Emmanuel Udom
Women
Advocates Research and Documentation Center, (WARDC) and Voices-4-Change,
determined to close the political gap between male and female politicians in
Nigeria, organized a 3-day retreat for young women from tertiary institutions
in Lagos state.
In her
welcome address during the opening ceremony of the retreat, on Thursday, held
at Ibis Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Executive Director of
WARDC, disclosed that it is unfortunate to note that in Nigeria, women are made
up about 50 percent of the estimated 180million people.
But,
regrettably, women are presently occupying less than 10 percent of political
positions and offices across the three tiers of government in the country.
Dr
Akiyode-Afolabi however disclosed that her non-governmental organization with
supports from Voices-4-Change, have
vowed to groom women to rise beyond the
various obstacles posed by culture and economy which has prevented them from
vying for political positions at the local, state and federal levels.
She further
disclosed that the only way to achieve this purpose is for WARDC and
Voices-4-change to bring women from tertiary institutions in Nigeria, beginning
from Lagos state, to groom them on the nitty-gritty of governance, beyond the
home.
In his
submission, Professor Akin Ibidapo-Obe, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of
Lagos told the more than 2000 participants at the event made up of female
students from various tertiary institutions in Lagos that women politicians
should strive in the years ahead to position themselves to be elected into
various positions.
Prof
Ibidapo-Obe dwelled into the cultural significant of women and explained that since
women are good home managers, it is expected by extension that female
politicians will also do fantastic jobs of managing the entire country.
Mrs Sarah
Sosan, former deputy governor of Lagos state in her speech called on women not
to suppress the many good virtues God has blessed them with by indulging in
petty issues that will add little or no values to their lives.
She
encouraged women, who are aspiring to political positions to be bold and not
intimidated by their men folks, saying that with the catch-them-young dream of
WARDC and Voices-4-Change, she is optimistic that in the next couple of years,
more women will be elected into various political positions in the country.
The former
Lagos state governor however insisted that young women from universities and
polytechnics must first and foremost ensure that they get quality education in
order not to feel inferior or be intimidated by male politicians.
“This is the
only way more and more women will move from their homes to the political scenes
in the years ahead in Nigeria”, she said.
Our correspondent
observed that female students from the University of Lagos, Lagos State
University, Aderinan Ogunsanya College of Education and Lagos State
Polytechnic, attended the retreat.
Rolake
Shobowale, a second year Economic Student at the University of Lagos told our
correspondent during the retreat that she has been fired up to think in the
direction of becoming a politician after graduating from the university.
Her words:
“After the retreat when I go back to campus, I am going to use the various
social media to enlighten and educate female students across the country on the
need to brace up for various political positions in the nearest future”
Miss Enobong
Akpan, who is reading Guardian and Counseling at the Aderinan Ogunsanya College
of Education in Ijanikin poured encomiums on the organizers of the event and
promised to, further spread the gospel of more women participation in politics
at various levels in the country.
She argued
that since male politicians have failed Nigerians, it is time for the
electorate to consider electing female politicians to become our president,
governor, president of the senate and speaker of the House of Representatives,
among other juicy political positions.
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