they discuss? The jury may be out on that one, but at an assemblage in Owerri, the Imo State capital, women looked back at their past, examined the present and peered into the future. What did they see ahead? Well, they said the table will soon turn in their favour, and that they will reverse the odds stacked against them by men.

    This year’s International Women’s Day in Owerri offered a good opportunity for them to express themselves. They analysed their unique role, their strength, and capabilities in driving growth.

    It was an assemblage of women of substance, female captains of industry, successful businesswomen, entrepreneurs, traders, housewives, students, and various organisations. The women took turns to applaud their achievements in business, administration, politics, and governance, among other professions.

    They advocated for a greater role in nation-building, arguing that if the women can succeed in building and sustaining the home front, which is the bedrock of every society, they should be allowed to contribute to the development of the nation.

    The many ills suffered by women, especially domestic violence, official intimidation, gender discrimination and sexual harassment, were also highlighted and extensively discussed with a view to proffering a solution to challenges and other growing cases of infringement on the rights of women and the girl-child.

    Although it was sufficiently established by the various speakers that the agitation for a better place and more visible roles for women does not in any way amount to competition or rivalry with the menfolk, the fire in the eyes of the women showed that very soon, sooner than anticipated, the aphorism, ‘it is a male’s world’, will no longer be applicable.

    From one speaker to the other, the ecstatic women were challenged to stand up and take their rightful place as ‘unique creatures’ who are created to be change agents. They were charged to defy all forms of intimidation and alienation. They were also reminded of their responsibilities to their families, especially their husbands, who they were told to revere, irrespective of whatever social status they may have achieved.

    Some of them were chided for displaying attitudes that have projected the womenfolk in negative light, majorly the inordinate appetite for wealth and position, which they identified, have driven some women into prostitution, corruption and other forms of criminalities.

    It was indeed such a day one could wish to be a woman. The eloquence of the speakers, the glamour and beauty exuded by the colourfully dressed women confirmed the silent fact that women are indispensable in forming a completely beautiful society.

    In her speech, wife of the Imo State Governor Nneoma Rochas Okorocha charged the women to be courageous and take control of their immediate environment as nation builders.

    Mrs Okorocha, who is also the Chairperson of the Southern Governors Wives Forum, asserted that women have strategic roles to play in the development and advancement of any nation.

    She said that by being conscious of their roles and responsibilities, women could guarantee positive change in the society.

    The governor’s wife pointed out that women are “unique and special”, insisting that “to be bold for change entails a courageous woman rediscovering herself and potentials, to discover who she is and what God deposited in her to rule her environment.”

    She further advised the women “to be mindful of the people they associate with, opining that “women have the potentials of making positive change as nothing could be perfected without the inputs of women”.

    Mrs Okorocha enjoined the women to jettison low self-esteem, noting that the “position of womanhood calls for responsibilities and re-examination”

    According to her, “very soon Imo women will be reference points in terms of positive change in families and our society”.

    She urged the women to be ready to recognise God’s Supremacy in their families and endeavours.

    Earlier, in her speech, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Ngozi Njoku, applauded the Governor’s wife for being a role model and a visionary Leader.

    Njoku who expressed gratitude at the turnout of women at the occasion, described the crowd as an “assemblage of women of substance from different strata of the society ranging from the academia, rural women, market women, women professionals and political appointees”.

    Also in her sermon, tagged “Speak Lord for your servants heareth’, Mrs. Mercy Onwunta, observed that “a virtuous woman is not born but made”, adding that “women in every society are agents of positive change”.

    Onwunta who drew her sermon from the Bible book of Numbers, stated that change starts from the inside.

    She cautioned the women against carefree lives.

    Another cleric, Pastor Mrs. Ada Ezeka in her sermon, pointed out that “women were not created to compete with men but to be partners in progress”.

    She admonished that, ”womanhood is not a gender issue, it is an empowerment issue, the problems of women are not in gender but lack of sense of mission, vision and responsibility. What a man can do, a man can do, but what a woman can do, the woman can do better. A woman was not created to depend on the man but to be a Helpmate”.

    Ezeka further argued that “the world will be incomplete without women”, insisting that “a woman must have the potential of influencing her family positively”.

    Representatives of the various women organizations at the occasion noted the theme of this year’s celebration was apt, considering the ongoing change in the country, adding that it will prepare the women to take up more visible roles in the process.

    Though they agreed that the plight of the Nigerian women has improved significantly since the Geneva Conference, but more still need to be done to better the lot of the women.

    They identified illiteracy, poverty and some cultural practices as some of the challenges confronting Nigerian women.

  • BoI canvasses more women enterprise financing

    BoI canvasses more women enterprise financing

    here is a need to increase funding  to women-owned enterprises, Bank of Industry (BoI) has said.

    Its Group Head, Gender Business Department, Adebisi Ajayi, said fund disbursement to firms owned by women constituted three per cent of its lendings.

    Ajayi, who spoke at a BoI’s event to honour women, said only 49 per cent of women entrepreneurs accessed finance from banks, adding that the N13 billion earmarked for women enterprises should be reviewed upward.

    According to her, women have migrated from seeking micro credit business support to focusing on large-scale enterprises with huge capital requirement.

    Ajayi urged banks to support BoI in financing the real sector, and not just traders, to facilitate job creation and develop the economy.

    She said the department had increased its capital base from N90 million to N160 million, ensure increase in its risk asset to women and maintain a single digit interest rate.

    “In 2007, gender financing commenced with N90 million. It generated 51 businesses in seven sectors and created 600 jobs. Cumulatively, that seed money is now about N160 million. These were to micro credit businesses. The BoI realised we cannot stay with micro credits because there are women who have the capacity to do big business. In 2015, a gender enhancement   desk was set up to focus on only women big businesses. This has led to the bank’s risk assets increase in women. The N13billion supported 232 women business.”

    BoI Acting Managing Director Waheed Olagunju, represented by the Executive Director, Micro Enterprises, Toyin Adeniji, urged women to be brace for change by achieving business strides and setting the pace with new ideas.

    “We want it to be a day to encourage other women to start as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) entrepreneurs to access bigger loans. One thing that is clear is that, women have to be bold, have a dream and know where they are going. We are here to let them know they can grow as there is access to finance, market, training, growth and opportunities. Women have to be bold and lean forward for change.”

    The bank’s Divisional Head, Large Enterprises, Mr Joseph Babatunde, harped on the need for increased women participation in businesses, saying the bank was committed to easing their access to finance.

    “There is a need for women to come out with all the creativity that is in them not only to add value to  the family, but also to the nation. That’s why the bank has a gender department where women can bring their applications. There are about four women in the department who advise women entrepreneurs, monitor and go out to support them. We have given a lot of loans to women related entrepreneurs. Unlike, we can give loans of N5million upwards without necessarily having collateral; just two guarantors so that you can at least start small and become big.”

    Making a case for financing the healthcare sector, Chief Executive Officer, Pathcare Laboratories, Pamela Ajayi, urged BoI to channel funds to boost the sector, noting that it is a viable investment sector.

    “The healthcare sector in Nigeria really requires a lot of funding as there is a huge need for infrastructural development. The finance industry needs to recognise the health sector and give it priority. Intervention fund and all that is necessary should be put in place. In terms of investment, healthcare is a vibrant area that can rake in returns. It’s just about recognition,” she said.

  • ExxonMobil boosts women empowerment with $100m

    ExxonMobil boosts women empowerment with $100m

    American oil giant, ExxonMobil, has made investments worth over $100 million in initiatives and projects, aimed at empowering women, it was learnt.

    This emerged during an event to mark this year’s Women’s Day in Lagos titled: “Women in Nigeria (WIN) exhibition & conference.” It was rganised by WEConnect International, a non-governmental organisation focused on women economic empowerment and sponsored by ExxonMobil with other global partners of WEConnect such as Procter & Gamble, IBM, Accenture and Ernst & Young, ExxonMobil was said to have spent multi-million dollars on issues that concern women.

    In a presentation titled: “Nigeria – The Journey So Far – Marketplace & Opportunities,” ExxonMobil Nigeria’s Operations Procurement Manager, Judith Mbonu, said the company had invested over $100 million in support of women empowerment initiatives in over 90 countries around the world, including Nigeria.

    Mbonu said the investments made under the firm’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Initiative (WEOI), were aimed at helping women achieve their economic potentials towards improving the socio-economic conditions of their respective communities, adding that it had benefitted tens of thousands of women in those countries.

    She also said the ExxonMobil upstream companies in Nigeria transacted business with women-owned companies in 2016 to the tune of over $24 million in furtherance of this economic empowerment objective. She added that ExxonMobil’s support for women economic empowerment stemmed from the firm’s strong belief that “when women move forward, the world moves with them.

    “We also know that when women control their income, they usually invest in the health, education and well-being of their families and communities, thereby benefitting the entire society.”

    She said ExxonMobil supports WEConnect at global and local levels, adding that the firm had implemented a number of other intitiatives aimed at the sustainable economic empowerment of women in Nigeria.

    Mbonu, who is also the Chairperson of the WEConnect Advisory Council in Nigeria, urged women to use networking towards making their businesses more competitive and successful. “You need to network locally, regionally and internationally,” she said.

    She also gave some tips to women business owners on improving their success rate with multinational companies and large corporate organisations. The tips included safety, building specialised skills, good business ethics, willingness to adapt to change and disciplined execution of contractual obligations.

    ExxonMobil’s Global Sustainable Procurement Manager, Nancy Swartout, who was the international guest speaker at the WIN event, in her presentation titled: “Global Support for WEConnect International,” offered more insight into ExxonMobil’s global strategy for women empowerment.

    Swartout said ensuring diversity was a key aspect of ExxonMobil’s operations, adding that the corporation spent $33 million on its Global Supplier Diversity Programme outside the United States (U.S.) in 2016, exceeding its target of $25 million. According to her, the $24 million business volume achieved with women-owned organisations by ExxonMobil affiliates in Nigeria, represented 74 per cent of total spent.

    The Keynote Speaker at the event and Executive Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil Limited, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, who spoke on the theme of the conference “Bold Steps for Big Change,” lamented that “half of the world’s greatest resource are being blocked from reaching their potential due to the fact that they belong to the female gender”.

    She urged the women to step up and take bold, ground-breaking actions towards improving the success rate and impact of their companies, using her personal business experience. She urged women entrepreneurs to persevere till they succeed in business.

    Mrs. Alakija commended ExxonMobil’s investments in the economic empowerment of women. “We should use ExxonMobil as an example for other oil companies and organisations not just in Nigeria, but worldwide for its support to various businesses of women,” she said.

    WEConnect International Country Director of  in Nigeria, Shade Ladipo, said the organisation  partners ExxonMobil and others to train women on the workings of multinationals and large organisations. Some of the trainings are on bidding and procurement processes as well as how to compete effectively with their male counterparts in winning business from such organisations.